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timcanpy said:

Hey Envy, I'm curious as to whether you've tried gaming on the XBOX 360 with the A40 + MixAmp 5.8 combination? From the reviews I can find around here, the A40s come off as 'hollow' but is that with or without the mixamp?
 
I'm purchasing a headset for use on the xbox and I was dead set on buying the PC360 + 5.8 combo but as tecz0r said, the mixamp is only available when bundled and I'm looking to replace these horrid turtle beaches asap, but I don't want to dive into the A40+5.8 bundle if it sounds horrid even with the mixamp.

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I've noticed that "hollow" myself but I think it was because of the dolby headphone option, because the sound would be inside my head during DH and not outside, while it was off.  But this might just be me haha.  It'll sound hollow by itself, but with a tweak on EQ it sounds great.  Though this is with a pre-2011 version (2009)!  So I'm not sure how a 2011 sounds.  They say they "improved" the wiring etc though.
 
Still though for the price $200 on the headphone by itself (though this makes the mixamp a $140 value) is still hard to swallow when you could get something much better like as you said the PC360.  Guessing you don't like wired options if you didn't want to consider the Pro Mixamp an option? Rather it is your only choice at the moment if you wanted a Mixamp as a stand alone.

Axel, it sounds hollow even with the MixAmp (5.8/PRO)? Dang T--------T.
 
And yea, my setup is farily small so I don't really want wires everywhere. I've got a monitor on a small ikea square table with an xbox and games on it as well and I sit about 5 feet away on a gaming chair.
 
My current turtle beach x31s plug straight into the controller so it is fairly hassle-free, I couldn't imagine wires running down my side and everything.

My own ears aren't that good in judging yet, I might be mistaking "hollow" for something else.  I doubt the Mixamp 5.8/Pro changes the sound at all so doubt it matters.  And this is with 2009 ver of the A40s...... WAIT wait wait wait wait.  This is with my computer and a soundcard which might've had something to do with it.  On the PS3? If there was any hollowness it sure didn't deter my enjoyment from playing on the PS3.  Not sure bout the 360.
 
Now unless somebody moves around your room constantly, maybe you can get a small flat table or something to set a Mixamp Pro in the middle? Or maybe that table would be shorter than the main table and you can just push it under once you're done?
 
 
ATTENTION: In case some people didn't notice.  Make an account at Astrogaming, and register your astro products (might not be mandatory who knows) but point is once you have the account.
 
If your webaddress does NOT start with support.astrogaming then go to Support > Register a Product .  From there you should see "Astro Private Store" on the left hand side list.  If you don't see this, then registering a product might be mandatory, I wouldn't know.  Or maybe you have to have some time being a member (registered my product back in 09 so got 3 yrs under me)
 
Inside the store is discounts on a set of items.  Not sure if it differs from person to person, it's not an impressive list but it works.  A40 + Mixamp Pro is $25 discount.  Mixamp by itself is $15 discount, so on and so forth.

The a40s are pretty bad, my Brainwvz M3 even beat the stuffing out of them.  And thats an IEM

FWIW I think Dolby makes things sound a little "hollow", even on my 880. That's the con. The plus side is that the left/right separation is much less extreme, so that the sound is cohesive. It's easiest to test this if you have a MixAmp plugged in--even with a stereo recording (but connected via Optical, of course), switching the DH button on and off will make this patently clear.

When I say hollow and A40s, I mean that everything sounds like it has no weight to it. It all sounded so artificial. The newer edition A40s apparently have traded off clarity for said weight/bass/warmth, so pick your poison.

I also thought the A40s had a hollow sounding soundstage.  Not the mixamps fault, just a trait of the A40s.  Other headphones sounded fine.

Friend want budget headphones that will completely blow his mind in movies and games (if there is such a thing), and luckily he is a complete noob when it comes to audio so I want to suggest something that has the right qualities that audio noobs tend to enjoy!
 
Limit is about £40/$100 so I was thinking the CALs or Samson SR850 or panasonic htf-600. Which one would probably be best, and are there any other worthy mentionables? He will use them on his laptop/360 and probably through a mixamp.
 
Cheers
 
 
 
 
... been trying to post this for a while but for some reason nothing seems to be posting
 
 
edit: he isn't into competitive FPS so immersion is the most important factor

On another note, orthodynamic headphones!
 
They are apparently similar to electrostatics like Stax which are apparently the ultimate in gaming. And they are much cheaper.
 
So whats the deal with those?

I really do recommend the SHURE SRH 440, for closed can they do have a good soundstage and good positioning Now retired but used to play CSS professionally in my country, our team was among the top ones . I still play at times and I have to say in lan sessions its impossible with an open aire headphone where there is noise coming from all round especially from the others screamin.

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hamzatm said:

On another note, orthodynamic headphones!
 
They are apparently similar to electrostatics like Stax which are apparently the ultimate in gaming. And they are much cheaper.
 
So whats the deal with those?

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The HE-500 is great for gaming. I've heard the LCD-2 may not be the best for gaming due to a smaller soundstage, but I wouldn't know. I've never actually used them.

A week into owning the HD 600, final update on its use as a gaming headphone:
It makes sound come out.
 
Otherwise, it's rubbish compared to the DT 880. In combat sequences voices get a bit drowned out, e.g. in ME3 (single player) when teammates comment on the situation, if you run too far ahead, they're barely audible. There's a lack of sense of space and distance too.

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rebel975 said:

The HE-500 is great for gaming. I've heard the LCD-2 may not be the best for gaming due to a smaller soundstage, but I wouldn't know. I've never actually used them.

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Can you please elaborate on why the HE-500 is great for gaming. ex: soundstage and detail? thanks mike
 

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mafiamike said:

Can you please elaborate on why the HE-500 is great for gaming. ex: soundstage and detail? thanks mike
 

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It's pretty neutral, it has a "big enough" soundstage, it can go extremely low if the game demands it (think about the sub bass in the Skyrim intro - these headphones produce it well), it (to my ears) works well with Dolby Headphone/CMSS-3D, and it is seemingly pretty detailed. I say seemingly, because I don't have much experience with audiophile headphones.
 
Here's a ranking for gaming, based on what I've heard:
 
HE-500 > >  Ultrasone PRO 2900 >  DT880 > > > TB HPX/ATH-M50 > > Astro A40 > TB x11 > > > > > > Triton AX PRO*
 
 
*They sounded like you were listening to music on the moon, if that makes sense. So muffled.. so weird.

Thanks, I am looking in to buying the HE-500's or possible the hd 700's?. Crazy idea but I have started to listen mostly to music and not as much gaming as before.  I perfer the dt 990's(600) for music(bass) and the q701's(detail) for gaming/online. Mind you the dt's are also good for gaming too.
 
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rebel975 said:

It's pretty neutral, it has a "big enough" soundstage, it can go extremely low if the game demands it (think about the sub bass in the Skyrim intro - these headphones produce it well), it (to my ears) works well with Dolby Headphone/CMSS-3D, and it is seemingly pretty detailed. I say seemingly, because I don't have much experience with audiophile headphones.
 
Here's a ranking for gaming, based on what I've heard:
 
HE-500 > >  Ultrasone PRO 2900 >  DT880 > > > TB HPX/ATH-M50 > > Astro A40 > TB x11 > > > > > > Triton AX PRO*
 
 
*They sounded like you were listening to music on the moon, if that makes sense. So muffled.. so weird.

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