[neks0ne]

I wrote a "noobish" review of these headphone....but some of you may like to check them out.

I compare them to my sennheiser 580s...

The Older Gamers Paradise - 2old2play - Review: Astro A40 Headset

 

[jmb]

Nice review man. I am also a member of 2o2p and I do a lot of xbox live gaming.

I decided, in part due to your review, to get the mixamp, but pair them with a different headset. You said in your review:

"The combined price for the Astros and mixamp make it a worthwhile purchase. But I would not recommend the headset or Mixamp individually, together they make a good buy."

But, you ended up going back to using the Senns with the Mixamp. I took your review as a thumbs up for the Mixamp, paired with a better pair of headphones/headset, over the whole package/system. So, that's what I decided to do. Plus, I can use it with computer games as well.

I have been using a pair of Senn HD555's with the wireless headset, and various other headsets, tucked underneath and it sucks.

 

[rickyflo]

Man, I was about to review them myself before I found yours! Great one, it really hit it on the head for me as well. Really great, versatile mixamp that I've paired with my other headphones to experiment with. If your headphones have decent imaging, the mixamp can really do wonders when it comes to movies and games. But when I play competitively, the A40 headset itself was a letdown when compared to other cans in it's price range. 200$ individually? Please. Luckily Astro is smart enough to have the whole system for 250 which is still overpriced in my opinion. It's difficult for me to recommend this system for it's retail price to any of my gaming compatriots, especially when there are more affordable alternatives which don't tout / market themselves with the term "audiophile grade sound". The ONLY reason I recommend it, is for my hardcore gaming friends, those who game on everything that need one headset for all their needs and can make the compromise in fidelity.
 
My brother really loves listening to music on them, but then again he loves his skull candy buds more than he loves the set of 501's I handed down to him.

 

[Salchichon]

The headset itself is low quality sound AND build. But i really love the mixamp. You can just use hdmi for all your consoles and players diretly in your TV without a receiver and just connect your tv with  the mixamp via toslink it is great. I tried a few combination of other cans with the mixamp and i think coupled with the Denon AH-D2000 it sounds just perfect for movies and videogames.

 

[Trysaeder]

I see the Ikari on your desk.
 
I approve.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Mixamp is a worthy investment for any console gamer. They bring out a whole new level of immersion for gaming. I agree on the A40s not being particularly great. The Tritton AX720 is half the price and brings both a virtual surround amp and a headset that is just slightly inferior to the A40s. The AX720 amp and the Mixamp are very comparable though the Mixamp is slightly cleaner in sound, while the AX720 is more powerful.

 

[Salchichon]

Quote:

The Mixamp is a worthy investment for any console gamer. They bring out a whole new level of immersion for gaming. I agree on the A40s not being particularly great. The Tritton AX720 is half the price and brings both a virtual surround amp and a headset that is just slightly inferior to the A40s. The AX720 amp and the Mixamp are very comparable though the Mixamp is slightly cleaner in sound, while the AX720 is more powerful.

And what about the directional accuracy? My only complaint about the A40 Dobly Headphone feature is the lack of accuracy wich is a must when playing FPS games, Is it better with the Tritton? I know there are discretes versions like the AX PRO but really the sound quality isn t there....
 

 

[earerror]

Quote:

And what about the directional accuracy? My only complaint about the A40 Dobly Headphone feature is the lack of accuracy wich is a must when playing FPS games, Is it better with the Tritton? I know there are discretes versions like the AX PRO but really the sound quality isn t there....
 

 
A guy told me that they are not accurate enough for Fps games...and the cords can be a little annoying.
Just my 2 cents.
 

 

[Salchichon]

Quote:

 
A guy told me that they are not accurate enough for Fps games...and the cords can be a little annoying.
Just my 2 cents.
 

Thank You

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Quote:

And what about the directional accuracy? My only complaint about the A40 Dobly Headphone feature is the lack of accuracy wich is a must when playing FPS games, Is it better with the Tritton? I know there are discretes versions like the AX PRO but really the sound quality isn t there....
 

To whomever said they weren't accurate for FPS is just DEAD WRONG. The Mixamp offers pinpoint accuracy IF you use the right headphone. AD700, K701 or K702, DT770, Sony MDR-F1, and some others will make you NOT wanna use anything other than the Mixamp for FPS gaming.
 
The A40 headset itself isn't very good. Like I said before, it's all about the Mixamp.

 

[Salchichon]

Quote:

To whomever said they weren't accurate for FPS is just DEAD WRONG. The Mixamp offers pinpoint accuracy IF you use the right headphone. AD700, K701 or K702, DT770, Sony MDR-F1, and some others will make you NOT wanna use anything other than the Mixamp for FPS gaming.
 
The A40 headset itself isn't very good. Like I said before, it's all about the Mixamp.

Well have you ever played an FPS with a discrete 5.1 speaker setup? Because this is accurate, i love my A40 mixamp it sounds great creating a surround effect but it is less accurate than Without the surround mode. You re like the only person i ve ever heard saying the contary outside of Astro of course. I really would like it to be accurate but it isn t at all period 
 
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

 
Quote:

Well have you ever played an FPS with a discrete 5.1 speaker setup? Because this is accurate, i love my A40 mixamp it sounds great creating a surround effect but it is less accurate than Without the surround mode. You re like the only person i ve ever heard saying the contary outside of Astro of course. I really would like it to be accurate but it isn t at all period 
 
 

Actually I have, and on various 5.1 and 7.1 speaker setups. In order to get the level of clarity and immersion, you'd need a pretty expensive setup. Meanwhile, the Mixamp with a really good open headphone can give you some ridiculous immersion and accuracy. Whereas you rely on audio cues from speakers, the Mixamp envelopes you in a 360 degree sound 'field', that can't honestly be labeled as being 5.1 or 7.1, as the sound is coming from all around you. You can't TELL which speaker is being used, as there's no restriction as to where the sounds are being placed around you. I'm a heavy FPS gamer, and the Mixamp gives me a ridiculous advantage against those who don't use headphones. With a headphone, you're completely immersed in the sound, with little to no interruptions unless you allow it.
 
Try out the Mixamp with something like the K701 or K702, and tell me just how inaccurate it is. Me, along with quite a few AVSforum regulars have been gaming with a ridiculous amount of headphones and speaker setups and most of us agree that the Mixamp with a good headphone will edge out most discrete speaker setups, until you get to some pretty expensive speaker setups, but then the Mixamp isn't there to compete with $900 systems.
 
And if you've been gaming on regular stereo (no virtual suround processing) all your life, it DOES take time to adjust to Dolby Headphone, but once you have accustomed yourself to the sound and positional cues, you'll never wanna go back to strict stereo. It doesn't even come close to me.
 
Again, the item to get is the Mixamp, not the A40s. Get the Mixamp and a pair of AD700s (if you don't mind the lack of bass). The positioning on the AD700s is top notch and a great way to demo how well Dolby Headphone works with FPS gaming. The K701/2 is a lot more expensive than the AD700 but the sound is an improvement in every single way.

 

[Salchichon]

Quote:

 


Actually I have, and on various 5.1 and 7.1 speaker setups. In order to get the level of clarity and immersion, you'd need a pretty expensive setup. Meanwhile, the Mixamp with a really good open headphone can give you some ridiculous immersion and accuracy. Whereas you rely on audio cues from speakers, the Mixamp envelopes you in a 360 degree sound 'field', that can't honestly be labeled as being 5.1 or 7.1, as the sound is coming from all around you. You can't TELL which speaker is being used, as there's no restriction as to where the sounds are being placed around you. I'm a heavy FPS gamer, and the Mixamp gives me a ridiculous advantage against those who don't use headphones. With a headphone, you're completely immersed in the sound, with little to no interruptions unless you allow it.
 
Try out the Mixamp with something like the K701 or K702, and tell me just how inaccurate it is. Me, along with quite a few AVSforum regulars have been gaming with a ridiculous amount of headphones and speaker setups and most of us agree that the Mixamp with a good headphone will edge out most discrete speaker setups, until you get to some pretty expensive speaker setups, but then the Mixamp isn't there to compete with $900 systems.
 
And if you've been gaming on regular stereo (no virtual suround processing) all your life, it DOES take time to adjust to Dolby Headphone, but once you have accustomed yourself to the sound and positional cues, you'll never wanna go back to strict stereo. It doesn't even come close to me.
 
Again, the item to get is the Mixamp, not the A40s. Get the Mixamp and a pair of AD700s (if you don't mind the lack of bass). The positioning on the AD700s is top notch and a great way to demo how well Dolby Headphone works with FPS gaming. The K701/2 is a lot more expensive than the AD700 but the sound is an improvement in every single way.

No never really liked to game with stereo headphones, i mostly did with a 5,1 speaker setup wich is Focal JMlab speakers and an Integra receiver. I really agree of the immersion and everything of the Mixamp, its by far my best choice for night gaming since i have to be careful about the noise. But the virtual surround really can t beat the discrete 5,1. If the sound wasn t so bad on discrete 5,1 headphones  i would use that. Also i never use the A40 headset i hate it , i just use the mixamp with some shure shr840 wich i will change for denon d2000 because the shure litteraly wack my ears after extend use it really hurts. Also the D2000 are supposed to have more bass wich is welcome for action movies and games. I tried the mixamp with the A40, some cheap pioneer portable headphones, the shure840, bose quiet confort and  Sen HD595 and except for the varying sound quality i didn t notice ANY difference with the surround effect, the same with all headphones, just that the cheapest sound like crap. Anyways if you find it accurate good for you, i don t find it accurate but i still love it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Shure 840 are considered to have a tiny, cramped soundstage when paired with the Mixamp, which I believe is why you can't find the accuracy all too great. I have literally tried like 30+ headphones with my Mixamp, and there is a HUGE difference from the best to worst when it comes to accuracy, surround effect, and gaming soundstage. Not all headphones sound fantastic with the Mixamp, and most WON'T. Some like the 840s and M50s do OKAY, but there are MUCH better out there. Try the AD700, K701, DT770 Pro 80s (even though they tend to be boomy and uncontrollable, they have the best spatial accuracy of all). A headphone with a large, vast soundstage will really help them out when paired with virtual surround. Cramped soundstages don't do well. The DT770 Pro 80s (while being closed), still have a decent soundstage that bests even some open headphones.
 
One good piece of advice is that closed headphones don't do too well with virtual surround in general, so go with fully open ones. The D2000 is also closed...

 

[Salchichon]

Quote:

The Shure 840 are considered to have a tiny, cramped soundstage when paired with the Mixamp, which I believe is why you can't find the accuracy all too great. I have literally tried like 30+ headphones with my Mixamp, and there is a HUGE difference from the best to worst when it comes to accuracy, surround effect, and gaming soundstage. Not all headphones sound fantastic with the Mixamp, and most WON'T. Some like the 840s and M50s do OKAY, but there are MUCH better out there. Try the AD700, K701, DT770 Pro 80s (even though they tend to be boomy and uncontrollable, they have the best spatial accuracy of all). A headphone with a large, vast soundstage will really help them out when paired with virtual surround. Cramped soundstages don't do well. The DT770 Pro 80s (while being closed), still have a decent soundstage that bests even some open headphones.
 
One good piece of advice is that closed headphones don't do too well with virtual surround in general, so go with fully open ones. The D2000 is also closed...

Hard to find open headphones with very good bass like the Denon.