[Autoholic]

Hi!

I'm looking for a positional audio solution for console gaming, particularly with my PS3.

My A/V receiver does not have Dolby Headphone, and neither stereo sound nor the horrid virtual surround sound feature do my headphones justice with putting me 'right there' in the game.

So I'm thinking: PS3 --> digital optical --> Astro Mixamp --> headphones

I know very little when it comes to sound cards, mixamps, headphone amps, and the sort. I've read that an Astro Mixamp will work fantastic with my HD 598s, but can I do much better (sound quality wise) with something else? The Astro is $129 CDN, so let's say for under $200, are there any sound cards or other mixamps that I should consider, preferably without bringing any other extra devices into the picture?

Bonus: Not super important, but it would be nice to use the Astro with my laptop too for 5.1 sound with movies and TV shows. Is this possible?

Thank you.

 

[PurpleAngel]

An Astro Mix-amp or a Yamaha receiver (Silent Cinema) are about the only ways to get headphone surround sound from a gaming console.
Might be some other gaming headsets that provide headphone surround sound for gaming console, but that beyond my little brain. 
It's very very rare for a receiver to come with "true" headphone surround sound (Dolby Headphone or DTS surround sensation).
 
Your laptop would need to come with S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) connection and DDL (Dolby Digital Live) to be able to have headphone surround sound, with the Mix-amp.

 

[Autoholic]

Thanks for the reply! I'll go ahead and order the Astro then.