[Niteflyte]

I have the Astro Mixamp and A40 headset. When gaming, the surround sound is pretty accurate/reflective of what is transpiring around me. I tried plugging in my Sony Extra Bass MDRXB950AP headphones into the Mixamp, and the surround sound was discombobulated. Things taking place on my rear left were coming thru the rear right of the headphones, for example.

Are some headphones more accurate with the Mixamp than others?

 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Just about any headphone or headset should work at least decently plugged into the Astro Mix-amp's headphone jack.
What sources exactly are you plugging the Astro into?
The source needs to output DDL (Dolby Digital Live) thru the optical connection for the Astro to provide headphone surround sound.
On gaming consoles I'm guessing enabling  the "Dolby" setting enables DDL.
PC motherboard on-board audio usually do not come with DDL.

 

[Niteflyte]

Thanks PA.

I'm plugging the Astro Mixamp into a PS4, and using the optical and usb connections to do so. When using with my A40, the surround works pretty decently. I can definitely get some accurate 360 impressions of what is transpiring around me; However, when I plugged in a pair of Sony Extra Bass headphones, while the bass aspect was nicer, things taking place on my left and rear left would come through the headphones on the right and rear right.

I just ordered a pair of V-Moda Crossfade, and am going to try them out with the Mixamp. My A40s are still working, but I definitely would like to have a better sounding set of headphones for audio/bass quality, but of course, I want to retain the accuracy of the surround sound. I'll report back after I try the Crossfades, but if you have anymore feedback or suggestions in the meantime, please feel free.
 
And I believe I have the 5.1 DTS option set on the PS4, but I shall double-check it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks PA.

I'm plugging the Astro Mixamp into a PS4, and using the optical and usb connections to do so. When using with my A40, the surround works pretty decently. I can definitely get some accurate 360 impressions of what is transpiring around me; However, when I plugged in a pair of Sony Extra Bass headphones, while the bass aspect was nicer, things taking place on my left and rear left would come through the headphones on the right and rear right.

I just ordered a pair of V-Moda Crossfade, and am going to try them out with the Mixamp. My A40s are still working, but I definitely would like to have a better sounding set of headphones for audio/bass quality, but of course, I want to retain the accuracy of the surround sound. I'll report back after I try the Crossfades, but if you have anymore feedback or suggestions in the meantime, please feel free.
 
And I believe I have the 5.1 DTS option set on the PS4, but I shall double-check it.

 
The A40 come with a built in mic and the Sony's do not, so they should be connected to the Astro mix-amp in slightly different way?

Do you use any kind of adapter when plugging the Sony's or A40 into the Astro Mix-amp?
 
I believe the Astro mix-amp only uses Dolby, but not DTS.
Might also need to have Bitstream enabled?

 

[Niteflyte]

Thanks, I will try both just to be sure!

And I think that the Sony Extra Bass has one of those mics that are part of the wire/cord, but I hate those, and never use them, because they are never near your mouth. With headset or headphones though, there is a 3.5 output port on the Mixamp, that you can plug either a headset or headphones into. The sound was a little better with the Extra Bass headphones, as they (of course) had more/better bass response, and that is what I was looking for (nothing like hearing explosions when playing Battlefield ). But when I noticed the inaccurate sound feedback, I immediately stopped using them. What really keyed me to the fact that the sound was inaccurate, was when I was playing on one map, and I was right on the right border of the map, yet there were sounds of enemy soliders to my right - and obviously, it is impossible for anyone to be to my right when that is the border of the map.

 

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks, I will try both just to be sure!

And I think that the Sony Extra Bass has one of those mics that are part of the wire/cord, but I hate those, and never use them, because they are never near your mouth. With headset or headphones though, there is a 3.5 output port on the Mixamp, that you can plug either a headset or headphones into. The sound was a little better with the Extra Bass headphones, as they (of course) had more/better bass response, and that is what I was looking for (nothing like hearing explosions when playing Battlefield ). But when I noticed the inaccurate sound feedback, I immediately stopped using them. What really keyed me to the fact that the sound was inaccurate, was when I was playing on one map, and I was right on the right border of the map, yet there were sounds of enemy soliders to my right - and obviously, it is impossible for anyone to be to my right when that is the border of the map.

 
 I think as the Astro Mix-amp's headphone jack is 2-channel, right & left (plus ground) and the Sony's headphones plug is 3-channel, right, left, mic (plus ground), that might be causing the issue with the Sony headphones.
The Sony headphones appear to be designed to be plugged into a iPhone, the iPhone is designed for use with a 3.5mm (1/8") plug that has 3-channels
If you look at the Sony's plug, you will see three black rings around the plug, where as I'm guessing your A40's plug only has two black rings.
This is my best guess on why your having issues with the Sony..
 
Just about any other regular headphone you might buy, will only have the 2-channel plug.

 

[Niteflyte]

Damn, you know your stuff!!!

V-Modas will arrive tomorrow, so I will let you know, but if they work I will be extatic (as Mike Tyson would say ).

I also got the FiiO E6 for when I dance/workout. I use Koss Portaphones when I workout and now use the Sony Extra Bass when I dance (outside). Excited to see how this product works as well.

 

 

[Niteflyte]

Ok, so V-Moda Crossfades arrived...

First off, they are three ring - same as Sony Extra Bass. When I saw this, I was worried. Plugged into the Astro Mixamp and logged into Battlefield 4, and all concerns immediately dissipated. I went to the Test Range so that I could experiment in 360 degree sounds, and the headphone/Mixamp was as accurate as could be.

In regards to sound, I now get why everyone was saying to go headphones over a headset. The sound is night and day difference. I love the extra bass and all around sound response in the Crossfades, compared to the A40 headset. I wouldn't say the overall frequency range and "soundstage" was as good as could be, but it was a marked improvement. The bass was really good, and that was my number one goal.

Comfort was pretty good, but I see why people like to substitute the ear pads. After a while, these pads aren't perfect. It's still a pretty nice fit.

I compared the bass sound with the Sony Extra Bass, using my new FiiO E6 portable amp (which arrived the same day) with my iPhone...   the Sony Extra Bass outperformed the Crossfades in regards to bass output. The bass in the Sony was much warmer and had that long, sub feeling, versus the Crossfades which were more punchy, and didn't have as much lower bass feedback. I'm listening to funk/electro-funk, which is similar to Hip-Hop or Drum and Bass in regards to frequency output. For me, this worked out ok, because I can use the Crossfades for gaming, and my Extra Bass for dancing/working out.

The Crossfades seem good enough for gaming, but I'm curious if other headphones would have even a much better output, while keeping a good bass response. I'm guessing the M-100s would deliver this, but of course there is a big price difference, and for the money, I'm thrilled. To think that the A40s cost more than the Crossfades is almost hilarious.


Sidenote - in using the Crossfades with BoomPro as a Skype headset for talking with friends, the sound quality does not seem as good. Not to get technical, but I have an MSI Gaming 5 motherboard, and the soundcard needs to be wired for direct power or the sound output isn't as good. This might have something to do with that, so as soon as I get a friend (who has some experience building computers) to help me re-configure my computer's sound card, I'll report back on that.