[Evshrug]

Did you guys see the new Astro A40TR, or am I behind? Looks interesting I was hoping they would add DTSX but nah.

http://www.astrogaming.com/tr-landing/tr-landing.html

Hands On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4HvWI5M0g

Don't tell me, another A40 rerelease? With no actual changes to the hardware itself?

EDIT: Looks like I was wrong. The Mixamp itself has changed. Does somebody here want to bite the bullet and buy it?

I tried the A40 a few days ago at GameStop, I was surprised at the pleasing sound and comfort for a closed headphone. It's a bit higher priced because of the mic and gaming branding, but the sound isn't flawed: punchy, relatively low distortion and good clarity. At first there was terrible and LOUD garbled noise while testing it with my source (iPhone 5S), but that cleaned up moments after I put my phone into airplane mode (their kiosk isn't EMI shielded I guess). But yeah, despite the mall environment, use and abuse of a demo (headband had twisting memory from dangling by the cord), and crappy electronics, it sounded pretty good.

I'd test it and review if Astro sent me one

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either. Sigh, I wonder why they wouldn't do it though...?

Because Dolby won't let them. That's what I've been getting at.

What you want doesn't make sense, you want ...

What I, rudyrae, conquerator2, Mad Lust Envy, Stillhart, and probably many others WANT is something that can take the Dolby/DTS home theater-style surround from a console, decode it out of that, use a DSP to make a headphone-style surround signal (which would result in a stereo signal with the effects of surround mixed-in), and then output that headphone mix out digitally to a nice typical audiophile quality DAC (and then the rest of the signal chain). Again, console out>home-theater style surround digital signal>Headphone style surround > PCM optical out> a nice DAC.

**** Dolby or DTS, we don't need a resultant signal in those formats, it's just that with CONSOLES (the source we focus on in this thread) we have to convert from that to something (like SBX headphone or whatever) intended to go to stereo headphones and still have surround imaging. HDMI could send a multichannel signal without encoding/compressing it into Dolby/DTS, but right now there aren't any devices on the market with an HDMI input and a DSP which can make a good headphone surround mix, much less also output that digitally to a stereo DAC.

 

[MattKelly]

Alright, so quick update on my quest to find a closed back headphone for competitive gaming. I've narrowed it down to the final two contenders, either the AKG K553 Pro or the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 32 Ohm. Either headphone would be used with a unidirectional ModMic 4.0 and Astro's new MixAmp Pro TR (which honestly looks like a great update to the MixAmp Pro - especially the EQ tuning). So here are my thoughts on each headphone, as of now. Perhaps someone that has heard both can help me with this final decision!

- AKG K553 Pro: Well, it's a 32 Ohm headphone, so despite the MixAmp being weak these should be driven just fine. It seems like these headphones receive a lot of love/hate, with the consensus being that if you can achieve a proper seal then you will love them. From what I've read, achieving a seal with a smaller head can be difficult, however since I have a rather large head and do not wear glasses I don't think there should be any problem here. I've had experience in the past with my ears touching drivers on narrow headphones (V-Moda M-100 without XL pads, for example) and am concerned that this might happen again with the K553 Pro. Not a huge deal breaker if it does, but perhaps something to consider? As far as sound quality is concerned - again, my main priority is competitive gaming, so I need the most accurate positioning I can get out of a closed set of headphones (they must isolate well for noisy LAN tournaments - and also minimum leakage is a plus because I'll be playing late at night with my girlfriend asleep in the same room).

- Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 32 Ohm: Again, 32 Ohm here, so in theory they should be driven just fine by the MixAmp - however I have read that the sensitivity of these heaphones may require some additional amping to get the most out of them, despite their low impedance (would the MixAmp be enough in this case?). I've read that these have incredibly accurate positioning for a closed headphone, however the strong bass detracts from the ability to take advantage of that imaging in competitive gaming. I'm thinking I can get around this with the new custom EQ'ing in Astro's updated MixAmp Pro TR (would a simple EQ even be enough though?) If the EQ can make these sufficient for competitive gaming then that would be a plus, as I'd be able to take advantage of the DT770's fun sound signature for my music (I like bass in my music - but again, that is not the priority here whatsoever - positioning is #1). I know that I can do the mod with the holes near the yokes to reduce/eliminate the bass, however I'd prefer the MixAmp's EQ solution to easily switch between competing, music, and movies (again, only if the MixAmp EQ is sufficient enough to prevent the DT770's bass from muddying up the positional accuracy of these headphones). Regardless of all these tweaks though, does the DT770 even beat out the K553 in this department?
 
Thanks in advance to anyone who is able to help me out! I really appreciate it.

 

[Evshrug]

i bought  the sentheizer gamezeros  but the sound is  very low why?
i put  them in the  100 and the sound is like 20 and 30 volume
i put the amplier in the  high  gain  60--300  ohms  but  the sound is very low any ideas?
why?
why?
  i have  the asus sonar stx
did i do something  wrong?

Not sure. The STX should be enough from what I've read in reviews, but I don't know for sure because I've never owned one. I focus more on console gaming.

First thing I would try though is making sure the cable is plugged all the way into the headphone, and all the way into the STX.

 

[Stillhart]

Yes, I want details on this... Er... Not this, but the new Fostex/MD can, lol.

 
Moe wrote up a bit on it here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/778877/review-questyle-audio-qp1r-with-multiple-headphone-and-iem-pairings#post_11866013

 

[cdsa35000]

I tried the A40 a few days ago at GameStop, I was surprised at the pleasing sound and comfort for a closed headphone. It's a bit higher priced because of the mic and gaming branding, but the sound isn't flawed: punchy, relatively low distortion and good clarity. At first there was terrible and LOUD garbled noise while testing it with my source (iPhone 5S), but that cleaned up moments after I put my phone into airplane mode (their kiosk isn't EMI shielded I guess). But yeah, despite the mall environment, use and abuse of a demo (headband had twisting memory from dangling by the cord), and crappy electronics, it sounded pretty good.

I'd test it and review if Astro sent me one
Because Dolby won't let them. That's what I've been getting at.
What I, rudyrae, conquerator2, Mad Lust Envy, Stillhart, and probably many others WANT is something that can take the Dolby/DTS home theater-style surround from a console, decode it out of that, use a DSP to make a headphone-style surround signal (which would result in a stereo signal with the effects of surround mixed-in), and then output that headphone mix out digitally to a nice typical audiophile quality DAC (and then the rest of the signal chain). Again, console out>home-theater style surround digital signal>Headphone style surround > PCM optical out> a nice DAC.

**** Dolby or DTS, we don't need a resultant signal in those formats, it's just that with CONSOLES (the source we focus on in this thread) we have to convert from that to something (like SBX headphone or whatever) intended to go to stereo headphones and still have surround imaging. HDMI could send a multichannel signal without encoding/compressing it into Dolby/DTS, but right now there aren't any devices on the market with an HDMI input and a DSP which can make a good headphone surround mix, much less also output that digitally to a stereo DAC.

Ok, the manufacturer don't think there is demand for it?
Did you contact the manufacturer for this function?, It be could be updated in the firmware to pass the processed signal through optical out easily?
---

 

[inseconds99]

   
Moe wrote up a bit on it here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/778877/review-questyle-audio-qp1r-with-multiple-headphone-and-iem-pairings#post_11866013

100% chance I buy those. #cantwait

 

[inseconds99]

Teaser: I purchased a pair of Fidelio X2's, MA900's and SHP9500's with the boom pro mic. I will be doing another comparison review similar to this http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-5-31-2015-beyer-cop-and-shure-1540-added/30840#post_11643573 as soon as I can.

 

[Jim Arvanitakis]

the camble is ok
 
is  back in the stx

 

[Yethal]

Because Dolby won't let them. That's what I've been getting at.
What I, rudyrae, conquerator2, Mad Lust Envy, Stillhart, and probably many others WANT is something that can take the Dolby/DTS home theater-style surround from a console, decode it out of that, use a DSP to make a headphone-style surround signal (which would result in a stereo signal with the effects of surround mixed-in), and then output that headphone mix out digitally to a nice typical audiophile quality DAC (and then the rest of the signal chain). Again, console out>home-theater style surround digital signal>Headphone style surround > PCM optical out> a nice DAC.

Soo, a Smyth Realizer without the dac/amp portion? That's actually not a bad idea I wonder if they still work on that thing. A smaller and cheaper Realizer would be cool.

 

[Jim Arvanitakis]

i thought that gamezero were good such as my asus stx

but i am very disapointed with the sound

gamezero does have big sound

i put the volume in 100 and when i play games i dont hear a lof sound
 
can someone help me please;;

 

[rudyae86]

Teaser: I purchased a pair of Fidelio X2's, MA900's and SHP9500's with the boom pro mic. I will be doing another comparison review similar to this http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-5-31-2015-beyer-cop-and-shure-1540-added/30840#post_11643573 as soon as I can.

Oooh, I am very interested in your comparison because.....I have all three muahahahha.

Though I'm only using my X2 for now. My MA900 I have not used for like a year. SHP9500 used them for a month or so but it's been about 7 months since I have used them. Even my K7XX hasn't seen much use ever since I got my X2. I think my M50 gets more use than the K7XX.

Maybe I should try the MA900 again and see how it sounds and comparing it with the x2 and K7XX. ....

Hopefully you will give us your comparisons soon.

 

[Evshrug]

Soo, a Smyth Realizer without the dac/amp portion? That's actually not a bad idea I wonder if they still work on that thing. A smaller and cheaper Realizer would be cool.

Yeah, the (very expensive) Smyth Realizer is pretty much ideal except in cost.

Weren't you around for discussion of "the dongle?" Was around (before or just after) the X7 release, because that was the first computer-independent (non-Smyth) headphone DSP device with an optical out. And we had hoped it might be able to output a headphone mix, but your method has been (so far) the only one that worked (without ADC).

Side note, wonder if your method could also have been possible with the cheaper Recon3D USB?

 

[DarkEthereal]

Does anyone know anything about the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi MB3 software suite?

It seems it can offer SBX Pro without having to purchase a creative soundcard.

I already use a cheap and cheerful Xonar DG soundcard, and I was wondering if the creative software would work with it, or whether it would only work with realtek onboard sound or something.
If it would work, I'd consider purchasing it, since I've heard good things about it compared to Dolby Headphone.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

[COLOR=181818]i thought that gamezero were good such as my asus stx[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]but i am very disapointed with the sound[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]gamezero does have big sound[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]
[/COLOR][COLOR=181818]i put the volume in 100 and when i play games i dont hear a lof sound[/COLOR]

can someone help me please;;

Sounds like one of your settings is dead wrong. Volume at 100 should blow the drivers out of the game zero. make sure the volume control on the actual headset is turned up. There IS a volume wheel on the Game Zero's ear cup IIRC. That has to be maxed out, and then adjust the volume settings on your PC. I'm certian this is the problem. The problem tends to be something simple.

I do fear how your software settings are though. It's not exactly plug and play to get the proper experience.

Sennheiser headset volume maxed out
Windows sound set to 5.1 speakers
STX settings set to dolby headphone ON

etc. I don't have the STX, but if any one of these things is incorrect, you're not going to get proper surround for gaming. Then you have to turn OFF the surround if you're listening to stereo stuff like Youtube videos, music, that isn't properly giving out surround.

This is why I don't deal with PC audio questions normally. Too many things that can go wrong.

 

[rudyae86]

Yeah, the (very expensive) Smyth Realizer is pretty much ideal except in cost.

Weren't you around for discussion of "the dongle?" Was around (before or just after) the X7 release, because that was the first computer-independent (non-Smyth) headphone DSP device with an optical out. And we had hoped it might be able to output a headphone mix, but your method has been (so far) the only one that worked (without ADC).

Side note, wonder if your method could also have been possible with the cheaper Recon3D USB?

I'm intrigued by this "dongle" You Gus speak of..... and no, not that dongle