[AxelCloris]

Any wireless option for PC use that you guys can recommend? I'm having a hard time finding one yet

Sorry, the only headsets I've used with PC are the Logitech G930 and the H800. Not going to be much help.

Edit: wireless headsets.

 

[DCB305]

Hey guys,

Need help. I'm setting up a secondary PS4 and was looking to do an Astro Mix amp (TR) or maybe the Turtle Beach TAC (?), but I haven't seen much mentioned on them. I do remember that the 2011 Mix amp was the best as it produced the least amount of noise.

My questions basically are:

1. Are these newer offerings from Astro (TR) and Turtle Beach (TAC) any good?
2. Have the noise floor issues been addressed?
3. If they are good options is there a preference of one over the other?
4. Should I be looking for a 2011 Astro Mix Amp?

Those decoders are at the max I've set my budget at. I will be pairing it with the Sennheiser Game One (the open back set).

Thank you all!

 

[Ted23]

Hi all,

It's almost 4am, I've been reading this thread for almost 4 hours, and I think I've come to a basic understanding now. I'm on a moderate budget of around £150 but may be able to go 180-200 if really required. I used to own Steelseries V2 + Astro mixamp 2011 version years ago, but have just gotten back into competitive gaming.

I've ordered the DT990 Pro 250 Ohm, but I'm unsure of exactly what I need, or can 'get away with', to provide a good level of audio to a PS4 for competitive COD:

- Astro Mixamp: Would the older version be sufficient? How much of a difference would the PRO TR make?

- Amp:1) How much of a difference would not having an amp have for gaming if I have the mixamp?
2) Would this amp be sufficient: SMSL Audio Sap-II PRO seems very cheap?
edit: would this even connect in tandum with a mixamp with external mic

- I ordered the FiiO E10k but canceled after realising no input so cannot do 7.1 through the mixamp - any suggestions for alternatives? can't find the e9ks anywhere online

- Soundblaster 5: How much difference would this make to a mixamp, and would it provide a good level of audio with my headset for competitive gaming?

TLDR; Budget amp to power DT990 pro 250 ohm, is mixamp essential, would soundblaster 5 be firm alternative

I have these exact same headphones and am currently running a first edition turtle beach DSS in bypass mode (I activated Windows Sonic in settings). While the sound gets loud enough it is near its max and I think for some occasions I would like it to get louder. That is why I am also looking to see if there are any new amp options with optical in that would work through and xbox one.

Also as a side question I wouldn't need a dac correct? I think an amp only if I'm running it out of the xbox one optical port?

 

[raband]

Optical feeds a dac (to convert the digital optical signal to analogue) which then feed an amp (to amplify the analogue signal) to the headphones

 

[Ted23]

Optical feeds a dac (to convert the digital optical signal to analogue) which then feed an amp (to amplify the analogue signal) to the headphones

So I would need a amp/dac combo...was wondering if anyone has used this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XDLCHY7/

seems like an inexpensive combo but I wonder if it will drive my DT990s because they're at 250 ohms I was trying to use a calculator and it came out to 114dB at the 250mW they have at max. It seems like it will work but I am also unsure if it will work with windows sonic on.

 

[raband]

So I would need a amp/dac combo...was wondering if anyone has used this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XDLCHY7/

seems like an inexpensive combo but I wonder if it will drive my DT990s because they're at 250 ohms I was trying to use a calculator and it came out to 114dB at the 250mW they have at max. It seems like it will work but I am also unsure if it will work with windows sonic on.

From the reviews:

This item does NOT work with Netflix, YouTube, or gaming consoles so....not sure what is left for it to be compatible with...a VCR maybe!?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hey guys,

Need help. I'm setting up a secondary PS4 and was looking to do an Astro Mix amp (TR) or maybe the Turtle Beach TAC (?), but I haven't seen much mentioned on them. I do remember that the 2011 Mix amp was the best as it produced the least amount of noise.
My questions basically are:
1. Are these newer offerings from Astro (TR) and Turtle Beach (TAC) any good?
2. Have the noise floor issues been addressed?
3. If they are good options is there a preference of one over the other?
4. Should I be looking for a 2011 Astro Mix Amp?
Those decoders are at the max I've set my budget at. I will be pairing it with the Sennheiser Game One (the open back set).
Thank you all!

Yea, I say to buy a used Astro mix-amp (2011?).
Should decently drive the Game One.

 

[samvafaei]

Their gaming score sure seems to be based on anything but actual capabilities with binaural sound.

It seems that by binaural capabalities you are referring to what we call "imaging" in our reviews. We score Imaging based on phase response and driver matching. However, we believe there's room for improvement in our Imaging calculations and we should go live with the update within a month or so.

Let me know if I didn't address your concern or you have other suggestions to improve our reviews.

 

[samvafaei]

Their information is so scattered and inconsistent with other reviews. It's almost hard to really get a good idea on which ones are good or bad for gaming other than the gaming HEADSETS. I love their tv reviews but I feel like their headphone reviews are not a priority.

We agree with you that our headphone reviews aren't as mature as our TV reviews yet, since we started reviewing headphones more recently. But we are as serious about them and are constantly thinking of ways to improve our reviews.

We will be posting a "best gaming headphones" article soon with a full table, so hopefully that would help gathering the information on one page. Also, our Gaming rating is not 100% final at the moment, since we only started testing them recently. We will most likely update our Gaming scoreset before publishing the article, so if you have suggestions on how to improve that, this would be a good time!

 

[themrmikemcd]

I love the way the TV ratings are set up. And the headphone reviews have a good format too. Some headphones on the list dont have gaming information in the conclusions and I think that would be helpful to those of us who use regular headphones for gaming.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It seems that by binaural capabalities you are referring to what we call "imaging" in our reviews. We score Imaging based on phase response and driver matching. However, we believe there's room for improvement in our Imaging calculations and we should go live with the update within a month or so.

Let me know if I didn't address your concern or you have other suggestions to improve our reviews.

Yo, we have an rtings rep here!

I have been the product of some of your weirdest questions on your TV reviews, (Vizio 2016 P series review about Clear Action) and even said something about the Game One review (first question).

I'm fanboying here. Just wanna say I absolute love rtings and check in nearly every day for new reviews. You guys are the BEST.

It's always nice to get purely objective measurements and all, which I use to compare to my mostly subjective style of reviewing.

I still don't agree on bass levels of the Game One though lol. Then again, I can't argue with actual measurements.

 

[themrmikemcd]

Yo, we have an rtings rep here!

I have been the product of some of your weirdest questions on your TV reviews, (Vizio 2016 P series review about Clear Action) and even said something about the Game One review (first question was me).

I'm fanboying here. Just wanna say I absolute love rtings and check in nearly every day for new reviews. You guys are the BEST.

It's always nice to get purely objective measurements and all, which I use to compare to my mostly subjective style of reviewing.

I still don't agree on bass levels of the Game One though lol. Then again, I can't argue with actual measurements.

So I'm going to go out on a limb and say MLE likes Rtings.com. ;b That's why I asked what MLE thought about them. I respect his reviews and I knew if MLE was good with their information that they are a good place to trust on reviews!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It seems that by binaural capabalities you are referring to what we call "imaging" in our reviews. We score Imaging based on phase response and driver matching. However, we believe there's room for improvement in our Imaging calculations and we should go live with the update within a month or so.

Let me know if I didn't address your concern or you have other suggestions to improve our reviews.

While I would correlate imaging with good virtual surround capablities, the two aren't mutually exclusive. I'd be hard pressed to call (what I consider virtual surround prowess) binaural or imaging. I consider imaging what a headphone can do by default. How well it can paint a picture of sound sources like instruments in a room. My gauge for performance in a binaural or virtual surround setting is how well a headphone can differentiate front/rear sounds, in all manners of depth and width. In most cases, the most important thing is how well a headphone can pinpoint sounds in a flat circle with you/the listener standing in the middle. So if I say, how well can a headphone place an object that is supposed to be at 4 o' clock behind you, etc.

Problem here is that it goes farther than just headphones. Virtual surround dsp technologies are just as important. You can get the best headphone, and pair it with a poor dsp (say, Razer surround), and it will do a worse job than a cheap headphone with a good dsp (say... SBX Surround).

Imaging personally isn't all too important to me, as most things are limited to basic stereo and don't have embedded positional cues other than left/right, something in between. Any perception of depth is more or less brain trickery, IMHO, unless of course the recording was binarual to begin with (i.e. virtual barbershop). Virtual surround on the other hand, is actively trying to emulate surround speakers in a headphone, with varying levels of success.

I'm sure this is common knowledge by now, but just wanted to restate that imaging/binaural/virtual surround aren't the same. You can add soundstage to that mix, as soundstage is the size of the sound's 'field' per se. So a headphone with a large soundstage has an easier time with imaging, as well as virtual surround, as objects within that soundstage have more 'room'.

 

[WilsonT90]

Jeez, I've lurked this guide for years and wanted to say thank you. You're the reason I got into actual audio beyond gaming which initially lead me here.

 

[themrmikemcd]

Jeez, I've lurked this guide for years and wanted to say thank you. You're the reason I got into actual audio beyond gaming which initially lead me here.

I only own headphones Mad Lust Envy has reviewed.