[motorwayne]

   
 
What would you suggest instead (keeping in mind potential license issues)?

I really don't have an answer yet for this as it is a dilemma. The way forward may not be available yet?

 

[martin vegas]

Don't all answer at once!

 

[DADDYDC650]

I just finished installing my old Turtle Beach DSS and since my X1 with the BoomPro have yet to arrive, I decided to have a listen with my generic no name headphones. Damn! What a difference my DSS makes in BF4 on my PS4. Better clarity, hard hitting bass and a nice sound stage. I wonder what the X1 will sound like. ...

 

[Guymelef]

I want Dolby Headphone for consoles.
My options:
Ear Force DSS (first version) 65€
Astro Mixamp 135€
Ear Force DSS2 (50€)
I use a external USB mic with PS4 so i don't need mic input in the decoder, is the first DSS quality as good as Astro Mixamp??? (it's half the price) 
Do i need an amp or something with those devices and Sony MDR-MA900?
Can the Ear Force be used in PC for DH?
Thanks.

 

[Woesty420]

k612s vs. HD598s. 
 
If anyone has tested both of them, opinions would be greatly appreciated. 
 
I can get both at roughly the same price and I've heard good things about both and is make it extremely hard to pick. 
 
I've read that the k612s are very natural sounding with forward mids which I know is beneficial for gunshots and footsteps. I've also read that they can lack bass and some music genres won't be as nice on these. Some people also complain about the headband getting sore or uncomfortable, but it doesn't look like much of an issue to me. 
 
As for the HD598s, they are said to have a wide and open sound stage and to be excellent for gaming. Also, heard they lack bass too but can do more genres, not sure which is worse. They are said to be more fun sounding while the 612s I heard will maybe lose the fun factor. As for comfort I haven't heard any complaints. Removable cable is also a nice feature.
 
I listen to all music genres, with raw acoustic and metal being my favorites. But can't forget the classics. For gaming, I basically stick to FPS so I obviously want a great sound stage.
 
Leave any negatives or positives, as both will help me decide.

 

[DADDYDC650]

So, my Philips X1 and the BoomPro arrived today. I connected the audio jack to my Turtle Beach DSS and the mic to my PS4 controller's audio jack. via a Y cable. The sound is fantastic except I can't get the microphone to work at all. Can anyone provide some assistance?

 

[Change is Good]

So, my Philips X1 and the BoomPro arrived today. I connected the audio jack to my Turtle Beach DSS and the mic to my PS4 controller's audio jack. via a Y cable. The sound is fantastic except I can't get the microphone to work at all. Can anyone provide some assistance?

Third party mics don't work with the DSS (so I've been told).

 

[DADDYDC650]

Third party mics don't work with the DSS (so I've been told).

That blows! I guess I'll return the V-MODA BoomPro since I already have a mic for my PC and it doesn't work on the PS4 the way I want it to work using the TB DSS. Hopefully Astro will release a proper headset that works with the PS4 AND Xbox One. The wait sucks!

 

[Evshrug]

I would have to say, (subjective) that if FiiO was to use DH as it's 3D model going forward, their product would soon be left behind as inferior. I have used all of the above plus others over the last 25 years extensively in the FPS gaming environment via headphones, and in my opinion HD would come last every time out of the current up to date offerings and as you say "isn't my personal favorite". It is not broken, it's just not anywhere near the best and people are wanting better. That being said, I understand there are competitive licensing issues that my stop them using something else, but who knows, times are a changing.

A competitive sound environment is going to require more than DH.

You should probably be posting this on FiiO's petition page.
I think of DH and other virtual surround processing based on reprocessing 7.1 "home theater" surround as being 2D; it's a flat plane with no height cues.

I understand why you want 3D surround sound... so do I! But at this point, 3D surround must be something that developers integrated into the game when they were making it. That is beyond FiiO's control. Creative tried promoting OpenAL for a while, but essentially the gaming industry forgot about it. AMD's new integrated TrueAudio is still going to need games writing support for it, and the sound processing will probably be done on AMD parts before it is ever sent to an output.
The fact of the matter is that DH and it's 2D virtual surround peers are more universal. The console is still processing where sounds are directed, and external devices can only re-process this "home theater" designed 2D surround. More may be possible with a PC and designing an external soundcard, but it's still up to developers to integrate a 3D library of sounds into their game. Unless GenAudio is approachable by others and don't have an exclusivity contract with AMD, it would be impractical for FiiO to pursue a 3D surround setup.

That said, 2D surround is still a big competitive step up from 1D stereo, and the majority of the gamer market hasn't yet even experienced surround at this level with headphones. This fact and the more universal compatibility of 2D headphone surround is why I argue that, until the landscape changes (or FiiO grows and has the R&D to change it themselves), a 2D surround encoder is the practical direction FiiO should/could aim for today.

Third party mics don't work with the DSS (so I've been told).

The DSS itself is only "compatible" with Turtle Beach mics built into their headsets... what you do is connect the mic directly to the console's mic input. I think this is what DADDYDC650 was trying to do anyway, when he mentioned the Y-cable.

That blows! I guess I'll return the V-MODA BoomPro since I already have a mic for my PC and it doesn't work on the PS4 the way I want it to work using the TB DSS. Hopefully Astro will release a proper headset that works with the PS4 AND Xbox One. The wait sucks!

Before returning the boompro, I'd wait to hear from Mad how he has his "3rd party mic" connected to the PS4. The DSS doesn't have to be involved with the mic signal chain to get the mic working.

 

[Change is Good]

Before returning the boompro, I'd wait to hear from Mad how he has his "3rd party mic" connected to the PS4. The DSS doesn't have to be involved with the mic signal chain to get the mic working.

 
I'm using a mic plugged into the mixamp with my PS4. As I've mentioned before, it works just fine (that way) as long as you register the controller before the mixamp when it prompts "which user is using this device"
 
If he wants to use the boompro and get both chat and audio through it, using the DSS is out of the question (I would assume)... and the mixamp would be the ideal choice. If he gets a separate mic, however, then he can just plug that into the DS4 and the headphones to the DSS.

 

[chicolom]

 

  That blows! I guess I'll return the V-MODA BoomPro since I already have a mic for my PC and it doesn't work on the PS4 the way I want it to work using the TB DSS. Hopefully Astro will release a proper headset that works with the PS4 AND Xbox One. The wait sucks!

 
 
Any headset that Astro releases is just going to be another A40/A50 derivative, which is going to pale in comparison next to the sound quality of the X1.
 
 

Before returning the boompro, I'd wait to hear from Mad how he has his "3rd party mic" connected to the PS4. The DSS doesn't have to be involved with the mic signal chain to get the mic working.

 
x2
 
There is nothing wrong with the boompro, just something is wrong with the way you have it connected/setup.  The DSS shouldn't be involved at all.

 

[chicolom]

  I want Dolby Headphone for consoles.
 
My options:
Ear Force DSS (first version) 65€
Astro Mixamp 135€
Ear Force DSS2 (50€)
 
DSS2 is out of the question if you want Dolby Headphone, as the DSS2 doesn't have it.
 
 
I use a external USB mic with PS4 so i don't need mic input in the decoder, is the first DSS quality as good as Astro Mixamp??? (it's half the price) 
 
Yes, the quality is the same.
 
 
Do i need an amp or something with those devices and Sony MDR-MA900?
 
Not really.  You can add one if you want, but the MA900 isn't hard to drive.
 
 
Can the Ear Force be used in PC for DH?
 
Yes, but only if your PC can output + encode a Dolby Digital live 5.1 signal via optical and feed it to the DSS.  Forget about trying plugging the DSS into the PC with the USB port, as that won't work at all.

 

[DADDYDC650]

I'm using a mic plugged into the mixamp with my PS4. As I've mentioned before, it works just fine (that way) as long as you register the controller before the mixamp when it prompts "which user is using this device"

If he wants to use the boompro and get both chat and audio through it, using the DSS is out of the question (I would assume)... and the mixamp would be the ideal choice. If he gets a separate mic, however, then he can just plug that into the DS4 and the headphones to the DSS.

Seems like those are my two options. Thanks for the feedback folks.

 

[chicolom]

  k612s vs. HD598s. 
 
If anyone has tested both of them, opinions would be greatly appreciated. 
 
I can get both at roughly the same price and I've heard good things about both and is make it extremely hard to pick. 
 
I've read that the k612s are very natural sounding with forward mids which I know is beneficial for gunshots and footsteps. I've also read that they can lack bass and some music genres won't be as nice on these. Some people also complain about the headband getting sore or uncomfortable, but it doesn't look like much of an issue to me. 
 
As for the HD598s, they are said to have a wide and open sound stage and to be excellent for gaming. Also, heard they lack bass too but can do more genres, not sure which is worse. They are said to be more fun sounding while the 612s I heard will maybe lose the fun factor. As for comfort I haven't heard any complaints. Removable cable is also a nice feature.
 
I listen to all music genres, with raw acoustic and metal being my favorites. But can't forget the classics. For gaming, I basically stick to FPS so I obviously want a great sound stage.
 
Leave any negatives or positives, as both will help me decide.

 
I'm not sure if Katun is around this thread, but he has heard both.  You could try sending him a PM to ask him which one he prefers/recommends for gaming.
http://www.head-fi.org/u/129046/katun

 

[Evshrug]

I'm using a mic plugged into the mixamp with my PS4. As I've mentioned before, it works just fine (that way) as long as you register the controller before the mixamp when it prompts "which user is using this device"

If he wants to use the boompro and get both chat and audio through it, using the DSS is out of the question (I would assume)... and the mixamp would be the ideal choice. If he gets a separate mic, however, then he can just plug that into the DS4 and the headphones to the DSS.

Seems like those are my two options. Thanks for the feedback folks.

Or... If he has a DSS, BoomPro, and a y-split cable made for separating audio and mic channels, shouldn't he be able to plug the BoomPro into the Y-Split, Y-Split (perhaps with an extension cable) into the DualShock 4 mic input port?

3 options

x2

There is nothing wrong with the boompro, just something is wrong with the way you have it connected/setup.  The DSS shouldn't be involved at all.

Exactly, he should just have to route the mic audio path around the DSS and straight to the controller's mic input.