With this setup [X7 wired to Xbox One controller], how well can you mix the chat and game volume?
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The chat volume has always been an issue since the XB1 came out. In order to get the chat volume working at a good mixed volume I would go into the game menu for CoD Ghosts and turn the master volume down for the game to allow me to mix the chat/game knob together on the Astro so the game sound wasn’t too loud. Unfortunately not all games have a master game volume setting built in.
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A little background, I worked on the team that designed the Xbox One (all mechanical engineering - console, no software) so I fully understand the ins and outs of whats going on. Turtle Beach cut a deal with MS to get the chat signal out of the console via USB, that’s why they have a truly wireless system.
Using the Rolls I can fine tune the chat and game mix. The next step will be to get rid of the Astro and find a nice Dolby Headphone amp/component as that all the Astro is being used for is the game audio.
I’ve been off this forum for a long time but its time to get back in with the new consoles out! Let me know what you guys think!
First point, the X7 has a really nice mixer and should allow very easy chat/game audio balance even for games that don't have a game-volume setting. In your setup, the X7 could stand in for the Rolls (mixer), Mixamp (surround DSP and DAC), and Asgard (amp), as well as a bunch of extra features and connectivity if you have other sources nearby (like PC or smart device), but you'd still need your chat pad and ModMic.
The Rolls thingie you mentioned ought to be a competent alternative as a standalone component.
That chat pad sounds like it could be a serious contender for a solution, is it possible to just plug a mic into the chat adapter and then the Xbox pushes all audio to "speakers," like you could manually set the Xbox 360 to do? To do chat mixing with the X7 or a component like the Rolls device you mentioned, you would need a separate line for chat audio like you seem to have. Just how "custom" is this chat pad?
If you have a separate mixing solution, then you have a lot of options for connecting the optical or HDMI outputs of the XBone to your headphones. You can use any of the first-gen console DSP devices like the Mixamp, Turtle Beach DSS, Tritton decoder, or Creative Recon3D USB, or newer devices from Turtle Beach or creative's X7. You can also use home theater receivers, some of them have their own headphone surround DSPs (such as Yamaha) and new ones may even support DTS Headphone X, which would be nice with the XBO's support for DTS output.
*deep breath*
The fact that Turtle Beach "had to" cut a deal with M$ irks me in the first place... it's great that Turtle Beach found a solution and have a competitive advantage, but AFAIK people can't use their own headphones in that system and IMO consoles should simply be open to headphone setups like PCs have always been. Tritton "had to" cut a similar deal with M$ with the 360 to get a similar solution for their Warhead model, which also was basically an underperforming headphone.
I think there are a lot of innovative and valuable changes to the XBOX One's hardware, but like you observed, the way chat audio is handled and routed is a source of constant consternation. The 360 was frustrating but at least you could get a decently simple setup with the right adapters or something like a Mixamp to act as a hub, but the XBox One is (as you know) even more proprietary (requiring extra M$ accessories, that plus the pre-launch politics/official attitude and a few other niggles is why I usually call the console the XBone and avoided buying one) and the setting to manually choose to play chat audio through "speakers" has really made the XBone pretty tricky. Even if M$ offered for sale to consumers a USB dongle accessory with a 3.5mm chat output Jack and a 3.5mm mic input jack, that would open the doors for maaaaaany practical setups. Headphone setups are more popular than ever before and continue to be a growing niche, not sure why all the console developers have afterthought-level support.
Not venting at/blaming you though, I understand that you worked on other parts of the system and have no power to affect change at this point on chat/headphone compatibility (and I sense you care since you have to go through the same issues yourself). The chat pad is an interesting idea and merits more investigation, yeah it's another thing to buy BUT at least with the XBone's automatic detection system, the chat pad adapter won't steal the game audio away from the Optical or HDMI output, so thanks for the interesting option.
I hear Microsoft treats it's employees (at least corporate) really well, one of the two times I visited California they were having a corportate vacation to the beach with food and events, looked like a lot of fun
Hope you enjoy your job and keep contributing to the good parts of Xbox-era Microsoft.
I really want to play Halo.