[Stillhart]

  Do people really mind cable clutter that much?
I kinda like it, and definitely prefer it to wireless.
Guess I live in the past, still liking my cables 

 
I don't mind cables, I mind cable clutter.  Especially in my living room where I have a 2-year-old running around.  I sit a good 3-4m+ from my 70" TV so it's not really an option to have all those cables running around.
 
Now in my "man cave", where I sit like 2m from my TV and my little one isn't allowed to play, I don't mind having a cable or two running across the floor.  But I still clean it up after every play; the one time I leave it out is the time my son will run through there and trip on the cable and pull my PS4 off the shelf.
 
Don't worry, he's worth it.  :-D

 

[Styles]

  I use the X7 with my Xbox one and I am able to use Xbox live chat function on there. I have the Xbox one headset adapter that I plug a headset y adapter into. I take the headphone out of the y adapter going into the line in on the X7. I then plug my microphone into the microphone jack on the y adapter.
 
Also note though that I had to replace my Xbox one headset adapter twice already because my first one failed with 2 months of use (microphone input was highly distorted and the party members couldn't understand me) and my second one after about about 2 months of use caused everyone talking in party chat to have a severe echo unless I muted myself. So I am on my third Xbox one headset adapter and it is working flawless again.

With this setup, how well can you mix the chat and game volume?

 
I'm a long time Xbox gamer and have used everything from standard Triton - Astro - Turtle Beach setups way back before I got turned onto Head-Fi. Now for the last 5 years I've been running a custom setup and it was easy with the Xbox 360. Now with the XB1 on day one I modded the chat headset that came with it to keep using my custom setup of:
Astro Mixap
Custom Xbox chat pad with 2.5 plug into Astro
Schiit Asgard

Senn HD650
Modmic
 
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. Right before Destiny came out my old Astro mixamp died. I just used a standard Xbox One chat pad with Y splitter and had stereo sound for a couple months.  The chat and game volume were perfect and it was easy to balance. For xmas my wife bought me a new Astro Mixamp Pro…. It sucks, well at least the chat part of it. I know all the setup tricks as laid out by Astro in how to make it work but my chat/game knob is inbetween the 3 and 4 o’clock range which almost turns the game sound off completely. I’ve tested multiple amps, XB1 Chat pads and consoles. All the same result.
 

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. Not what I want as I love my wired setup – I play at my desk. So the chat audio comes out of the controller and can only be turned up so high while turning the chat on the chat pad to full chat.

 

Tomorrow I will receive a Rolls MX22 mini mixer to test out. Setup will be:

Optical out of XB1 to Astro

Game sound - 3.5 Headphone jack on Astro out to 3.5 line in on Rolls MX22

Xbox One standard chat pad with Y splitter

Chat audio out of chat pad to RCA line in on Rolls MX22

Modmic into Y splitter on chat pad

RCA out of Rolls MX22 into line in on Schiit Asgard running Senn HD650

 

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 form for a long time but its time to get back in with the new consoles out! Let me know what you guys think!

 

[Change is Good]

Well, it was hard letting them go. Just sold my HP200...  
 
I actually a bit torn, but I probably won't be away from the SoundMAGIC family for too long. I'll be looking into the HP150 to maybe be my portable/travel set of cans. Based on what I remember about the HP100, I should be very happy should I decide to go that route.

 

[High Fidelity]

  With this setup, how well can you mix the chat and game volume?

 
I'm a long time Xbox gamer and have used everything from standard Triton - Astro - Turtle Beach setups way back before I got turned onto Head-Fi. Now for the last 5 years I've been running a custom setup and it was easy with the Xbox 360. Now with the XB1 on day one I modded the chat headset that came with it to keep using my custom setup of:
Astro Mixap
Custom Xbox chat pad with 2.5 plug into Astro
Schiit Asgard

Senn HD650
Modmic
 
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. Right before Destiny came out my old Astro mixamp died. I just used a standard Xbox One chat pad with Y splitter and had stereo sound for a couple months.  The chat and game volume were perfect and it was easy to balance. For xmas my wife bought me a new Astro Mixamp Pro…. It sucks, well at least the chat part of it. I know all the setup tricks as laid out by Astro in how to make it work but my chat/game knob is inbetween the 3 and 4 o’clock range which almost turns the game sound off completely. I’ve tested multiple amps, XB1 Chat pads and consoles. All the same result.
 

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. Not what I want as I love my wired setup – I play at my desk. So the chat audio comes out of the controller and can only be turned up so high while turning the chat on the chat pad to full chat.

 

Tomorrow I will receive a Rolls MX22 mini mixer to test out. Setup will be:

Optical out of XB1 to Astro

Game sound - 3.5 Headphone jack on Astro out to 3.5 line in on Rolls MX22

Xbox One standard chat pad with Y splitter

Chat audio out of chat pad to RCA line in on Rolls MX22

Modmic into Y splitter on chat pad

RCA out of Rolls MX22 into line in on Schiit Asgard running Senn HD650

 

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 form for a long time but its time to get back in with the new consoles out! Let me know what you guys think!

 
Like you I am disappointed in the Xbox One's ability to work well with the Mixamp's game/chat balance. I too have the knob at 3-4 o'clock so that I can hear chat. Any less than that results in the game volume overpowering chat. Whenever I have gone back and played COD on the Xbox 360 I am amazed how much better the Mixamp sounds. I leave the knob at 12 o'clock and game and chat are well balanced. Not only balanced, but game sound was better, more detailed. Sound whoring was easier for me on the 360. 
 
I also modded my MS headset right way. I eventually bought the MS chat adapter, which isn't that great. I'm on my second one since the 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter cable failed on the first. I didn't realize it was the cable until after I bought the second adapter. 
 
What Mixamp did you have before the one you have now? I had the 2011 version, but replaced it with the 2014 version a couple of months ago. Chat stopped working so I though that yet another Astro controller cable had failed. It turns out it wasn't the controller cable, but rather the 2.5mm to 3.5mm chat adapter cable. My 2011 Mixamp's optical port door had broken off as well several months prior. I had to tape the optical cable to the Mixamp to secure it. I didn't necessarily need to replace it, but with the tape job as well as the fact that I kept having to replace both the controller cable and y-apter, I decided to buy the 2014 Mixamp. I like the cabling better, but I prefer the sound of the 2011 Mixamp. Not a big fan of the EQ settings. 
 
My Schiit Magni 2 Uber arrives tomorrow. My setup will be Xbox One → Mixamp 2014 → Schitt Magni 2 Uber → AKG K7XX w/ modmic. 

 

[Evshrug]

With this setup [X7 wired to Xbox One controller], how well can you mix the chat and game volume?


...

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.
...

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.

 

[cashmoney]

  I use the X7 with my Xbox one and I am able to use Xbox live chat function on there. I have the Xbox one headset adapter that I plug a headset y adapter into. I take the headphone out of the y adapter going into the line in on the X7. I then plug my microphone into the microphone jack on the y adapter.
 
Also note though that I had to replace my Xbox one headset adapter twice already because my first one failed with 2 months of use (microphone input was highly distorted and the party members couldn't understand me) and my second one after about about 2 months of use caused everyone talking in party chat to have a severe echo unless I muted myself. So I am on my third Xbox one headset adapter and it is working flawless again.

Uhhh...you've definitely got me confused bro. It's probably just me who doesn't understand, and I apologize. However, I'm trying to figure this out. Okay, I'm gonna try to decipher this with what I think you mean.
 
1.) Chat adapter on Xbox Controller -- Y adapter (Astro Y adapter pictured) goes into chat adapter 
2.) Plug mic into purple side of the Y adapter
3.) Plug 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord into green side of Y adapter and the other side into mic input on X7.
4.) Plug Headphones into a headphone jack on the X7.
5.) Success. You now have chat sound and game sound.
 
Please let me know if that's what you mean. Thanks and have a good day.

 

[esde84]

  Uhhh...you've definitely got me confused bro. It's probably just me who doesn't understand, and I apologize. However, I'm trying to figure this out. Okay, I'm gonna try to decipher this with what I think you mean.
 
1.) Chat adapter on Xbox Controller -- Y adapter (Astro Y adapter pictured) goes into chat adapter 
2.) Plug mic into purple side of the Y adapter
3.) Plug 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord into green side of Y adapter and the other side into mic input on X7.
4.) Plug Headphones into a headphone jack on the X7.
5.) Success. You now have chat sound and game sound.
 
Please let me know if that's what you mean. Thanks and have a good day.

For step 3 I would be to run a 3.5mm headphone to 2xRCA cable, from the headphone connection on the Y adapter to the line in on the X7.
Salbando would have to confirm if this is how they got it working.

 

[salbando]

 
1.) Chat adapter on Xbox Controller -- Y adapter (Astro Y adapter pictured) goes into chat adapter 
2.) Plug mic into purple side of the Y adapter
3.) Plug 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord into green side of Y adapter and the other side into mic input on X7.
4.) Plug Headphones into a headphone jack on the X7.
5.) Success. You now have chat sound and game sound.
 
Please let me know if that's what you mean. Thanks and have a good day.
 

Quote:

 
For step 3 I would be to run a 3.5mm headphone to 2xRCA cable, from the headphone connection on the Y adapter to the line in on the X7.
Salbando would have to confirm if this is how they got it working.

Correct My X7 came with an adapter cable 2xRCA to a female 3.5mm jack. I then run a 3.5mm to 3.5mm like you described.

So the "line in" (on the X7) has the 2xRCA to a female 3.5mm jack then the 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable into the green side of the Y adapter

 

[salbando]

  With this setup, how well can you mix the chat and game volume?

 

I have the same audio problem with the chat audio being quiet and the mixer settings on the X7 allow me to adjust the "SPDIF in" to around 60 to 80% (depending on how quiet the audio is) and I keep the "line in" volume at 100% to correct the quiet chat audio.

 

[sepansk4]

  Correct My X7 came with an adapter cable 2xRCA to a female 3.5mm jack. I then run a 3.5mm to 3.5mm like you described.

This setup sounds like a ridiculous amount of wire clutter and mess.
 
Can you post a few pictures of how the set up looks while in use? I think pictures will result in a much better understanding of how this works.
 
Thanks!

 

[l00l]

What in-game audio setup on PS4 (also X360) would be the best using a Yamaha Yht s401 AVR+Fiio E6 or Astro Mixamp and Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro headphones. Would you recommend the "headphone" or the "home theatre" option if available? thx

 

[Styles]

 
What Mixamp did you have before the one you have now? I had the 2011 version, but replaced it with the 2014 version a couple of months ago. Chat stopped working so I though that yet another Astro controller cable had failed. It turns out it wasn't the controller cable, but rather the 2.5mm to 3.5mm chat adapter cable. My 2011 Mixamp's optical port door had broken off as well several months prior. I had to tape the optical cable to the Mixamp to secure it. I didn't necessarily need to replace it, but with the tape job as well as the fact that I kept having to replace both the controller cable and y-apter, I decided to buy the 2014 Mixamp. I like the cabling better, but I prefer the sound of the 2011 Mixamp. Not a big fan of the EQ settings. 

 
It was the 2011 version of the Mixamp and it dies right before Destiny came out. So now I have the newest Astro Mixamp Pro.
Here is my old Xbox 360 setup, just prior to adding an amp which ended up being the Asgard and switching from MMX300 to DT880 and now Senn HD 650… as you can see way back on page 20 of this thread!!!!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/lightbox/post/7240759/id/96529/user/170210
 

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.

 
First off just as an FYI, I do not work for M$. M$ does not design the console except the Industrial Design (aesthetic looks).  At the time, I worked for a design firm and we designed the fix for the original 360, the new 360 Slim, Surface Pro tablet, Xbox 360 Speed Wheel and a few other secret projects.  I no longer work for that firm, but it was fun for a couple years I was there.  It is total BS that Turtle Beach got the deal for the connection out via USB. Everyone should have that option.
 
 

  I have the same audio problem with the chat audio being quiet and the mixer settings on the X7 allow me to adjust the "SPDIF in" to around 60 to 80% (depending on how quiet the audio is) and I keep the "line in" volume at 100% to correct the quiet chat audio.

 
This is exactly what I was hoping you would tell me and how I thought you have it set up!!!! Like my image of the BLUE chat line out of the chat adaptor (3.5mm) to the X7 via RCA line in on the back of the X7. Then use the settings in the software to adjust the levels of chat and game! I’m on the fence to buy one now, but am going to give my new crazy setup a shot for a little while.
 
On to my new setup--
Components:
Xbox One
Astro Mixamp Pro
Rolls MX22 Mini Mix
Schiit Asgrad (v1)
OEM Xbox One chat adaptor
Headphone/Mic “Y” splitter
Sennheiser HD 650
Antlion Modmic
 

 
 
RED - optical 5.1 out from XB1 to Astro
GREEN – Game sound (3.5) out to Rolls (3.5) then to (RCA) Asgard then to HD 650
BLUE – Chat out (3.5) from controller/chat adaptor to (RCA) Rolls then to (RCA) Asgard then to HD 650
PINK – Mic in to controller/chat adaptor
 
All of the game chat along with stereo game sound is carried in the controller.  Xbox One chat adaptor settings are turned all the way to full chat and volume all the way up. See YELLOW circles. That is how you get full chat volume out with the stereo game sound off that is carried in the controller. I threw an image of a real controller with OEM chat adaptor just for reference.
Use the Rolls to mix the game and chat with a little fine tuning of sound level in the Astro and at the Asgard.
 
I will receive the Rolls today, but have done a mini test of this setup where I used 2 sets of mono single male to dual female RCA’s in the back of the Asgard to route the controller chat and Astro game sound together into the Asgard. It sounded brilliant, but because the RCA connector cant cancel direction there was an echo for my friends as they could hear themselves echo because of cross talk on that RCA connector. Hence the need for the Rolls mixer.
 
After tonight’s test, with success, I’d like to replace the Astro with another simple but high quality component that is optical in and Dolby Headphone out.  I have no need for the Astro as  a gaming “Mixamp” rather the need for getting game audio out of the XB1 and into Dolby headphone format.

 

[Yethal]

Shouldn't the riboon extension cable from the soundblaster recon 3d be a solution to all of the xbox one chat problems? The one pictured on the bottom of the screen. I gave away the Recon 3d I bought few weeks ago to my friend so I can't test this right now but I'm pretty sure it would work with the stereo headset adapter and a 2.5mm cable
 

 

[Yethal]

 

This is exactly what I was hoping you would tell me and how I thought you have it set up!!!! Like my image of the BLUE chat line out of the chat adaptor (3.5mm) to the X7 via RCA line in on the back of the X7. Then use the settings in the software to adjust the levels of chat and game! I’m on the fence to buy one now, but am going to give my new crazy setup a shot for a little while.

 

 
RED - optical 5.1 out from XB1 to Astro
GREEN – Game sound (3.5) out to Rolls (3.5) then to (RCA) Asgard then to HD 650
BLUE – Chat out (3.5) from controller/chat adaptor to (RCA) Rolls then to (RCA) Asgard then to HD 650
PINK – Mic in to controller/chat adaptor
 
All of the game chat along with stereo game sound is carried in the controller.  Xbox One chat adaptor settings are turned all the way to full chat and volume all the way up. See YELLOW circles. That is how you get full chat volume out with the stereo game sound off that is carried in the controller. I threw an image of a real controller with OEM chat adaptor just for reference.
Use the Rolls to mix the game and chat with a little fine tuning of sound level in the Astro and at the Asgard.
 

Would it work if the blue chat cable was plugged directly into the mixamp via mp3 or daisy chain port?

 

[kashim]

for 100% fps online competitive gaming i m looking for best headphone + soundcard combo(need 5,1 support end emulation for headphone and my z506 speakers) i m watching k612 - ad700x - k701 and for soundcard soundblaster z - phoebus solo...what raccomend for me?i need best positional audio,soundstage,and positional accuracy by the headphone...thank all for the help
 
i have open a tread here if someone wanna reply and help me is great thanks all 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749885/best-positional-audio-for-hard-core-fps-gamer-headphone-soundcard
max 250/300 euro