Yet another headphone thread

Looks like Astro is going wireless. It's got me pretty excited. The Mixamp is a mature product now (bugs worked out) and if they can implement a good quiet wireless connection, it could be really great. My x41 and 720 are going on eBay in anticipation.

Check it out here: http://www.astrogaming.com/products/...

heavyfeul wrote:

Looks like Astro is going wireless. It's got me pretty excited. The Mixamp is a mature product now (bugs worked out) and if they can implement a good quiet wireless connection, it could be really great. My x41 and 720 are going on eBay in anticipation.

Check it out here: http://www.astrogaming.com/products/...

I've been looking for more reviews. Looks like they don't actually ship until 11/22. I'm talking myself into at least buying the Mixamp 5.8. Might get some other headphones and mod in a mic. I need a decent set of regular headphones anyway.

I bought a pair of DT-990's. Went with the 600 ohm version. If they sound the way I think they will I'll probably end up selling my HD-595's to my brother.

Does anyone here have any experience with the A40 headsets/mixamps? I'm looking to pick up one of their headsets+mixamp after Thanksgiving, but other than press reviews, I don't know anyone that's owned a set.

Kerplunk wrote:

Does anyone here have any experience with the A40 headsets/mixamps? I'm looking to pick up one of their headsets+mixamp after Thanksgiving, but other than press reviews, I don't know anyone that's owned a set.

I have the whole setup. It's good, but with some caveats. One, where it really excels is with consoles. I can't say this enough. The Mixamp *rules* if you have a 360 or PS3 and want to play games late at night with headphones but don't want to lose the positional audio.

If you're after a PC headset I think there are some better options, but a lot of that depends on the hardware you already have. If you're just rocking onboard sound and a fairly cheap pair of headphones then the Mixamp and A40's will sound pretty amazing.

I found that the Sennheiser HD555's pair extremely well with the A40 Mixamp and most other Dolby Headphone amps. I would get the Mixamp and a pair of HD555s. If you want higher end headphones, the HD595's should have good synergy with the A40 amp as well.

A lot of A40 users also use the Sennheiser PC350 headset, since it is a closed-back headphone with an integrated mic., whereas the HD5xx headphones are open backed.

Another choice that a lot of A40 owners use is the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. I never tried my pair with the Mixamp (I love the HD555s too much), but they certainly have a nice open soundstage and if you wear glasses while you game, there is no better circumaural headphone, as they are so big that they put very little pressure on the area above you ears. They always worked well for me sitting back on the couch gaming, when I needed to wear my glasses.

The HD555 and AD700 cost around $90 and the HD595 and PC350 cost around $150. All of them should perform very well.

EDIT: I should also mention the Turtle Beach HPX headset. A lot of people love it with the Mixamp, although I find the claims of multi driver headphone marketing to be dubious. Seems to me they should use the extra room to push more air, instead of trying to pack 8 drivers into a single headset. But, who knows. I never used them.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Right now I'm leaning towards the AD700 headphones for the glasses factor, but how does the HD555 fare with glasses?

Edit: I should clarify that this is for the PC.

How would the Mixamp pair with the Beyerdynamic MMX2's? I'm starting to long for a wired headset for my 360; because my X41's are giving me problems (on my second pair already and I have a mic cable issue now). I use the MMX2's on the PC and like them, but would be willing to drop the money on the Mixamp for the use with the console.

Tigerbill wrote:

How would the Mixamp pair with the Beyerdynamic MMX2's?

The MMX2 microphone didn't work well through the Mixamp for me. That would be my only worry pairing the Beyers with the A40. The Zalman clip mic didn't work well either. The A40 seems to be a little picky about third party mics.

Kerplunk wrote:

Thanks for the advice, guys. Right now I'm leaning towards the AD700 headphones for the glasses factor, but how does the HD555 fare with glasses?

The HD555's are extremely comfortable and they have a light but firm head clamp. They will push on your glasses. The AD700's are extremely loose in comparison. They sort of rest on top of your head and clamp a bit just below the ears. I personally like the way the HD555's fit much better, but if you wear glasses the AD700 is probably a smarter choice unless your gaming sessions are fairly short.

Also, the AD700 is an excellent gaming headphone and great for music. The HD555's are not really better, just a personal favorite of mine. I can't help talking them up.

Would one be better off just getting the bundle from Astro? Instead of trying to find a headset with attached mic to pair with them. I like having attached mics since they are always positioned exactly where I want.
All the reviews of the Senn PC350's, I saw a lot of complaints about their lackluster bass. Any other recomendations that are reasonably priced.

So as a follow-up, what microphone(s) do you recommend? Like Tigerbill, I've always enjoyed the placement of the microphone being right next to my head, but I'm open to other options if the quality is better.

I have a Califone neck mic. in the mail:

http://www.califone.com/products/cm3...

I have heard it plays well with the A40. Another mic. that is supposed to work well is the MW2 Throat Communicator. I haven't tried it myself though. When the A40 was connected to my computer, I just used my webcam mic.

Like I mentioned above, a lot of people use the HPX, but I have no first hand knowledge about it.

One place to check on different gaming headsets and configs. that people use with the A40 is the MLG forums:

http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/index.php

It is where I found I was not the only person having a problem with the Zalman clip mic + A40. For example:

http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/showthre...
http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/showpost...

There is also a popular mod for the AD700, which should work well with the A40:

http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/showthre...

I would try it, but I do not want to velcro anything to my precious Sennheiser HD600, which is my only headphone at the moment. Smeagol like.

Well, again, if you're not already a headphone snob the A40 headset will probably sound better than what you're using and the bundle pricing makes it a cheaper deal than buying the mixamp and most other headsets or headphone/mic combos.

The A40 headset is actually very good. I do feel it's still overpriced even as part of the bundle, but much less so than separately at $200. If you take the $130 cost of the Mixamp out you're getting the headset for $120. I still think that's probably about $40 too much relative to the sound quality they put out, but finding another good headset that sounds better for that same amount of money is pretty much impossible. And pairing a normal pair of headphones with a separate mic and getting a mic that plays nice with the Mixamp (as you might have gathered by now) is kind of a pain in the ass.

heavyfeul wrote:

I have a Califone neck mic. in the mail:

http://www.califone.com/products/cm3...

I have heard it plays well with the A40. Another mic. that is supposed to work well is the MW2 Throat Communicator. I haven't tried it myself though.

Definitely post impressions here after you've had some time to try that neck mic. I'm curious.

*Sorry, double post. Meant to add this as an edit to the previous one. Woops.

I'm not sure why I keep reading this thread. I don't understand at least half of what's being talked about, and everytime I look at the headphones I think "Ooooh, I should buy these, but do I really care an PS3's worth about the audio quality of my experience?"

But then again the "look, shiny!" effect is strong. Eventually I'm going to break and buy a pair of really expensive headphones and not be able to tell the difference.

Thin_J wrote:

Well, again, if you're not already a headphone snob the A40 headset will probably sound better than what you're using and the bundle pricing makes it a cheaper deal than buying the mixamp and most other headsets or headphone/mic combos.

The A40 headset is actually very good. I do feel it's still overpriced even as part of the bundle, but much less so than separately at $200. If you take the $130 cost of the Mixamp out you're getting the headset for $120. I still think that's probably about $40 too much relative to the sound quality they put out, but finding another good headset that sounds better for that same amount of money is pretty much impossible. And pairing a normal pair of headphones with a separate mic and getting a mic that plays nice with the Mixamp (as you might have gathered by now) is kind of a pain in the ass.

I agree with Thin_J...The A40 system, while overpriced, is a great gaming headset. You're not really compromising much by just going with the standard config. and it completely solves the third party mic. issue. The only compromise, really, is with music. The HD5xx and AD700 will blow it away in that department. I spend a lot more time listening to music than gaming, so I was never interested in the Astro headset, but as gaming headsets go, it is top notch.

If you're interested in modding in a mic to existing headsets, there are some good ideas in this thread. Supposedly, this is a halfway decent mic you can attach for cheap at Amazon.

Well that settles it! I'll go with the (slightly) more complicated route and do the mod heavyfuel linked to with the AD700 headphones. Cannot wait!

Edit: After checking around, the microphone I'll be getting is discontinued, and the only person selling is from an ebay listing. Not the worst thing in the world, but if I don't win it, I'll get the neck mic instead.

My 990's came. They have all the power of the 770's without the extra emphasis on bass, and they have the open almost airy soundstage of the HD595's all at the same time.

Very, very nice.

I haven't tried gaming yet, but I suspect they'll be very good at it.

*Mean to add to this last night. Fiddled with the gain settings on my Little Dot. The recommendation is to put the gain on 10 for cans with a 600 ohm rating like this pair, but doing that sort of crushes the nice open soundstage and accentuates the bass. Sort of makes the 990's sound more like the 770's I already had, albeit with more clarity.

Dropped the gain all the way back down to 4 and they sounded great again. Totally weird.

Thin_J wrote:

...Fiddled with the gain settings on my Little Dot. The recommendation is to put the gain on 10 for cans with a 600 ohm rating like this pair, but doing that sort of crushes the nice open soundstage and accentuates the bass. Sort of makes the 990's sound more like the 770's I already had, albeit with more clarity.

Dropped the gain all the way back down to 4 and they sounded great again. Totally weird.

I think the gain required to properly drive a headphone is dependent on both impedance and sensitivity. I can't remember how they interact, but some high impedance headphones need less gain than others with the same impedance value. Maybe that is what is going on? Do they have a higher sensitivity than other full-sized cans?

heavyfeul wrote:

I think the gain required to properly drive a headphone is dependent on both impedance and sensitivity. I can't remember how they interact, but some high impedance headphones need less gain than others with the same impedance value. Maybe that is what is going on? Do they have a higher sensitivity than other full-sized cans?

Sensitivity is listed as 100dB so they're not very sensitive. In theory they should need an amp more than most, but after some more reading the gain settings are more suggestions and don't actually have much to do with sufficiently driving the headphones.

Plus the volume knob was borderline worthless at 10. It goes to 100, but even going to like 6 was too loud with the gain set at 10. Were I to twitch it a little too far I might deafen myself

kaostheory wrote:

I'm not sure why I keep reading this thread. I don't understand at least half of what's being talked about, and everytime I look at the headphones I think "Ooooh, I should buy these, but do I really care an PS3's worth about the audio quality of my experience?"

But then again the "look, shiny!" effect is strong. Eventually I'm going to break and buy a pair of really expensive headphones and not be able to tell the difference. :D

I want to echo Kaostheory in that I share a strange fascination with this thread even though I don't understand that much of it.

I do have a question though.

I have the Sen HD555s that I have owned and loved for a couple of years but am wondering how much one of the mixamp/DACs will benefit my typical usage, ie gaming?

Currently I have my headphones plugged into a front panel headphone jack and I'm only using onboard audio, will a amp/DAC help me, and if so, which one?

Ideally, I would not like to spend more than $75 to $90.

Well, you might get improved sound with a Xonar DX. Lots of motherboard sound isn't very good, both in the sense of having poor DACs and being badly isolated from the main power. F'r instance, when running headphones off the Realtek sound on my motherboard, I can hear constant buzzing and whining that changes based on what the computer is doing. It's not LOUD, but it's quite noticeable.

The Xonar will probably be quieter than what you're running now, and it will almost certainly sound better for music, because it has a much better resampling engine than most soundcards. The major downside to the Xonar is probably the fairly crummy control panel. It works, but the interface sucks. It's very hard to figure out when you've turned features on or off. The drivers also offer Direct Sound emulation in software. This is unique among soundcards on Vista and later, to my knowledge, but I've found it to be a good idea to just turn it off. Causes more trouble than it's worth, IMO.

They're $80 at Newegg, less a $20 rebate if you do rebates.

As far as I know, by the way, you should have no need for an amp with 555s. They're a standard load headphone, so all you care about is DAC/resampling quality and noise isolation.

Badferret wrote:

I have my headphones plugged into a front panel headphone jack and I'm only using onboard audio, will a amp/DAC help me, and if so, which one?

Ideally, I would not like to spend more than $75 to $90.

I just picked up the Nuforce Icon Mobile, which is a USB DAC+AMP, with four-pole jack for computer headsets (like the iPhone jack; need an adapter for PC), a stereo output for headphones, and a line in. It is right in your price range too. So for about $90 you get a small, simple, and versatile amp. I used it with my HD555's and they pair extremely well.

http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/I...

It also has analog volume control, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but I hate the way digital volume control moves up and down in fits and spurts. It is much easier to dial in the right volume with an analog control and the transition is smooth and gradual.

EDIT: Here is the type of adapter you need to use a computer headset with the Icon:

http://www.amazon.com/Headset-Buddy-...

USB often doesn't work very well for gaming, though. The Windows drivers aren't all that reliable. I don't know what it is, exactly, but even with Win7, trying to game with USB stereo audio is just asking for pops and crackles and dropouts.

If all you want to do is listen to music, that's probably an excellent choice, but a Xonar will be almost as good, while still letting you game quite nicely. I think it's quite unlikely that you'd be able to hear any difference between the two solutions.

Thin_J wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

I have a Califone neck mic. in the mail:

http://www.califone.com/products/cm3...

I have heard it plays well with the A40. Another mic. that is supposed to work well is the MW2 Throat Communicator. I haven't tried it myself though.

Definitely post impressions here after you've had some time to try that neck mic. I'm curious.

The Califone neck mic works great with the A40 Mixamp. My voice came through clean and clear and it was easy to get it positioned properly. It is heavy durable mic, but comfortable to wear. The only downside is that the cord is fairly short (~4ft). Still, it has worked better than any other microphone I tried with the Mixamp. Even the highly compressed XBL voice recordings sounded pretty good.

Also, I bet there is some simple methods for attaching it to a pair of full-sized circumaural headphones. The long bendable neckband could be attached to an earcup fairly easily with some strong velcro. It wouldn't look pretty, but it is simple way to make a Frankenstein gaming headset.

EDIT: The link above is for a different mic. than the one I have. Same company/basic design.

Here is the one I got:

http://tinyurl.com/2872d3x

Amazon's deal of the day is Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 in-ear headphones

List: $399.99
Amazon's normal price: $369.95

Today's price: $94.99

I have no idea about the quality, but that's a helluva markdown. I've a mind to order a pair just to wait a week and ebay them for $300 or so.

edit: ordered. These are selling from $188 to $300 on ebay.

heavyfeul wrote:

The Califone neck mic works great with the A40 Mixamp. My voice came through clean and clear and it was easy to get it positioned properly. It is heavy durable mic, but comfortable to wear. The only downside is that the cord is fairly short (~4ft). Still, it has worked better than any other microphone I tried with the Mixamp. Even the highly compressed XBL voice recordings sounded pretty good.

Also, I bet there is some simple methods for attaching it to a pair of full-sized circumaural headphones. The long bendable neckband could be attached to an earcup fairly easily with some strong velcro. It wouldn't look pretty, but it is simple way to make a Frankenstein gaming headset.

EDIT: The link above is for a different mic. than the one I have. Same company/basic design.

Here is the one I got:

http://tinyurl.com/2872d3x

Thanks. Definitely going to give it a go. I want to pair a good separate mic with my other sets of nicer cans so I can ditch the A40 headset for my 360 games.

For gaming and listening to music through my PC I'm considering picking up the AD700's. Right now I'm just using the onboard audio on my PC. Would I be better served to just get a separate audio card, a usb audio thingamabob, or something else?

My goal is to have clear surround sound. Come to think of it I don't even know if the AD700s can handle directional sound in games. Yeah, guess I need some advice. I'm wanting to pick this stuff up in the next week or two so if any deals are out there lemme' know.

Kehama wrote:

For gaming and listening to music through my PC I'm considering picking up the AD700's. Right now I'm just using the onboard audio on my PC. Would I be better served to just get a separate audio card, a usb audio thingamabob, or something else?

My goal is to have clear surround sound. Come to think of it I don't even know if the AD700s can handle directional sound in games. Yeah, guess I need some advice. I'm wanting to pick this stuff up in the next week or two so if any deals are out there lemme' know.

The AD700's do extremely well with directional sound. They don't have much in the way of bass (in fact, they lack it in a way that no other pair of expensive headphones I've ever bought does) but they more than make up for it with clarity and how easy it is to pick out sounds. It makes them pretty amazing headphones for gaming, hence their popularity at places like HardOCP.

To me, the largest bonus with the AD700's (and indeed, any of the Audiotechnica line that uses that same basic design) is that they're fricking comfortable. Seriously, that headband design should be the industry standard. Instead of focusing the pressure from the headphones on one point at the top of your noggin it splits it into two spots farther to the sides, and is all the better for it. Makes gaming for a couple of hours with cans on far, far, far more comfortable.

As far as need anything, the AD700's are pretty efficient so you really don't need an amp. I think any number of separate sound cards are an improvement over any onboard audio, but whether it's necessary depends on what you really want out of it.

I don't know about others, but my headphone snobbery dies off a lot when it comes to gaming. If that's your primary focus, I don't think you can beat CMSS3D on the various X-Fi cards as far as directional sound processing for games. But I should say that I haven't actually used any of the competing cards like the Xonar or any of the others. I've heard good things about them, but as long as the X-Fi continues to do what I need it to do I see no point in upgrading.