Sanyo Eneloops are some of the best you can buy. Thomas Distributing is a great place to get chargers and batteries. I like their Maha chargers, but they have many many options.
Yeah, I use the Eneloops for Wii controllers and my camera flash. The extremely low dissipation rate is really nice for the Wii controllers. 
Any update on the voice side of these? Was reading some reviews that said the mic isn't sensitive enough, is this true?
The mic sensitivity is fine. I have no problems with that part. I still haven't resolved my voice activation issue though. Sometimes it works fine and other times it always shows me as talking. It is caused by some feedback in the the voice output I think. I haven't been able to find anyone who has the same problem as me. I have gone through two headset, three cables, and two controllers. Nothing seems to fix it. I am starting to think that something about my setup is causing the problem, but I have no idea what.
Mine get here tomorrow, I'm so excited. I also ordered a 4 pack of Eneloop batteries and the Sanyo Eneloop charger, it was cheaper than the other chargers mentioned, plus I like that it's made by the same company as the batteries.
One final question for now: Does the optical cable come with them, or will I need to go pick one up?
Mine get here tomorrow, I'm so excited. I also ordered a 4 pack of Eneloop batteries and the Sanyo Eneloop charger, it was cheaper than the other chargers mentioned, plus I like that it's made by the same company as the batteries.
One final question for now: Does the optical cable come with them, or will I need to go pick one up?
It comes with an optical cable.
I'm getting a pair for Xmas! Can't wait...
Got mine in today, and put a solid 5 hrs in MW2 with them. I am impressed the spatial audio it is so nice to have proper surround sound; I could tell where firefights were breaking out so I could turn and help if needed. Plus I have been missing any kind of bass for well over a year now, that was nice to have back.
Only had the slight background hiss on the post game scoreboard, never in the lobby; didn't wear them in the dashboard much so not sure if it's there. Didn't notice it after a few games, maybe because I had more friends with me and someone was always talking.
After 5 hrs with one 5 min break they started to hurt my ears; more/longer breaks will help this. They are light and don't pinch my average sized head.
My only other complaint was the Voice Boost feature was a little loud at times, until I got the volumes tweaked right.
Still getting used to the mute switch on the inline controls, I have too much muscle memory built up for the original 360 headset and kept reaching for it there.
Definitely worth every penny; so glad I went with these over the Trittons my friends have. My Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables get here tomorrow; I'm sure the batteries that shipped with them will last until then.
Got mine in today, and put a solid 5 hrs in MW2 with them. I am impressed the spatial audio it is so nice to have proper surround sound...Definitely worth every penny; so glad I went with these over the Trittons my friends have...
Great to hear they worked out for you Tigerbill. I have been using them in MW2 as well and they perform great. I use the positional audio all the time to track down or avoid enemies.
BTW
I figured out my voice output problem. It seems that the interference is coming from the central heat/cooling system in my house. For some reason the microphone picks up the sound or vibrations or something when it is on. When it goes off, the problem goes away. Weirdest sound issue I have ever encountered.
I figured out my voice output problem. It seems that the interference is coming from the central heat/cooling system in my house. For some reason the microphone picks up the sound or vibrations or something when it is on. When it goes off, the problem goes away. Weirdest sound issue I have ever encountered.
Glad you figured that out, I imagine it was starting to get frustrating for you. How often do you swap out batteries, I'm thinking about doing it every 3-4 days, since I usually put in 4-5 hrs a night.
How often do you swap out batteries, I'm thinking about doing it every 3-4 days, since I usually put in 4-5 hrs a night.
I'm still using the batteries that came with it and it's been almost 2 weeks with 2-3 hours a night. I might have missed an evening here or there, but it doesn't seem to be a huge battery drainer.
I would say the batteries last about 15 hours. That is just a guesstimate.
So since there was a bit of discussion about the Astro A40 mixamp/headset here, I figured I would add my thoughts to the thread for whatever they were worth.
Short version: I bought them and found they met all of my needs and more, and were of excellent quality to boot -- ie, well worth the somewhat prohibitive price tag in my book.
Super long version:
Previously I was using a four or five year old Tritton AX series headset with my Xbox and a combination of a crappy USB mic and either headphones or the living room sound system for my computer. (Our main Xbox is on the big TV and the sound system, but I'm talking about the Xbox connected to the monitor that I use when we play multiplayer games.) The mic on the Tritton broke quite a while ago, though, and it's voice/game sound "integration" was laughable at best -- basically, have the Xbox feed the voice through the speakers and then adjust the volume in each game so that you could (hopefully) hear voice over the game sound effects. My computer setup was also far from ideal, but it was still more or less functional.
So last month I got fed up with it, and decided to look for a new solution. The ideal feature set for such a solution was the following:
- Easily and cleanly combine voice and game sound from the 360 into one headset.
- Easily and cleanly combine voice and game sound from the computer into one headset.
- Be compatible with both the Mac and Windows sides of my dual boot Mac Pro (ie, can't require any additional software to function properly)
- Provide decent surround sound quality in all three scenarios (Xbox, Mac, Windows).
- Be easy to switch between all three scenarios.
After a bit of research it started to become clear that the Astro A40 mixamp was really the key to getting what I was looking for here. Of course, it's also one of the most expensive options out there, and I was briefly tempted to just go with the Earforce X41 and forget about the computer side of the equation. In the end though I came to my senses -- after all, when your already talking about spending a couple hundred dollars on a piece of equipment, $50 isn't too much to spend to get a product that does exactly what you want.
So I'll get to my (very positive!) impressions of using the device in a second here, but I should bring up the one thing that might have changed my decision had my requirements been a bit different. If I was looking for a headset to use on the couch with the main Xbox, the wireless nature of the Turtlebeach solution might have been a selling point. Consider the configuration you need to have to use the mixamp with the Xbox:
At my desk this is really a non concern since everything is close together and stays relatively stationary. But if you were using this on the couch you'd almost certainly ditch the USB as a power source and go with either the battery pack (which the mixamp can self charge via USB) or AA batteries, but you'd still need a rather long, sturdy optical cable to get the mixamp out near your couch. So, a bit of a logistical problem, but not really a concern for me since I'm using it at my desk paired with a monitor that does double duty for both the Xbox and the computer. And to be honest, I find the concept of having to worry about batteries in the headset (as would be the case with the Turtlebeach solutions) to be far more annoying than a few cables.
So anyway, about using the thing.
(Even though one of the cool things about the A40 mixamp is that it's designed to be compatible with a variety of headsets, I decided to keep it simple and buy the Astro headset that the company has designed specifically to be paired with the mixamp. As such, my impressions are of using the mixamp with the Astro headset -- milage may vary if you use the mixamp with another headset.)
Both the mixamp and the headset are extremely well constructed and feel sturdy and reliable, built from heavy plastics with very comfortable ear pads. In fact, I did a marathon 12+ hour gaming session over the weekend with them on and never once had them grow to be uncomfortable or annoying. The sound quality is light years better than the Tritton set that I replaced, and while the positional audio isn't quite as differentiable as my living room sound system you will still know exactly which direction a sound is coming from (assuming the game you are playing has adequate sound design, of course). Actually, the soundscape is so full that on more than one occasion I've forgotten that I was wearing the headset and turned to make a remark to Luna about some sound from a game, only to realize that she didn't hear it because my computer is no longer playing over the living room sound system.
As for the mixamp and whether it adequately provide the features I was originally looking for, it does so admirably and solves a couple other problems in the process.
First, regarding the integration of game sound and voice, it does so in a simple and elegant fashion. It takes two separate inputs and provides one output, and gives the user a master volume and a balance control. No digging around in the sound settings on each game on the Xbox, no screwing around with settings out of game on the computer, just two big, sturdy, easy to use analog knobs that can be adjusted on the fly by the user (as games tend to have an annoying way of cranking up the volume unexpectedly when you most need to hear what your teammates are saying). From what I've read, the Turtlebeach set does attempt to do this kind of balancing automatically, but personally I prefer to have direct control over it.
Next, being easy to use with the Xbox and my computer, and easy to switch between. Consider the configuration for use with the computer:
If you compare that with the Xbox configuration above, you'll only see one point of conflict: the optical cable. So basically to switch between the computer and the Xbox for game sound, I have to switch which optical cable is plugged into the mixamp. Easy enough to do, though.
Other than that, it's completely plug and play with the Xbox -- connect the cables, set the volume and balance knobs, and off you go -- and nearly so on the computer. In either Windows or the Mac OS I simply set the main sound output to the optical output from my sound card, and then configure vent, skype, or whatever else to use the automatically detected mixamp as its input and output for voice. The mixamp shows up as a simple USB mic in either case (just like my old crappy USB mic did), and no additional software is needed. After that, once again it's a simple matter of setting the volume and balance knobs on the mixamp as I please.
That actually brings me to the first feature I wasn't looking for but am glad to have: I can actually have both voice channels live at once. The Xbox voice comes in (and goes out) through a dedicated 2.5mm jack, and the computer voice goes over the USB cable, so I can stay tuned in to an Xbox live party while running vent with a computer game, or vice versa.
And finally, feature number two that I wasn't looking for but am glad to have is that the mixamp actually has a third sound input (a standard 3.5mm headphone jack) available. It's levels aren't affected by the balancer, but rather is mixed in on top at whatever volume is coming from the source. The intended use (and how I'm using it) is to run your MP3 player through it, so you can have your music/podcasts mixed in with your game sound and voice no matter what game system you are using. Quite handy, and quite nice to have one consistent interface for music controls no matter what I'm playing. And of course, since it's just a simple line in you can connect whatever you like -- the output of a laptop, your stereo, etc -- and have all your sound cleanly mixed into one headset.
So yeah, I'm absolutely loving the A40 mixamp/headset combo, and heartily recommend them if you can stomach the cost.
Dang, are you going to sell that novel on Amazon! Good review though, I'm glad they worked out for you. Those extra features do sound interesting, although I tend to be unable to listen to music while gaming.
I gave a lot of consideration to the A40's but couldn't justify even the $50 more. As far as switching the X41's between the computer and Xbox, its sounds similar; the only down side would be to use the X41's for PC chat, you would need a wired Xbox controller hooked up to the PC, but other than that it should be a matter of switching the Optical cable that's coming into the base station.
The Mixamp is great, but for me it is only useful when your Xbox is connected to your computer monitor. The volume controls and the voice cable all run from the amp itself, which means you have to keep it fairly close to you. Managing all those cords is a pain if your Xbox is in the living room or bedroom. Not a big deal if you are playing on computer desk.
I would recommend the Astro System to someone who has their gaming hardware (PC and Xbox) consolidated on the computer desk, but the X41s are far better if your console is in the living room.
I'm actually leaning toward buying the Astro setup. I was informed that they're just a solid set of stereo headphones with a mic. All the surround effects are handled by the Dolby Surround processing. They're not the crappy 5 drivers on each ear garbage that always sounds like poo compared to equivalently priced stereo cans. Given that and apparently positive impressions of the sound quality from people who already have other nice pairs of headphones, it sounds like a good solution to me.
My current plan to solve the placement of the Mixamp is buying a $10 cable from monoprice (50ft optical) and a USB to wall plug adapter. Assuming the USB wall adapter works I should be able to plug the mixamp in right behind my couch and just have it sit on the back corner of my endtable next to my couch. I already have an optical switch under my TV that switches between my PS3 and TV, so I'm going to buy a really short optical cable to feed from the switch to a splitter, and then feed both my receiver and the mixamp the optical signal from the switch at all times. Should make switching over to the headset for late night gaming super simple.
Ok can anyone else verify this for me: Last night I was browsing Netflix on my 360 and after a couple of minutes the headset would turn off. I know this is to happen when there is no activity for 5 minutes, but I was flipping through movies which has an audible "click" when ever you scroll so there was some sound every few seconds not exactly "No Activity". I think it may have been the batteries, which I switched out once I found a movie to watch, and they didn't turn off after that (although I didn't try to replicate the situation with the fresh batteries).
I will try to replicate the problem when I get home.
It behaves weirdly with Netfilx for some reason I think. I remember having a similar problem, but I will have to try again to be sure.
After having put several long gaming sessions in MW2, I have come to love these headphones.
I love to sit and wait in a corner and just listen to the surroundings, I have started to be able to pick out people trying to sneak up on me. Stealthy moving through brush is awesome, as you hear yourself brush up against it. The sound stage is a flat, if you are in a multiple story buildings ambient noises above or below seem to be on the same level as you; this can be disorienting at times. The ambient voice chatter from teammates seems to always be at the same volume no matter distance; if they are near you, you hear it. Which can get distracting, since it tends to be louder than I want it (this is especially bad in large firefights while trying to communicate with teammates).
The Voice Boost that increases chat volume is nice....but it seems to stay on too long some of the time, or they need to tweak the activation levels.
I haven't actually kept track but 15 hours seems to be a fair assessment for battery life (I'm using Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables). The batteries that shipped with it died in about 10, not a big shock there. It would be nice if there was some sort of audible warning that the batteries were dead and that the headset was going to shut off; currently it just flashes the logo on the left ear cup faster. Twice I've had it shut off mid game; luckily I keep my spare batteries within reach, and I still have my surround system turn on.
My only other gripe about the hardware is, I wish the cord that connects to the Xbox Controller would fit tighter on both ends. Every now and then I get a sharp pop as the connection gets jostled.
I ordered the Astro setup last week. Came yesterday. Ran the setup pretty much just like I described with the super long optical cable from the switch around the room and back behind my couch. The amp sits right on the endtable and out of the way until I want to hook up the headset and use it.
Initial impressions are somewhat favorable. I like the functionality and features of the mixamp, though it's not without its faults. One.. your voice comes through your own headphones. It's slight, but if you don't have any game audio or other people coming through and you say something you'll definitely hear it. Not generally an issue when you're playing something, just something I noticed that means there's probably a little more work they could have done to the innards of the mixamp to isolate the mic from the headphones. They definitely skimped somewhere which makes the price a little hard to understand.
The dolby headphone support is the real bonus here. The surround effects in games are really noticeable and easy to pinpoint. It's not quite on par with the CMSS3D that Creative does with the X-Fi in PC games, but it's close enough and the sound quality is better. The spatialization and sound effects seem to come through much better on my nicer headphones than in the Astro headset. Must have something to do with piping voice and everything through all at once. Using the dolby headphone support to watch movies has been nice, though it's a hassle to do it with Blu-Ray movies because there's no way to get HDMI audio out from the PS3 to the mixamp. That last part is a bummer.
The actual Astro headset itself is less impressive. The sound quality is solid, but not on par with my Beyerdynamics or Sennheisers. (DT-770's and HD595's, respectively) I'd rate it slightly under the 280 Pro's for overall audio quality which would be impressive if not for their somewhat outrageous pricetag. The audio quality isn't quite as solid as the 280's but the headphones cost twice the money. You're essentially paying all that extra money for the voicechat features and the ease with which the headset functions with the amp and games. It's on the expensive side, even for that.
That said... I'm enjoying the set. Other than a couple of oddities with mic sensitivity requiring some fiddling on my part and the moderately disappointing audio quality for the money, it's been a very comfortable and very usable headset and is by far the best solution I've tried to date for late night console gaming when you don't want to wake up your roommate/family/whoever.
Again though, overall impressions are still favorable. If you're desperate for solid audio quality and the ability to game at night I'd be willing to recommend the Astro A40 setup as long as the price isn't a huge hangup for you. I would be willing to wager the Astro setup sounds better than the X41's, but obviously can't say that for sure without trying both sets.
I'll try to find a way to compare the Astro setup with the Turtle Beach's. I doubt I'll be able to find anybody with a set of the X41's that I can borrow, but we'll see. If I do get my hands on some X41's or if I discover anything else about the Astro setup I'll be sure to post it in here.
One.. your voice comes through your own headphones. It's slight, but if you don't have any game audio or other people coming through and you say something you'll definitely hear it.
This was probably done very intentionally: on the X41's it is so you know how loud you are talking, since most headphones of this sort tend to isolate you from all outside noises. You get used to it after a while then stop noticing it up until no sound is going and you cough.
I haven't had the Loud Snap/Crackle/Pop when the batteries die; mine just turn off.
Maybe its just MW2 or my set, but have you noticed voice cutting in and out (both for you talking and hearing others)? Doesn't do it all the time, but enough to be annoying. I always figured it was my old XBL headset, but I still have it with these. I kinda wonder if it isn't because these run on the same frequency as the wireless controllers.
I too wish the voice cord was more like the puck style, I don't like how the end that connects to the controllers twists so much. That 90 deg connector sits below the controller too, so it gets bumped whenever you sit the controller down.
Alright now that I sorted out my voice activation issue, I want to give my review of the X41 headset...
I am not being hyperbolic when I say these are the best gaming headphones I have ever used. Period. The sound field is extremely expansive, I can pinpoint sounds in all horizontal directions, and the overall quality of the sound with the bass boost on is very natural sounding. I would choose these over the Astro Mixamp I have any day. It is head and shoulders above them. I should qualify that by saying I do not use the Astro Mixamp with the Astro headset. I have used the Mixamp paired with a pair of Beyerdynamic MMX 2's, Sennheiser HD555's, and the Audio Technica ATH-AD700's. None of the headphone/Mixamp combinations perform as well as the X41's; they are just wide open and accurate to a degree that I never experienced with the Mixamp and the sound never feels artificial and as colored as it does when using CMSS. It has been a couple of years since I used CMSS, so maybe they have gotten better.
The voice integration with Xbox Live is very well implemented (my weird issue aside; see older posts). The voice boost works well, but if you turn up the voice volume too load it will snap, crackle, and pop when the game sounds ramp up. I keep the volume on the voice chat very low and have no problems with distorting or cracking and people come in loud and clear.
I do hear some very low level background RF hissing, but it is only audible when there is silence and sometimes not even then. Any ambient game sound whatsoever drowns it out completely and I never notice the hiss after I have been playing for a while and return to the Xbox interface. I do hear some voice chat hiss when a MW2 match begins and you get that "slam!" sound effect, signalling the match is loading up. Because that "slam!" sound effect is so loud it sends the voice chat volume up and I hear a minor hiss for a moment, then it quickly drops away as the chat boost winds down. When playing a game, single player or multiplayer with voice chat, I hear no hissing of any kind. Even in relatively quiet matches (MW2 hardcore) and game moments (e.g. walking the wasteland in Fallout 3). Once in a while I do hear a little crackle, but it is rare and never persistent or loud. The headset does blare your ears with horrible feedback when the batteries finally die. A very unpleasant experience. They need to fix that.
The biggest two gripes I have is that I wish the headset had rechargeable batteries that recharged when you set them on the base unit, much like the Sennheiser wireless headphones do and I wish they were fully wireless and did not need a cord to run from the controller to the headset for voice chat. Finally, I wish they still used the puck for the voice cable instead of using the inline volume and mute. You can use the X1 voice cable w/puck on the X41's, but there is no mute button on that cable. I want to try to use the X3/X4 cable, which I believe has a mute button on the puck, but I am not sure if it will work or not and it cost about $13 to get one shipped from Turtle Beach.
Anther gripe is that the vertical sound field sometimes feels "smooshed," at least in MW2. I have had better luck with games like Assassin's Creed (probably a better mix), but the sense of vertical height and depth in the sound field is not nearly as good or as accurate as it is in the horizontal dimension.
Anyway...in closing, I absolutely love these babies. They are expensive, but I recommend them highly. Honestly, the X41's are the best video game accessory I have ever bought. If you have a 360, I think it is the best sound solution out there, short of buying a kick ass surround sound system. Since they accept Dolby 5.1/6.1/7.1 over optical you can use them with a variety of sources, not just the 360. They are not perfect, but Turtle Beach did a great job on these.
Thanks for all the great discussion. Now I have something new to put on my personal Christmas list.
Maybe its just MW2 or my set, but have you noticed voice cutting in and out (both for you talking and hearing others)? Doesn't do it all the time, but enough to be annoying. I always figured it was my old XBL headset, but I still have it with these. I kinda wonder if it isn't because these run on the same frequency as the wireless controllers.
I haven't had the voice cutting in an out problem. Just the chat boost going over board.
The voice problem could be caused by the controller (worn out headset plug) or the voice cable itself. You can go through TB support to get a new one, but they are really slow. Could be two months before you get a new cable. I would raise a stink in the forums. People seem to get more attention and faster service when they start complaining "in public."
EDIT: I would try a different controller if you have one. If this problem happened with both the TB and MS headset than it is likely the controller. I have two baby monitors, two cell phones, another pair of RF wireless headphones, and a WiFi adapter running in the same room as the X41's...No interference.
I too wish the voice cord was more like the puck style, I don't like how the end that connects to the controllers twists so much. That 90 deg connector sits below the controller too, so it gets bumped whenever you sit the controller down.
They switched from the plug, because the puck degrades the headset connection in the controller over time. The 90 degree plugs put less pressure on the input jack. I think MS has gone to the 90 degree plug and inline volume/mute for their standard headsets as well. I still prefer the puck. Not a big deal, but it is nice to not have to take your hand off the controller to mute yourself. I want to try the X3/X4 cable, but I don't want to drop $13 bucks on it. I already did that with the X1 cable, only to find out there is not mute button on it.
Thanks for the review heavy. My set is wrapped and under the tree already and I can't wait to try them out.
By the way, I got the latest issue of Offical Xbox Magazine and they gave the X41s a 9.0 out of 10 for their official review. The verdict reads:
Still, the X41s are the absolute home run. Hail to the new king, baby.
+ Incredible surround sound!
+ Integrated Xbox Live headset makes them multiplayer friendly too.
- Wifi is it's kryptonite.
? Why doesn't it come in black?
Thanks for the review heavy. My set is wrapped and under the tree already and I can't wait to try them out.
I think you will be very happy. Even if you never use the voice chat integration, they are still a great surround headphone for gaming. They will spoil your ears. You won't want to use a regular headphone setup after.
I still need to test drive the amp with a pair of good wired headphones. I think tonight I will plug in some in and give it a try.
93_confirmed wrote:Thanks for the review heavy. My set is wrapped and under the tree already and I can't wait to try them out.
I think you will be very happy. Even if you never use the voice chat integration, they are still a great surround headphone for gaming. They will spoil your ears. You won't want to use a regular headphone setup after
I second this, and I'm not much of an audiophile. Also I would be going crazy knowing they were in the house and I couldn't try them for another week.
heavyfeul wrote:93_confirmed wrote:Thanks for the review heavy. My set is wrapped and under the tree already and I can't wait to try them out.
I think you will be very happy. Even if you never use the voice chat integration, they are still a great surround headphone for gaming. They will spoil your ears. You won't want to use a regular headphone setup after
I second this, and I'm not much of an audiophile. Also I would be going crazy knowing they were in the house and I couldn't try them for another week.
It's not so bad because I've been rocking the X3's for the last 9 months or so. They're awesome! Once I get he X41s up and running, I think I'm going to donate my old set to a Goodjer in need.
It's not so bad because I've been rocking the X3's for the last 9 months or so. They're awesome! Once I get he X41s up and running, I think I'm going to donate my old set to a Goodjer in need.
I think you will find that the RF works a lot better than IR with less interference/background noise. The MS voice channel seems to be the major culprit of noise in the X41's. It is really low quality VOIP to begin with and the chat boost feature is aggressive. That combo paired with an old controller jack can create problems. All of mine go away as long as I keep the voice volume low. Although as the batteries begin to reach their limits I get the occasional crackle.
TB manual says you are supposed to turn the volume all the way down on the headset, then adjust the voice volume to a comfortable level. Doing that seems to keep the chat boost from going crazy. Probably works similar to the X3's I assume.
Of course, the baseline will be thrown off by the American Idol wannabe or the guy who blares his stereo while playing.
Mind if I ask a question about the A40, zeroKFE? Could you use coaxial input on the mixamp for the sound from your PC and completely remove the need for any cable switching?
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