geekhack
geekhack Community => Input Devices => Topic started by: DRG on Sun, 01 May 2011, 01:08:55
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What do you guys think about them? I read mixed reviews everywhere, are they just hyped because MLG uses them?
http://www.astrogaming.com/audio-systems/a40-audio-systems/a40-audio-system-astro-edition
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Simply; mixamp is okay does stack up to some of the dac/amps around it's price range primarily because of dolby(DPL-II setting being one of the most commonly used out of the room settings). Headphones despite being stereo are of subpar quality. Plus they are closed and not open though then again I guess they mean to go to LANs so the noise will be a factor.
But either way there's much better hi-fi headphones(closed or open) that can be bought with better quality drivers and sound signature. In most cases when dealing with headsets your dealing with a headphone that sacrifice some sound quality for microphone. So if you use a 3rd party headphone you need a separate mic/boom.
And also if you plan on PC gaming either way a sound card would be the superior choice due to having all the features of the mixamp unless you choose to use external equipment(either PC or consoles).
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Yeah I think it depends on your needs. If you really need to ensure that the mic pick up will be high quality for the benefit of others on your call and also the all in one aspect of it is important, perhaps you need to move these things around to different computers or what not, then a headset is a good choice. But if you're like me and you only need it for the times you game with your friends, and also you don't really care about their sound quality (yeah I'm selfish hehe), then getting a good pair of headphones and just a decent desktop mic might be a better choice. I just went with the logitech usb desktop mic. My friends tell me they can hear me decently on skype, although it's not as good as my old headset, but man, they can deal with it lol. If you really need to make sure they hear you well, there are clip on mic options that might get you better sound.
To me the biggest compromise with a headset is that the headphone portion of it is either usually not up to snuff to even mid level headphones and/or insanely expensive and even then, probably way below the sound quality of a similarly price headphone. That's just my take on it.
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awesome, thanks for the info guys =]
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I hear the headphones are terrible. The mixamp provides Dolby Headphones, which could be interesting, but there's a turtle beach product that does the same for half the price.
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I use both the wired and wireless Mixamp with both Console gaming(xbox/ps3) and PC gaming with Ventrillo. I have the A40's and they are nice but if I don't need the microphone I grab my Audio Technica ATH-AD700 open air headphones.
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iirc Mixamp does Dolby Headphone setting 2, JVC SU-DH1 does all three but is rare in the US. You can also try Yamaha Silent Cinema for consoles; for PC there are plenty of soundcard choices. But the Astro does mix, which must be handy if you need the headset.
If you cash in on your stock options or unload your shares in a IPO, trying using the pricey stuff - Beyerdynamic Headzone or that Synth Realizer thing, and tell us how it goes!