gaming head set which
- Thread starter 9zap
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The Astro A40 is based on Dolby Headphone, where as the Sharkoon XTactic are essentially Speedlink Medusas (they use the same OEM) with a dolby 5.1 decoder box.
Dolby Headphone is vastly superior to the multiple discreet driver solution used by the Sharkoon / Medusas (I have used both but not the A40 or XTactic themselves).
Alternatively you could just get the Astro A40 Mixamp only without the headset and mix with stereo headphones and a mic of your choice.
Edit: Just checking - do you have a Dolby Digital Live capable soundcard? You'll need it to get surround sound of of the PC in games to feed to the A40 mixamp.
Dolby Headphone is vastly superior to the multiple discreet driver solution used by the Sharkoon / Medusas (I have used both but not the A40 or XTactic themselves).
Alternatively you could just get the Astro A40 Mixamp only without the headset and mix with stereo headphones and a mic of your choice.
Edit: Just checking - do you have a Dolby Digital Live capable soundcard? You'll need it to get surround sound of of the PC in games to feed to the A40 mixamp.
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Hi there,
Dident think about just getting the mixer box and then getting my own h/phones and mic' I have a Creative gamer xfi sound card which I am sure is Dolby Digital. the Astro A40 is £200 is it worth it? wonder anyone who owns the Astro A40 like to comment
Dident think about just getting the mixer box and then getting my own h/phones and mic' I have a Creative gamer xfi sound card which I am sure is Dolby Digital. the Astro A40 is £200 is it worth it? wonder anyone who owns the Astro A40 like to comment
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Correct. Last time I checked it could only be bought from Creative's US website. Mysteriously missing from the european version.
I've thought of an issue though. On the xtreme gamer (low profile retail version - the full height OEM card is essentially an Xtreme Music, sometimes with optical in/out rather than the gameport), isn't the digital out also the mic port? That could mean no digital surround and mic at the same time.
Correct. Last time I checked it could only be bought from Creative's US website. Mysteriously missing from the european version.
I've thought of an issue though. On the xtreme gamer (low profile retail version - the full height OEM card is essentially an Xtreme Music, sometimes with optical in/out rather than the gameport), isn't the digital out also the mic port? That could mean no digital surround and mic at the same time.
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Hmm, good thought there, Uriel. The flexi jack does indeed double as mic and digi out. But unless one can obtain Creatives I/O module, digi out cannot be used anyway. Asus gets more respect from me because one does not need to purchase an additional device to use the digi out.
One would need a Titanium if digi out and mic are to be simultaneously.
One would need a Titanium if digi out and mic are to be simultaneously.
As stated there is an OEM X-Fi Xtreme Gamer (sometimes marketed as Xtreme Music) on the market which allows both: the SB077x (replace x with various numbers). It's a full profile card with optical in and out as well as the full complement of analogue ports.
The flexijack on the retail XtremeGamer acts as a line in, mic in and mini optical out so it's a bit different to the Xtreme Music. I don't think you need the adaptor (i/o module) that is required for the retail Xtreme Music (SB0460).
I suppose you could use an Xtreme Gamer with optical out and use a USB mic.
This kind of thread reminds me that I've owned too many soundcards.
The flexijack on the retail XtremeGamer acts as a line in, mic in and mini optical out so it's a bit different to the Xtreme Music. I don't think you need the adaptor (i/o module) that is required for the retail Xtreme Music (SB0460).
I suppose you could use an Xtreme Gamer with optical out and use a USB mic.
This kind of thread reminds me that I've owned too many soundcards.
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Yep. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. For the standard retail versions, the Xtreme Music needs the I/O module. The Xtreme Gamer doesn't.
The OEM SB077x series are PCI cards that have the same port configuration as a Titanium but don't include the Dolby Digital Live / DTS Connect pack. For a $5 fee, they can be upgraded to the same connectivity options as a titanium.
OCUK used to sell SB077x series cards as an OEM Xtreme Music. They still turn up on a popular auction site from time to time and in Dell / HP / etc PCs.
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I believe so. The LP Xtreme Gamer is the only card we're talking about that I've not owned though.
Edit: A cheaper alternative to the A40 Mixamp would be the Victor SU-DH1. I'd recommend the Japanese (victor) rather than American (JVC) version as you can get an AC adaptor for it.
The SU-DH1 is a receiver / processor / headphone amp only though and won't do anything for a mic. It does have the advantage of having 3 dolby headphone modes like a Xonar, whereas that A40 only has one (DH2).
Edit: A cheaper alternative to the A40 Mixamp would be the Victor SU-DH1. I'd recommend the Japanese (victor) rather than American (JVC) version as you can get an AC adaptor for it.
The SU-DH1 is a receiver / processor / headphone amp only though and won't do anything for a mic. It does have the advantage of having 3 dolby headphone modes like a Xonar, whereas that A40 only has one (DH2).
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Just a note - All the Xonars with Dolby Digital live also have Dolby Headphone - so there would be no need for an A40 for PC gaming.
The A40 will only decode Dolby Digital so DTS connect would be of no use.
If you still wanted Dolby Headphone for the PS3, you could get the SU-DH1 and a Xonar DS. The DS outputs DTS connect, which the SU-DH1 can decode and convert to Dolby Headphone.
Bear in mind if you go from an X-Fi to a Xonar you will lose some gaming features. Whether you'll notice them is another matter.
The A40 will only decode Dolby Digital so DTS connect would be of no use.
If you still wanted Dolby Headphone for the PS3, you could get the SU-DH1 and a Xonar DS. The DS outputs DTS connect, which the SU-DH1 can decode and convert to Dolby Headphone.
Bear in mind if you go from an X-Fi to a Xonar you will lose some gaming features. Whether you'll notice them is another matter.
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While I have your attention Uriel
If I were to buy the DTS Live pack (I believe that's what it's called) from Creative, would it allow me to try Dolby Headphone etc on my Xtreme Gamer (the low profile one)?
Nothing more than "I just want to compare it" sort of thing.
If I were to buy the DTS Live pack (I believe that's what it's called) from Creative, would it allow me to try Dolby Headphone etc on my Xtreme Gamer (the low profile one)?
Nothing more than "I just want to compare it" sort of thing.
No. The pack just allows you to encode up to 5.1 audio on the fly so it can be sent via SPDIF / optical (which is natively 2 channel).
If you want to try it out, you can get a software version with some software DVD players. I found the version I tried rather compressed and thin sounding compared to the hardware versions on the SU-DH1 and Xonar.
Alternatively some (not many unfortunately) DVDs have a pre-encoded Dolby Headphone soundtrack. I know some releases of Pearl Harbour do (shame about the film). That would be my recommendation for a cheap way to try it.
If you want to try it out, you can get a software version with some software DVD players. I found the version I tried rather compressed and thin sounding compared to the hardware versions on the SU-DH1 and Xonar.
Alternatively some (not many unfortunately) DVDs have a pre-encoded Dolby Headphone soundtrack. I know some releases of Pearl Harbour do (shame about the film). That would be my recommendation for a cheap way to try it.