The official PS4 Headset/Headphones Guide/Discussion

[Psycho Sonny]

I was under the impression that the optical cable from the rear of the PS4 carries Audio and Mic?

I have the PS4 connected to the mixamp via the optical cable ONLY.

the Mixamp is powered by a Mini USB cable to a 10amp multi USB Charger

The headphones are plugged into the front headphone socket on the mixamp.

The PS4 is set correct as per the Astro PS4 settings.

that usb cable needs to go to the console

you then have to tell the console you want audio chat by USB all other sound by optical cable.

i can assure you this is how i have mine setup.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

if your doing competitive gaming then you want a mixamp.

if your doing immersive gaming then you need a optical dac (with a line out signal which isn't the same as headphone out going into a amp) and a schiit vali 2.

going into a pc then into your headset seems like a waste of electricity to me as well as not needed wear and tear on the pc, just seems like a bodge job.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

the k702 all the way then.

make sure you do the bass mod and your sorted.

mod involves removing a bit of film with some tweezers.

i would get a matching schiit optical DAC

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I have wireless headphones. Can I get a seperste mic somehow and use it. My phones have no 3.5mm.

buy any usb plug and play mic and plug it into the console.

some people use a blue yet for instance.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

That simple? My headphones act as an HDMI hub of sorts and PS4 auto outputs to HDMI in sound settings. So plug in a USB mic and Ill talk and hear everything through my headphones (Which in effect the PS4 thinks is a TV).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmxb_C4eyHI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0HXaQnOl5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMhI0qWo_k


if that works i take it most USB mics will that are plug and play

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I'm looking into upgrading my headset, I currently have the Sony pulse headset (gta v version but identical internally) would a set of A50's be a noticeable upgrade?

I have heard about an issue with a hum when in use, if this is true how bad is it as I wouldn't want to be spending £200 to have a headset with a background hum.

Ita not an essential upgrade just a treat to myself, I like the pulse as I can just pick them up but I like the idea of having something on a stand I can use whenever I fancy and it has its own holder and is top quality.

depends on how good your ears are and if you tune yourself to noticing the differences.

for example i could show a reference quality 50" plasma to someone then a £300 50" polaroid tv and they not see any difference.

if you know what to look for then yes the difference will be noticeable.

however wired beats wireless by miles £ for £. wireless however has the advantage of no wires.

i don't know how the A50's work they could possibly connect by wire to the controller. which doesn't mean true wireless

 

[Psycho Sonny]

The mixamp is more for people who want a headset (chat function).

If you dont need the chat function. A proper dac and amp setup will blow it away.

I use an aune t1 with my pc and laptop. Its a usb tube dac with a cheap solid state amp.

So i also have a schiit vali (tube amp) that i can use with the line out of the aune t1 and double amp the mixamp for when i feel.my q701s are under powered.

The mixamp is brilliant but it only excels at competitive gaming.

A proper dac amp will blow it away but again the products im mentioning are double the price of a mixamp.

If you want go to richer sounds and test some of their dac amps with your headphones.

You will then see the difference for yourself and see if its worth it or not.

Ive tested dac amps ranging from £20 to £800. The sweet spot is around £100-£300.

My aune t1 is ridiculously good for £120. The schiit range are all very good too. £100-£150 per dac and amp from schiit and you have yourself a setup thats end game in clarity and sound.

Anyone spending more than £300 for a headphone dac/amp is literally throwing money away.

For me i think of it simply. If £300 gets you the best setup possible. Thats about £1 a day for less than a year. I spend 5 times that on lunch. Whereas lunch only puts iff hunger for 4-5 hours. A optical dac setup should last a lifetime if made by a reputable company like schiit.

If you dont need chat function then a schiit optical dac and a schiit vali 2 should blow you away.

Doesnt matter that its stereo. Headphones are stereo. The mixamp gives you a sense of virtual surround whilst great for competitive gaming its terrible for audio purists.

You may notice i have both a tube dac and tube amp. The tubes have a limited lifespan of about 10,000 hours. But you can easily buy another and replace them like a lightbulb on the vali 2. Its very simple to do. Bulb prices again range from £2 to £100. The sweet spot is around £10-£20. Which spread over 10,000 hours is nothing.

Tubes to me sound natural. They arent digitally clinical. They sound more pleasing. I dunno my ears just love sound passed through tubes rather than electrical solid state amps.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Thanks for the detailed reply Sonny. I have gotten used to having the virtual surround and quite enjoy it, especially in open world games like Fallout as I can tell what's going on and where generally.
It's quite hard to decide but I suppose the advantage of having a mixamp anyway is you can turn the DSS off and still use chat.
I saw you can connect a mixamp+dac+amp on HeadFi. Does that mean the mixamp will just be used for chat at that point and the DAC takes over or?

I may go with a Schiit Magni/Modu Uber stack. I'm not entirely convinced I would miss DSS. I remember flicking between stereo and DSS on Tomb Raider and thought stereo sounded better and I could still tell where hte drips were coming from. I only need voice now and then so maybe I could go with the usb mic route and avoid buying the mixamp.

i use a mixamp plus hd558's with a mod mic

i only use my schiit vali tube amp with the mixamp when using my q701's are they are hard to drive. i basically double amp them and stick the mixamp on a relatively low volume to reduce hiss and make the vali do all the amping.

you cannot use a dac with a mixamp. a DAC is an digital to analogue converter. you can only convert from digital to analogue once. no need for a dac with a mixamp as the mixamp is both a DAC and a AMP.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I see. I'll put the mixamp off for now then. Thanks again.

the best thing you can do is grab some powerful music and head down to richer sounds and test out their dac/amps with your headphones.

you will then see for yourself the kind of difference they make.

what headphones do you own or are thinking of buying?

the chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.

media - source - DAC - AMP - headphones

all of them should be on the same level. for instance you wouldn't play magnetic tape through £10,000 speakers. the same you wouldn't use a £100 DAC with £20 headphones.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Had X1's my first decent headphone barring a brief spell with some AT M50's (which made my ears really hot).

AKG K712 Pro has been ordered, I also like the look of X2, K702 (cheaper too as a +).

x2's aren't really worth it over a x1 if you already have it.

the x1 is a great all rounder but it's not the best headphone for specific tasks. i loved my x1 and i miss the bass they had. it wasn't reference but it was fun. it's a brilliant headphone for immersive gaming and watching movies.

the k712 pro is a modded k702. the difference between them isn't that much tbh. different earpads i think is the main one. it's like the difference between ferrari with a 3.8 litre engine and one with a 4.2 litre engine. in the real world very slight difference. if you have the cash buy the k712 but the k702 for me is the one to go for. like i said they both use the exact same driver, share the same build, etc. it's only extras which change like the earpads, colour, etc.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

you going to be double amping?

it's not required unless your using chat. stick the dial all the way to game audio.

if using chat then stick it to wherever suits. stick the volume on the mixamp to low and use the uber to control volume as it's the much better amp.

i would have went with a vali 2 personally, but I love tube amps.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

How the **** do I connect any kind of much to these with that xlr connection?

mic?

you use a seperate mic like a clip on from china, or a mod mic. if you can't wait amazon sell one for like £5. i believe ocuk do too.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

that mixamp hasn't been reviewed by MLE on head fi.

i have the previous non tr version. it sounds very good.

unless your a streamer i don't think you need the tr version - it's built for streamers iirc.

the kzxx is the same driver again a modded version of my q701, k702 and k712 pro.

they are all very similar. same driver but modded differently. the x2 is a fun headphone (warm) whereas the akg's are more reference (neutral).

turn surround off or mess about with the settings in division. try a different game. some games just don't sound well or make sure it's all set up right.

i play the division and it sounds perfect for me. but i'm using a different mixamp. you probably have some setting enabled somewhere (console, mixamp or the game) which is making it sound funny.

it's not the headphones at fault it's somwhere else.

best test for your headphones is music and movies using a 2.0 stereo dac/amp to see what headphones you like. for gaming nothing comes close to AKG's but they are very hard to power. the mixamp should be turned to game only and pretty high on the volume.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Ah! I knew it couldn't just be me. SOunded like I was playing in an underground tunnel. Back to a 2013.

Actually I like the look of the X7

creative X7? it's £300. overkill IMO but if you have the money then it's the best thing ever made.

i would sell that mixamp and buy the same version as me. no need for an x7.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Yeah I like how it looks and it uses different surround processing plus the inbuilt amp is pretty beefy. My head knows a £50 mix amp will suffice though.
Interesting about the presets Shimmy, that's one big advantage of the latest model.

You have the 5.8 wireless don't you Sonny? One on the bay for 25

i have both a 5.8 wireless plus the mixamp pro 2nd gen

http://www.astrogaming.co.uk/mixamp-gen2/MIXAMP-GEN2.html#start=1

that model.

i don't use the 5.8 wireless much any more as on the ps4 you need to have a lead from the controller into the amp which means your using the crap ds4 for voice comms which degrades bluetooth quality and the sound quality is worse than usb.

the older version of mine is currently £20 cheaper

http://www.astrogaming.co.uk/mixamp™-pro---gen-1/3AM99-HBU9X-975.html

don't think there is much in them tbh. i just went for the newer one coz it's newer. however i've read the older £20 cheaper model is actually better.

i'll be re-doing all my setups in future and I may decide to use the 5.8 solely for xb1 and the 2nd gen pro for ps4. i use the 2nd gen pro for both currently.

my 5.8 is just sitting in a box should i decide to go wireless again at some point.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

i mainly use hd558's but tbh the issue is that are too easy to drive (don't need any power). i stick the volume too low and sound starts to cut out as not enough power going to the second driver (the way they are wired up internally isn't great i imagine). i put it up and it's too loud so i stick it more to chat then amp the sound so more power but lower volume.

i'm thinking of selling them and using solely my Q701's for gaming.

or i may keep them for pc gaming and q701's for console.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Ha, I knew it was a mistake Sonny, don't shout at me but AStro A50 tempting for £190 new..

great if you want wireless.

however won't match akg's in terms of sound quality

 

[Psycho Sonny]

x eleventy million

Started reading back through the thread and thought 'my there's lots of audio discussion in here'.

At least it's shown me I can't just plug my Denon/Grado/HD25 into the DS4 and expect something decent.

Scurries off to look at this mixamp malarky

hd25's are crap for gaming the others will be better.

the ds4 is awful for SQ and it degrades the bluetooth connection.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Opinion on DT990 Premium 250ohm at just over £100?

250 ohm means you need a really good amp.

good headphones but not for using with a mixamp unless your double amping.

double amping also has it's own issues.

DT770 is best for closed as is the hyper x clouds.

Fidelio X range for fun (bass) and all rounders.

AKG 7 range for ultimate in competitive gaming and expansive sound.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

you don't get better headphones than them tbh for competitive gaming.

you can bass mod them also i think if you think they lack bass. same mod as all other akg's. you remove some film using tweezers. not the hardest mod in the world.

my lime q701's are an acquired taste

http://cdn.head-fi.org/f/f0/900x900px-LL-f0eb196a_IMG_4560.jpeg

but "gaming" headsets usually take on this sort of styling but never achieve the class of akg's