Major Audio Upgrade...Astro A40, JVC HA RX900

Lord Nemesis

Lord Nemesis

Overlord
Skilled
Got these in courier from KMD today....:p

JVC HA RX900 Headphones





ASTRO A40 MIXAMP





TOSLINK CABLES



I had a major bummer after getting these. I found that the Realtek HD supports only 2 channel audio via optical. No Dolby Digital live with the onboard. Seems like I will have to get an X-Fi card to get the most out it. :ashamed:
 
I could not test the mixamp on the PC, so I just tried it with the PS3, set the optical out to output Dolby Digital 5.1 and the Dolby Headphone rendition of it spit out by the A40 mixamp is too damn awesome. There is a tonne of difference in the audio from RCA stereo.
 
:O you finally got ! Congrats!

burn the JVC for 2 nights and you will enjoy them even more. Btw, what does that mixamp do ? :ashamed:
 
^^ A40 MixAmp basically takes a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal via Toslink and makes a Dolby Headphone (Virtual surround) rendition of it so that you can get the surround effect on any regular pair of stereo headphones. Its supposedly the best device in the market for positional audio in gaming via headphones and a notch above even the best true 5.1/7.1 headphones like the Tritton AXPro.

Its also capable of mixing mic audio input from the gamers with the in game audio and pretty useful for LAN events etc, but I bought it mainly for the surround sound function and it really delivers in that aspect.

Astro Gaming | Professional Gaming Equipment | A40 MixAmp
 
^^ congo :)

Was looking to buy a combo as such(havent researched much yet :p), so just wanted to know why u didnt go for the roccat's (which you were looking at bfore..true 5.1's). what made u change your mind :p.
 
Thanks guy's :D

Rockyme2002 said:
^^ congo :)

Was looking to buy a combo as such(havent researched much yet :p), so just wanted to know why u didnt go for the roccat's (which you were looking at bfore..true 5.1's). what made u change your mind :p.
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Well, it was a nightmare arriving at a decision on what to go for. :p

I was considering several headsets/headphones including ROCCAT's as well as the Tritton AX Pro.

ROCCAT's do not seem to be easily available in US and where they are available, they were selling for nearly $140 and yet they cannot be used with my consoles which have surround only via Toslink and HDMI.

Tritton AX Pro has that facility for about the same price point, but I read reviews as well as had opinions from several people that the virtual surround of A40 MixAmp is a better than the Trittons true surround. A40 MixAmp is acknowledged to be pretty good even by the folk at Head-Fi forums which is something considering that they trash anything that offers surround or has more than 1 driver per cup.

So once I settled on the A40 MixAmp, I had to decide the headphones/headset. The three contenders are Turtle Beach HPX/HPA2 (In dual driver stereo mode), Audio Technica AD700 and the JVC HA RX 900. Both Turtle Beach HPX and Audio Technica AD700 were popular choices with the A40 MixAmp.

AD700 was out of the race as its sound leakage is pretty noticible, so it was between the Turtle Beach HPX/HPA2 and RX900 in the end.

Both HPX and HPA2 had 4 drivers per cup and can be used in either 5.1 mode or stereo mode (with two 40mm drivers operating in each cup). HPA2 had the advantage of a 5.1 USB amplifier so it can be used individually as a analog 5.1 headset as well. RX900 was slightly cheaper. RX900 is a decidcated stereo headset, but I heard form Head-Fi people that HPX/HPA2 is equally good in stereo mode. It has better bass than the AD700 or the RX900. I even considered getting both JVC HA RX 700 and HPA2 along with the A40 MixAmp.

My head begin spinning over all this data and in a sudden impulsive moment, I ended all the agony all by placing the oder for RX900 + A40 MixAmp. :rofl:

iceman1 said:
how much for the A40 MIXAMP ? Is it suitable for music ?
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A40 MIXAMP cost me 8.6k. The MixAmp is geared towards gaming. You can easily switch of the Dolby Headphone 2 feature and use it just as a headphone amplifier for music, but that defeats the purpose of getting this device. I believe there are much cheaper Headphone amplifiers around if thats what you want.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
My head begin spinning over all this data and in a sudden impulsive moment, I ended all the agony all by placing the oder for RX900 + A40 MixAmp. :rofl:
Click to expand...

^^lewl:p

me 2 was looking for true 5.1's as i hav gone thru the barracuda and the turtle:)ohyeah:) whn i decided to go with the roccat's..but getting thm here costs almost double their original cost.

So decided to get the mixamp with some REAL headphones this time :ashamed:.havent decided on the headphones yet.

Whts your thoughts on the rx900 + the amp.... ny good for watching movies ?? ppl over there r comparing it to the ath a700 nd ad900's(was thinking of getting this 1 or the dt-770) which cost way more.I mite as well save the money nd get this combo :hap2:

what sound card r u using this with ??
 
MixAmp was fantastic with the Dolby Digital 5.1 output in games from my PS3. As for PC, I am currently running it off the optical out of my On board Realtek HD (I also have a Audigy 2 ZS, but it does not have Toslink). I was dismayed to find that Realtek HD cannot provide dolby digital 5.1 via the optical and that its only stereo without that, so I am on the lookout for a sound card now that can do DDL and not cost a bomb. I would rather save money for a couple of HD5870's than spend that on an expensive sound card just to get 5.1 digital out.

RX900's have not burned in enough yet, so I cannot comment on the audio quality, but even without any burn in they are pretty much on par and somewhat better than my Sennheiser HD485. In any case, There are many people over at Head Fi who vouch for the RX900. The issue I have with the RX900 is that its feeling like a tight fit for my head. I hope it loosens up a bit in time.

If you want to try true 5.1 as well as MixAmp, then get the Turtle Beach HPA2 along with the stereo adapter cable and the MixAmp. This way you can use it as analog True 5.1 as well as for virtual surround using the MixAmp.
 
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