Quick Question about Astro A40s

[tomcellwheel]

Note: Do forgive me if this seems to be a silly question.

( You can skip this paragraph if you would like to get straight to the question) Well, I had not thought about getting a new headset for my gaming systems until a friend started talking about it. So lately I have been searching around. I am a very active PC/Xbox 360/ and occasionally PS3 gamer. I've been playing the 360 the most as of late, and wanted to "start off" with a headphone on that. Of course, as you can imagine, I'd prefer to find a headphone which would meet all my systems. Then came the battle between Turtle and Tittons. From customer reviews, seemed turtles won...though there were still literally HUNDREDS of reviews stating they are outright horrible. So I was "turned-off" by them as well. I then came to the astros, and I'm already in love with them. I'll admit, the $250 price seemed a bit hefty, and may be another week or two until I can get them; but I think they will definitely be worth it (despite the criticism friends will give me for dishing out $250 for a headset).

Now, onto the question...as I stated; I'll be using them for the 360 first. My biggest concern is that I love to chat with my friends while playing matched of COD/L4D/Etc. Does the Astro do well with Chat AND Gameplay at the same time? I believe I saw that the amp can be adjusted to whether chat or gameplay is louder, but from you users; anything I should know about? Will I still be able to have the clarity of the game and be able to clearly hear my friends at the same time? Also, how does the headset connect to the 360 to allow for party chat? Does it have another cable which connects to the controller? Or does the main connection take care of it all?

Edit: Another quick question: Can you play sound through the headset AND your television speakers? The reason I ask is that I'd like to use the speakers when I play (lets say COD) but I usually always have a friend with me that watches if we are online. He, of course, does not want to listen to a muted game; so can sound come out of both locations? And can it be changed to come out of either or? So if he happens to go to bed, I can Play on my late nights. And lastly, (not sure If I would do it or not), but is it possible to have the game audio come out of either the headset/speakers and the chat audio come out of the other? How much customization can be done?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks for all and any help in advance!
Tom

[Gremlin]

The clarity between game and chat is amazing, it's crisp and easily distinguishable. As for the cables, there is one that connects to your controller that is necessary for you to talk to people online. I cannot, unfortunately, answer your question about the television speakers, since I only use my A40s for games sounds and such.

[tomcellwheel]

Thanks Gremlin, that is what I needed to know!


Now if anyone has tried getting sound to go through speakers and headset; or know if it works or not, that information would be appreciated as well.


Edit: Also, I would guess there is an alternate cable that would plug into the PS3 to be able to chat as well then?

[mlgmom2b]

To answer your question, there is a cable that came with my son's headset/mix amp. It is a cable from your mix amp to your xbox 360 audio cables (basic red and white). They also had another jack in the cable that can plug into your T.v that goes from mix amp, to xbox 360 and into your T.v. My son doesn't know how to explain it more but I hope this helps out.

[BiG_JoHnN]

to answer your questions the mixamp does it all!
mix amp allows it to choose all game sound or all chat, or you can mix in both. you can turn the master volume about 85% and have it at 95% turned to chat so you can hear your friends loud and clear but the game sound will be pretty clear as well. you just got to mess with it to find your setting you like.

for the sounds from the tv, it should work regardless. I am using optic fibers so my components are connected to my tv still. and i can still turn my tv up if i wanted too. they com with piggy back cables so it should work.

hope this helps haha. :)

[ASTRO stanimal]

Hi Tom,

Answers are in-line below:


Now, onto the question...as I stated; I'll be using them for the 360 first. My biggest concern is that I love to chat with my friends while playing matched of COD/L4D/Etc. Does the Astro do well with Chat AND Gameplay at the same time? I believe I saw that the amp can be adjusted to whether chat or gameplay is louder, but from you users; anything I should know about? Will I still be able to have the clarity of the game and be able to clearly hear my friends at the same time? Also, how does the headset connect to the 360 to allow for party chat? Does it have another cable which connects to the controller? Or does the main connection take care of it all?

The ASTRO MixAmp can balance Xbox 360 Voice and Game audio. This gives you the opportunity to adjust your game volume higher or your voice volume higher in one simple dial.

To get the Voice audio from the Xbox 360, we have a cable that plugs into the controller and back into the MixAmp. The Game audio comes from either the RCA cables included or the optional TOSlink Optical Cable (http://www.astrogaming.com/products/detail/14/Toslink-Cable/) which allows for the full 5.1 Dolby Digital decoding.


Also, I would guess there is an alternate cable that would plug into the PS3 to be able to chat as well then?

If you purchase our MixAmp from the US, it ships with full PS3 support built-in. If you are ordering from the UK, you can get our MixAmp along with the optional USB PS3 Adapter.


Edit: Another quick question: Can you play sound through the headset AND your television speakers? The reason I ask is that I'd like to use the speakers when I play (lets say COD) but I usually always have a friend with me that watches if we are online. He, of course, does not want to listen to a muted game; so can sound come out of both locations? And can it be changed to come out of either or? So if he happens to go to bed, I can Play on my late nights. And lastly, (not sure If I would do it or not), but is it possible to have the game audio come out of either the headset/speakers and the chat audio come out of the other? How much customization can be done?


It would be a very confusing setup and we feel that it'd provide a sub-par listening/gaming experience. An option for your friend to hear you would be to use our Powered Splitter (http://www.astrogaming.com/products/detail/55/Powered-Splitter/) which will allow the use of a second headset with our MixAmp.

Hopefully this answers your questions. Please let us know if you have any more!

- ASTRO Stanimal

[tomcellwheel]

I believe that answers all of my questions! Thanks everyone for the help! Ordering my astro's in just a bit.