Astro A40 2013 edition, worth it?

[XYZamir]

Hi everybody

 

 

Was wondering if any of you have any experience with astro a40 headset 2013?

 

I need a headset and these ones offer 7.1, removable mic, compatible with consoles and pc

 

also anybody know why they aren't sold in any major canadian retail.

I was only able to find them on Ebgame.ca.

[WildTurtle]

you got two ears, you only need 2 speakers in a headset. unless ur in a theatre room, 7.1 surround will never help you at all. Also, I find that their "mixamp" is a gimmick, personally, I would rather get a xonar essence stx and just some ballin headphones and call it a day. My brother used these for a while, says they are nothing special even with the mix amp. Take ur $249.99 and invest into a real headset and a sound card.

[I'm Batman]

you got two ears, you only need 2 speakers in a headset. unless ur in a theatre room, 7.1 surround will never help you at all. Also, I find that their "mixamp" is a gimmick, personally, I would rather get a xonar essence stx and just some ballin headphones and call it a day. My brother used these for a while, says they are nothing special even with the mix amp. Take ur $249.99 and invest into a real headset and a sound card.

you are so wrong.

[I'm Batman]

i have ASTRO A40 2011Ed. and i can tell you this they are rock solid i bought these when they were realsed which was Q4 of 2010 and still everytin works perfectly fine (I lost one of the ear cup thing though :p ) and the sound quality is amazing and better than most of the headset!s out there only complain that i have would be the bass but since its a gaming headset low bass is exceptable :)  

 

 

 

note:ASTRO A40 pc edition is 150$ 

[Aphexx]

you are so wrong.

no U

[MiracleMan]

Every Headphone can do 7.1 with Dolby Headphone, which by the way works way better than these wierd multi driver headsets. 

Always prefer a good (HiFi) Stereo headphone over a gaming headset. 

 

HiFi headphones live way longer (i hear from broken headsets from friends all the time, they almost never live longer than 3 years, i have my DT770's since 12 years now), sound better and have mostly better quality. 

 

How about a soundcard + headphones + modmic? 

Whats your budget? 

[Lyons]

i have ASTRO A40 2011Ed. and i can tell you this they are rock solid i bought these when they were realsed which was Q4 of 2010 and still everytin works perfectly fine (I lost one of the ear cup thing though :P ) and the sound quality is amazing and better than most of the headset!s out there only complain that i have would be the bass but since its a gaming headset low bass is exceptable :)

 

 

 

note:ASTRO A40 pc edition is 150$ 

 

You are so wrong.

[I'm Batman]

You are so wrong.

Your avatar is nice

[Irontheater]

Let me just explain what's the difference between 7.1 and Stereo Headphones, before the constructive Yes/No posts take over.

 

Headphones are judged (in the most basic way) by the size of the driver lateral to the cups.

 

The bigger they are, the higher the range frequency is, and the more precise reproduced sounds are.

 

In stereo headphones, a single driver occupies the whole cup size, and therefore, you'll be getting max. quality. (not to forget that 7.1 Dolby can give off a perfect impression of 3D depth)

 

In 7.1 headphones, instead of having 1 driver occupy all that space, you have 3 smaller drivers in each ear cup, as well as an additional Bass (which is often external to the headphone).

You will be getting hardware originated 3D depth.

And because of the manufacturing imperfections, it's impossible to line up all the frequencies so that they align perfectly in order to produce accurate interference free sounds.

 

What you will perceive (but very very slightly) is a small background noise coming from nowhere but interference.

True 7.1 headphones have no use when they are worn as a headset, but tend to be better than the others in Speaker mode where the 6 speakers (with often low impedance) will be able to push higher amplitudes of sound, and give off a small impression of depth.

 

 

Now, to come back on topic, the Astro A40 is a wonderful headset for gaming.

It has been tuned to be the most responsive around the frequencies that are the most depicted in action games (particularly highs and lows) but tends to fall out a bit on the mids.

 

Although listening to classical music/ traditional instruments / careful editing might not be the best use for them, they excel in bass heavy songs, electro...etc as well as games.

(let me add that not a single headset can perform greatly in all music fields. A headset that excels in classical music will not give you the best experience in games and other music genres)

 

The Astro A40 are not True 7.1 headphones (luckily), so don't worry about all the disadvantages that come with True 7.1.

 

TL;DR: Yes, the Astro A40 is worth getting.

 

 

Edited for formatting

[ik1nky]

Even though it was said above, I want to make sure that you know that the A40s are not 7.1 headphones. The mixamp processes the sound to make it seam like 7.1. This is a much better solution than the 'true' 7.1 systems primarily because you will have 2 large quality drivers instead of many small cheap drivers.

[XYZamir]

thanks people for your responses,

 

I forgot to mention that I do currently have a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50.

 

Maybe getting a separate mic will better?

 

The Astros really seem a good choice since I also have PS3 play online on.

I just don't the Beats by Dr Dre of Headset lol

 

 

Even though it was said above, I want to make sure that you know that the A40s are not 7.1 headphones. The mixamp processes the sound to make it seam like 7.1. This is a much better solution than the 'true' 7.1 systems primarily because you will have 2 large quality drivers instead of many small cheap drivers.

 

 

 

Irontheater

Thanks for the info

[XYZamir]

Every Headphone can do 7.1 with Dolby Headphone, which by the way works way better than these wierd multi driver headsets. 

Always prefer a good (HiFi) Stereo headphone over a gaming headset. 

 

HiFi headphones live way longer (i hear from broken headsets from friends all the time, they almost never live longer than 3 years, i have my DT770's since 12 years now), sound better and have mostly better quality. 

 

How about a soundcard + headphones + modmic? 

Whats your budget? 

 

That sounds sick, I am sucker for make shift solutions lol

I do have a pair of audio technica ATH-M50

 

well, my budget is 250$ 

[Lyons]

That sounds sick, I am sucker for make shift solutions lol

I do have a pair of audio technica ATH-M50

well, my budget is 250$

Definitely keep the M50's and get a mic and soundcard. A40's are gaming crap that will sound horrible for music and no better for games. No matter what people say, if a headset/headphones are very bass heavy, they will be crap. Music uses the whole sound spectrum and overpowering bass ruins it.

[ShearMe]

That sounds sick, I am sucker for make shift solutions lol

I do have a pair of audio technica ATH-M50

 

well, my budget is 250$ 

 

Keep the ATH-M50s, buy a ModMic, buy this for console use. If the sound from your computer is loud enough and clear (no static in the background), then you do not need a soundcard. :)

 

 

(let me add that not a single headset can perform greatly in all music fields. A headset that excels in classical music will not give you the best experience in games and other music genres)

 

Unless you like hearing the sound as it was designed to be heard - Artists don't mix music, movies, or game sounds to their liking just to have someone come in and completely change it with their "tuned" speakers/headphones/headsets.

[XYZamir]

@ShearMe

 

The built in sound in my mobo (Maximus Vi extreme) is pretty alright

Though, I never had a real sound card. I wouldn't classify myself as an audiophile but I do like music in Flac.

Flac sounds way better than typical codecs like Mp3s to my hears.

[ShearMe]

@ShearMe

 

The built in sound in my mobo (Maximus Vi extreme) is pretty alright

Though, I never had a real sound card. I wouldn't classify myself as an audiophile but I do like music in Flac.

Flac sounds way better than typical codecs like Mp3s to my hears.

 

I purchased the nice items in my avatar to the left (also link in signature) to use with my HD 650s, but recently my amp has been having some problems I'm working on getting fixed. In the meantime I've been using the on board sound from my Maximus IV Gene, and was quite surprised at how little a difference in sound there was. I don't regret getting the expensive external setup, but the sound difference between on board, sound cards, and external is highly exaggerated by a lot of people on the internet; a lot of people who've heard the difference don't consider the price justifiable.

 

There's just too little of an audible difference between particular DAC chips and well-designed amplifiers to even bother choosing one based on subjective sound reviews.

[h264]

Headphones are judged (in the most basic way) by the size of the driver lateral to the cups.

 

The bigger they are, the higher the range frequency is, and the more precise reproduced sounds are.

 

 

My Etymotics drivers are less than 1mm and still produce sounds at a LARGER frequency range than your headset's drivers.  It's a property of the earcups, earpads, and sometimes the inside of your ear.  It's not about the size, it's how you "move" it back and forth that really counts.  Thus the open design of many high end headphones.  If what you said was true I could achieve sonic perfection by making a driver that fits in this monster truck tire and attaching it to my ears somehow:

 

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/31912-gaming-head-phone-vs-audiophile-hp-question/?p=408047

 

I posted this before, but here it is again.

[ScotFox]

Recently returned a pair of the a40s. The mic is quite honeslty a piece of crap compared to the 2012 version. If you are playing on a console these are a great headset, but for pc you aren't getting a good audio expierience for that price. You could easily pick up a pair of senheiser HD558 or even a pc360 if you would prefer an attached mic and then buy a sound card. Hope this helps

[EChondo]

I'd just like to add my experience with my M50's and I have never used Astros and never plan too...

 

I bought my M50's months back(still have to write a review) specifically for everyday use. I'm mainly a PC gamer and I pair my M50's with a Blue Snowball Microphone. I do not have a sound card, but I can hear clear for gaming and I sound great over the mic.

 

I understand you want to use the A40's for consoles and PC, but what I did is I have a pair of Turtle Beach X12's and I use those specifically for Xbox 360. They aren't the best headset around, but for $50 and mine have lasted two years now and haven't degraded in quality(from my experience), they are a good cheap solution. Again, I'm mainly PC, so I don't use them much, but they have worked for me for the past two years and I couldn't be happier.

 

Whatever you do go with, make sure you're happy with. If you want to blow $250 on the Astro's and see how they perform, well then that's up to you. Personally I would use my M50's with a mod mic and get a converter like what ShearMe posted.

[Irontheater]

Unless you like hearing the sound as it was designed to be heard - Artists don't mix music, movies, or game sounds to their liking just to have someone come in and completely change it with their "tuned" speakers/headphones/headsets.

To hear the sound just as it was designed to be heard, you must listen to the song with the same headset as the one it was edited with.
Every headphone has a distinct sound blueprint, and any headphone will be tuning it in a way or another.

Even high end audiophile grade components such as the Sennheiser HD800 and the BeyerD T1 sound different.
None of them is better that the other, they are just targeted at different people.

My Etymotics drivers are less than 1mm and still produce sounds at a LARGER frequency range than your headset's drivers. It's a property of the earcups, earpads, and sometimes the inside of your ear. It's not about the size, it's how you "move" it back and forth that really counts. Thus the open design of many high end headphones. If what you said was true I could achieve sonic perfection by making a driver that fits in this monster truck tire and attaching it to my ears somehow:

I believe you might have taken me too literally, as I was explaining it in the most basic way, in case you were comparing 2 similarly specced headphones. Anything above 25-30mm reproduces good lows, mids, and highs. Going way above that to 50-60 and 70mm is useless (for headphones), since I don't imagine anyone has the intention of blowing their ear drums off.


It's really quite impossible for me to know which Etymotics earphones you have, but I can talk from my experience with the Etymotic MC3.
They have 8mm drivers, and are quite expensive for earphones.

They are in-ear, which means they are about 5 times closer to your eardrums as around the ear headphones, which translates to having to push 5 times less amplitude.
If you were to put the Etymotic with the (ex.) Astro A40 at 20 cm each, in a way where you hear an equal amplitude coming from both, the Astro A40 will definitely sound better (because of the bigger driver size)

Bigger drivers size also translates to having better lows (gaming purposes).

The Etymotic MC3 earphones have a response frequency ranging from 20Hz to 15kHz, compared to the A40 which range from 15Hz to 28kHz.


The sound you hear definitely does change depending on the physical properties of your headset's external shell, but that modulation is quite limited, and the majority of the work is done by the drivers.
And it's true that it's not about the size, and that it's its oscillations which release the sound vibrations, and that is a property of the drivers.

The major advancement in audio is the effective way to reduce impedance while maintaining good audio quality.
I have an old Sharp Stereo lying around, with 250mm drivers. Nowadays, its sound (quality and amplitude) can be easily rivaled by something that's 100mm or less.



If you attached earphones to a driver that's the size of the truck, you will blow off your eardrums.
From a more analytical point of view, the sound perceived at low amplitudes (suitable to be worn in headsets) will result in massive coil whine, because that's just not what they were designed for.

Listening to the monster truck (10meter?) drivers from a distance of 1 meter, vs listening to a 1 meter driver for a distance of 1 meter (assuming both are of equal quality drivers), yes, the monster truck ones will sound better.



I might've come off as an Astro fanboy ITT, but let me just clarify that my daily driver is currently the HD650 (which I bought not long ago), and I tend to try on headphones at every chance I get.


I'd also like to add that OP should try on the headphones before buying them. Making an audio decision should not be based on other people's opinions.

[ShearMe]

To hear the sound just as it was designed to be heard, you must listen to the song with the same headset as the one it was edited with.

Every headphone has a distinct sound blueprint, and any headphone will be tuning it in a way or another.

 

It's true you'd need the same speakers/headphones the editor used to hear exactly what the editor intended.

 

However, this suggests that a headphone you deem proper for one genre, may not actually be suited for it depending upon which driver pushed sound waves to the editor's ear. Thus, no speaker/headphone will be "better for gaming" nor "better for music" nor "better for movies" when the recordings themselves vary. You cannot say a particular headphone performs greatly in classical recordings, but not for games, or vice versa, because the headphone will perform exactly the same between those sources - that is to say, any speaker will hold the same preference to certain frequencies independent of the genre of the signal sent to it. 

[Arshdeep]

OR, now hear me out, you can just use the monitor speakers? Lol

[BaconComputing]

What is it with these audio threads nowadays? Every single one asking about a product or recommendation ends with like 2 or more pages. Hmm.. Might be all the "YOU'RE WRONG" posts.

[Dylan lol]

i have ASTRO A40 2011Ed. and i can tell you this they are rock solid i bought these when they were realsed which was Q4 of 2010 and still everytin works perfectly fine (I lost one of the ear cup thing though ) and the sound quality is amazing and better than most of the headset!s out there only complain that i have would be the bass but since its a gaming headset low bass is exceptable

 

 

 

note:ASTRO A40 pc edition is 150$ 

"just lost one of the ear cups"

[NannerBeans]

 

It's not about the size, it's how you "move" it back and forth that really counts. 

I agree. It's all about the motion