Hi,
I've got the mixamp and have just upgraded my astro a40s to a pair of Audio Technica AD700s.
I did alot of research to try and find out which headphones are best for gaming. I wanted fantastic sound quality and also a set of headphones that had an impressive sound stage so as I could detect the direction of sound in games.
I looked at the closed ultrasone headphones you posted the link to, but went for the AD700s because they are open dynamic headphones and if you read other forums and review sites people rate the Ad700s so highly and say the ability to detect the direction of sound is easier on a set of open headphones rather than a closed set.
Like I said at the start of my post I did have the Astro A40s and used these with my mixamp, and tbh I was very happy with the results. The sound quality imo was excellent in both games and movies and the sound detecion was very good also. However, I kept reading good things about the ad700s and read many comparison pieces that rate the ad700s over the a40s. With this in mind I've put my a40s on ebay and have got a pair of ad700s.
I can honestly say that the sound quality coming out of these headphones is fantastic and I havent burn't them in yet. The bass is excellent and when I pair them up to the mix amp the dolby digital is amazing. You can clearly hear the direction of sound in movies and games better than you do with the astros. The ad700s are better than the a40s in terms of sound quality and they are more comfortable than the a40s.
The advantages the a40s have over them are that they look cooler (if this is a factor to you?), have a detachable boom mic for voice chat and come in a travel case. I'm not worried about the boom mic because I've ordered one to go with my headphones. Theres a simple mod that you can do with a labtech boom mic. I'm sure theres a link in the 'decent headphones for rhe 360 part 2 thread' over on the 360 forums. Basically someone has cut the headband piece of the boom mic off and attached the actual mic to the headphones. I'm going to use velco. The mic in question can be found on the american ebay and can be had for £15 including p&p. If you dont like the sound of modding a boom mic alot of people use the zalmon clip on mic.
If you want to go for the astro package the best places to buy them from are
LIME | A40 Audio System Headset and Mix Amp
or
| Astro Gaming
If you decide to just get the maixamp, you can buy it on its own from either of the above sites.
I got my ad700s from...
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-Air Dynamic Headphones | SALE Now On!
The mixamp on its own is £99.
The astro a40s and mixamp are £199
The Ad700s are £99
The zalman clip on mic is £10-12 if you can find it
The labtech boom mic is £15 on ebay
For the best result you should go for the ad700s and mixamp, plus something like the zalman mic. However if you want to get the astro package that is excellent also. You wont get quite the same sound quality than you would with the ad700s, but you'll get excellent quality none the less.
For christ sake, dont get sucked into the idea of going for a wireless gaming headset. Things like the x4s and x41s by turtle beach maybe more convenient, but you'll never get anywhere near as good sound quality as you would through the mixamp and something like the ad700s. Plus due to them being wireless they can suffer for interference and are known to hiss at high volumes. The only reason to go for something like this is if you dont want to spend much money. I cant understand people paying £150 for the X41s, but thats just my opinion.
Jamie
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