gity69 :
I recently received a new astro a40 headset, and I would like to ensure I am getting the most out of them. It has been a long time since I have had a quality sound systems so I have not had anything but on board audio. My boards current on board audio is realtek alc892. Is this enough for them the 7.1 was amazing to first experience (I could hear wolves running up behind me in skyrim) and I loved the immersion. My question is would something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102049 up the quality of sound and performance or are the differences negligible?
My reply is only talking about gaming which I believe what you're looking for. I can't cover much on hifi listening.
7.1 (called multichannel in games), requires a couple things. You'll need DDL (Dolby Digital LIVE) and also Dolby Headphone. You can get both of these from a soundcard, such as the ASUS STX. I would recommend you do not automatically assume you need multichannel for gaming to hear what you want, after all, the astro emulate 7.1. They have 1 driver per ear cup.
If you do want to go with the astros with multichannel, you'll need a soundcard with both DDL and DH like mentioned, or a sound card with DDL, a digital out (SPDIF which is basically coaxial or an optical out). If you go with a card that only has DDL, you'll need the astro mixamp to accomplish what you're looking for. The mixamp is just a fancy looking DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter and a headset amp which the astro's do not need but would give almost any decent headset a better sound).
You'll be looking at spending around $330 to do this.
I personally went with an ASUS DGX (has a built in amp, SDPIF, Dolby Headphone that I don't use even in gaming) and Sennheiser 360's. You'll find people that have used both are frequently commenting that the senn's are far superior to the astros for gaming. I have not tried the a40's however.
Hope that helps.
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