Playstation 3 Discussion

[CLW]

I've never tried the Sharkoon, but the Astro A40 with the mixamp is one of the best investments I've ever made. They're the most comfortable headset I've ever worn(they go completely over the ear) and the sound quality completely blows away anything I've ever listened to before. The bass is perfect, the quality is crisp and just an enjoyment to listen to. The mixamp allows you to control how loud game volume and chat volume is, and it has a detachable mic which really comes in handy. Plus, it comes with all the wires you need to chat on PSN and XBL if you're an owner of both systems.

Hell, listening to music, it still sounds awesome, so I use it with my MP3 player.

It's also really improved my k/d ratio on multiplayer shooters, because I can hear every single little detail. I've gone from a 1.5 player to well over a 2.0 player on the 2 games I've played since getting the headset. It even comes with a carrying case that fits the headset and the mixamp, so if you travel a good bit, it's perfect for that, too.

Not to mention, the build quality is unbelievable. It's sturdy and if for whatever reason it does break, you get a one year warranty in which they'll replace the headset or the part needed.

If you're seriously consider getting the A40 system, I can get it for you for $225 instead of the normal $250. Once you buy from them once, you get access to the "private store" that has some discounts. I'd be more than happy to give you my user name and password so you could get the discount. Just let me know, it doesn't save credit card information on there so it's no big deal for me if you want to do that.

Thanks man! I appreciate the offer. Let me think about it a bit.

Few more ?s for ya

#1 What difference (sound/chat quality wise) is there between the A40 wireless and wired sound systems?

#2 If none from #1 do you wish you would have coughed up the extra money ($30) to go wireless?

#3 What is the difference between the A30 and A40?

#4 I notice that when you go to look ath the A40 System it "suggests" you purchase a Rechargeable Battery Pack and a Optical Cable? Are these things I need to also purchase?

I do travel a TON for work and always bring the PS3. I just use my old backpack from lawschool. However, that I believe has led to me messing up a TON of PS3 controllers. In the last year alone I've gone through 5. They don't "break" per se. However, when I turn them on it's like they are stuck going "down" or "up". The sticks appear to be centered but who knows. I actually saw that Astro also sells some gaming backpacks but its hard to tell if that would solve my problem with my PS3 controllers going on the fritz.

[I OU a Beatn]

I've heard that there's practically zero difference between the wired and wireless versions. I didn't get the wireless because a. I don't mind wires and b. I'm kind of afraid to try wireless. I've heard other wireless headsets can get intereferance fairly easily, but with Astro, they don't use the 2.4Ghz range, so you should probably be fine there. Besides, for my setup, wired made sense. The cable that goes from the headset to the mixamp is over 6 feet long, so it has more than enough wire considering I only sit about 5 feet away from my TV.

The A30 is basically for people who want to use it as a multimedia headset while the A40 is more or less made for people who use it for gaming the majority of the time. The A30 also bleeds a lot moe sound through the headset, while the A40 isn't that bad surprisingly. Also, being that the A40 is designed for tournaments, it's pretty good at keeping outside sounds out. It's not complete noise cancellation, but it still does a pretty good job. Obviously, they're using upgraded speakers in the A40, too, so you're going to get a much better surround sound effect from the A40 as opposed to the A30.

The BIG, BIG thing for me was that the A40 are over-ear design, while the A30 are on-ear. I absolutely hate on-ear. I find them to be really damn uncomfortable, and since I have my ears pierced, every on ear headset I've tried caused irritation at the piercing. Being that the A40 is over ear, it covers your entire ear and is comfortable as hell. That more or less boils down to preference. The A30 are more designed for people who travel a lot so they're smaller, but the A40 comes in a case, and they fold right up so they're really easy to travel with as well.

I didn't buy anything extra, just the audio system(which comes with the headset, the amp, all the cables you need except 1..which I will get to...the traveling case, and 3 speaker tags for the side of the headset). The thing gets power if you plug it into the USB on your PS3, so unless you buy the wireless amp, you don't need it. If you buy the wireless amp, you might need it...I'm not sure. Now, since you're going to be using it for the PS3, you 100% need the optical cable. The sound is 1000000x better using an optical cable from the PS3 to the mixamp, so it's a must. They charge like $15, which is obsurd. If you order it, just order the optical cable from somewhere else - you can buy them online for like $3 or $4 shipped and they'll sound the same.

[CLW]

I've heard that there's practically zero difference between the wired and wireless versions. I didn't get the wireless because a. I don't mind wires and b. I'm kind of afraid to try wireless. I've heard other wireless headsets can get intereferance fairly easily, but with Astro, they don't use the 2.4Ghz range, so you should probably be fine there. Besides, for my setup, wired made sense. The cable that goes from the headset to the mixamp is over 6 feet long, so it has more than enough wire considering I only sit about 5 feet away from my TV.

The A30 is basically for people who want to use it as a multimedia headset while the A40 is more or less made for people who use it for gaming the majority of the time. The A30 also bleeds a lot moe sound through the headset, while the A40 isn't that bad surprisingly. Also, being that the A40 is designed for tournaments, it's pretty good at keeping outside sounds out. It's not complete noise cancellation, but it still does a pretty good job. Obviously, they're using upgraded speakers in the A40, too, so you're going to get a much better surround sound effect from the A40 as opposed to the A30.

The BIG, BIG thing for me was that the A40 are over-ear design, while the A30 are on-ear. I absolutely hate on-ear. I find them to be really damn uncomfortable, and since I have my ears pierced, every on ear headset I've tried caused irritation at the piercing. Being that the A40 is over ear, it covers your entire ear and is comfortable as hell. That more or less boils down to preference. The A30 are more designed for people who travel a lot so they're smaller, but the A40 comes in a case, and they fold right up so they're really easy to travel with as well.

I didn't buy anything extra, just the audio system(which comes with the headset, the amp, all the cables you need except 1..which I will get to...the traveling case, and 3 speaker tags for the side of the headset). The thing gets power if you plug it into the USB on your PS3, so unless you buy the wireless amp, you don't need it. If you buy the wireless amp, you might need it...I'm not sure. Now, since you're going to be using it for the PS3, you 100% need the optical cable. The sound is 1000000x better using an optical cable from the PS3 to the mixamp, so it's a must. They charge like $15, which is obsurd. If you order it, just order the optical cable from somewhere else - you can buy them online for like $3 or $4 shipped and they'll sound the same.

Yeah sounds like our setups are similar I'll prob get a wired set. Just need to decide if I wanna cough up that much (I'm notoriously TIGHT with my cash). However, I just got a "huge" tax refund so I'm itching to buy a little something for myself. Just can't decide bewteen a headset or a hauppage with a component to hdmi converter.

[I OU a Beatn]

That's what I did with part of my tax return.

I hadn't gotten myself anything that expensive for a long time, so I decided it would be my gift for myself this year.

What did I do with my tax return last year? I got a Happauge.

I do kind of regret that. I bought it mainly to record NCAA Football videos, and I haven't liked any NCAA Football games enough this generation to use it, so I have recorded maybe 10 hours of gameplay with it in the year that I've had it. Part of it is because of the huge hassle of editing(I absolutely hate editing), and part of it is just not having enough time. Between recording, editing, adding music, and uploading, you're looking at about 2-5 hours of work for a 10 minute youtube video...depending of course how much effort you want to put into it.

Just an FYI, I was worried that the Astro may not play well with my Happauge, but it turns out they work perfectly together...which is definitely an added bonus.

[CLW]

That's what I did with part of my tax return.

I hadn't gotten myself anything that expensive for a long time, so I decided it would be my gift for myself this year.

What did I do with my tax return last year? I got a Happauge.

I do kind of regret that. I bought it mainly to record NCAA Football videos, and I haven't liked any NCAA Football games enough this generation to use it, so I have recorded maybe 10 hours of gameplay with it in the year that I've had it. Part of it is because of the huge hassle of editing(I absolutely hate editing), and part of it is just not having enough time. Between recording, editing, adding music, and uploading, you're looking at about 2-5 hours of work for a 10 minute youtube video...depending of course how much effort you want to put into it.

Just an FYI, I was worried that the Astro may not play well with my Happauge, but it turns out they work perfectly together...which is definitely an added bonus.

Don't give me any ideas. My wife would STRONGLY disapprove.

[I OU a Beatn]

Yeah, I'd imagine she would.

[jaymo76]

I find it hard to believe that your 50 inch LG Plasma TV doesn't have a headphone jack. Not trying to call you a moron or anything, but I would definitely look again and much sure cause I've never seen a large TV like that not have a headphone jack.

My Philips 49" LCD does and I use it frequently (especially when playing shooters). Not sure I could handle not having it.

Yeah I was shocked too. However, the guy I bought the TV from said most TV's no longer come with headphone jacks. It's expected people will fork over a copule hundred bucks for bluetooth capaatability.

[jaymo76]

The method Jeff described with the audio out adapter works, but the sound quality is pretty bad, IMO. The volume was too low for my liking.

As for a headset, it all depends on what kind of audio quality you want and how much you're willing to spend. Turtle Beach makes standard wired stereo headphones for the PS3 for under $60. They also do wireless, but you're going to pay big time for that - around $250.

And if you're willing to spend that much, Turtle Beach isn't even worth it. Although wired, Astro headsets are the best money can buy. Whenever you use them with an optical cable going to your PS3, the sound quality is unparalleled.

So basically, if you want a cheap one - go with Turtle Beach. If you want the best money can buy, Astro Gaming.

Here's the cheaper Turtle Beach one. It does game audio AND chat for $60. Only stereo sound, though, so I don't know how important that is to you - but here.

Looks like I'm just going to pick up a PX21 for 62.99 taxes in. I have a $25.00 discount through NCIX and it seems like it will meet my needs. The wirless alternatives starts at $159.99. Thanks for your help Jeff H and I OU

[JeffHCross]

Hey I_OU ... I was looking over the Turtle Beach and Astro websites the other day ... and it's not clear to me if any of them are offering Surround Sound wireless for PC (don't care 5.1 vs 7.1). I see a couple that say they're for 360, but I couldn't tell if any of them were for PC.

Personally, Surround + Wireless + PC is more likely to be used than for the PS3 (and certainly not for 360), so that's why I'm looking.

[I OU a Beatn]

I'm not sure about Turtle Beach, but when you buy the A40 Audio System(wired or wireless), you get the ability for 5.1 and 7.1 on PC, 360, and PS3. It's the mixamp that comes with the audio system that allows for the surround sound, so as long as you use the right cables, you'll be able to get it on all 3. I'll have to double check with the cables that I got, but I'm 99% sure it comes with all the necessary cables to connect to your PC.

[I OU a Beatn]

Update 3.60 launches tomorrow(or if past firmware updates are anything to go by - between 12am and 1am EST tonight) and includes online game saves for PS Plus members:

The new online storage feature allows gamers to store up to 150MB of game save data and a maximum of 1000 data files per PSN account. Users also have the ability to back-up “copy-prohibited save data,” and all previously saved data may be restored once per 24 hour period. When the new feature launches, most PS3 titles will be compatible with online storage for game saves, and moving forward, all new titles will have the capability to offer the storage option.

[JeffHCross]

Users also have the ability to back-up “copy-prohibited save data,” and all previously saved data may be restored once per 24 hour period.

Hell, yes. What should be an easy, simple way to upgrade my hard drive without having to transfer to another PS3.

[I OU a Beatn]

Yep, I became excited when I read that bit, too. I'm not out of space yet, but it'll make things SO much easier when I do decide to upgrade to a larger hard drive. Besides, with my luck with PS3, this feature alone is almost worth $50 a year.

[steelerfan]

Dumb question.

150 MB total isn't much. Is there a way to compress, is it 150 MB per file, or what am I missing? If this could handle all of my game saves, I'd be on board.

[I OU a Beatn]

Game saves are usually very small, so you shouldn't have a problem fitting it all.

[JeffHCross]

Pretty sure it's 150 total, Steeler. And for game saves, that's a fairly decent amount. Personally, I'm going to look to save my "copy-prohibited" saves, then back all my other saves up to an external HDD.

[I OU a Beatn]

It's live.

[steelerfan]

Well, a Franchise or RttS save in MLB 11 is 23 MB. So, just saving those 2 would use 1/3 of your space. Granted, other than that, the largest I have are just under 7000 k. I don't play a ton of games, I just thought that those who do would fill that easily. Idk.

[souljahbill]

I saved all my game saves and profiles this morning. I have 62MB left. Some save files were bigger then I expected (I'm looking at you Lego Rock Band and Joe Danger). Now, I just need an external hard drive so I can back everything up and get a new internal hard drive.

[steelerfan]