https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-PS4-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_63_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=B54KNP6HRNR26C90PHRC&th=1

For gaming, I've used:

AKG K52, K1000, Q701; Audeze LCD-2 Classic; Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X, AD2000X (w/ MrSpeakers Alpha pads); Beyerdynamic DT990 Edition (600 Ω); Creative Aurvana Live!; Denon AH-D7200; HiFiMan HE400i, HE-500 (w/ ZMF Ori lambskin pads), HE-560 V2; HyperX Cloud II; Massdrop x Koss Porta Pro X; Monoprice Modern Retro, Monolith M1060; Philips Fidelio X2, SHP9500 (w/ Shure HPAEC1840 pads); Sennheiser HD580, HD598 SR, HD700, HD800; Sivga SV007; Stax SR-L300; Superlux HD662 EVO, HD668B (w/ Brainwavz velour pads), HD669, HD681 EVO (w/ Brainwavz velour pads); Tritton Pro+; and Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven.

My go-to recommendation is Sivga SV007 (Walnut) with V-MODA BoomPro. If you need sound isolation, then I suggest Status Audio CB-1.

If you're open to using a mic such as Antlion ModMic or Massdrop Minimic, then I have other headphone recommendations and suggestions.

For virtual surround sound, you can use Astro MixAmp Pro TR, Creative Sound Blaster G6, or Turtle Beach Elite Pro TAC. I recommend SBX Pro Studio (Creative) over Dolby Headphone (Astro and Turtle Beach) because it has less compression and more accurate positional audio.

 

Setup

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You attach the BoomPro mic by inserting it directly into the headphone, which replaces the original headphone cable.

The cable terminates in a single 3.5 mm connector, so you can connect it directly to the controller or any other device with a headset jack, like the Mixamp, Sound Blaster G6, and Pro TAC. If you connect it to a regular headphone jack, then the mic won't work. No mics will. If the device only has separate headphone and mic ports, then you need to use a TRRS Y-splitter, which is included with the BoomPro.

 

Sound

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SV007:

SV007 a well-balanced sound profile. The mid-bass, which is where boom and punch come from, is a little bit boosted. The sub-bass, which is how deep the bass goes and is where rumble comes from, is a little bit reduced. The overall bass is clean. The treble is close to neutral. It's clean, smooth, and crisp. The midrange is clear, not tinny or muffled. The overall clarity is great.

It has a large soundstage, very good imaging and separation, and good to very good detail retrieval for competitive shooters. I assess headphones mainly in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a multiplayer game I've played for over 3000 hours and I thrive at relying on sound cues.

Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound. It's width, depth, and height. I talk about the type of soundstage that the headphone produces. Many games have a narrow, shallow, and short soundstage. A small soundstage makes the environment around you sound confined or boxed in. With a large soundstage, the environment sounds more spatial and expansive. You can't comprehend it without experiencing it. Imaging is inherent to the audio content. It's how accurately the locations of sounds/objects are reproduced. Soundstage and imaging constitute positional audio, and you could say they are the stereo equivalent of virtual surround sound. Before you make any stances on virtual surround sound, I recommend that you read this post I wrote. Separation is how you discern individual sounds from a range of overlapping sounds.

BoomPro:

You can actually judge for yourself by listening to recordings on YouTube.

I prefer to watch Podcastage for mic reviews.

 

Build, ergonomics, & features

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SV007:

SV007 has an open design (as you can see with the grills on the earcups), so sound passes freely in and out, unlike closed headphones which attenuate sound from passing through. The benefits of an open design are generally a larger soundstage and better imaging. If your ears tend to heat up, it may help mitigate this as it allows more airflow and heat to dissipate.

The build is sturdy and lightweight, featuring metal yokes, hinges, and headband. It has no flimsy or squeaky parts. The cups are made of wood. They tilt and swivel and can lie flat. I have average sized ears and the earpads fit around them and don't press them against the inside of the cups. The pads are plush and have a smooth and relatively high-quality protein leather. The headband has decent padding, but the headphone has great weight distribution so it doesn't exert pressure on top of my head and doesn't cause hotspots. Adjusting the headband is smooth and easy and it stays firmly in place. The clamping force is mild and isn't too loose or too tight for my average sized head. The build quality is excellent with a near immaculate finish all around.

BoomPro:

BoomPro has a flexible aluminum neck and a tangle-free, braided cable that's free of microphonics. The game volume and mic mute controls are easy to adjust and don't accidentally adjust themselves when rubbing against your clothes. Adjusting them is smooth and consistent, not scratchy, sluggish, or sticky. The mic is as non-obtrusive as a boom mic can be and is almost unnoticeable in my peripheral vision.

 

^Formatted ^in ^Reddit ^Enhancement ^Suite.

Long story short, the DualShock 4 output isn’t that great. It has limitations meaning that plugging a $20 set of headphones in will have the same maximum volume a $200 set will have. It’s best to bypass the DS4 altogether when looking for optimal audio quality. There are two ways to do this:

Get a wireless headset like the Gold headset mentioned already.

Or, you can buy an amp if you’re looking to use an existing headset. I have a pair of Sennheiser Game One headphones and I use this amp in order to make the most of them. As someone that values audio above pretty much all else, let me tell you, it was worth the money.

I presume the signal passes through from 3.5 to USB. No D-A-C is taking place.
So to answer your question yeah your not getting the full benefit without a preamp.
ATH-M50x are stereo headphones with pretty high marks on amazon.
It doesn't appear to have a mic.

I hear good things about the Astro Mix amp pro (preamp) and you can use your current headphones or another brand. It connects to the PS4 via optical cable and you will connect you Headphones via provided 3.5mm cable. This will give you 7.1 Surround Sound. Also can be hooked into a PC to interface with music and other apps you can use while gaming or twitch streaming.

https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-PS4-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1478021172&sr=8-5&keywords=astro+a40+mixamp+pro

Or you could buy the bundle with preamp and headphones together
https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-A40-Headset-MixAmp-PlayStation/dp/B014F77FGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1478021258&sr=8-1&keywords=astro%2Ba40Tr&th=1

I currently just have the headphones, and it's only stereo from audio jack from controller or 3.5 to usb adapter. It still sounds amazing. Has a detachable mic and custom plates and head pad you can swap out . Build quality is the best I have ever seen. I do plan on picking up the Astro mix amp pro later.

It's kinda hard to compare studio monitor headphones with gaming headphones. Two different kind of tools .

I linked to the wrong vid.... around $200 all together but if you get the previous version which are still just as good then even cheaper and yes, you need the amp.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=Audio+Technica+ad700x

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B014H2W1YO/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Used. Not new.

Thank you very much for the info.

So would this setup work? - Sennheiser HD558 + V-MODA BoomPro and then adding a Astro Gaming MixAmp in the future if I want to.

Right, I've had some time to go over it all, and I apologise if this is wrong.

If I buy the following:

Headset: AKG K712PRO - seemed like the best universal reviews (in a reasonable price bracket!), but if you have opinions I'd be very grateful to hear them

Mic - Antlion

Amp - Astro Gaming MixAmp Pro TR Kit

As well as a headphone splitter.

It is above my budget, but if it is worth it I can wait a bit longer.

While what you're saying is true, I personally find it more convenient to have a built-in feature to manually adjust a "frequency's dB"(?) over buying a $130 mix-amp.

You should get this monitor and ditch that headset and this one with this mixamp.

Not a huge fan of Astro headsets, so that is why i use the Hyper X Cloud I's with an Astro A40 mixamp, but if you want, you can get the whole Astro A40 package for $250

Amp : https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASTRO-Gaming-939-001542-Generation-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=mixamp+pro+tr&qid=1568344079&sprefix=mixamp+&sr=8-2

Bluetooth dongle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Bluetooth-TekHome-Receiver-Headphones/dp/B075T9ZXK4/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=bluetooth+aux&qid=1568344155&sr=8-11

any idea how to identify gen 3 mixamps?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astro-939-001542-Mix-Amp-Pro/dp/B014H2W1YO
is this the correct one to look for?

> Astro Mixamp

that sounds great, although might be a bit steep for me

https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-PS4-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1522787307&sr=8-4&keywords=astro%2Bmixamp&th=1

but yeah, I think that would sound great. so you stick a device like that inbetween the VR headset and the headphones?

No, I don’t have any issues with hissing or white noise. Mine is this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astro-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-Kit/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512076018&sr=8-1&keywords=Mixamp+Pro+tr+PS4

Try using this with your heaset so you could use it with your PS3. This might work with your PS2 since it also has an optical port. Just make sure that your headset is a single 4-pole 3.5 mm jack so it can connect to the headset port on the mixamp. It's expensive but it works well.

Astro a40 amp https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-PS4-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/

They sound great for the money, and can pass through PC and PS4.

So for those two would I also be able to do my microphone in for my PS4? I can't see that clearly anywhere. I'm guessing I would just plug the mic into the controller still? I'm leaning towards this since it can doing everything in one: https://www.amazon.com/ASTRO-Gaming-MixAmp-Pro-PS4-PlayStation/dp/B014H2W1YO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519593482&sr=8-3&keywords=astro+tr