Everyone knows that cabled cans are king with regards to tonal accuracy. The benefit of cord cutting can not be denied, however, and there are methods to free your headphones from their physical bonds. Astro’s Mixamp 5.8 is a system designed to make your wired ‘phones wireless, but does it sacrifice sound quality for the sake of convenience? And is it worth $130? Click through to determine.
First impressions are important, and Astro’s Mixamp 5.8 doesn’t disappoint. Both the device and its packaging have a premium appear and feel — which is sensible considering how much going wireless the Astro way costs. A box covered in graffiti and gaming graphics broadcasts Astro’s street-chic design aesthetic, and it unfolds to expose the Mixamp TX (transmitter), Mixamp RX (receiver), and 2 compartments holding the entire accoutrement you will need to start.
The TX base station is ready four inches square (roughly the scale of a 2nd gen Apple TV ) and its glossy black topside attracts fingerprints find it irresistible was designed to take action. Power and Dolby Headphone on/off buttons and the corporate logo are all that split the onyx facade. Around back, there’s optical input and output ports, an influence plug, two USB ports, and an auxiliary 3.5mm connection for a PS3 chat adaptor cable (sold separately). The RX unit is four by two inches (somewhat bigger than a beefy flip phone), and likewise rocks a glittery black faceplate with a volume knob, a smaller dial to regulate audio / comm channel mixing, and tool and bass boost buttons. The back and bezel of the RX are slathered in velvety smooth soft touch plastic (as is the belt clip attachment), and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, mini USB port, and a 2.5mm Xbox chat cable connection in addition.
Developing the system’s a breeze. Simply hook the TX as much as your chosen audio source with the included optical cable, plug within the power adaptor, pop some batteries within the RX, and you’re good to move. Three AAA disposables are included to power the receiver, but there’s also a chargeable power pack sold separately for $20 — though for a $130 system, we feel it is going to were included. Both devices come pre-paired, but when it’s not understanding of the box, a straightforward press-and-hold of the ability button on each unit syncs them up in an issue of seconds. Plug on your favorite pair of earbuds or headphones to the RX and you may commence to wandering with wireless audio.
User Experience
We used the Mixamp 5.8 while sashaying around our abode, and must say its 5.8GHz technology kept our audio crystal clear in most instances despite our abode being bathed in 2.4GHz and 5GHz waves of WiFi from a dual-band router. Using a couple of Grado SR60s and Astro’s own A30 headphones for testing, we found that sound was faithfully reproduced provided that we were within range of the TX. As for the system’s range, signal started to split after we were 25 feet from the TX unit, and at 30 feet the signal cut out completely (though range was increased by another ten feet with our in-house WiFi switched off). We also had issues if we walked into another room (about 20 feet from the TX with two walls in between) and turned the RX at just the best (or wrong) angle. The system generally worked well, with only the occasional hiccup as we strolled throughout our one-bedroom apartment. When lounging at the couch within ten feet of the transmitter we had nary a subject and the sound delivered really was top-notch. So, in our experience the Mixamp was most suitable for sedentary use, but you will move to the music when the mood strikes.
0 As well as cutting the cord, the system has a Bass Expander mode and delivers Dolby Headphone surround sound audio. We didn’t get much use out of Bass Expander mode, however. Astro says it injects a “subtle subwoofer effect,” but while watching TV, movies, or hearing tunes with the bass boost on, lets only percieve low-end aural enhancements when the amount was cranked way past 50 percent, which was too loud for our listening tastes. With the dial turned up it did provide rounder bass tones, but at lower volume levels we simply couldn’t discern a difference. Though given the choice of concerts we’ve been to, perhaps our ears simply weren’t as much as the duty.
Dolby Headphone technology gives listeners the appearance of five.1 or 7.1 channels of sound in stereo headphones, and its simulated surround sound does deliver richer audio and more realistic imaging while watching movies than standard stereo affords. But, it’s still no substitute for a real 5.1 or 7.1 channel setup. We also wished shall we easily disable Dolby while we were watching talking heads on SportsCenter — their voices sounded better in stereo than they did with Dolby’s software doing its thing — however the on/off button was at the TX unit sitting under our TV as opposed to next to the bass boost button at the RX where it belongs. We also had an OG 1 Astro Mixamp 1 readily available to match it with its wireless brethren, and may report that the sound quality is nigh indistinguishable between both (though the unique can crank up the amount louder than the 5.8).
2 Wrap-up
Overall, Astro’s Mixamp 5.8 works as advertised — you get to make use of your corded cans while not having wires stretched across your lounge. Plus, it’s compatible with consoles, computers, cable boxes, and mainly anything putting out audio through a normal Toslink connector. It delivers great audio, but in return it requires strapping something the scale of a 90′s flip phone for your waist to work. And it doesn’t rid you of the cord dangling out of your ears, either. There are options to Astro’s solution, like 3 Turtle Beach’s PX5 3 or 4 Logitech’s G930 4 headsets, which deliver quality sound sans wires, but they’re for consoles and PCs only, respectively. So, for people reluctant to trade of their high end wired headphones for a wireless set, but still want the ease of (relatively) cordless sound, the Mixamp 5.8 will do the job quite nicely.
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