ASTRO A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro TR - XB1

There are so many aspects I could address, I'm going to narrow my focus down to what is important to me--Streaming, Sound, and for Xbox, the built in Noise Gate presets. Let's start with Sound as this applies to everyone buying the headset. Sound Rating 4/5 You could get a better sounding headset at this price point. I've used the Astro A50's 2nd Gen on Xbox, and they really pack a punch, but the sound quality only tells part of the story. To me, these don't seem as loud, or as clear as other +$200 headsets I've used. But what they lack in "punch" they make up for with flexible presets. There are 4 presets that you can change with a click of a button on the Mix Amp. I almost always use Tournament (for multiplayer shooters when I want to hear footsteps) or the default Astro (my preference for movies or for non-competitive gaming when I want things to sound great). Additionally, if you hook this up to your PC, you can tweak the settings to your liking, or download presets that other gamers have created. Just get your settings how you like them, sync it to the Mix Amp, and you're ready to take those back to your Xbox. (Note: these work great for PC as well, and I frequently use them on both Xbox and PC). I could go on, but in short, as far as features go, this bundle takes the cake. But what about streaming? The Mix Amp Pro TR has a streaming audio output that offers full customization within the Astro Command Software. You can adjust Mic, Chat, game, and volume from your AUX port within the software, and sync it just like your other settings. My wife and I stream, and often we want to include our chat in the stream. So whether I'm using Discord, or just Xbox Chat, I can include it easily by running a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord from the Mix Amp to my PC input and capture any of the audio I choose. You want to talk about making streaming simple, this is the way to go. There is one caveat however. Users often have a high level of hiss or buzz when using the stream port. This is a result of a ground loop you are creating when plugging into your PC. I'm not technical enough to get into the in's and out's of electrical ground loops, so I won't address that here. What I will say is that I attempted to trouble shoot by following a guide that said it would eliminate the ground loop. That did not work. So that's a deal breaker, right? Well, it would be if not for a little thing called a ground loop isolator. You can find those on Amazon, and they are around $10. If you're not streaming, then there's no need to get one. If you are streaming, and your audio is filled with hissing and buzzing, save yourself some headache and grab one. This is the one I purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Ground-Isolator-Stereo-System/dp/B019393MV2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541692667&sr=8-3&keywords=ground+loop+isolator Finally, this brings me to the Noise Gate presets. This is perhaps my favorite feature just behind the streaming port. If you game on PC, and use Discord, you probably won't need these. The reason being is that Discord has great noise gate options for your Microphone built into the software. But for Xbox, Microsoft is reluctant to add noise gate options for party chat, which is a big missed opportunity on their part, but I digress. I'm sure you've experienced this issue: Joe Schmoe is playing with you, and you say something, and you hear your voice echo, one or more times. Why? Because your voice is coming out of his/her headset, and right back into their mic, and then out of your headset, and into your mic, and around and around we go. So the Mix Amp has a noise gate that can be customized by the software on your PC that can all but eliminate this issue for the listener. That's the only drawback really, is that you invest in a great headset, with a solid noise gate, but it's those you play with that benefit, not you. So, Joe Schmoe will talk, and he's not going to hear his voice echo back through your mic. Or, you fire your gun, and it's not going to bleed over into your mic. But you will still hear other people's sound bleed, because they may be using an inferior headset. Now, lots of headsets have built in noise gates that do a great job on Xbox, but the Mix Amp Pro TR just takes it up a notch by giving you 4 presets that will almost certainly meet your needs regardless of your voice variance. A practical use for me has been streaming/playing in the same room. If I didn't have the noise gate settings when playing with my wife, headsets would bounce the sound around, and our Twitch Stream would also have tons of echo, because, ya know, we're sitting right next to each other. However, we don't have this issue since we are both using Mix Amp Pro's. In Summary, if you are simply buying this for sound, and aren't using the stream port, or don't care about the noise gate and chat balance (which I didn't even address), then I would say it's a 4/5. But as a whole package, you get a lot of features and things to tinker around with. That's why I gave it a 5/5. I loved this thing enough to buy 3 for LAN gaming. If that's not a testament to what I think about it, I don't know what is.