You looking around the Xbox with your Astro mixamp and being confused is almost EXACTLY what happened to me. I had no clue they didn’t have an optical port
Just saying if you are using a TV and NOT a monitor most TVs have an optical port. You can use this port as a pass through to you DACs. Hdmi from XSX/PS5 to tv, optical cable from DAC to TV. Then enable optical audio on the TV. No need for firmware upgrades, adapters etc.
This hasn't aged well.....Only TRUE fix is to hook up Optical to Television. Unless you don't mind the degradation of Sound....Astro better make something compatible for next gen STAT! Or they are going to lose out.
@@genno88 yes, but you have to go on Xbox setting and do chat or voice to come out speaker instead of headset or you can chose both. I have it set on speaker and I have the optical hooked up. Sounds much better than usb
Omg thank you for this! I thought I was going crazy because my mic volume was so low and I couldn't figure it out. Was about to return my Xbox series S lol. Thanks again!
The biggest downside is not being able to actually mix the sound with the mix knob to either favor game or chat sounds. As long as you don't care about owning a device that literally costed $100 to be able to mix game sound and chat sound, then yes it works great. But there is no point really in even using the mixamp, if it does not in fact it sound. Major downside.
It works and you can get game sound and chat, but the quality is not the same. I received an email back from Astro tech support just yesterday and he even said “they work but not as before and not as intended, you will not get the clear audio you once did in games for footsteps etc... and they are currently reviewing the situation”.
I know it’s a real bummer. Idk why though pc uses usb and it sounds great. I think it’s the ps5. I have the new pulse 3d audio headset from Sony for ps5. And it’s ok. Every sound is clear and distinct. But there’s no punch. I have them almost turned all the way up.
Astro lied, without Dolby Digital it truly sounds like shit. It’s not even comparable. I’m starting to believe people just don’t understand good audio. Nonetheless thank you for the video
Video might be 3 years old but people are still buying/getting the series x to this day and this video helped ao much. Subscribed and liked because you saved me buying a new headset. Thanks bro
(SEE MY FIX LATER IN THIS COMMENT) The volume when using the optical output was almost double than using the usb cable. So it really sucks that the volume level is almost half. I play PubG and the game volume is half most other games, so on the new xbox without the optical cable option I can no longer get the volume loud enough to what I'm used to. It's fine for most other games since I usually only used it at 40% volume before, and now I have plenty of headroom to raise it up to what I'm used to. Frustrating that there is no way to increase the overall volume when using the usb cable with the mixamp. FIX: My Vizio TV had an optic out on the back, so I ran my optic cable from the back of my TV to my Astro mixamp, and the volume is back to normal. Remember the HDMI sends video and audio to the tv from the xbox. That's why the audio comes out of the tv via the optical cable. So check your tv for an optical cable jack, and it should work for you as well. If not, then I don't see any other way to get the full volume out of the mixamp again if you don't have the optical cable option, except for possible an HDMI audio extractor with an optical out, but be careful because many of them are only in 1080p, which means you won't get 1440p, or 4k resolution if you run the HDMI cable through it. I think there are some 4K options on Amazon as well though. Price might be around $30 or so for a cheaper one. Either way, the USB audio volume is way too low, especially for a lower volume game like PubG. Good luck. Hope this helps somebody!
sadly this doesn't address the issue of using the optical port for audio to an older receiver that doesn't support HDMI, mostly for games like Rocksmith, where the audio lag through the HDMI ruins the game.
I recently bought my Xbox Series X a few days ago. Although you now have the option to connect your Astro A50 to your Xbox without using the optical cable input, I've noticed that the EQ settings and overall sound quality remain the same. When I used my Astro with the Xbox One S and the optical cable, I could distinguish between different EQ settings. However, with the Xbox Series X, everything sounds uniform, and without the optical cable, there's a loss of in-game audio quality. I've found that connecting the Astro A50 optical cable to the Base Station and then to the TV results in a significant difference in EQ settings. However, this setup doesn't allow communication with other players in-game. Nevertheless, you can always switch connections accordingly. In my experience, using the USB connection to the Xbox doesn't resolve the EQ issues; instead, the sound becomes muffled and unclear. To rectify this, I recommend connecting the optical cable to your TV and the USB port behind your TV, which should solve the problem.
I just set up and unboxed my series x went to find the optical and just stared at the box for a solid 15 minuets trying to find it. Glad I found your video really helped
Your attitude is great, you are very informative and you are very funny. I found this both easy to understand and light hearted. Thank you, subscribed.
Anyone else experiencing a terrible noise static tick with these high 'quality' headphones? This problem started with their update and it beyond annoying. Astro need to fix this ASAP.
Yup, you’re not alone milk man. I have the same thing. On top of that, my chat audio doesn’t even work. Everyone who isn’t on the series x, like me (i play on the one X), just got screwed by that latest firmware update. I can’t use my headphones for chat unless I disconnect the optical audio cable. So we are all forced to go USB only, but in doing so, the sound quality of the a50s is no where near the Same as it was with optical audio (‘which gives that beautiful, Astro signature, 3D spatial sound) as much as Astro claims it’s better or those fools on Reddit say it works fine. I am super disappointed. These are not worth $350 as of now. They’re worse than Apple air pods. Luckily, I have 3 weeks left for warranty. Thinking about returning them and grabbing steel series Arctic 9x.
Its all about the money, its kinda smart Microsoft marketing. They sell their own 'license gaming headsets'. With optical port people wont buy microsoft stuff anymore...
I have the astro a50s and I was absolutely destroyed to find out there's no optical port came here for last resort help 🤞hope it works if it does definitely gaining a sub!
So I did all this and I get audio coming from my headset, but my mic doesn’t work. Can anybody give your boy some help? Also do you not need to check the using hdmi audio headset box? Like what is that?
Awesome great video! Just got my new Xbox Series X set up everything sat down and was like ugh my headset is not pairing. And you fixed my issue immediately!
This kinda sucks for me cause I want to be able to use both my pc and Xbox at the same time to talk on both if needed too I talk on my pc so I just need audio from the Xbox but not sure how to
I have the Astro a40 tr with gen 3 mixamp, if the update you are talking about gets rid of the use for the optical cord then why did they make a adapter for the ps5 ? I have the ps5 and I don’t have any of the adapters do I not get proper 3D sound without the adapter ? Because my headset mixamp work fine with my ps5 but I always thought the optical port makes me be able to have that 3D sound
Davis’s one thing I tried. Is I hooked up my tv to the base station using the optical cord. I have lg c9 with hdmi 2.1 and 120hz the works. It also has dolboy I think. Anyways I hooked up the baste station and tv using optical. I have the chat sound coming out of “speaker” so it goes into headset. The sound is much better coming from optical vs usb. Try it.
A couple questions. If you do this, can you still use the balance on the mixamp between voice and game? Also, do you mind sharing your audio settings from the LG TV? I have the exact same setup and the mixamp works, but if I connect the optical cable I get no audio at all. Latest firmwares on everything.
Here’s my issue, and please comment if there is a solution,I did the firmware update on my Astro 50’s for Xbox. I’ve connected the usb to my series x. When I turn it on it seems all good at first, says the headset is assigned to my profile and I get sound. Here’s where I start finding issues, The sound is the same on all 3 eq’s and I can’t adjust game chat anymore. The game chat is so loud you can’t here any footsteps when chatting. I can’t turn down the game chat . So it seems like you have no control over eq and game and chat volume anymore. Which defeats the purpose of this headset. Your RU-vid video is good, but maybe you can actually show us the headset in actiom. Because as of right now I have expensive wireless headphones that have sound , and no quality .
I’m having the same issue. I’m sitting here wondering is it time to retire my $300 A40 🤦🏽♂️ I’ve had them a couple years now but I feel like I would be going backwards to get anything else.
The insignia extractor is the solution that instantly had my A50’s sounding like they did before on my One X. Yes, it caps you at 60hz and I am currently running 4k at 60. Until a monitor that supports 4k hdmi 2.1 becomes available, this works perfect for me. When they do eventually release those monitors, I’ll either have to get another extractor that supports HDMI 2.1 but the more likely scenario is I’ll get a monitor that has the optical port and that’ll be that
Insignia HDMI Audio Extractor. After 24 hours of trying everything under the sun (including Astro customer service) and still having terrible flat sound, I picked this up at Best Buy for $49.99. Enabled me to plug in the optical cable I had used to connect my A50’s to my Xbox one and instantly the amazing sound I had before returned
@@kaileycaboscramms417 100%. I was beyond relieved when I plugged everything in this afternoon after 24 hours of frustration. I’ve played several rounds of warzone and it’s absolutely back. None of that flat ridiculous sound I had experienced since yesterday
I have no idea if this will get a reply or not, but I’ve done everything that needs to be done. Everything works except I cannot talk to my friends on Xbox. Everything sounds fine but I cannot talk.
Yes this is a common issue for a lot of people. And unfortunately there’s no reason why this happens. Or at least one that I can figure out. For me and other gamers it worked perfectly. I’m going reach out Astro and see what’s going on. And I’ll do a follow up video. Thanks for the comment. And sorry I’m not much help at the moment.
Just got this headset today. It works fine (even though I never get the notification that the headset is connected) and no one can hear me talking. Matter of fact- I have my Xbox display set to show when anyone is talking. Anytime I talk, the icon doesn't light up. When someone else speaks, it shows. That tells me that everything is coming in but nothing is going out....
@@ThaOlBoy im having the same issue on a40 with no mixamp. looks like its going back to best buy. i wonder if those microsoft brand ones are anygood...or if they will even work.
Just got my ps5 yesterday and was trying to get some apex legends dubs but my mixamp not working with my ps5 was bumming me out, thanks for the help I'll do this when I get home
Is it working now? On my PS5. The PS5 knows it’s a Astro mixamp plugged into the system. Which I thought that’s neat. So if it’s doesn’t know what’s plugged into it the update didn’t work.
My issue is the sound without the optical cable sounds really muffled or drowned out. I have to turn the toggle more towards the middle of the red line on my game volume on the mixamp. How do you fix that issue?
I had that issue as well. If you click the button that makes it go from the headphones to the star it will allow you to use the Dolby atmos setting without interference from the digital surround sound that you get from the mixamp. That’s what’s causing your sound to be artificial sounding and muffled, the Dolby surround sound setting on the mixamp. Some people like it, but I think it sounds awful. If you use Windows sonic or Dolby atmos with the star you will get full surround sound without it being digitized and hollow.
@@GameTrekkie that’s gotta be a pain in the ass constantly switching audio signals on the tv. If i can find a hdmi 2.1 converter i will try that also. I know Astro makes a converter but it’s 2.0 only
Bro!!! Am I the only one rocking the older Astro A40 mixamp?!?! I have the upright one with vol on top and voice/game knob underneath. This one has gold Astro symbol on top of vol… It was part of updates But my command centre won’t give me the update🥺 latest version is 36797 and I just installed v36789 Oh and yeah not working 😭😭
Just tried they dont work and sound is so bad as well, many youtubers talking about it. Plug in mixamp with usb you loosing audio quality,surround sound, and eq presets. Very bad Astro
@@robertcop6565 yeah idk why it hasn’t been fixed yet. But here’s another option. I have a video on audio extractor. But if you’re gaming on a tv. Chances are it has optical out. Then you would run that to the mixamp. Here’s the link. Let me know if you have any questions. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-49kRCFMMH_M.html
@@robertcop6565 oh yes that’s how I’m running mixamp with LG CX. So I can still get 4K 120hz. The downside to the audio extractor is it’s only a 2.0 HDMI. So it 4K 60 or 1080p 120hz.
I heard you can use the micro usb and plug it into ur console and it would work, try it out and tell me if it works cause I’m concerned too and am deciding if I should buy it or not.
@@DidItToYou try it with the optical and see if there’s a difference. For me usb vs optical was night and day difference. Tunnnel vs clear hd Dolby sound. So I chose optical.
I contacted Astro and they basically said when you connect your A40s and A50s through usb to the Xbox the eq and the Dolby buttons are disabled the mixamps go’s in to passthrough mode!
So after the PS5 update, we got the other day. My Astros play sound for a couple of secs after I plug in the USB cord and then it just disconnects? Tried it over and over and still won't work now? Does anyone else have this issue now?
@@richardortiz8430 I didn’t hear back from Astro support. Very weird. But they’re probably flooded with support requests right now. As they should be. Putting out a broken firmware update.
I hope someone can help me. I have a problem with my RODE microphone, when i but it in the front USB-C port it connect and disconnect from my PS5 and when i but it in the back i don´t hear something. I hope someone can help me and sorry for my bad English ;D
Hey Bro, I actually have gone and done the same thing for my setup. I agree it works great. But I have a more in depth issue. Before using one optical cord to Xbox and the USB to PC. I could be in a discord chat while still getting the full Xbox game depth sound. Now with this new setup method we both use, I can not be in a discord chat while gaming on the xbox. Of course plugging in the USB to pc then I have no game audio, Ill take this one step further. So I ended up plugging the USB into the PC and took the sound from my capture card OBS and changed the Audio Monitoring to Monitor and Output. Now I can do both, however my game sound qualilty is not as nice. I have my Mixamp full blast i now get a bit of minor feedback and my OBS settings that I adjust for stream Elgato Cap Card change the volume in my headset as well. So once i found a comfortable sound setting for myself, the channel was complaining the volume was way too loud and i could clearly see it peaking. I can't lower it as it lowers it in the headset. So ... Im not sure what to do. Im a pretty tech savy guy and maybe we can figure this out together. You mind if we talk Discord or Twitter or Twitch Dm? Thx
Yes please hit me up. The way have it set is usb into the Xbox. And then a 3.5 audio cable from my pc to splitter one to a pc speaker for music and shit and the other to the aux port in the mixamp. I use my blue yeti caster mic for discord. I all so have a ground loop noise isolator. Here’s a link for amazon. Mpow Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio/Home Stereo System with 3.5mm Audio Cable (Black) www.amazon.com/dp/B019393MV2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_YzCSFb9ME6R24
@@GameTrekkie I actually use that same ground loop isolator. It works wonders! I never thought about splitting the audio from the 3.5mm pc jack. I currently run my mix amp jack into my speakers that have a volume dial so i can control set volumes on my end without effecting volumes the stream heres allowing it on or off or quiet. But splitting the jack signal i never thought would work for allowing you to hear the discord audio ... hmmm, I am going to give it a try. Dropped ya a follow on Twitch and twitter look forward to hanging out. Which splitter from the 3.5mm jack are you using ? Got a link?
@@ronaldox92 I just uploaded a video adding an audio extractor to the ps5. Here’s the link. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-49kRCFMMH_M.html
Viewers are saying. That the sound is kinda flat. So strongly recommend Dolby Atmos. And set the mixamp preset 3. That’s the natural mix. It lets Atmos do it’s thing. Let me know how it sounds
Oh man I can wait. I’m going to target tomorrow. They have a buy two get one free on games. So I hope Cold War is part of that deal. Cold War is going to be a great audio test too.
Love how every single one of the tut vids never show where to get the firmware updates to manually update it. It doesn't do it automatically for me like everyone else.
I literally just bought the A40TR with Mixamp Pro today. I dont know what sound quality is like, but would you benefit more if they went through Optical Port? Surely they will be a quality difference? I may send them back and await for new gen headsets if this is the case.
I went to astro site thinking I was going to have to purchase a Gen 4 set of A-50's. Luckily they were sold out. Looked on RU-vid in desperation, and happened on this video. My TV does have an optical output. Headset has Dolby Atmos surround and mic works for Xbox party chat. Thank you from my wallet, and my sanity!
Hey Cygnus -- do you have a mixamp, or not? If not, how'd you get this to work? I just bought Gen3 A50s (but I don't have a mixamp) and everything is up-to-date. Still no audio.
When I set up the mixamp to series x just with usb. Sound and chat were awful! So I hooked up optical to back of TV and now it works just like it did on one x. Also I don't know why but astro decided to get rid of the power button so the work around is to get a USB with an on/off button. Sabrent USB hub on Amazon. $7 or $8 on Amazon. Hope this helps
if you don’t like headphones and have sound Bar and your monitor has a headphones port all you need is a Aux cable and turn on the volume up from monitor then use the Aux cable in Sound Bar And in the headphones port from monitor works perfectly make sure is not a cheap Aux cable and that the monitor has the volume all the way up and you can controlled the sound Volume anyways afterwards with your SoundBar Remote Works For ps5 and New Series Xbox and Ninetendo Switch just Not all at the same time pick and choose lol 😂
Yes that’s how I have steel series Arctic pro. The optical cable comes from the tv out to the base station. Then set it to Xbox one or PS4 which ever you have. And you any device hooked up to the tv. And you get all sound options this way.
Great video, thank you. Do you think updating will also fix the problem when using PC? And do I have to download the Xbox or PS update on their website? Thanks in advance.
I just got a series s yesterday upgrading from an xbox one s. I have astro a50s and I used the optical port in my xbox one s and the usb in my laptop so I could simultaneously listen to my xbox game audio and talk on discord on my laptop. With the series s, I guess I can't do that anymore, but I heard u mention something about the use of a 3.5mm jack. I just wanna know if that would help me, and if so, how would I set that up? Would I just use a cord with 2 3.5mms on each end and plug one into the xbox and one into the laptop? Keep in mind I'm on a laptop and not a pc if that changes anything.
Nvm, I just realized there isn't a 3.5mm headphone jack on the series s. Still any solutions to where I can get xbox series s audio and pc audio in my a50s on my series ?
Well you still can. Just us USB to laptop and the 3.5 from the base station to your 3.5 in the controller. Or you could use optical out of tv and usb to the laptop.
Oh man. Upgraded from PS4 with a40 optical mix amp to Xbox series X. What can I do now? Buy the HDMI audio extractor or will ps4 amp not work on Xbox in general?
Thanks Dave, so I just buy the hdmi optical receiver ? & should be good to go?.. you wouldn’t be able to use the Astro command centre on series x tho correct ?..
Do you enjoy having crappy sound tho since cable headphones direct the soujd better into your head wireless headphones sound like shit but the conection from the base unit with optical wakes them up meaning a wired headphones on optical dac amp will be 100x better than wireless on optical even tho wireless on optical sounds much better than through usb work that out how can a optical signal improve a wireless headset its noticeable obviously wired headphones will sound better with this setup on optical and a very good dac amp aswel you dont need dolby when a good amp sounds better than dolby
nope another update came out and broke it. I since then upgraded to the Steel Series Arctic pro wireless and I game on My CX OLD. So I run the optic cable out of the back of the TV to the headset base/ or mixamp. before that I used an audio extractor with the mix amp.
I'm using a turtle beach PX5 on the Xbox series X with no optical cable plugged in just turn the box on two little red lights at the front add controller adapter to new controller plug it all in and off you go
Still, the sound is not what it used to be when using USB... I brought my Astro A50 Gen 3 5 or 6 years ago, and I won't ever buy another Astro headset. Xbox and PlayStation both is missing the optical, which is strange. Because sound is as important as picture..
Hey thank you so much for this video I appreciate you I also subscribed to you because content like this is what makes the gaming community elite. 🥶 and quick question by any chance can you link in the my comment what cable you used for the pc audio noise and how to set it up please it would help a lot 👍🏽
The ground loop noise Isolator? I go more in detail on one of my videos. Here’s the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zvrIOcmXtyk.html
Help!! I hooked up everything to my PS5 last night but my game sound and party sounds are backwards on the dial knob... if I turn to game sound the party and game both lower and if I turn to party chat the game sound only lowers but party chat sound increases
