The fellas at ASTRO Gaming have put themselves in somewhat of a precarious position. You see, in their brief company history, every single piece of audio equipment that they've put on the market has received incredibly high marks and is held in the highest regard by the vast majority of gamers. So, while feeling pressure to constantly innovate and evolve, they must also make sure that their new products meet the nearly impeccable standard that they've set for themselves. It's certainly not the worst situation to be in, but it's the main reason that they haven't released a flurry of new items - they simply won't put something out until they can do it right.

As accredited as ASTRO's gear is, there's one feature that gamers and audiophiles alike have been clamoring for - wireless connectivity. The cluster of wires accompanying the original MixAmp setup was hands-down, unanimously the most oft complained about feature of the device. While it would have been simple to rush a wireless version of the award-winning MixAmp to market, they were hesitant to do so, lest it not live up to the ASTRO standard and be the black sheep of the product line. Fortunately, the developers took the safe route, bid their time, and released a near bullet-proof Wireless MixAmp that is as revolutionary as it is evolutionary.

The MixAmp 5.8 is actually composed of two different units, a transmitter (pictured on the left) and a receiver (pictured on the right). The transmitter is the stationary piece that most users will place near their TV and console. It's relatively small and definitely unobtrusive enough that it'll blend in perfectly next to all your tech gear in your home entertainment system, regardless of what your setup is. The top of the transmitter only features two different buttons - the power button, and a button to turn on Dolby Surround Sound. The back of the transmitter features Optical In and Out ports, two USB ports, and an Auxiliary input. Additionally, the transmitter is powered by an A/C adapter. The remote nature of the device allows all the cords to be contained very near to the console.

The second half of the MixAmp 5.8 is made up of the receiver. This is the piece that users will become intimately familiar with. Hosting all the same frontal features as ASTRO's original MixAmp, the receiver bears a striking resemblance to it, but manages to be about one-third the size. Characterized primarily by a master volume control, and a game/voice balance dial, the MixAmp equation is still undoubtedly simple, but surely incredibly effective. The near side of the receiver features a headphone jack, an Xbox chat cable jack, and a mini-USB port. The unit requires three AAA batteries to operate. It would probably be a wise investment to purchase some rechargeables, or else you'll most likely find yourself flying through batteries.

One of the most brilliant features of the MixAmp 5.8 is that it will work with any set of headphones that you currently have. However, they need to have a 3.5 mm cable with a voice channel, but that's covered by most gaming headsets on the market. But really, if you're going to splurge for a high caliber MixAmp, you might as well compliment it with a pair of A30s or A40s - the Ferraris of gaming headsets.

Now that all the tech specs are out of the way, let's focus on the MixAmp 5.8's performance. To put it bluntly, the MixAmp 5.8 performs breath-takingly well. When dealing with wireless products, the obvious issue is usually avoiding interference. Because of the fact that it operates at a different frequency than most standard wireless objects, the MixAmp 5.8 stays free from any static or loss in signal. In fact, after several nights of online gaming, we have yet to hear any discernible difference between the original MixAmp and the MixAmp 5.8. All communication is just as crystal clear, and all enemies are just as easy to pinpoint as they've always been.

The special niche where the MixAmp 5.8 will really resonate is with fanatics of the rhythm genre. Like to hear your music through your headphones, but also like to stand and play? This is your solution. The MixAmp 5.8 ships with a clip that attaches to your waist, and the receiver neatly slides right into. Now you can be completely mobile, free to jump and dance around your living room while still getting the high-quality audio that you're accustomed to. It also works remarkably well for drummers who've experienced problems with their cord being too short to reach the ground. With the receiver conveniently on your side, you're unrestricted and can go all "AN-I-MAL!" on those pads. It may seem like a small difference, but it can make an exponentially large impact on the immersion of the experience.

The MixAmp 5.8 is just the most recent example of why ASTRO Gaming is at the forefront of the gaming audio industry. Their innovative spirit and dedication to quality over quantity has again manifested an incredibly well-put together product that leap-frogs it's way to the top of the gaming accessories food-chain. And when it eventually gets supplanted, chances are it'll be by ASTRO, themselves.

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Astro Gaming is at it again. If you remember our full review for the Astro Gaming A30 headset, you remember that we was highly impressed by the product. However the unsung hero of this review was the MixAmp. We mentioned that fact about the 5.1 Surround Sound, but we really didn't get the credit where it was due. This 5.1 Surround Sound was due to the MixAmp. The Astro Gaming MixAmp allowed the A30 to hear the surround sound. If you had this MixAmp connected to your PS3 of Xbox, it got even better. With the MixAmp as your master volume control, you could toggle whether you want to hear the game music, or the voices or your team mates. But the MixAmp had one major (but minor) issue, and this was all the wires. They would run across our living room to the gaming console, and it just didn't look good. But to us wireless is sexy and Astro Gaming has definitely brought that with it's next version of it.

The Astro Gaming Wireless Mixamp 5.8 can take any wired headset and turn it into a wireless surround sound experience. Featuring 7.1 channel Dolby® Surround Sound via a secure 5.8GHz wireless connection. Featuring Point-to-Multipoint (PtMP) pairing and fully compatible with the Xbox 360 and the PS3, the MixAmp™ 5.8 can support up to four simultaneous users depending on your configuration.

Style
Right off the back, this thing has gotten uber stylish compare to the original. While we won't fault the original since it got the job done, it was a hug brick of a device. The wireless version, has gotten smaller, lighter, and more stylish. If you look at the picture and compare, you see what we mean. Now the wireless MixAmp is pebble shaped, and comes with a little belt clip, so you can clip it and walk around with it. If you was going to get any MixAmp based on looks, this is the one you want.

Setup
Set up for the wireless mixamp 5.8 couldn't have been easier. The mixamp comprises of a a RX unit and a TX unit. You connect the TX unit to your gaming console via a TOSlink cable, or you could like I did, hook it up to your home theater system's receiver. Once this is connected, the RX and TX unit come prepaired out the box. If you happen to have more than one RX unit, you can pair it with the TX unit quite easily. The RX unit can run off regular double (triple A) batteries. Or you can purchase the rechargeable battery pack for it. Once paired, using the mixamp is a simple as turning on the RX/TX unit and plugging in your headphones.

Sound Quality
The MixAmp like the wired one before it boasts surround sound. The wired ones came with 5.1 surround sound, but the wireless MixAmp 5.8 comes out the gate with 7.1 surround sound. It features the same abilities as the original MixAmp like the power to control how much of the game or voice volume, and also adds in the bass expander which injects a sub-woofer effect into the experience.

The fact that all of this happens wireless is just beautiful. No longer do you have to worry about run cables across your gaming area for this kind of control. Now you can pick up and move around with no worry of tripping over cables, no worries moving too far away that you reach the length of a cable.

To wrap up, this is the MixAmp we have been waiting for. Light, small, stylish, and wireless. It has most of the benefits of the original, in a package that we can freely move around with. If you will be purchasing any MixAmp this holiday season, we suggest this one. Act now as the price will be $99.95 for a limited time and then $129.95 after, so get it while it hot! Check out qa.astrogaming.com for more information. Also check out our Gallery for some more images.

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WHAT: Astro Wireless MixAmp 5.8

PRICE: $100 ($130 after 1/1/11), available now via pre-order for the week of Nov. 22

COMPARE TO: Hmmm...well, there's nothing really like it, other than pre-existing wireless gaming headsets like the Turtle Beach Ear Force X41s-but this turns any headphones into a wireless gaming headset.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: Astro followed up their pro-level A40 headphones earlier this year with the popular (and Complex-approved) A30s. Both units relied on Astro's companion MixAmp to deliver crystal clear 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound, a feature Astro has in common with other high-end gaming audio companies like Tritton. We loved (and still use) both products, but the one drawback to a headphones/amp combination has always been cord overload. Console to amp, amp to outlet, headphone to amp, headphone to controller and amp for Xbox Live voice chat-it's enough to make us consider going back to the default Xbox headset. (Plus, real talk, your girlfriend is already heated enough that you're playing Modern Warfare 2 or NBA 2K11 again-do you need to add insult to injury by tripping her up in wires when she walks through the living room?). But Astro has heard our cries, and introduced a product that truly untethers the headphone gaming experience.

The MixAmp 5.8 consists of two components: a base station that connects to a gaming console via optical cable (see above), and a receiver unit that communicates with it via 5.8GHz wireless signal (see below). The frequency means no interference with the usual household applicances that can make a wireless connection hinky-so go ahead, put the base station by your microwave or cordless phone. The receiver unit is light and small enough to be placed just about anywhere, from your belt (there's a clip on the back of the receiver) to the table in front of you. Your headphones and Xbox controller (if you want voice chat, and a PS3 chat cable is also available) then jack into the receiver unit, localizing all connections and doing away with anything connecting you to your console. You can also use any headphones you already own, as long as it can handle the amplification-if you're just in a single-player campaign or shredding on Rock Band 3, go ahead and use those Sennheisers. Everything is deceptively light and small; you can get a true sense of its size in the image at the very bottom of this review.

As for the sound...well, it's Astro. They don't roll something out unless it works, and works well. We used them for everything from music (DJ Hero 2) to action (Fable III) to FPSes (Modern Warfare 2), and it all sounded great. The Dolby 7.1 (as long as you use an optical cable to connect your console to the base station) means you can hear everything, from footsteps overhead to the direction a gnome's chastising voice is coming from. There's been a lot of sequels in gaming this year, but we can confidently say that this is one innovation that we can't imagine improving upon.

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Astro Gaming succeeded in making game audio headsets for fanatical professional video game players. Now the company is launching a new generation of wireless audio products as well as a new set of ear phones for mainstream consumers.

The question for venture-backed Astro Gaming is whether it can establish a true "lifestyle brand" much like the makers of luxury watches, and whether it can parlay that foothold into a broader consumer market. That's certainly the strategy, said Aron Drayer (pictured), marketing director at the San Francisco company, in an interview.

Astro Gaming is a sister company to Astro Studios, headed by Brett Lovelady and Jordan Reiss. Astro Studios is one of the best-known industrial designers of tech gear. Its designs include the Xbox 360 game console, the Blackbird gaming PC from Hewlett-Packard, and a number of Dell Alienware gaming PCs. The common thread is that Astro deeply immerses itself in a tech culture and then designs a gadget to fit the consumer's lifestyle.

Astro Gaming debuted its first headsets four years ago. They have now been adopted by the professional gamer's tournament company, Major League Gaming, and are used by every team that competes. The headsets allow teams to talk to each other over web or dedicated connections and they even let fans listen in on the tournament chatter.

"It's all about experiential design," Drayer said.

Today, the company is launching a new wireless audio transmitter and receiver, dubbed the MixAmp 5.8, which allows you to wireless connect (separately sold) gaming headsets to your TV or video game console. The MixAmp 5.8 lets you turn your headset into a surround sound experience and wirelessly connect from your couch to your console over a 5.8-gigahertz wireless connection.

It's a game-lover's gadget. The device has universal serial bus (USB) ports for charging. It can decode 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio. The wireless units run on AAA batteries. You plug your headset into a small transmitter than can fit in a shirt pocket. You wirelessly pair that with a receiver that plugs into your console. As many as four players can plug into a receiver for the Xbox 360. The MixAmp 5.8 sells for $99. Separately sold, A30 headsets sell for $199 and the A40 sells for $249. The company has sold tens of thousands of headsets at those prices.

The MixAmp 5.8 amp is aimed at gaming aficionados who own Astro's previously launched A30 or A40 headsets and A*Star in-ear ear phones. The latter product is also being announced today and will ship in December.

The A*Star in-ear ear phones are also aimed at audio fans who don't mind plunking down $79 for high-quality ear phones. That product, which has both voice and audio capabilities, will help the company reach beyond gamers to iPod users, cell phone users and audio fans. Among the features is a flat cable that won't get tangled up. The ear phones have cord controls that let you control volume, mute, answer controls - all without looking at your device.

The prices are relatively high for mainstream consumers. But the game accessory market generates about $6 billion a year in sales in the U.S., according to market researcher NPD. The top 15 percent of gaming fans spend about 85 percent of that money.

Drayer said that his company is shooting for a high-end brand in the game space that is similar to luxury watch brands such as Nixon Watches

In headsets, rivals include Turtle Beach, Mad Catz's Tritton Technologies, and Razr. Astro Gaming sells directly to end users via the web and has proven that a small team of industrial designers can take on much bigger companies.

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The one thing Astro Gaming's lineup of gaming headphone solutions have been lacking is wireless connectivity; that is, of course, until now. The company has responded to the demands of players and critics with the MixAmp 5.8 - a new adaptive wireless system that allows users to combine not just their existing Astro headphones, but any set of headphones or earbuds from any manufacturer with the system to achieve wireless freedom. We've put Astro's new wireless solution to the test, and we've been blown away by the results.

The MixAmp 5.8 is a unique approach to the problem of wireless headphone audio, instead of creating a wholly new headset that features integrated wireless technology, Astro has crafted a solution that allows you to use any pair of headphones or earbuds you already own. To accomplish this, Astro developed a wireless transmitter system that integrates with your home entertainment center and sends high-fidelity 5.8 GHz audio to a special receiver unit that you can plug headphones into.


While not truly wire-free due to the fact that system requires users to still have a wire dangling from their headphones to the receiver, it does separate them from the confines of the six to eight feet of usage area provided by standard wired audio solutions.

The system is broken down into two main pieces: the transmitter unit, the Tx, and the receiver, the Rx. The transmitter base station is small and low-profile - roughly an inch tall at its tallest point and four inches on each side. The compact nature of the Tx allows it to integrate into your home entertainment center without taking up a whole lot of space. The Tx features a digital optical TOSLINK cable passthrough, allowing it to not only broadcast an incoming multichannel audio signal, but also pass it on to your A/V receiver simultaneously. In other words, if you want to use a speaker system, you don't have to unplug the MixAmp 5.8 system or use an additional splitter system.

The Tx also features two USB ports that can be used to recharge the Rx units, but only if users opt into the optional rechargeable battery packs offered by Astro for $19.95. The fact that the Rx unit isn't sporting a rechargeable battery unit to begin with is a bit of a disappointment, but certainly not a deal-breaker. The Tx also sports an auxiliary input that is used to route PS3 voice communications through the system via an optional 3.5mm to USB cable for $7.95. Straight out of the box PS3 voice chat support is also a bit of a letdown, but again, not enough to write off the entire product.

As for controls, the Rx unit keeps most of the audio adjustments close at hand, while the Tx only accounts for power and Dolby Headphone Surround toggling buttons. The Rx features dedicated volume and voice and game audio balancing dials, like Astro's standard MixAmp, as well as a 3.5mm headphone input jack, a mini USB port, and a 2.5mm Xbox Live voice communications cable jack. The Rx also features a first for Astro's MixAmp design - a bass expander.

If you're looking to squeeze a little extra bass response out of your headphones, just toggle the bass expander button and the MixAmp 5.8 will bump up the low-end frequencies of the incoming signal. The difference between the two modes is very subtle, depending on the existing equalization and driver components of your headphones, but gives just enough of a boost to bass frequencies on solutions that are otherwise lacking.


Pairing the Rx to the Tx is extremely simple - just hold down the power button on both units until the indicator light flashes white and you're good to go. Up to four Rx units can be paired to the Tx at once, allowing users to share a single audio signal.

Interestingly, since voice communications are routed through the Xbox 360 controller, theoretically users could have dedicated voice communication for each receiver on a Xbox Live game being played through local splitscreen, like Halo: Reach or Call of Duty: Black Ops. But, with added units comes added cost, and each additional Rx unit costs $49.95.

The only snag to the MixAmp 5.8 system is that in order to route voice communication audio for the Xbox 360 or PS3, users will have to use a headset that has a 3.5mm cable with an integrated voice channel. The Astro A30 and A40 headsets both support this type of connectivity, as do any smartphone earbuds, such as those bundled with the iPhone. If, however, voice communication isn't a priority, you can, of course, use any pair of 3.5mm headphones or earbuds to get audio.

But let's get down to business - how does the MixAmp 5.8 sound? In a single word: phenomenal. We've encountered plenty of wireless audio solutions, but Astro's may top them all. The system uses 5.8 GHz wireless technology, whereas most wireless products utilize 2.4 GHz, which gives the MixAmp 5.8 increased range and significantly higher fidelity audio. Subsequently, the MixAmp 5.8 is free from issues like interference from cell phones and other wireless products and signal degradation. In fact, the Astro MixAmp 5.8 delivers sound quality that rivals hardwired connections, complete with directional surround sound audio, and it can do it all at unbelievable distances.

We tested the MixAmp 5.8 in a variety of environments and were able to achieve high quality surround sound audio at distances of up to 60 feet, spanning different rooms. That's right, you can go practically anywhere in an average size house without losing audio. The only time we lost connectivity was when we had over six walls and 40 feet between us and the transmitter. More importantly, the system broadcasts incredible directional audio - no matter how far we went, we were amazed at how we could hear bullets whizzing past us left and right.

The system supports both 7.1 and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound signals via an on-board Dolby Pro Logic IIX decoder, which outputs Dolby Headphone Surround via the 5.8 GHz wireless band. This, of course, means that it is simulated surround sound, and the system does not support headsets with dedicated surround sound drivers in each ear. However, although it lacks true surround sound support, we've found that simulated surround sound can be just as accurate in pinpointing sound.

At the end of the day, we'd be hard put to find any significant problems with the MixAmp 5.8. It is cost effective, especially at its introductory price of $99.95 ($129.95 normally), and with support for a number of different headphones and earbuds, user preference is maintained. More than anything else, the MixAmp 5.8 sounds absolutely fantastic and has incredible range.

If you've been looking for a solid wireless audio solution, Astro's MixAmp 5.8 is definitely worth checking out.

IGN Ratings for Astro MixAmp 5.8
Rating Description

10 Performance
An extremely wide range that spans multiple rooms and over 60 feet.

10 Build Quality
Well constructed and ready to withstand regular use.

10 Audio Quality
Phenomenal sound quality with detailed directional audio processing.

9.0 Features
While not truly wire-free, the system is adaptive and works with a wide range of headphones. Voice communication support can be more limited, but varies by headset used. Rechargable battery pack and PS3 communication cable are sold separately.

10 Ease of Use
Easy to setup, pair, and operate.

9.0 Value
A solid value, though we would have liked to have seen the rechargable battery pack and PS3 cable packaged with the standard unit.

9.5 OVERALL Incredible (out of 10)

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