Setup and Testing

System Setup

Intel Core 2 X6800 Extreme Edition
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P
4GB OCZ Reaper PC8500 DDR2
Asus Xonar Essence STX Sound Card
Tritton AXPro GA611 5.1 Gaming Headset
Astro Gaming A40 Audio System

We tested the Astro Gaming A40 system versus another gaming headset from Tritton, the AXPro GA611. Both systems use a discrete powered amplifier and support Dolby Digital over TOSlink optical. We played through some popular games on both PC and Xbox 360, like Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2. We also jumped onto to Steam and Live to test the microphone and voice communication abilities of the A40. While we know that obviously both Live and Steam compress voice communications, what we were looking for was maximum clarity given these circumstances.