Will XBox Series X support external DAC/Amp hardware via USB?

Sundaras, AKG K712 and the HD660s are all great hdphns, the AkG and HD660s have a bit more Bass whereas the Sundaras are more neutral imo.

And for dac/amp, I am not sure about individuals for these but for combos theres a good list if you google for it, thats how I got my Fiio K5pro.

For most dac/amp combos for chat on xbox, I believe you'll need a Y splitter cable, put that in your controller and connect the Y splitter to your separate microphone (antlion, vmoda what have you) and your hdphns into the dac/amp combo and your good to
go with party chat and audio ( I believe!)

Please do some research yourself first as I am too much of a novice to really speak on it.

I have my Sundaras and will not be able to go with the Vmoda boom mic as I have 2 connections going into the hdphns instead of just 1.

So I will probably get the Antlion mic in the near future.

Edit: as far as I'm aware, for Xbox (my main place to play) the Astro mixamp and an older Beachturtle one are like the easiest to use for all in on plug and play. (I chose not to go for them as I read some stuff I didnt like with them)

And for example my K5pro, If I wanted to chat I'd have to go ways around with cables and stuff.

Now there's also the soundblaster g6 or something which has a mic input in the dac/amp itself, for now with the x1x you will still need a y splitter with it I believe as the X1X does not do audio over USB.

I also wonder if they will change that in Series X to then be able to just put in your separate hdphns AND mic into the G6 and go like that, bit unfortunately there is still no information given.

M

My advice is to; if you just play single player games you can go ahead and buy whichever HDPHNS you want with any dac/amp, however if you're looking to future proof yourself a lil bit also for Chat you'll have to wait for more info from Microsoft to really
be sure what we're going to be able to do audio wise.

Hope this helps a little.

I wonder if an hdmi audio extractor will allow you to pull optical audio out of the hdmi signal to a soundbar or dac? Could be a cheap solution.

Yes, that will absolutely work. Something like an audio-extractor, an HDMI switch with separate audio outputs, or digital audio out of a TV or receiver are all potential workarounds to the lack of optical out on the new console. However, it would be nice
if the XBox would support these options natively since not everyone may have a TV with optical out or a receiver, and the only recourse is to buy additional hardware.

Anybody got any news? Any insiders here?

I, too, want proper audio support. Personally I have what is often referred to as the best gaming headset around, the Audeze Mobius. It's got a ton of features, such as 8-Channel Surround Sound, Waves NX 3D Audio, Head Tracking, and Room Emulation, and
is powered by Planar Magnetic drivers. Problem is, the Xbox One doesn't properly support all of these features, mainly because of the lack of USB audio support. It's sad that the headset is capable of so much, yet the console won't allow it to work up to it's
full potential. I hope this is changed on the new system. Microsoft, you're going to sell plenty of consoles, and plenty of officially-licensed gear for it, I'm sure. Don't handicap the rest of us who loyally continue to buy your products. I've owned every
single Microsoft console so far, and am planning on pre-ordering the Xbox Series X. You guys have been positioning yourselves going forward as being user-friendly and inclusive. Time to live up to that moniker: support any and all USB audio. My headset's features
mentioned above and then some all work on Windows 10. The same should be said for the Xbox Series X.

I am far from an audiophile but recently have taken interest in improving my audio. I invested in a pair of Beyerdynamic mmx 300 2 (based on the the dt770 model). The sound is great but I was looking for a dac/amp with mic input that I could use with party
chat that would be "future proof" with the series x and the loss of the optical output make it complicated.

I was maybe looking at the xblaster g6 but at the moment it doesn't seems to support the party chat and not sure will be compatible with the series x.

Anybody would have any advice for an amp/dac outside the the astro mixamp which I keep hearing very mix review.

Again, I wish we could get someone from Microsoft to take an interest in getting some answers for us. I'm pessimistic about the relative priority that will be given to sound devices and expect we'll be stuck with "official licensed products" using proprietary
hardware and connectivity protocols.

On PC this would be an easy problem to solve--there are myriad options from which to choose.

One possible approach would be to use a DAC/Amp with integrated microphone controls like the Schiit Hel: https://www.schiit.com/products/hel

Another approach would be to use an audio-only DAC + Amp stack or combination DAC/AMP then use a USB mic, for example, for chat. I use a Blue Yeti mic for chat and any of several DAC + Amp stacks that I own for audio. This works great if I happen to be
playing a Windows 10 game, and it works OK if I happen to be using streaming to pay an XBox game through my laptop, but it has serious limitations and doesn't work at all straight from a console.

The best answer I've had for pure XBox One gaming was to build my own headset from a Focal Elegia heapdhone with a modmic, then I plug that straight into my controller. It works, but I'm sacrificing audio quality by going through the controller, and plenty
of headphones require more amplification than the controller could hope to provide.