Astro A50 Wireless review

When you go shopping for a gaming headset, you’ll be greeted by a swarm of expensive headphones that are all trying to look the coolest. The Astro A50 is at the front of the pack. We’ve seen a few versions of this headset by now, and each one is better than the last. But only a small group of gamers will be willing to pay the required $299 (£349, AU$489), even though the market for high-end gaming headsets is much stronger now.

There are also gaming headphones with great sound quality, like the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, which costs $329 (£299, AU$440) and comes with a DAC, and the $200 (£200, AU$250) Razer Nari Ultimate, which literally shakes. So, the most important question is whether or not the Astro A50 still stands out among high-end gaming headsets. This is one of the best PC gaming headsets on the market. The charging station is smaller, and the new design is sleek and all black. Still, that high price tag means that you should have high hopes.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Design

The new A50 headset looks almost exactly the same as the 2016 model. It’s a sturdy pair of headphones with aluminum supports that look like pipes and connect the large, rectangular, rounded earcups to the headband. The design is much simpler than the last one. Instead of primary colors, it uses anodized aluminum and almost all black, with gray accents on the PC/PlayStation 4 version and gold accents on the gaming PC/Xbox One version.

The boom microphone is permanently attached to the back of the left earcup and can flip up out of the way to automatically mute. All of the physical controls are on the right earcup. There is a volume wheel, an equalizer preset button, a Dolby surround sound button, and an on/off switch on the back edge. A rocker switch on the back panel lets you choose between game and voice mode. If you don’t want to use the base station to charge the headset, there is a micro USB port on the bottom of the right earcup.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Comfort

The ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless should be a great headset for playing games, but it’s not. It’s cheap and has a quiet microphone that makes deeper voices sound distorted. The connection between the headset and the base station sometimes drops, and the headset doesn’t fit well.

To be fair, there is also a lot to like about this. The headset is easy to wear, and the sound features work well. But it’s not enough to make the $300 price worth it. The SteelSeries Arctis 7 is a wireless gaming headset with all the same features and a more durable and comfortable design.

It has to be plugged in to charge, but since it costs less than half as much, that’s probably not a big deal. If you wanted something really high-end, the HyperX Cloud Orbit S and the Audeze Mobius both sound much better. They cost a little more, but it might be worth it. You can buy this headphone from its official website.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Connectivity

Depending on which version of the A50 you buy, you can use it with either the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4. Either version can also be used on your computer. For a PC, just plug the base station into a USB port with the micro USB cable that comes with it. If you want to play while charging, you’ll have to get your own cable.

For either console, plug the base station in with the micro USB cable to turn on the microphone and power the headset. Then, use the included optical audio cable to connect the console’s optical audio output to the station’s optical audio input to make the headphones work. Unless you have a PS4 Slim, it’s easy to set up.

The optical audio output has been taken out of this version of the standard PS4, so you can’t connect a headset directly to the console to hear game sounds. Astro suggests either using the optical audio output on your TV or connecting an HDMI splitter or audio converter with an optical audio output between your PS4 and TV.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Noise cancelling

Let’s get this out of the way: this headset isn’t the loudest and doesn’t have the best seal. We can still hear our coworkers in the office when we’re not doing much in the game. You might not be happy with this headset if you want something that has a lot of rumbling and blocks out noise very well. But if sound quality is more important to you, you’ll be glad to know that there aren’t many gaming headsets with this good of an audio balance.

You see, a lot of gaming headsets on the market have a lot of bass, and some of them have so much bass that powerful explosions make an annoying crackling sound. When we wear the Astro A50 and play the first parts of Gears 5, it feels like we’re watching a movie. The clear and accurate sound goes well with the beautiful graphics. Because it works with Dolby Virtual Surround, the Astro A50 lets you play games in a very realistic way.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Audio performance

In terms of sound, the 40mm drivers in the Astro A50 Wireless do a great job of creating an immersive soundscape powered by Dolby Surround. Audiophiles might laugh at the idea of virtual surround sound, but the A50 Wireless does it so well that it’s almost as good as the real thing, even though it only has two speakers.

We don’t know how Astro did that, but we do know that the sound pulls you into the action. In fast-paced shooters, you can hear shots fly by your head as you return fire and the boom of artillery fire in the distance. It gives you an advantage in competitive play by letting you hear a player’s footsteps with pinpoint accuracy.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Battery and charging

As always, the quality of the EQs is different. The default EQ setting for Astro (#1) still sounds the best. Pro makes the highs louder so that you can hear footsteps better. Media gives a more balanced picture, but it doesn’t have much depth. Even at low volumes, there is a big difference between these EQs.

Which is good, because the over-ear cups on the A50s do a good job of blocking out noise, but they could be a lot louder. I can hear cars honking outside, so how am I supposed to feel like we our in the middle of a war zone in space? I have never had a problem like this with any of my other Astros.

Astro A50 Wireless review: Final words

The Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 are some of the best wireless gaming headphones on the market. They look like the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017 from the previous generation, but they have some improvements, like a smaller base station and better battery life.

They can only be used wirelessly with the base station, which has low latency. Even though they have a great mic, they won’t be the best choice if you play in a loud or crowded place because they don’t block out background noise very well. Users have said that the software has caused them major problems, and you can find out more in the App Support box.