Astro A40 Audio System: Headset and MixAmp Review
I have only used my Astro A40 Audio System for Xbox 360 and PC, so that will be the focus of this review.
I can’t say for sure whether or not I’m a casual or competitive gamer… because I enjoy doing both. When I first got into competitive gaming I had no idea how much of a difference having a gaming headset would make.
It wasn’t until I tried out a friends Turtle Beach headset that I understood the reason to having a headset. Using a gaming headset, low or high-end brand, helps keep you focused on what’s going on in the game, boosts your awareness and almost makes it as if you are part of the game. It allows you to hear things that would normally get drowned out coming through normal TV or stereo speakers, delivering crisp highs and impacting lows. You can even hear from what direction sound are coming from.
That is what a gaming headset does… but what makes the Astro A40 Audio System so different from all the rest of the gaming headsets out there? Besides the high price of $250 the answer is quite clear… quality. I have used many different gaming headsets in my gaming career, and the quality of the sounds coming out of the Astro A40 Headset and MixAmp are as close as you can get without being in the game itself. The A40 Audio System combines voice communication with 5.1 Dolby Digital and Dolby Headphone surround sound, and provides Xbox and Xbox 360 users with combined voice and game sound (allowing you to control the volume of both the game and voice outputs).
Don’t worry PC gamers you weren’t left out, you can benefit by offloading surround decoding and voice communication duties to the A40 system. Combined with other A40 MixAmps, it provides a private, hands-free, full-duplex voice communication channel, much higher-quality than VoIP systems, with zero network lag.
Another awesome feature that makes the A40 Audio System top of its class is that t-he A40 MixAmp™ is daisy-chainable out of the box, and comes complete with everything you need to connect the built-in voice communication feature of multiple MixAmps™. Teams get the competitive edge by selectable/mutable Xbox Live communication while maintaining a dedicated, private chat channel when daisy-chained.
The Astro A40 Audio System Headset features removable speaker tags, user-configurable boom that attaches to either side of the headset, or removes completely for solo gaming and music sessions making the Astro A40 Headset customizable to your liking.
Another nice feature is that the A40 Audio System comes with a 1 year warranty. It comes in handy if you get a faulty wire, or something of the sort. I have dealt with Astro Gaming regarding my warranty a couple times and the customer service has always been great and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get your A40’s back to working properly.
The Downside
How can such a great product have any downsides? Well I already mentioned the price of $250. That is not something the average gamer would want to spend on a headset.
What comes with great quality? Many wires! It’s no joke, the Astro A40 Audio System does require a lot of wires. Wires from the back of the MixAmp to the USB port on the back of your Xbox or PC (for power), an optical cable going from the back of the MixAmp to your Xbox (or you can choose to use the included audio cables, the optical cable is not included but should be used for best quality). Out of the front is a quick-disconnect cable that connects your MixAmp to your headset, and a MixAmp Cable (that is also compatible with portable audio players) that connects from your MixAmp to your Xbox controller for voice communication. Those were just the wires to make the A40 Audio System functional, not including the wires to and from your Xbox, Xbox controller or PC. So you can see that your wires will tend to become pretty tangled up and can cause quite the inconveniences.
For me at first the Astro A40 Headset was somewhat hard to get use too. It was comfortable at first, but after a while of wearing them it started to make my ears a little sore, which got a little frustrating. After about two weeks of using them extensively the sore ears eventually passed and I could wear them all the time… even for just listening to music on my iPhone.
This headset is extremely useful for FPS games and competitive multi-player games. However, if you are spending most of your time playing UNO on Xbox LIVE, these are extreme overkill.
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Final Thoughts
If you are a casual gamer looking to step it up to the next level in gaming, the Astro A40 Audio System may be out of your price range. But if you are looking for a reliable audio system that never disappoints on quality, can afford the $250, and won’t mind your wires getting tangled, their really should be no other option. The Astro A40 Audio System will give you a greater advantage over your opponents and can be customized to your gaming needs. I would recommend the Astro A40 Audio System to whoever is looking to improve their gaming career.
For a full list of features, specs and ordering information go to www.astrogaming.com
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