We have taken a look at why the Astro A40 is such a popular headset among professional gamers. The answer is clear: Customizable to the point of perfection.
Astro A40 Review Summary
“Damn, now that’s some serious sound quality!” – That’s exactly what you will exclaim after using this amazing gaming headset. It will knock your socks off.
Take into account that I’m reviewing the Astro A40 + MixAmp Pro TR, which takes this already-awesome headset to the next level.
Let’s start by saying that using this headset is very comfortable. Your ears won’t get hot or uncomfortable even after using it for many hours non-stop.
Now let’s talk about the most important feature: the sound quality. From the design you can clearly see it is a winner: the ear cups have been angled in order to “inject” the sound directly in your ears. And you can easily tell what the result of this is: an unprecedented sound quality!
The sound is very clear and detailed, which means you will hear everything, even the slightest footsteps, something that will bring you a blatant tactical advantage.
We will review the sound in better detail later in this article, but for this summary, all you need to know is that the sound quality is outstanding, especially when you add the MixAmp Pro TR and this excellent addition is what makes the Astro A40 a real hit.
First off, you must know that the audio is stereo by default, but by using the MixAmp Pro TR you can convert it into surround, which is a notorious advantage. But this little powerful addition does far more than that:
- Allows you to fully customize every output and input level
- You can reduce bass and put more emphasis on mids and highs
- You can create your own EQ settings
- Cutting-edge voice balancing
- Fully customizable stream output
Can you see now why coupling the Astro A40 with the MixAmp Pro TR is a magnificent idea?
The unique things I’d criticize is that the price is expensive (but it is very well justified) and it faces certain compatibility issues… how so? The white version is for Xbox and the black version for PS4, so you will have to buy each version if you plan to use your Astro A40 on both consoles… at least that’s what Astro says! Then again, very few people use both consoles, but not an issue for 99.99% of gamers.
What? Yes, you can use the Xbox One version with the PS4 without problems, but you will have to use a matrix pass-through. And the wonderful thing about using this tweak is that it will allow you to use the Astro 40 with many older consoles like PS3 and Xbox 360.
But all in all, despite these downsides, it is an amazing headset. The quality of sound and build quality is way above beyond average. Therefore, if you are looking for a professional gaming headset, then the Astro A40 + MixAmp Pro TR is one of the best options out there. You won’t be disappointed!
About Build Quality and Design: A Detailed Insight
From the summary, you can see that this is the kind of headset that does everything perfectly. And now it’s time to take a more meticulous insight.
The design is professional and elegant. It is white like snow and glossy like a crystal, a perfect combination in my opinion. And you can easily see that it is bulkier than your average headset, but worry not, because it is light-weight at just 377 gr or 13.3 oz. The black and brown version is absolutely stunning as well and which you prefer is really up to you.
There a little detail that adds plenty of value to the Astro A40: the ear cups connect to the headband by using a highly-resistant metal tube. This is great because it protects the cable of the ear cups, and therefore, contributes to making this headset even more durable.
Another important aspect to take into account is that the ears of the headband use a cloth padding, something that makes the headset more comfortable and suitable for long gaming sessions. The ear cups are phenomenal, and people with larger ears will absolutely love this feature!
It fills all the voids in my opinion in terms of design: it looks pro, it is very comfortable and pretty sturdy yet light-weight at the same time.
About Sound and Performance: Why Is It So Incredible?
Many gamers rave about the Astro A40 + MixAmp Pro TR combo, and there are many reasons for that. You already know it has an outstanding performance, but right here we will review it in detail.
The sound is ultra-clear, this is superior to anything you might have tried before unless you already own something like the Sennheiser Game One. You will be able to hear everything, and that includes the small artifacts in games like Overwatch. This alone lets you understand the degree of sound clarity the Astro A40 TR offers you.
This superior clarity is a major advantage in FPS games, but in case you don’t want such a high degree of clarity (some people may find this an issue), then it is as simple as changing it from 7.1 to Stereo. This way you will take out those little details that may bother you.
Even though the sound isolation is excellent, in case you want to reduce it, you can make use of the feature known as Sidetone, which you can activate by using the MixAmp’s software.
Now that we’ve mentioned the add-on, it is time to explain why it is so awesome. You already know many of the things it can do, and there’s no doubt on why people rave about it: it allows you to customize your experience to the degree of perfection. And this is something that will delight the pickiest gamers out there.
It is also lag-free, so you won’t suffer any kind of interruption or interference. The MixAmp Pro TR was developed to meet the high standards of professional e-athletes, you should not expect any less from such a high-end product.
You also get 4 different EQ modes which are optimized for different kinds of games. As you can see, when I said that you could use this to optimize your experience to the degree of perfection I was not kidding.
The quality of the audio is outstanding in all senses, but the aspect that will blow your mind away is how well it handles the bass. It is simply perfect, which makes it ideal for listening to music as well.
And what about the microphone? Your teammates will hear you without problems, so you can keep communication clear and loud. While not as good as some actual gaming microphones, it gets pretty close which is very impressive by any standards.
Another important thing to point out is that it is a wired headset, so you won’t face the interference problems presented by wireless ones
Conclusion and Final Verdict:
Would I recommend the Astro A40 TR? Totally! It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best gaming headsets ever created.
The quality of sound is way beyond average, which makes it an excellent choice for pro e-athletes. It is also very comfortable, something that ranks it over other headsets like the Elite 800x (it is excellent as well, but it is not very comfortable)
All in all, I can recommend it to you, just take into account that it is quite pricey (around $250 USD).
I would NOT recommend it to people looking for a simple plug-and-play headset. The Astro A40 is at its best when customized and tweaked to your specific needs. Making this an ideal pick for the perfectionistic gamers out there.
If you want a similar high-end quality gaming headset without all the fuss, I would recommend looking into the Sennheiser Game One.
