19.3.2020

A50 wireless headphones with base station and all you need to know.Packaged well. Arrived in perfect condition.Presented absolutely fabulously within a nice, black, modernly designed cardboard box.Within the box is a really strong, nicely designed, storage box for your headphones and base station. This has a bit of weight to it. Inside of this box, each item is packaged well, some in their own containers, looking so neat and organized, it looks great.The contents include the headphones, the base station/charging dock. Optical cable, USB universal charger and manual.These headphones are a really nice design. They're near all matt black, they have shiny black accents. They are very lightweight.Within the headphones,are internal gyros, this allows the headphones to recognize when you're not using them. They will automatically turn off until you pick them up again, fantastic for battery saving.On the left side, is a pull down/pull up microphone. This works as simple as lift up for mute and pull down for on. This is a very crisp and clear microphone. So much better than the last version they did. Voice recordings sound absolutely incredible in comparison too.There are thick, soft, padded ear cups. These completely surround your ears. Feeling incredibly comfy on. These have an open air design, allowing better sound quality and better noise feedback from your mic to others.In addition to these soft material ear cups and headband, you can buy a mod kit, this mod kit is a leatherette type set for these headphones, these are also a gorgeous set if you prefer that style.On the base of each ear cup, are the charge contacts, these magnetically connect to the docking station and stay in place, standing upright. This is where they can be stored and charged. Looking brilliant as you do it.On the base of the right ear cup, is a charging port.On the outer side of the right ear cup, is the voice balance. Near the base on the side of the ear cup, are 3 buttons. The EQ button, Dolby on/Source audio button and power switch. The power switch has an indicator light on it, amber shows charging and white shows on.The headband on the headphones, has a nice padded, soft centre. This headband is adjustable. This is easily done via two poles either side, with measurements on both, allowing you to resize evenly. Also on each pole, is the L and R, so you know which way around they go.The docking station/charging base, is a really nice design. I really does look great. especially when the headphones are sat on top. The charging base is actually heavier than the headphones themselves!To use the charging base, you need to first have it plugged in to either your PC or ps4.There are, on the front of the docking station, 4 level indicators. These show the charge percentage level of the headphones. There are PC and PS4 light indicators, depending on which one you're using, it will light up. Dolby on, in a headphone shaped indicator light. Source audio passthrough on, in a white star shaped indicator light. EQ mode shows 1 for Astro, 2 for Pro and 3 for Studio. These are audio presets.1, Astro, this is more suited for all purpose gaming mode, covering everything from music to microphone, all at a good level.2, Pro, this is more suited to competitive games where needing to hear every little detail of what's going on, is a must. Like a first person shooter game for example.3, Studio, is great for films and cinematic sequences in games etc.On the back of the docking station, is a PC/PS4 switch, depending on which one you're using, you would switch it either side. A USB play and charge port. Allowing you to charge devices from the docking station or connect a mouse through it etc. The Optical in port and Optical out port. This is needed for connection to the PS4. Aux port for amp etc. Micro USB port to connect the docking station with power.This is easy to set up no matter which device you're using. The headphones are automatically synced too, so they're saving you time already.For PS4 setup -• Switch docking base switch to PS4.• Plug in USB cable, micro end in the docking base.• Plug in Optical cable, into the PS4 and into the Optical in port, on the docking base.• Charge the headset fully before first use.• Once you're on the PS4 dashboard, go to settings, select devices and click audio devices.For PC setup -• Switch docking base switch to PC.• Plug in USB into PC/MacBook and then the micro end into the docking station.• On the PC, go to playback devices tab in sound settings. Select sound output, select digital out.• Select Astro A50 game, right click and set as default device.• Select Astro A50 voice, right click and set as default communication device.• In sound settings, find recording devices, select Astro A50 voice, right click and set as default device and default communication device.These headphones have software where you can completely customise the headphones in and out sounds, set your own presets and more. This can be found on the Astro game website.The Astro command centre software is really easy to use. There are 4 tabs at the top to use. In the top corner, it shows the headphones charge percentage level and settings. On these settings, you can check for many different updates and load and save profiles.The 4 tabs on the command centre display are, Equalizer presets, microphone, stream port and settings.On the Equalizer presets, you can have 1,2 and 3. This means you could have one set perfect for gaming, music and films, or streaming or really, whatever you wish.On the microphone, you can customize the the way it works for different pre sets like, streaming, night time, home use and tournaments. You can adjust the sensitivity, volume and side tone. Side tone adjusts the volume of your voice going back into the headset. Meaning you can keep track of the sound and loudness of your voice.On the Stream port tab you can adjust sound, chat and audio, microphone sound and aux level.On the settings tab you can adjust voice over game level. So you can choose which one you want to have priority over the other, or you can keep them even, there is a nice large adjustment bar to find your own preferred way.These headphones have a fantastically far range to work with. They use a 2.4ghz wireless frequency. Way better than the previous model. You can even go in your garden and they will still work!These headphones sound absolutely amazing for most things. There wasn't a test they didn't fail for myself. I even appreciated the base level. The microphone is really good quality. On movies, it's a little surround sound type feel. Gaming was absolutely amazing, as you could imagine having played with the command centre.The headphones last 15 hours, so really you would have gone to bed by the time you need to charge them! Or at least near ready to go!These are incredible headphones. I am definitely impressed. The durability is amazing. The design seems flawless. I love the ease of how they work. The are a far better upgrade to the previous model. Definitely suited for streamers as well as gamers.I would recommend these. Stunning design. They feel ever so comfortable on. The sound is amazing quality aswell as the microphone. Docking station is a great design too. It does seem, thus far, they are worth the price.

30.3.2020

I've never come across the Astro brand before which is quite surprising - they seem to have existed for at least 12 years, if not longer - they are owned by Logitech and are headquartered in San Francisco. This headset - the A50 - costs a lot, so there's a big question - are they worth the asking price?The A50 arrives in a nice package - a big outer box that's flimsy cardboard is wrapped around an inner rigid glossy cardboard clamshell box. Inside the clamshell box is a pair of moulded transparent plastic shapes that hold your headset in place. Unlike similarly priced Sennheiser boxes I'm not tempted to keep this Astro box around,I'll be sticking it in my loft - it's not attractive or functional enough.But another reason I don't plan to keep the box around is that the A50 comes with a base station that your headset rests in to charge, and that communicates with the headset wirelessly, and the base renders a storage box obsolete.The base station is built to a great standard, just like the headset - it's very attractive with sharp angles, and it has an LED display that tells you the current settings of your headset. You can change these settings using the buttons on the right earpiece, or using the Astro Command Center software.The headset is really quite beautiful. Mine is the black/grey version. Most of the plastics are finished in matt black and have a nice feel on the verge of being rubberised. Other materials are the two gloss black pilars with clearly visible markings on them that let you adjust the height of the earpieces. The first time my wife saw me wearing them she said "you look like one of those Doctor Who people" and was referring to the Cybermen, albeit that their heads are silver not black. It's the two glossy pilars that give this impression. You get used to it after a while though.The earpieces and the bit at the top that rests on the top of your head are black velour fabric coated foam. You can order leather-like replacements for these on the Astro website if you want.Wearing the headset is mighty comfortable - I'm usually not good at wearing headsets for long periods as my head heats up, but I've managed whole afternoons with the A50 with no problem at all. Part of what makes this achievable is the excellent and enjoyable sound quality, particularly the exciting bass.There's a microphone attached to the left earpiece. This is switched off when folded up vertically, and switches on automatically when you pull it down to place it in front of your mouth.As I say above, the sound quality is really good. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 660S audiophile headphones for reference and this A50 headset is much more enjoyable to listen to. The Sennheisers are more hifi, but they don't excite in the same way the A50 does. Added to which the A50 has the convenience of wireless. The microphone on the A50 makes them a lot more useful and multi-purpose too.When I first started using the A50s I found the buttons on the right earpiece infuriating. Every time you press them to switch Dolby on and off, and to switch through the three graphic equalizer profiles there is a deafening beep. Fortunately in the Astro Command Center software there is a volume setting for this alert - set it to zero and the beep goes down to a merely annoying volume - still louder than I would like but at least not risking impairing my hearing. The headphones appear to remember this alert volume settings when you move everything from one PC to another.My only real problem with the A50s is the software. It's annoyingly dark. There is no way that Astro have considered people with visual disabilities when designing it - I very much doubt whether it conforms to W3C standards for contrast. What is the message here - people with less than perfect eyesight shouldn't buy their products?In summary, a really useful wireless headset that sounds great. I do wish the beeps when changing settings were not deafening, and it would be nice if the Command Center software had more contrast for people with visual disabilities.

21.3.2020

There's no doubt about it that these are good headphones. You'd expect this for the price you pay for them.They're fully wireless to the base station and the base connects to your pc or ps4. The switch on the back of the base station determines which mode you are on. I've only used them for PC as I don't have a PS4.Build quality is good, they're light and flexible and all of the buttons have a tactile feel to them. Speaking of buttons, there are a lot on the side of the right ear cup. On /off, dolby, profile, volume up / down and on the cup itself is the game /chat blendThe microphone arm is on the left and swivels up and down. When all the way up, the mic is off, bring it down and it turns on.One thing I found is the mic sits quite far from your mouth and doesn't have any adjustability to bring it closer really. You can move it closer but it feels like it shouldn't be bent that way.The mic quality is great and everyone has told me that it sounds superb. One thing I did notice is that I had to adjust the sensitivity of the mic for open chat. At the default level it wasn't activating for chat and I put this down to it being far away from the mouth. I adjusted it to be more sensitive and it works well now.The ear cups are comfortable and soft and the headset itself is fairly comfortable. They're more on ear headphones for me than over ear, but your experience may differ.Sound quality is good and the customisation options are very good. You can tinker with the options to get the right sound for you. The dolby mode on it ruins the sound if you ask me. It becomes very echoey and the sound stage becomes VERY wide. So much so that I actually couldn't play with this mode enabled.Battery life is good and the dock means that you'll never be without charge if you pick them up for a session. Realistically you'll get about 4-5 hours from a full charge.The dock itself is magnetic and charges the headphones when you place them on. The screen on the front tells you how much battery life is on it and the profile you have selected.One thing I really like is the auto off / auto on feature. If you take these off and place them down, there's an accelerometer in them that knows they're not being worn and they go into sleep mode. As soon as you pick them up and put then back on, they connect up again. This is very clever and works really well. No timers for shut off, no buttons to reconnect, it just works.Now for a few negatives I've found. Firstly the sound is OK. Not mind blowing, but just OK. As they're open back, they do have a wide sound stage which is almost echoey, but not quite. It's on the edge of echo as how wide it is. You can get the closed back cups as part of the mod kit but that's an extra cost.With the dock, I've found you have to place them down just right for it to connect. I was hoping it would be a "plonk it down and it charges" situation but you have to fettle around with them a little for it to sit correctly. It's not a huge issue but it can be frustrating when you need to put them down quickly and they don't sit right.Finally there's the price. Before this I had a pair of steelseries arctis 7 which are literally half the price of these and they're just as good. Sure they don't have the dock or wireless charging but from a performance standpoint I believe they sound better and are more immersive. The A50s seem to be a bit more complex and fine-tunable but it's all a bit much.I do think the A50s are a good set of gaming headphones and have lots of features but I just can't justify them at double the price of other, very capable headsets. I'd like to give these 3.5/ 5 but as I can't, I'll be generous and go for 4/5

28.8.2019

PresentationThe head phones arrived in a small box which was very presentable and well constructed. Once taken out of the main box, the inner box opens up into two parts like a book which displays and protects the headphones beautifully. The box is very well manufactured and it shows the care that are put into the headphones. StyleThe headphones themselves are very aesthetically pleasing. The sides of the headphones which are adjustable to your head size are made from silver which matches well with the remaining black. The microphone is small, yet solid and sits perfectly to void blocking visions or being annoying in front of your face. The speaks are huge and fit perfectly over your ears.The have a matte black finish which looks fantastic. The headphones are extremely comfortable and lightweight, despite their large size. They can be worn for long periods of time without any issue. They sit very gently on the head so do not constrict at all which can cause problems with some head set brands. Set UpThe head set comes with a base unit which plugs directly into the Xbox through the USB and Optical connectors. The head set sits on top of this in the cradle for charging and connecting. There was some difficulty setting up the head set despite following the instructions perfectly. There is no mention of a required update within the instructions but after a brief search through the online help resources I was able to solve my problem. There are a number of wires required to connect the head set to the Xbox, but that is the advantage of the wireless head set over the wired; as there are no additional wires leading to the head set itself, there other wires can be neatly put away with the remainder of your system.The cradle itself does feel a bit flimsy and the headset does not sit in them perfectly which resulted in them not charging at one point. They can also be put back the wrong way round fairly easily which results in them not charging as well. These problems are overcome once you are used to the headset.PerformanceThe battery life for the headset is fantastic. I have used these for long gaming sessions and the battery had never dipped below half way. With regular charging, I can see no reason why these would ever run out of battery so I see no issue with the wireless headset. For this reason, I do not see any disadvantage compared to a wired headset due to battery life.When I got this head set I was concerned that the sound quality would not equal a wired headset, however, this was not the case. The sound quality is excellent and is indistinguishable from a wired set. The most impressive feature of the sound quality is the direction. The sound quality is so accurate that whilst playing a game you can pick out the direction of sounds as if you were directly inside the game. I found this to be extremely pleasing for my immersive experience. The controls on the ear of the headset are also extremely useful. You can mix voice and game sounds for voice chat with other players, change volume and disconnect which is all very useful to have on the headset itself.Overall, I would definitely recommend this headset to anyone who is serious about gaming and wants a more immersive experience. Gaming with a headset is incomparable to playing without; you feel as if you are right inside the game at all times. This headset in particular is perfect for this use. I have not yet found a headset with comparable sound quality. A must buy for any serious gamer. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

31.8.2019

Pros Extremely comfortable head set Good sound quality and immersive surround sound Long battery life Compact and light base station Stylish and subtle design Well-built Easy to use and set upCons Very expensive No Bluetooth connection Tight fitting (cannot adjust fit and over time does squeeze on your head)The Astro A50 wireless + base station head set from Logitech came with a well organised and protected packaging; I was expecting a bit more flash for the price however this is a minor observation.Following the guide, setting up this head set is very simple. I have used the Astro headset on both PC and Xbox (primarily PC). I updated my head phone firmware on the PC through the Astro command centre app,on this app you can customise the equaliser, microphone and stream port settings.The headphone itself is well-made and constructed with a combination of matte plastic and aluminium. The base station is also made of matte plastic. The head set itself is lightweight however over long usage can start to feel a bit heavy, this may also be in part to the tight fitting (the tightness and heaviness is more of an issue with prolonged usage). Overall the headset is very comfortable with a round cushioning around the ears and a top cushion. The matte surface is stylish and subtle; with good placement of power switch, Dolby button, EQ pre-set and volume wheel. A quirky feature of the headset is that the ear cups can swivel inwards so it can be placed on a flat surface. Using the mic is easy as swivelling down from the vertical position to activate and swivelling up to mute, the mic is flexible and the distance from your mouth can be adjusted. The headset and base station work very well as the base station receives the headset effortlessly due to the magnets meaning this can be received by the station and retrieved by the user easily with one hand. In addition, the base station will light up to inform you that the headset is connected, is charging and displays battery level.As mentioned above I primary use this on the PC and downloaded the Astro Command Centre software (Windows 10) from the Windows Store which can be accessed through the Astro gaming webpage or Windows Store directly. The Astro Command Centre enables full configuration of the headset with EQ pre-sets and different mic set ups, personalisation is easy.The audio quality really is something else, you become completely immersed and the head set picks up on a diverse array of audio for gaming, music and watching films. The sound is remarkable when in range. The voice quality is also good as it captures the voice well as the voices comes through nice and clear.I haven’t experienced any disconnections, lags or audible discrepancies. The headset provides a almost seamless wireless connection which feels like the performance of a wired headset. The battery life is also very good and the range of the wireless connection is typical to other wireless devices as performance is optimal within close range i.e. within a room.There are far more pros than cons for this headset, the cost will put a lot of people off however you do get what you pay for. If you are in the market for a wireless headset with incredible sound, simple set-up and which is very easy to use, I would highly recommend this headset. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

8.4.2020

I've been using this headset for months now, mostly for PC gaming, but also for watching movies, listening to music at work, and the odd bout of Xbox gaming. It's had a few blips over that time, but the short version is that this is a very good headset, delivering premium quality at its premium price point.Structurally, there are three components - the docking station/charger, the headset itself, and the lead that connects the two. The lead is your basic micro-usb in black, feels like decent enough quality. I'd suggest that it's a little too short, given you need to plug it in to your device to charge the headset - but aside from that, no complaints.The docking station/charger is a sleek black unit,all slopes and lines. It actually looks pretty cool, as long as you like that aesthetic. It has slots for the earpieces from the headset to slide into, and when they do, they start charging (assuming the dock is plugged in!). The unit itself feels sturdy; it's not that heavy, but it doesn't feel cheap either. My major complaint is that it's surprisingly easy for the headset to rest on the docking unit slightly awry, so that it isn't actually connected to the station, but looks like it is - more than a fe wmoments of realising that the headset wasn't charging ensued, so watch out for that.The headset is a bit bulky, but feels well made. The mic arm mutes/unmutes depending on whether it's up or down, and the volume control is embedded in one of the cans. There's also some source control on one side. The volume is a bit fiddly to find if you're sat on your couch, slightly too small to locate easily by touch, but it's controlled by a physical roller which is reassuringly responsive and tactile; you can be precise with your levels. The Cans themselves are decent; I gather Astro sells an after-market kit to upgrade them to leather, but the existing earpieces were comfortable enough to wear for 8-12 hours at a stretch.The mic feels a little fragile on pull up/down, but no more so than other, similar sets, and the clarity at the other end of a Skype/Zoom call or gaming voice chat is very good.The setup process, assuming you just want the defaults out of the box, is simple enough; plug everything in, double-check your drivers, and away you go. If you want to customise, though, you'll need to install the software, which (for those of you on Xbox) seems to require a Windows 10 PC. As usual with these, the UI is a pain in the backside - the results were decent though. I didn't utilise all the options, but there's a lot of choice available for customising your sound. You also get some free Dolby Atmos time; honestly I think this should've been perpetual, but there we are. It's a nice benefit if you want to see what that gets you.Overall sound quality felt pretty great to me; solid ranges, and perfectly acceptable for utility tasks like watching a film or chatting to colleagues remotely. I've been using it to play Battlefield and Battlefront for a few months too, and while I'm still terrible at both, I can't attribute that to the headset - the directional sound is very clear, and the environments feel appropriately cinematic.Overall, this is a top notch set at its price point, and one I would (and have) recommended for all sorts of different use cases. Very pleased with it, and you probably would be, too.

5.4.2020

Right, let's start with some of the negative points people have brought up.First issue I've noticed get mentioned a lot, is level of sound volume and depth of the sound.I'm a bit of an audio snob, bose headphones, Harmon kardon speakers, BO sound bars etc. I like detail in sound, I like to hear everything at the levels they're supposed to be heard. Crisp mids, deep lows, etc, and this headset delivers! People saying that they're not bassy enough, for music... They're not headphones, so why would they be? They produce more than enough bass to deliver a rich detailed gaming experience. They're clear, no crackle, lots of detail in the sounds, clearly audible ambient sounds. Volume wise,max level is far too loud. So anyone who gets pissed they're not louder. See a doctor, you're clearly going deaf.The second issue people keep rasing is the headset noise isolation. Ignore those too, because these isolate all noise outside the ear piece. My girlfriend regularly gets pissed with me because I can't hear what she's saying, so they're clearly doing their job (not that I bought them to ignore the ramblings of a secondary school teacher...)Third issue people seem to have is with software. Now, this one is a bit tricky. There's no issue with the software per se, but I imagine anyone who doesn't have access to a laptop or computer will have a hard time.The reason, you can't update your firmware through the xbox app alone, which is a bit odd. I didn't have an issue myself, I walked upstairs, plugged them into my workstation and they were updated within 2 minutes using Astro Command center. Now, yes this will be an issue for anyone who doesn't gave access to laptop of some form. The question I found myself asking is, why spend 300 quid on headset to play games, when you could have spent 100 on a decent headset, and also bought yourself a notebook for the remaining 200 and had some form of device for productivity.The 4th and final issue the negative reviews address is battery life. Now, these come with 15 hours of battery life. If 15 hours is too short, you're wasting your life on a game! 15 hour battery life, is more than enough for 3 days of gaming if you don't charge. Anyone gaming for more than 15 hours at a time is a psycho. Genuine fruit cake. Seriously, go outside!I know this review has just been about addressing the negatives, so I'll sum up the headset.It's class! The sound quality is genuinely on par with some of the £1000 headphones out there. The design and build quality is second to none. There are parts that you may think are flimsy, but these are the parts that you swap out with modkit. The materials are premium. Even the standard earmuffs made from brushed cotton are comfy and soft. The docking station, amazing. It makes charging so convenient, and the display on front that gives you cues for what EQ you're on etc, really nice touch.Overall, must buy for anyone seriously into gaming. One thing I'd add, the dolby atmos 2 year license is worth it. I'd also say just buy it outright tbh. However, don't enable it for competitive gaming. It makes the sound virtualised, which means directional sound kind of disappears and overall becomes more fuller and rich. Great for cinematic games, not so great for the likes of COD or APEX or something like that.

15.3.2020

As with most households nowadays, top of the Christmas lists was PS4, so when this came up I thought it would be a great addition. As my brother in law is far more technical than me, I asked him to try it out for a day or two and give me a review, which is as follows:The Astra A50 is an awesome headset. I opted for Astro, since 3 years ago, I had an A40 and loved the quality. The A50 is no different. The audio quality is outstanding! The microphone quality is very decent too, but my friends via Discord did mention, that the headset microphone I was using before, did sound better (Sennheiser PC 373D).Receiving the headset, I had to charge it for almost half a day, for it to reach 100% (around 10-12 hours).The installation of the software was very easy and self explanatory. The Command Center Software is very easy to use and allows you to customize your audio to a large extent.The distance the headset works at is rather decent. I can get behind 2 walls and be around 4 meters away from the base station, and the headset will work most of the time. Any closer and it works perfectly.But there are some issues with the headset:At first, the headset hurt to wear for more than 2 hours. I have since gotten used to it and the headset seems to have fit to my head - this took quite a little while to become comfortable. The microphone standard is set to play your voice back (side tone) to you. I myself find that feature very annoying. You can disable it via the Command Center (desktop app), but every 2nd time I boot my PC, the feature is activated again, although the software says that it is turned off. It's annoying having to slide the side tone up, release, and slide back to off, to fix this. Speaking of the microphone, the feature to "flip up to mute" is great. Many headsets have this, including the A50. But there's a huge issue. About every 3rd or 4th time, I flip my microphone down to unmute it, it doesn't unmute. I have to physically flip it back up to the mute position, and flip it back down to get it to unmute. Another small issue is the volume wheel on the headset. I like to wear hoodies at home, during the winter, with the cap/hoodie down. If I'm wearing my headset and hoodie, and turn my head, there's a great chance that my volume gets lowered. This is a small issue which I personally have, but I could see other people facing the same problem. Lastly, the Dolby Atmos sounds like a cool feature, but I have yet to be able to set it up correctly, for it to work well during gaming. In games like CSGO, it's impossible to hear where steps and shots are coming from, with Atmos activated. I advise to use the normal Astro-audio settings when gaming. It could be that Atmos is more optimized for movies and shows, but the A50 is a gaming headset and Atmos is clearly not optimized for gaming.That all being said, I'd still recommend this headset for people willing to pay the price. I'm sure that there are cheeper wireless headphones out there, which do the same job. But I'm just a gamer who wanted to get his hands on an A50 after experiencing the A40's a few years ago.So overall, the feedback I’ve had from someone in the know has been really positive. Seems a great item and one I’d recommend even with the few minor points.

15.3.2020

This Astro A50 Headset comes well presented and the package includes the headset, a charging/connection station, an optical and USB connection cables and a user guide. To get going you need to install the Astro Command Centre software and ensure the firmware is up to date – my example seemed to update both the headset and charging base.The immediate impression is of a well made and strikingly designed headset albeit of nearly all plastic construction but maybe that’s necessary to give the set its lightweight. You can buy an accessory pack which replaces the fabric/foam earpads with vinyl ones and the headband insert too – it left me wondering if this should be an extra at the price point of this set?The earpads are magnetic and very easy to swap over though.It’s clear a lot of thought and effort has gone into this set which is an evolution of previous A-series models going back many years. The headset is light and comfortable plus I rather like the standard foam earpads – they aren’t sweaty and too isolating. The earcups adjust on poles which look as though they have a Vernier type scale on them which is an interesting styling touch.There are physical controls on the phones for power, Dolby on/off, EQ preset and volume. This is a headset you can wear for many hours without fatigue. The boom mic is easy to use – it’s on when in the downward position and off when vertical. As design feature is that when switched on the mic feeds your voice back slightly through the earphones – this took some getting used but now I like it.Battery life is excellent – up to 15 hours from a single charge via the base – you do have to be a bit careful to ensure the headset connects with the pins on the base. The base unit features plenty of connectivity options including USB (but surprisingly, the PC connection is Micro USB rather than USB C) and optical in/out with a handy display panel at the front which includes a battery indicator.The Astro Command Centre software is uncluttered and works well. There is one obvious idiosyncrasy the balance between game sound and voice is adjusted on the basis of shifting the balance from one to another rather than having independent control of each channel. Adjustment of the balance can be controlled via pressing the right earcup or using the control application.Sound quality from this headset is excellent making them suitable for both gaming and listening to your music via your PC and the software gives plenty of equaliser control. I did find the volume a little low on maximum but fixed that by an app download. The bass is clear and taut without being overwhelming and the mid/upper frequencies are smooth. The soundstage is spacious and the Dolby effect is good plus the unit is £D audio ready. I’ve found this headset good not only for gaming but I like their smooth sound for listening to music too.In summary, these Astro A50s feature decent ergonomics, are comfy and, most importantly, are good where it counts most in delivering smooth, quality sound and feature a battery with plenty of stamina but they aren’t flawless.

16.11.2019

I bought this headset to use it for gaming on xbox one, and I now watch films and everything I can with it.I read the reviews below and finally took a chance on this headset despite the negative feedback. I am very glad I did.Out the box this product works right away with some default settings installed to rotate through 3 x EQ settings. You just plug into your Xbox and you're away. In all honesty though if you paid this much for a headset, you're going to want to customise it.For a higher level of configuration you do need to plug it into a pc to install updates it seems, and a windows 10 PC at that. I mention this because not everyone would have a windows 10 PC or access to it. Top tip,even if you have a spare, you should use the micro usb cable that comes with the product to install the update on PC, otherwise it may fail. I wasted a little time in the setup process as I did have to contact customer support to help me through this, so hopefully this helps someone.Once this is done then connect back to your xbox one and claim the free 2 x years Dolby Atmos that comes in the box, and install the EQ Command Centre App from Xbox store.It's worth noting why I mention the above however in a review, as the product could do with this spelling out a little clearer in a simpler instruction booklet -however it's far from complex.From this point you can configure settings direct on the Xbox and save profiles etc. This process is a little more complex as it involves saving sound profiles underneath file names. I would say the user interface here could be improved to make the process of what your doing a little easier. Some sort of example on screen or in the box to show you steps would be great as an improvement, and make it easier to use for novices.Another useful feature would be that the updates install direct through Xbox rather than requiring the PC update system.I bought this product because other brand names had let me down for performance. I may have gotten "bad units" out the box I suppose, and if that is the case then I am very unlucky. I was also interested in both Dolby Atmos and being able to customise the sound stage to a high degree. I have not been let down here as when configured the sound is amazing and does a superb job at surround sound recreation.All in all I gave this product 4 stars for sounding great, having lots of customisation options, and the customer support I have received to help me through setup has been quick and effecient. I gave a bonus star for lack of interference on the wireless connection. I read loads of reviews before this and I think that they cast an unfair picture for this headset. I would buy again right away without hesitation if I needed another set.The improvements I would like to see to get it to 5 stars without the bonus star, would be updates through xbox directly, a better user interface for the xbox app with a working example how to adjust and save profiles.

27.3.2021

You will find below my review from last year when my headset became inoperable.New Review 2021:Got these again after the price drop to £219. Even though I hardly got to use them last time I still felt that the audio quality was second to none. Decided I'd take the plunge again and bought them for the second and third time (I'll explain later why third). The first game I played, my jaw literally dropped (no joke). I came from the Logitech G Pro X, and they were decent, but not on the level of these in terms of sound quality (don't get me started on the stupid charging station or the problematic Astro Command Centre).I just played Apex Legends and could hear foot steps that my team mates couldn't,I've uploaded the video, which should demonstrate this. Overall the sound quality, bass and overall surround sound are simply better than the competition. They need to do away with the charging base station and stop updating the damn firmware every few minutes. Bricked my headset in the past.*Third Purchase: I had to return the PS4 model because it doesn't come with a Dolby Atmos license. Only the Xbox Model does. Never owned a PS console before, had a few Xbox consoles, so thought it makes sense if I ever decide to buy an Xbox in future too.Old Review 2020:I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality of this headset. Comfortable, breathable, precise bass and treble, incredible surround sound. I had finally, after a thorough test of half a dozen top end wireless gaming headsets, swallowed the price tag and was ready to settle with this beast. Just under a week of owning them, the Astro Command Centre informed me that a firmware update is available and required. I went ahead with the update. A few minutes later, the firmware update failed. From here on, the headset would not work. Completely bricked. The software would endlessly inform me that the headset firmware is out of date and attempt to update it. Every single time it would fail. I tried multiple USB ports and machines, same issue. I researched online to find others whom have experienced the same issue, and there are plenty of people. Astro's website is total garbage. No access to the firmware, nor any section for community help or KB articles.The headset is rendered completely unusable now. I've tried everything. A hard reset of the headset and countless hours testing manual and automatic firmware updates. Just a few moments ago a firmware update completed successfully, and the headset seemed to show a firmware version on both the base and headset, however the moment I remove it, it says no headset detected. Nothing will bring these back to life. Such a huge disappointment. This issue is common. These are going back to Amazon.

30.8.2019

The Astro A50’s are in my opinion the best true wireless headset you can get for the Xbox One, I will start off by saying this does not mean I didn’t have any issues it just means there are limited options to choose from with only three companies holding licences to make true wireless headsets for Xbox to my knowledge and I consider these are the best.These arrived in a very slick Astro branded bespoke box with everything needed to set them up and have them working, the quality of the headset feels and looks really nice. After unboxing them I had a read through the manual for setting them up and I would suggest going to the Astro website and following the setup video’s or going to astrogaming

16.9.2020

So what can I write about the Astro A50s?Quite alot if you ask me. I've always had Astro headsets especially for my Xbox.I started off with he first gen Astro A40s, I couldn't fault them but I accidentally broke them. While looking up new headsets, I gave astro a fair share of looks. From Corsair, Razer and SteelSeries. They all had interesting features, But all the same as The Astro A50s.- 7.1 surround sound.- Dolby Atmos- Great Noise Cancelling- Crisp Audio- Deep Bass and Great MidsI decided on the Astro A50s (Gen4) because.... Well been with astro for years. Might as well stay loyal, But since Astro has been bought over from Logitech their quality has slightly declined a bit.

13.10.2019

Really easy to set up - though the print is very small on the supplied multi-language 'quick start' sheet. Fortunately it was just a case of connecting it via USB and optical fibre link to my Xbox One S (both cables supplied), setting the switch on the base to 'Xbox One' as opposed to PC, and going into the Xbox audio settings to set up the headset. Then stick the headset itself into the base unit and charge it up (mine came pretty flat). The magnetic charge base allows you to plonk the headset onto it without having to worry too much about getting it precisely lined up.The headset is reasonably light, but does have enough weight to give it a 'quality' feel. The ear cups are adjustable enough for my comfort,

20.2.2021

My first pair of gaming headphones and the other half (and probably the dogs) are loving life in mostly silence with the calm communication shouted whilst playing Warfare or Rainbow Six.After almost three decades of gaming, 1000s of pounds of audio visual equipment I’ve come to realise that headset gaming is a game changer!Pound for pound these are NEVER going to match the sound of an equivalent headphone for music, and I have many from Beyerdynamic T1s, Sony WH1000XM4, Bose 700, all in and above £300. So let’s not compare them to those kinds of headphones. For gaming these will do, just don’t expect to watch movies, listen to music or do anything else with them. Why would you,

Astro Gaming A50 Xbox One Edition (4. Generation) - Reviews

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