Astro Gaming - A50 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset for Xbox One and Windows - Black and Green

I had the older model Astro A50's and they lasted me a very long time. After they started to break down as does all tech at a certain point, I began looking at the newest model. Love the new base station, very sleek looking and the digital surround sound is just as sleek. My only gripe is that there is no way to charge the headset while in use. The older model had an option for this. I have noticed that if you do not keep your PS4/Xbox on which I do not, home owner trying to cut down on the electric bill, there is no way to charge them other then leaving the system on. Which is counter intuitive to me trying to save on my bill. Other then that a great pair of gaming head phones, very comfy and airy! If you can afford the hefty price tag I recommend!

I suffer from a high-end hearing loss so where most standard gaming headphones would sound great to most people, I end up missing a lot of nuances others are taking for granted. I had taken a step back from gaming on my Xbox for a period of time and when I stepped back into it with an Xbox One X, an older set of headphones I had been using would give me a lot of odd errors. They would cut in and out and I was no longer able to speak to my friends on Xbox Live. So it was time to invest in a new set. I finally decided on the ASTRO A50 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset. These headphones are quite an investment so for me to want to spend that much on a brand I had yet to try, I knew they needed to not only live up to the hype the company was pushing but also needed to be able to deliver that edge I was looking for. Again with having some major hearing loss, these headphones needed to fill a void that for the most part was nearly impossible to fill. As I said above, I was giving the A50’s a nearly impossible task. Maybe I felt that way because of the brand loyalty I had with other brands. Maybe I wanted these to fail so I wouldn’t be spending too much on a set of gaming headphones. Maybe I didn’t want to feel like I have been missing out all these years by using other headphones. I also wasn’t sure about how well I would be able to hear with them given my hearing loss. Even with these apprehensions in place, I connected them to my Xbox One X to start my first gaming experience with the ASTRO A50 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset. The first game I played with the A50s was Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. I was just blown away. That buyers’ remorse I felt before was instantly gone. That brand loyalty I was talking about, yep, it was gone as well. So as you can probably tell by my excitement, the sound quality was wonderful and for someone who has normal hearing, these are probably such a game changer that it’s almost like cheating when playing against others. For me, I am hearing other players footsteps and gunfire from the direction it’s coming from. This is something I got from my original older headset but even those cannot compare to what I have now with the A50s. The ASTRO A50’s are insanely good. So how about comfort? When I play I play for hours at a time, I’m not getting any headaches or sore ears. The ear cushions are super soft to the touch and they connect by magnets to the headset so they can be replaced super easily if they were out or got damaged. Astro actually offers noise canceling ear cushions that can be ordered if you want to beef the headset up more (part of the mod kit). Something I did not have with my TB headset was an option to mute my mic by simply lifting the boom arm up. I would fumble around pressing buttons that never really gave me a solid answer if I was muted and it just drives me a bit batty. So, having this simple operation to handle that function is miraculous. The A50’s have few buttons and switches but when you use them you know what you are pressing and what they do. I can adjust them without ever needing to take the headphones off to see what I am touching. You could say I am super impressed with the A50’s. As much as I love the A50s, there is one thing I am not impressed with — the charging connectors. I love that you can charge the A50s wirelessly but the method is a little old-fashioned, in my opinion. The wireless charging option is to place the headphones into the base to charge by what looks like early 2000’s prong and teeth connections. I had issues almost every other time I place my headset on the dock to charge. I am finding myself adjusting them on the base trying to get them to line up perfectly. I’ve also had to turn the headphones on and off to get them to link up properly to charge even when they are lined up correctly. I would have preferred a more universal wireless charging option like what you get with QI charging for cell phones. I would have gladly paid more to have a more user-friendly experience or at last, an experience like I have when I set my iPhone down on a wireless charger. Instead, this clunky charging prong thing is past its prime. Now, you do have the option to charge the headphones using a Micro USB cable, which, again, is old-fashioned in my opinion. I would much rather have seen Astro use USB-C as the charging option. In addition to the charging issue, the dock is also very lightweight and it moves around a bit. So instead of sitting on my entertainment center without moving around, I am always readjusting it to keep it lined up with the Xbox. This is not a defect in the product as I am sure their goal was to make it lightweight but it’s more of a defect of mine as I am OCD and I need the dock lined up. These have been the best gaming headset I think I have ever owned. I don’t think I have ever been this happy with any other headphones…ever. I have some wonderful ANC headphones I love for music but even as great as they are, I have never been as happy to use them as I am the A50s. The A50s have honestly been a game changer for me. Being able to hear things others don’t have allowed me to up my KD in games that I would have gotten killed from behind due to lack of hearing. Are these worth buying? Absolutely. ASTRO has made incredible gaming headphones that are built well, feel great, and most importantly sound amazing!

I used to own Turtle Beach headphone worth about the same price as Astro 50. More Bass sound, 7.1 surround, clearly as crytal. Can always turn off surround or bass lower or off. While TB is limit and not only that weak with battery, average ranout like 6-7 hours or so. While Astro last me 10-11 hours. Totally worth it. I sold TB on Craigslist.

Great set of cans. The surround is as good as any others on the market. However the fit and finish and quality of the materials is way above average. The battery life is over 8hrs continuous, and easy to charge by just setting them on the base. The ability to set your three EQ presets up however you want on a laptop is very valuable. You can tweak the sound anyway you want. The mic works great, very clear voice I'm told. Best headset I've had yet, came from Turtle beach X41s, these are miles better. They have good range for wireless, but you have to remember it's the same frequencies as wifi, can't have the base too close with a clear line of sight to the router or you'll get interference. Stellar performance and go louder than I need.

I researched this product before making my purchase and found so many positive reviews from many different sources. After making the purchase I found them to be an excellent choice for an avid gamer looking for high quality wireless game audio. Their sonic quality though pricey is worth every penny, if you can afford them. I would recommend them to anyone willing to pay the $300 price tag.