Astro Gaming A40 Audio System – Review – Hardware

If you’re like me, my room isn’t ideal for a true surround sound setup and I often play when others are in the room or are sleeping nearby. With the new Astro A40 headset, playing my games can be a great experience without the cost, loudness, or unreliability of an external system. They can take the sound of the latest games to the next level without taking up space.

Presentation and Build Quality: The Audio system arrives in two boxes, one for the mix-amp, and one for the headset. The headset is made of high quality plastic and metal. They feel rigid, but light and flexible. The mix-amp has two knobs on the face, one that controls volume, and the other balance for voice communications and game volume. The presentation and build quality of these components are something every consumer electronic company should strive for.

Features: The Astro Audio System is billed as the ultimate in sound for competitive gaming. The system is completely portable with included travel case. The system also boasts support for full 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound in full Dolby Digital using the 2010 mix-amp. They also come with support for what Astro Gaming calls the daisy chain. If you have multiple Astro Systems you can tether them together to create a private chat channel.

Setup: The setup is fairly easy and straight forward. There are two cables required for the mix-amp and two for the headset. The easiest route to go is with a tos link digital cable which plugs in to the back of the mix-amp. The usb cable powers and also plugs in to the back of the mix-amp. The other two cables plug in to your controller and to the headset. All these cables limit the distance you can be away from your console a drawback I found tolerable.

Sound Quality And Feel: The sound quality is impressive but leaves something to be desired when it comes to bass. I relate the sound from the headset to that of a microscope. The systems goal is for you to hear the most minute of sounds not the largest like explosions. Where they excel is in rendering enemy footsteps coming from behind you, reloading of a weapon, or the folding of a piece of grass. This is where the Astros excel and where other systems fall flat. The headset portion of the system feels great on your head and you can actually forget that they are on. They grip tight but are extremely comfortable even if you wear glasses.

The Astros are like that of a Ferrari you don’t buy one to putt around town, you buy one to go fast. Like a Ferrari the Astros fall short in some areas but more than make up for it with their performance. This is overall the best headset you can get for gaming hands down. The full system costs $250 which a bit much for some, but is well worth every penny for those who buy a pair. As a video game accessory goes I would rate these a 9 out of 10.

I was provided the Astro A40 audio system for review from AstroGaming.com

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