Astro A50 Review

penguinpoppers

Hey guys,

I recently bought a set of Astro A50s that i've been using with my ps4 and I thought i'd leave a quick review of my experience with them so far.

I picked mine up from the Astro website for €230 as they were on sale, and they arrived after roughly a week.
The packaging of the headset was impressive and, even though it sounds rediculous, so was the quality of the included cables.
After charging and updating the firmware of the headset and mixamp, I hooked it up to my ps4 and tested them out.
I tested the headset with music, games and movies, switching between the 3 different pre-sets.

THE GOOD:

The first thing I noticed was the incredible bass the A50's can produce. I've owned some decent headphones like Sennheiser HD-555's and some Audio Technicas but the Astros blew them out of the water.
The sound quality is great and is extremely clear. I would understand if someone thought they had a little too much bass but I loved it, especially for gaming.
The simulated surround created by the Astros is also impressive and allows you to easily pinpoint footsteps or gunshots, especially when using the competitive preset mode. Although the surround sound is good, it still (understandably) doesn't compare to a good 5.1 home cinema setup.

Since this is a wireless headset all of the controls are located on the headset itself. These include the master volume dial, the preset toggle switch, and the game/chat volume mixer. All are easy to use and work well.
The mic is permanently attached, unlike the A40s, and is muted by simply pushing it so that it is upright.
The A50s are very comfortable despite their weight, even after long sessions of gaming.

The headset is reliable as long as it remains in sight of the transmitter. As soon as I moved to a different room I immediately noticed severe audio dropout. But as long as I stayed in the same room as the transmitter it was easy to forget that the headset was wireless.


THE BAD:

Despite all of this praise, in the short time I have owned the A50s I have encountered a number of problems.

The most serious problem I have encountered is that the headset occasionally crashes. Although you can still hear audio, the buttons become unresponsive. I was unable to adjust the volume, toggle presets, chat/game volume mixer, or even turn the headset off. The only solution is to let the battery die, recharge it, then start using it again.
I encountered this problem twice in my first three days of using the headset, and after searching through forums I found that this is actually a very common problem. I contacted Astro support and they told me to drain the battery and recharge it. After explaining that I have done this and the problem persists their "support" became very strange. Through emails with poor grammar I was told that i needed the mixamp/transmitter in order for the headset to work, and was told that the ps4 sometimes causes audio dropout with the A50s. None of this information was relevant to my problem and made it seem as though my message had not been clearly read. Although I had heard Astro provide excellent customer support, I have definitely not found this to be the case. After I asked for a replacement headset be organised they offered me a refund. (Not surprising considering I bought the headset for almost €100 less than the current price.) VERY disappointing.

One problem I found with the mic was that the haptic feedback that feeds your own voice back into your ears is too quiet. Because the headset blocks external sound so well and produces such loud bass I could rarely hear my own voice and on occasion found myself shouting!

I also found that the preset toggle switch wobbles/rattles whenever you move your head. Although this is not a big problem at all, it could be fairly annoying at times considering the price of the headset.

One final problem i noticed is that the charging light on my headset is supposed to turn red when it has achieved a full charge. But It appears as though mine is unable to do so as the light just remains orange even after 24 hours of charging. This doesnt seem to be affecting battery life but again this is another problem that shouldn't exist.


OVERALL:
The Astro A50s are capable of being an incredibly high quality headset.
The sound quality is fantastic and it has some excellent features that are easy to use and just simply make sense.
Unfortunately I have encountered some problems that really should not exist in a product that currently retails at €300.

If you are considering spending this much on a gaming headset make sure you have to money to spare. These problems might be present as this is a wireless model, so I would strongly consider the wired A40s if going wireless is not a necessity.
Unfortunately for me these problems do exist, and sadly it seems that they are not issues to be concerned with, judging by Astro's responses to my emails to them.

I tried keeping this post as short as possible but even so i've rattled on for longer than I intended. So sorry about that!
If anyone has any questions or suggestions please get in touch.
Cheers.

cadete

Good review bud.
I got a set aswell at the end of November and have not encountered any of the problems you mentioned. I bought mine in argos just incase i had problems as I could just walk in, have a moan and get an exchange/refund(did this with a set of tb tangos that were 250 at the time)

I find the wireless reception really good as its still works in my kitchen through 2 walls. Nice and light to wear considering they are wireless, really comfy and can be charged while in use. I've found the battery to be good also getting 8/9 hours playtime in marathon sessions. Sound and voice is crystal clear and as said above really easy to hear footsteps etc.
I would have liked the voice feedback to be optional rather than there all the time.

This is my first set of astros and have had a few other tb sets but nothing has come close to these. Personally I would recommend them to anyone who has the cash to blow on a headset, they are just superb, but buy local and cover your backside just in case.

penguinpoppers

cadete wrote: »

Good review bud.
I got a set aswell at the end of November and have not encountered any of the problems you mentioned. I bought mine in argos just incase i had problems as I could just walk in, have a moan and get an exchange/refund(did this with a set of tb tangos that were 250 at the time)

I find the wireless reception really good as its still works in my kitchen through 2 walls. Nice and light to wear considering they are wireless, really comfy and can be charged while in use. I've found the battery to be good also getting 8/9 hours playtime in marathon sessions. Sound and voice is crystal clear and as said above really easy to hear footsteps etc.
I would have liked the voice feedback to be optional rather than there all the time.

This is my first set of astros and have had a few other tb sets but nothing has come close to these. Personally I would recommend them to anyone who has the cash to blow on a headset, they are just superb, but buy local and cover your backside just in case.

Thanks man,
100% agree with buying local. Wish i could bring my set in and swap em for a working pair without the fuss.
I'll keep you posted with Astro's responses. Still waiting to hear if they'll replace them instead of refunding me the discount price I paid.

Glad yours are working for you. They honestly are great but the problems and customer support are definitely stopping me from saying they're perfect obviously.

Caoimhin

Nice review, I am actually thinking of buying a pair of Astro A40s the 2013 editions soon. It is quite a lot of money so I am still on the fence, the other options are some high end Turtle beaches or some Sharkoons.

I game solely on the PS4 now and play first person shooters.

Any suggestions?

penguinpoppers

Caoimhin wrote: »

Nice review, I am actually thinking of buying a pair of Astro A40s the 2013 editions soon. It is quite a lot of money so I am still on the fence, the other options are some high end Turtle beaches or some Sharkoons.

I game solely on the PS4 now and play first person shooters.

Any suggestions?

The A40s are definitely a great way to go. I'd take a look at the "Turtle Beach XP Sevens" too though.
Look up a youtube video of any FPS gaming competition and i bet 90% of people will be wearing one of those sets.

If you're like me and being wireless is a necessity then the A50s or the (slightly cheaper)Turtle Beach PX5s are about as good as it gets.

Hope any of that helps!

penguinpoppers

UPDATE: After 5 days of communicating with Astro support, they still don't seem to have read my messages carefully enough to undersand the main problem i'm having.

Through the 5 emails i've sent I clearly explained that the headset's buttons stop responding but I can still hear audio. I have to drain the battery and recharge it before it works properly again.

Their support tech keeps emailing me as though i'm having trouble with the power dropping when it's actually the opposite as I cant get the damn thing to turn off at all whenever it freezes like that.

By far the worst tech support i've ever encountered.

Caoimhin

penguinpoppers wrote: »

The A40s are definitely a great way to go. I'd take a look at the "Turtle Beach XP Sevens" too though.
Look up a youtube video of any FPS gaming competition and i bet 90% of people will be wearing one of those sets.

If you're like me and being wireless is a necessity then the A50s or the (slightly cheaper)Turtle Beach PX5s are about as good as it gets.

Hope any of that helps!

Yeah I wanna try the XP sevens,if them and the astros are good enough for MLG, there are good enough for me

penguinpoppers

UPDATE #2:

Ok, so after a frustrating week of emailing tech support I was told that they would test my headset and see if they could fix the problems.

I was emailed a UPS label and the next day a UPS van collected the package from my house.

I was notified when they received my package, and I was notified when they had inspected the headset.
Today I received this email:

"Hi Stephen,

I have tested your system today, confirmed the faults and replaced the A50 Headset itself with a new one. I have paired it to the TxD and updated their firmware, your system is now fully functional. It is being sent back via UPS, here is your tracking number:....."

So the things that I disliked about the headset and criticised in my above review have (hopefully) been fixed.

I have to admit that the tech support is definitely far from the worst.
Even though it was crazy that they took so long to understand the problems I was having, it took them just 5 days to collect my headset, test it, replace it, and then ship it back. Very impressive.

Caoimhin

I went ahead and bought the Astro A40s, I have to say I am really liking them, damn nice sound and sense of directional queues. Build quality feels solid too.

I have updated the firmware, tested the mic etc and everything is perfect

Taltos

Wireless is a must for me so the A50's seem the ticket. But the price is just crazy. Thinking about the Skullcand PLYR1s instead, almost half the price - but still a little steep. Can't get my head around paying the cost of a vita for a headset.

Caoimhin

Taltos wrote: »

Wireless is a must for me so the A50's seem the ticket. But the price is just crazy. Thinking about the Skullcand PLYR1s instead, almost half the price - but still a little steep. Can't get my head around paying the cost of a vita for a headset.

Wasn't my money so I was ok with it. Stick with what you know is dependable and has a good rep. But watch out for cheap surround sound headsets though, there is quite a few of these. You think they are class when you get them, but if you actually compare them to proper headset they sound so poor.

Skullcandy PLYR1s seem good although I have never used them before

Razleavy

Taltos wrote: »

Wireless is a must for me so the A50's seem the ticket. But the price is just crazy. Thinking about the Skullcand PLYR1s instead, almost half the price - but still a little steep. Can't get my head around paying the cost of a vita for a headset.

Go for the PLYR 1 for sure. I have a set and couldn't be happier, they also have clearer audio (no buzz on the wireless audio signal and they don't have the over the top bass level like the A50.

notahappycamper

penguinpoppers wrote: »

UPDATE #2:

Ok, so after a frustrating week of emailing tech support I was told that they would test my headset and see if they could fix the problems.

I was emailed a UPS label and the next day a UPS van collected the package from my house.

I was notified when they received my package, and I was notified when they had inspected the headset.
Today I received this email:

"Hi Stephen,

I have tested your system today, confirmed the faults and replaced the A50 Headset itself with a new one. I have paired it to the TxD and updated their firmware, your system is now fully functional. It is being sent back via UPS, here is your tracking number:....."

So the things that I disliked about the headset and criticised in my above review have (hopefully) been fixed.

I have to admit that the tech support is definitely far from the worst.
Even though it was crazy that they took so long to understand the problems I was having, it took them just 5 days to collect my headset, test it, replace it, and then ship it back. Very impressive.

I've been following this thread as I also have a new pair of the A50. So far so good apart from the first few times I charged them while the PS4 was put into standby mode as the orange charging light was still on after 20 hours or so. I think if you are going to charge them while the PS4 is in standby only plug the USB into the headset after the PS4 is in standby as opposed to plugging in the usb to the headset then putting the PS4 into standby.

Anyway, hopefully they have resolved your issue.

Keep us posted.

Thanks...