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Astro A30
www.astrogaming.com
Astro may not be a household name within
the general community, or likely even a great number of gamers, however,
for those in the know they have a great reputation, the Astro A40’s were
well recognised as one of, if not the best gaming headset going around.
They are used in competitive gaming tournaments for their precise
surround reproduction. They weren’t without their complaints though;
they were hefty in design and in price. Astro have now released the
A30’s, a more compact and stylish design.
Astro
have really gone back to the drawing board regarding the design of the
A30’s, where the A40’s were quite weighty and utilised an over the ear
design, the A30’s are very light, almost to the point where you cannot
feel them on your head. They also use an on the ear design, this felt a
bit uncomfortable at first, but after a little time using the headset
became quite comfortable, and remained so even after long playing
sessions. The overall styling of the headset seems a bit more modern
and are actually a pair of headphones that you could use when out in
public more so than many other gaming headsets. Unlike the A40’s you
can also detach the microphone, further encouraging people to use them
as a regular pair of headphones. The plates on the ear pieces can be
changed for some added customisation.
Of
course the most important aspect of a good headset is the sound quality,
and let me tell you if you have the cash to get these you will not be
disappointed. I used the headphones extensively for listening to music
and found them to be incredible; bass was accurately reproduced and was
beefy. High and mid level sounds were also terrific. This is either
with the mix amp or without, they do sound a bit better with the mix amp
but this is not very mobile. This excellent sound quality transfers
well to games, with all sounds being accurately reproduced.
Surround sound quality is the same as that found in the A40 headset at
all the surround decoding is completed in the Mix amp provided that it
is connected via optical. As expected from a headset of choice for
competitive gamer’s sound location is very good in the A30’s when used
with mix amp, players should easily be able to locate enemies when
playing the likes of Battlefield or Modern Warfare. Even if only being
used in stereo the sound is still amazing.
The
microphone is detachable, unlike the A40’s where the microphone would
sit up near the band, I found this an excellent feature as I use them
just as much for music as for gaming. The quality in the microphone was
pretty good and had no problems when playing online, there is a bit of
distance between the player and microphone but this was not found to be
an issue.
Setting up the mix amp can seem a bit confusing at first, with the whole
set up coming with a number of different wires and plugs, the set up
guide offers easy to follow instructions on what needs to be done to set
it all up. Once everything is set up there can seem to be wires going
everywhere, this is one aspect where the Turtle Beach X41’s win out over
the A30’s, the sound quality provided by the headset allow this to be
overlooked.
One
aspect of the Mixamp that I found difficult to overlook was the lack of
optical output; this has made it very difficult for me to have this as a
permanent fixture in my home theatre set up. The mix amp comes with a
number of different inputs, including RCA, stereo, USB and also optical
so it can be incorporated into virtually any set up. The mix amp is
easy to use and pretty straight forward once up and running; with an
amplification function and also a mixer so that voices and game volume
can be controlled.
Overall, the A30’s are a fantastic headset for those with a bit of cash
to spend, for those that can afford to invest in these will not be
disappointed, these are an excellent headset and can be used for a
variety of things, from gaming to movies and also make a great pair of
headphones for listening to music. The big question for anyone
considering purchasing the purchase of a new gaming headset is whether
the price tag is too high for a headset, as the quality will not
disappoint.
If
you're a TRUE gamer, go out and buy this now!
Features
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Balanced, Dynamic Audio Quality - Tuned for a variety of usages
including gaming, music and movies, with crystal-clear voice
communication and precise surround-sound performance.
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Dual Mic System - Removable boom mic for console and PC gaming and
Skyping, wired inline mic for taking calls on-the-go.
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Incredibly Stylish and Comfortable - Lightweight, on-ear design
fashioned to move easily from the office to the living room to the
street.
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Quick Disconnect System - Ships with 3 swappable cables for mobile,
console or PC setups. Mobile cable features a control button to
answer or end calls and also works with iTunes to start, stop, jump
forward and jump back.
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Voice and stereo at your fingertips - The MixAmp’s discrete
game/voice balance control allows you to adjust the settings to fit
your needs.
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Dedicated voice channel - Link multiple MixAmps together for a
private, hands-free, full-duplex voice communication channel
experience -- much higher-quality than VoIP systems, with zero
network and system lag.
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Inject your own soundtrack - Connect your mp3 player through the
mixer itself with a 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable (sold separately). Free up
valuable system resources, and put your music within arm's reach.
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Interchangeable Speaker Tags - Choose from a variety of
collaborative tags or create your own with the online ASTRO
customizer (sold separately).
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Carrying Case – Every ASTRO headset purchase comes with a
complimentary, high-quality ballistic nylon travel case to protect
your investment.
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Optional Upgrade - The A30 headset works great by itself on PC and
mobile devices, but needs to be teamed with a MixAmp for online
console play.
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