Customer Reviews

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The sound is so crisp and being in online parties they said I sounded really great. They said my voice came through very clear without static. I was a little skeptical at first but you would never know how you like them until you try them. They sound like noise canceling and you have the option to control gameplay audio and party chat audio. You have the ability to adjust the main volume and mute yourself. The wire plugs directly into the controller so there aren’t any other ports or boxes to have near, this is the least amount of work I could’ve asked for. They feel worth it and I’ll be sticking with these for as long as I can.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This pair of Astro A40 TR’s with the MixAmp M80 (for the Xbox One) is the latest iteration of the A40 and MixAmp bundle. I personally have no experience with the first gen A40 TR’s, so I won’t really be able to speak to what has been upgraded/changed from the previous generation. I’ve gotten around to playing a couple of extended gaming sessions of the MCC, as well as a couple of days in the office. With that being said, I think I have a good impression of the A40’s capabilities. Build Quality The build quality of the A40’s is excellent. Looking it over I don’t see a part on the headset that says, “We saved money on this part.” Most of the headset body is plastic with the exception of the metal adjustment tubes. The plastic feels sturdy and robust throughout the frame. The top band is plenty flexible and its attachment to the adjustment tubes appears to be quite robust. Everything on the earcups is magnetic – the pads and the cover tags. They have a very satisfying magnetic click to lock into place. The earcups and headband pad are covered in a soft, velour fabric that feels nice on the skin. The microphone clicks in nicely to its jack, and can swivel a full 360° without a problem. The boom is very flexible, and it is easily positioned while retaining whatever shape you mold it into. This is one of the better adjusting boom mics I have come across. The M80 also has a pretty solid build too it. The main body is well put together, and the letter/graphics don’t appear prone to wearing off. The volume wheel has a nice ‘clicky’ spin, and the mute button is easy enough to activate. The red LED ring around the button isn’t glaring for those that like to game in the dark. The LED status bar is a nice touch as well and takes the guess work out of balancing your game/voice volumes. The only part of the M80 that I feel needs improvement is the cord. I wish it was detachable or at the very least braided. The flat cord feels too much like the Xbox chat headset cord, which isn’t my favorite. Features The first feature I noticed is the adjustable mic position. For years now I have been stuck with the mic and cord on the same (left) side. When I played on the 360 I used the wireless mic, and always had it on my right ear. This is the first time since my 360 days that I have had the chance to put the mic on the right side. The EQ modes for the M80: Pro, Core, and Astro (formerly Media). I mostly stuck with the Core setting since that’s what I’m used to. The Pro setting amplifies higher frequency sounds for hearing movement/footsteps. I’m not a fan of these modes, as they don’t do much for me. I have some hearing loss in the higher range on my right side, so I feel like I’m missing out on some sounds when I use these types of modes. Astro mode pumps up the bass for listening to music or watching TV/movies. I used this mode to listen to music and watch some TV. It wasn’t necessary for everything, so pick your EQ based on the source/genre. If you have some boomy/bass heavy music then this is a good EQ for you. Same if you are watching an action movie or show. The A40’s also come with a 2 year access code to Dolby Atmos for Xbox One. I actually already had this, and having been using it for the last 8 months. I really like it, and I think it’s a nice little add on. Also, that code carries over to Windows 10 as well. This is more of a lacking feature. The M80 does not support mic monitoring AKA sidetone. I was very surprised by this, and I thought this would be an issue for me. Turns out its not really a problem. I can hear everything around me pretty well with the headset on, so I can plainly hear myself speak. I can see this being an issue if you do the Mod-Kit and use the noise isolating earcups. For me I can hold a conversation with my coworkers while I have the headset of at work, or if my kids are talking to me while I’m playing online so hearing myself speak is no issue. For now the only way to get mic monitoring with A40’s is to plug the headset straight into the controller 3.5mm jack or use the chatpad like I used to. Comfort So far I have found the A40’s to be supremely comfortable. 3 hours of gaming, and my ears were a little warm, but not hot. That was it. No pain on my ears, top of my head, or my neck. The headphones are lightweight enough, and the padding supple enough that they just disappeared on my head. That’s a great experience to have, and truly a first time for me. I have had lots of very comfortable headsets, but that was a first for me. I wore them at work for 4 hours and had the same experience. I thought it might have been just the immersion into the games that kept me from noticing the headsets, but it turns out they are just very comfortable. In my book these are 5/5 for comfort. Sound For gaming, the sound was rich and immersive. I found myself listening to the sound of waterfalls on the Sanctuary map in Halo 2. It sounded amazing, and it was the first time I had really heard that sound stand out, and I’ve played that map a thousand times. Using the Core EQ setting I found my games had plenty of sound depth, and a decent punch from explosions and weapon fire. The 40mm drivers really do a nice job producing crisp sounds. I was surprised at how much bass these headphones could reproduce. It wasn’t over the top, but the bass was definitely punchy and crisp. If I switched to the Astro mode, though, sometimes the bass would get a little muddy trying to push too much. Again, for the EQ’s, know your source or genre that you are going to fiddle with the settings. For music, I really liked the headset. It did a better job of producing sound depth/clarity than my Cloud Core/Alpha, Rig, Omen, or TB Elite headsets. I know gaming headsets are not usually as good as stand-alone quality headsets, but these at least get close to that. My friend’s Sennheiser cans (can’t remember the model) sound better but I found the A40’s more comfortable to wear long term. I know some forums online are wondering about the reverb issues carrying over from the previous gen. In my experience, I can’t say I have picked up on that effect. I haven’t truly been listening for it, but at the same time I feel like it’s something I would have noticed happening if it was. Issues/Sticking points As far as my issues with the A40’s go, I don’t have any. The headset performed well, and I really like them. My issues are with the M80, and I currently have 2. The first issue is a small one, but a potentially expensive one. The hardwired cord causes me concern. If at any point that cord is damaged, you are out $80 for the replacement. I would much rather have a slightly bulkier controller attachment that uses a replaceable cord. The other issue I have is with the random static I encounter. I played for 3 hours the other night, and about 2 hours in a sharp moment of static shot through the speakers. It lasted less than a second, so I was unsure what caused it. Then when I was done with multiplayer I sat in the menu while I was fiddling with some stuff. Over the course of 5 minutes 10-12 sharp static blasts came over the speakers. Turning the volume down only turned down the volume of the static. Changing the EQ’s had no effect nor did changing the balance all the way from voice to game and back. Removing the M80 from the equation halted the static. It seemed like the static only happened while I sat at the menu or while waiting in matchmaking. I don’t think I had any static in game. Something is up there – it could be a connection/handshake issue, firmware with the controller, or maybe something in the menu sounds (bit-rate, encoding, etc) didn’t agree with the M80. I still like the M80, but that static blast really is an annoying issue, but I can deal with it if it is isolated to just the menu’s on the MCC. Other Thoughts One thing I like about the A40’s is the customization you can do. You have the swappable mic that can go on the left or right side. There also the mod-kits that give your headset some noise isolation and a cool theme. There’re also the speaker tags which let you personalize your headset. Myself being a big Halo fan, I love the options for speaker tags that Astro offers. If what they have isn’t your thing then you can also throw together a custom graphic for a design your own tag. Any way you slice it, personalization/customization is awesome to see in any console/PC gaming peripheral. Overview I have taken a liking to the A40’s for sure. They are my new daily drivers for my Xbox, supplanting my Hyper X Alpha’s. For the most part I found them to be a great headset/amp combo. My issues really only come down to the cord and static from the MixAmp. I am going to do some more digging to see if I can find a workaround, which I’m sure exists out there on the internet. Anyways I don’t think you will be disappointed with the quality and performance of the headset itself.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Really good qualities audio is loud and consistent and has been very reliable

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I’ve had these for a little less than six months, and after constant use every day, either with online school or video games these headphones have held up very well. (I would hope they would for the price I paid). I love that they provided a spare cord so I could hook it up to my laptop without having to buy a new cord. The one con I have is that on the head band part, right next to either side of the top cushion the paint is starting to chip. I don’t know if that’s something I did, how I used to hang them up, or if it’s because I have a wider head than these were made for. This is the one con I have and it’s minimal since you wouldn’t be able to see it since it’s pretty well hidden.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I primarily use a Logitech G533 for my PS4 and PC for it's wireless capabilities and a SteelSeries Arctis 5 for the Xbox. While there's nothing wrong with my current headset setup. It's always nice to upgrade every now and then. When I finally got a hold of the A40, I was amp'd to finally get a hold of a headset with a mixer. Playing Red Dead, 2K and COD sounds amazing with the included 2 year sub for Dolby Atmos via app on both the Xbox and PC. The headset itself is very comfortable for long usages, but it gotten a bit warm after awhile due to the cotton material of the cushion for me. Being that the mixer is connected to the controller, I did experience a bit of a shorter life on the battery life, but that's not a big deal since I can easily just swap controllers. It is a bit on the pricier side, but it's the only headset that you can make adjustments with interchangeable mod kits. Both the G533 and Arctis 5 are excellent headset, but the A40 takes it up a notch! Worth it. Thanks.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I loved my old Astros so bought this new pair i like them im just use to the wire being a bit longer. Also one side bothers my ear for some reason... maybe its just me. But my old ones were awesome

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Always wanted to go out the cheap way with headphones bc I felt they would just stop working anyway. But I will never go that route again. The comfort of these headphones are perfect! Quality of sound is excellent on both ends, where you don't hear everything going on in my background. Even the clarity of my voice was noticeable to my online friends. I am still able to hear what's going on in my house without losing the quality of sound from game play especially since my choice of games are shooting games. Having all the buttons I need at my fingertips makes it super easy during game play. It also came with the Dolby app for 2yrs so even that was a plus.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Short: I can easily recommend these headphones. The audio is impressive. The buttons are easy to navigate in-game. The headphones can be customized and they are incredibly comfortable. But PC audio cable is a bit short, audio isolation is a bit lacking without modding the ear pieces, and the audio mixer looks cool but may drain your batteries a bit faster than normal. Longer: For my Xbox, I have been using a RIG500. Both headphones support spatial audio via the Dolby atmos app. But between the two, the audio is much richer with the A40. It sounds great and the chat mixer allows greater chat customization. The mixer could use some tweaking. Adjustments aren’t as great as you would expect until it just completely cuts out the chat altogether. That was a complaint with the built in Xbox software mixer and it is still present here. But, having the chat mixer at your fingertips is a great improvement over having to hit guide and navigate to the mixer settings while you are in game. The equalizer and mute controls light up. It looks cool, but keep in mind that your controller’s batteries are powering all of that. Comfort: I think these are some of the most comfortable headphones I have owned. I honestly forgot I was wearing them and compared to my old turtle beach headphones, my RIG 500 headphones, and the Logitech G635 headphones, my ears never felt hot and I never noticed a pressure on my head. As PC headphones, the cable is too short. At just about three feet, I found myself greatly constrained by the cable length. And because the cable connection wasn’t standard, it would be difficult to just swap that out with a longer cable you might have lying around. The headphones still sound great, but I can’t recommend them on PC unless you are close to a gaming laptop or you are gaming with an Xbox controller. Microphone: I was told I sounded great. The audio from this mic is very clear. The microphone can be swapped to the left or right ear piece. In conclusion, I would give these a 4.5 / 5. They sound great. I love the customizations. It took me a bit to get used to the mixer on the controller as I had to adjust my hand placement, but after an hour I forgot the mixer hadn’t always been there. These headphones are an easy recommendation.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Astro has refreshed the design on the 4th Gen A40, tweaking the audio and updating the design, though aside from it's more subtle look you'd be hard pressed to notice the change -- all the old mods will still fit. Speaking of mods, there's the ear cups. While they are comfortable, with summer coming and the heat rising, they're almost like wearing earmuffs. They get WARM, despite their open back design. They do feel nice, but heat-wise they may get uncomfortable during long gaming sessions. Which brings me to the open back design. While they give the headphone a great soundstage, they also let noise in and out. In a quiet room that's fine, but if your console is in the living room with other people making noise, it can be a distraction. Overall the sound is very good, with excellent bass and mid-range. As mentioned previously, the open back provides a nice, wide soundstange, but the tradeoff is the leakiness. The new tuning tones down the bass a bit form the previous generation and makes the A40 sound more pleasing and natural, while still providing great sounding explosions. The high notes are a little lacking as they can be a bit muddled. Included in this A40 Xbox bundle is the M80 Amp, which sits between your headset and controller. The headphones are corded to the M80 on the controller, which is wireless. The M80 allows you to adjust your game/chat mix, mute and unmute you mic, adjust master volume with a dial around the mute button and there is a button in the middle that allows you to switch between 3 built in EQ profiles. An LED strip along the middle acts as a profile indicator, a volume dial and displays your chat/game mix. On the microphone side it's all positive. The mic quality is excellent. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with this mic will sound detailed and natural. They also work great in noisy situations as the mic seems to pick up voice audio while ignoring most of the background noise. I have to say it's among the better gaming microphones out there. While there are some things I prefer about my Turtle Beach Elite Pro headphones (which for me had better sound than the 3rd Gen A40 I had), this new A40 has slightly better sound than both my Elite Pro as well as the previous A40 and is overall a very good gaming headphone. If the highs were more consistent and the ear cups didn't feel like earmuffs... If there was a 4.5 star option I would give it that. The 4th Generation A40 TR is so close to greatness...

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Astro truly designed the A40 TR headset for gamers. From the moment I took them out of the box, I noticed that the company paid attention to small details that truly enhance the user experience. I like that the microphone can be swapped to either side. I appreciate that the earcups are soft and breathable (even though they are not made with cooling gel). They don’t apply too much pressure to the sides of your head and they are comfortable for more than 4 hours - even for those who wear glasses (like me). It’s very cool that the ear pads and cover plates are held in place with magnets and that they are easy to remove & customize. I absolutely love that the cord plugs into the back edge of the headset which keeps the cord out of the way. And I was thrilled that the mixamp sits directly under the controller - all buttons within easy reach. Though the headset does use a fair amount of plastic, the build quality is solid. I truly believe that this is a headset that will last - which is important because Microsoft has announced that current controllers will be compatible with the next gen Xbox Scarlett. The A40 is a solid investment that will carry you well into the next gaming generation. Sadly, where the headset falls slightly short is the sound quality. Mid range is most present while highs and lows leave more to be desired. The dolby atmos will help you hear enemies approaching in shooters, but I have a hard time believing that many customers will truly be blown away by audio quality. ...The ear plates can be removed in order to create an open-back headphone experience, but without the costly upgrade kit - the included cover plates don’t actually block any noise (which means the listening experience is the same with, or without the cover plates). The mixamp allows you to switch between 3 equalizer settings, but nowhere in the manual, on the box, or on the website does it tell you what impact the 3 different settings have. They’re not even named. You simply have to cycle through the options and see which one sounds the best to you. Controlling sound options is a breeze as the mixamp has lights that visually indicate what setting is being changed and at what level/volume you are at. But, having lights on the mixamp does use extra power from your controller batteries. I haven’t noticed a significant change in battery life, but it is a good idea to make sure you are charging your controller between each gaming session. I recommend this headset for the build quality, the excellent design, and for the comfort. If you are an audiofile, you will want to keep looking. The more expensive Mixamp Pro TR features customization software that will allow you to finely tune the audio to your liking. Also keep in mind that the audio cable (for PC and Phone/Music connection) is only 3 feet long and is annoyingly short. This may not be a good option for PC gaming unless your computer sits very close to you as you play.