We’ve got plenty of pet peeves in today’s modern age. There are people who don’t give you enough time to get off public transport, lukewarm coffee and unnecessary cables. Astro’s A50 wireless headset might not be able to do much about the first two, but they’ll surely make your cable woes a thing of the past.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. With a retail price of $479.95 (although a bit of research can probably nab you a pair for significantly cheaper), this is a premium purchase from top to toe. With a swish metallic blue and black finish, the A50’s scream style. They’re also incredibly sturdy and comfortable, even for those wearing glasses underneath.
Much like Astro’s A40 line-up, the A50 can be customised to your heart’s content via Mod Kits. From noise-isolating ear cushions to a padded headband, you have plenty of flexibility in creating the headset you want to wear. Not that you entirely need to, mind you. From the extensive play sessions we had with the default unit we’ve been thoroughly impressed with how comfortable everything feels on the head, even after a number of hours.
Setup, meanwhile, is a breeze, and once you’re off and running you’ll quickly forget the constant struggle of cabled past. All it takes is removing the headset from the Base Station, flicking a switch and everything just works without any hassle. When you’re done, just place them back onto the Base and it’ll start to recharge ready for next time.
With a battery life of up to 15 hours, we were never in fear of running low. Our one niggle was that by setting up the A50 as our primary sound device, it meant we had to trawl through the PS4 menu anytime we wanted to get a little louder on the television, but that’s a minor woe compared to the pure convenience it provides.
Oh the A50 also sounds wonderful too, with rich surround sound that was devoid of any noticeable latency and annoying cut-outs that we’ve experienced with other headsets in the past. If you really want to get into the weeds of the audio settings, there’s the ASTRO Command Centre – software which allows even more tinkering depending on either how you like your sound, or what game you’ll primarily be playing.
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Thanks to a relatively high price, the A50s naturally won’t be for everybody, but for those willing to splurge a little extra on their gaming setup or desperate to keep the living room a little quieter, they’re also one of the absolute best.
We reviewed the PS4/PS3 & PC version of the A50s, however an XBO & PC version is also available.
