Astro A50 Multi-Format Wireless Gaming Headset Review

The Mixamp TX is the Wireless send/receive unit, its much smaller and lighter than I expected, but features a clean and sleek design, with just two buttons on the front to control power and surround sound mixing, everything else is handled by controls on the headset its self.

Around the back we have a 3.5mm AUX port, two USB ports, one for power to the Wireless unit, the other to output USB power to the headset for charging, there are two optical ports to allow for optical passthrough, handy if you also want to run an AV receiver, but don’t want to swap the cables each time you want to use either AV or headset.

The underside features a firm rubber grip that should keep the device in place on your desktop.

The headset features a black plastic construction, with a mixture of shiny gloss surfaces and lightly textured surfaces, all of which feel well made, durable and overall look pretty awesome.

The only hints of colour come from the headset wires in the length adjustable sliders which are finished in a bright orange.

The headband features the Astro logo three times, but the best one is the central embossed logo that is worked into the outer of the headband padding.

Each of the ear cups comes lines with a super soft padding, this stuff does tend to hold dirt quite well and it can make your ears a little warm after long usage but it is by far the most comfortable.

The slide extensions are really cool and use friction to keep them in place rather than a notched slider. It is also adjustable very low to very high, meaning this is idea for those with small heads (eg, young children) as well as people like myself with a larger than average head. The wire inside is coiled and you can see it contract like a spring when you adjust the headsets height.

The headband features a thick and soft padding that provides a good grip and comfortable resting position, it’s mounted on a small pivot that allows it to move, giving a better fit depending on your head shape.

One of the ear cups features a large panel that acts as a two way switch, tap the left and you get more voice volume, tap the other and you get more game volume, think of this as a mix slider.

The headset folds up out of the way when you don’t need but it is on a flexible and adjustable boom to allow you to get the best speaking position possible.

The microphone is guarded so prevent unwanted external noise and features the same mixture of matt and gloss plastics as the rest of the headset. It also features a flip-up to mute switch.

Sneakily hiding on the reverse side of drivers are the inputs and controls, on the left we have USB in (charging port) and game controller in for the Xbox 360 chat function. On the right we have an easy to reach volume dial, a 3 way switch for EQ modes and the master power button.

Once assembled the stand acts as a base unit for the wireless receiver and a hang mount for the headset, it’s not required to store either here but it does look cool.

It gives you a great place to keep your headset, which should prevent it from getting scratched and it also keeps the base unit within reach for charging, certainly wouldn’t look out of place on your desktop or next to your computer.