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| astrogaming.com |
Astro A50 Gen 4 is a premium-looking wireless gaming headset that is comfortable, top-notch audio. The A50 Gen 4 is also the new fourth generation of Astro Gaming and Astro’s latest flagship gaming headset that focuses on wireless gaming using a base station for easy charging and switching between PC and PlayStation 4. This gaming headset has a pricey retail price because it is aimed at the top end of the market. So now let’s check out if is it worth this price tag. If you like gaming headsets, I like to recommend my previous blog post about,
1. Astro A50 Gen 4: Price and Compatible
Astro A50 has two versions and both versions compatible with PC and Mac. The first one is a PlayStation-specific version that is compatible with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The second one is an Xbox-specific version that is compatible with Xbox One, and new Xbox Series S and Series X consoles with an HDMI adapter sold by Astro.
We can just buy a base station for a PlayStation or for the Xbox and use the same headset for charging and we don’t need to buy a completely new set. You can check out the full spec of A50 Gen 4 when you go to the bottom of the page.
1.1. What is the price of Astro A50?
Astro A50 Gen 4 is retailing at 300$.
2. Astro A50 Gen 4: Design
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| Astrogaming.com |
When we come to the build quality of this gaming headset is great for this price tag. Astro A50 is designed to be flexible, so we can stretch and move with little force. In my previews, reviewed headsets had detachable microphones. But this headphone has a microphone that moves up and down.
the entire design is pretty much black. We can recognize the PS or Xbox version with the subtle mark on the ear cup. If the subtle mark is silver or gray, it is for the PlayStation 4 and 5. The golden subtle mark for the Xbox.
We can see bars to change the size of the headset that simply can slide up and down. But these bars are very tough so they don’t just naturally move everywhere and we do have little white markers on the bars just to show where size is at.
Although the microphone is not detachable the earcups can be replaceable with three magnets. you also can get a mod kit from Astro for these earcups.
A50 Wireless headset has a common design that is used with high-end headphones. That is an open-air or an open-back design that allows them to have such an impressive soundstage by providing superior audio. The open-air design also prevents our heads from getting too hot as heat can dissipate more easily.
3. Astro A50 Gen 4: Controls
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Now Let’s talk about the controls of this headset. On the top of the earcups have the power button. Then next to the power button, you have your surround selector whether you want spatial audio which on this PlayStation version is in fact just Dolby audio. After that, we can see the EQ preset button as well.
3.1. What does the Dolby button do with Astro A50 Gen 4?
Once the Dolby button is pressed, this button allows users to enable the Dolby digital sound signals to the headset and change stereo sound to surround sound. When it comes to the other headset we have to install the software and change the software to use these options. But the advantage of this button is we can use these features easily because it is located on the ear cup.
When we come to the bottom of the corner, we also can see the volume wheel that rotates infinitely to change and adjust the volume, and the chats again mixer is on the earcup itself, so we have a bit of a button here on either side. So we can divide these controls into 2 sides one side for voice and the other side for gaming which is very handy.
4. Astro A50 Gen 4: Sound Quality
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The sound quality of Astro A50 is awesome for gaming, music, and movies with the different EQ modes. If you want to get to know about another multi-purpose gaming headset, you can read about my previous one by clicking this link.
As I mentioned earlier, this headset has remarkable gaming performance and that is in fact what this headset is it’s just purely for gaming. Because in-game audio is absolutely spectacular.
When we use this headset we can tell the direction of audio and distance which is very easy especially for fps gaming and sim race gaming as well. So you can find easily where the other enemies and cars are concerning yourself. We can pinpoint some sounds to listen to through the division two benchmarks. So we can pinpoint everything and the audio from that is great as well.
4.1. What are the 3 modes on Astro A50 Gen 4?
One of the advantages of Astro A50 Gen 4 is we can change the EQ and set our own presets for this headset. The EQ setting has a clear separation of the lows, mids, and highs and Astro offers three customizable EQ mode presets.
- Astro – tuned with accurate bass for general gaming and the most balanced EQ and kind of an all-purpose gaming mode
- PRO – tuned for specific mid and high detail for streaming and FPS and competitive gaming.
- STUDIO – neutral for accuracy and best for movies, music, and studio reference, and a good option for cinematic games.
We can adjust the EQ mode ourselves to make it even better. With these facts, the headset proves that it is good for all three sectors which are gaming, music, and movies. We can change the EQ modes from the eq preset button on the earcup. Then in fact the game audio we do have the option for auxiliary and there have various settings for the noise gate as well.
4.2. Does Astro A50 Gen 4 have Surround sound?
Yes, the Astra A50 Gen 4 provides a simulated Dolby 7.1 Surround sound feature that has been specifically designed with gaming in mind.
When we come to compare the technical specification with the previous A50 model, it appears to be very similar. But there are a few things like the new Gen 4’s drivers and the wireless technology is new and the Xbox version supports Dolby Atmos.
5. Astro A50 Gen 4: Command Center
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The Command Center of A50 is free to download software for both PC and Mac that allows you to customize both the sound of the headset and the performance of the microphone as well. There are many different options to select from different presets to load into the headset or we can create our own. We also can see the nice options for the microphone and noise gate which helps to cut out the background noise.
5.1. What is the Noise Gate of Astro A50 Gen 4?
Noise Gate is one of the features in the sound quality of Astro A50 Gen 4. That means it can change the level of speaking volume needed to activate the microphone. Noise Gate also has 3 modes for presets and it allows us to select between 3 noise gates for 3 different audio environments. That’s are,
- Home for quiet environments
- Streaming for louder environments
- Tournament for large-scale events with excessive background noise.
We can change the sidetone which is just you being able to hear your own voice through the drivers themselves as you speak in real-time via the command center. In the command center settings, we get a default balance between game and chat and alert volume if the headset is losing charge for instance.
6. Astro A50 Gen 4: Features
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When it comes to the features, the biggest improvement over previous versions is the strength of the headset and the range of the wireless signal. A50 has a 2.4 gigahertz wireless frequency, so we also can work at many distances without a problem.
As I mentioned above, sidetone is a great feature that can monitor the sound of our voices. So we don’t need to talk as loudly with this gaming headset. Latency has also been reduced on Gen 4.
6.1. Does Astro A50 have noise Cancelling?
Yes, Astro A50 Gen 4 has Synthetic leather noise-canceling ear cushion that greatly improves passive noise isolation. It also has a noise-canceling microphone and works in conjunction with the Astro MixAmp 5.8. With This improved quality of the microphone is being able to hear ourselves more clearly. So we can able to communicate better with people online while with noise.
7. Astro A50 Gen 4: Battery Life
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| Astrogaming.com |
One of the more impressive conveniences of this headset is how easily they charge how plug and play they are and how the headset saves power. Because most quality wireless headsets will automatically turn off after a short period when there isn’t any audio playing through them.
7.1. How long does the Astro A50 battery last?
About 8 to 10 hours.
The A50 Gen 4 Wireless headset also uses internal gyros that detect movement to determine if they’re being used or not. So the headset is powered down if it does not sense any movement, so we can simply take them off and set them down to quickly save power, and the headset will power back on when you pick them up again.
7.2. Can I charge my Astro A50 while playing games?
Yes, The Astro A50 can charge while in use. But it will stop being a wireless gaming headset and also the overuse can eventually burn out the battery. Because the battery is embedded within the headset
When it talks about the battery life of the A50, the base station is gaining more attention. The base station is very straightforward we can simply plug them into our PlayStation 4, PC, or Mac. The base station has USB, optical in, and an optical pass-through to run the audio into something else such as for recording purposes. you’ve got an auxiliary in if you want to run another source of audio into the headset. We also can see a USB charge port that will actually charge the headset roughly twice as fast as the cradle.
7.3. Can you leave the Astro A50 base station?
Yes, The Astro A50 Gen 4 will automatically stop charging once the battery has reached capacity. So we can leave the headset on the base station without a doubt. While Charging we have to make sure it is seated on the base station correctly and the microphone should be in the microphone slot on the left. As we can see the LED lights on the front of the Base Station will start Blinking.
7.4. What do the lights mean on Astro A50?
A50 LED BEHAVIOR LED Indicators on A50 Headset and USB Tx show us the different battery states on the headsets. That is
LED Indicator on A50 Headset:
- Solid Red – USB connected: Charging finished
- Solid Red – USB disconnected: Powered on.
- Blinking Red with Audible Beep – Low Power, Charge Immediately.
- Solid Orange – Charging
- Blinking White – Pairing mode
LED Indicators on USB Tx:
- LED Off: Powered off.
- Solid White: Powered on.
- Blinking White: Pairing mode.
7.5. How long does it take to fully charge Astro A50s?
Roughly 4 hours of charging time will be enough for starting again your gaming session.
7.6. How do I turn on fast charging?
You have main 4 steps to get fast charging on Astro A50 Gen 4. That is,
- Open the App Menu and tap on Settings.
- Tap on Battery.
- Scroll all the way down to the last option and make sure the toggle next to Fast cable charging is enabled.
- Plug into the phone with the original charger and see if fast charging is working.
8. Astro A50 Gen 4: Full Specification
- Speaker Size – 40 mm with Neodymium
- Sound Effects – 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound
- Sound Output Mode – Surround Sound
- Wireless Range – 15 m / 49.5 Ft
- Headset Frequency Response – 20 Hz–20000 Hz
- Headphone Impedance – 48 Ohm
- Headphones Form Factor – Full size
- Ear Coupling Style – Over-Ear
- Microphone Pattern – Uni-directional
- Microphone Noise Cancellation – Yes
- Microphone Type – Boom
- Transducer Principle – Open Air
- Battery Life – 20 hours
- Battery Type – Lithium Polymer, single cell
9. Verdict
9.1. Is the Astro A50 Gen 4 worth it?
Astro A50 Gen 4 has a big price tag. But when it comes to the overall of this headset the sound quality is excellent for gaming and we have plenty of configuration options making them suitable for a variety of different uses like movies and music. The charging options with the base station are very straightforward and useful. The Design of the headset is not bad for gaming and you can play continuously for around 4-5 hours without being tired because of the comfortable. Astro A50 has plenty of features in controls like the Dolby button, sidetone, noise gates, and LED indicators. So this is a great wireless gaming headset and it will get our money’s worth for gaming like FPS.
So this is the end of Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless Headset Review. Thank you for reading this article. If you want to read more about gaming articles, stay in tune with us and please share.
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