Astro Gaming A40 Headset with MixAmp Pro Review

Introduction

Astro Gaming is generally known for producing some of the best console headsets on the market alongside their competitor, Turtle Beach. Seemingly existing since the dawn of competitive console time, Astro is also well known for their MixAmp bundles, meaning any 3.5mm jack headset can plug into this USB Dolby surround-sound beauty and enjoy game play on consoles, PC, or Mac.

We'll be testing Astro's A40 with MixAmp Pro bundle in this review and comparing it mainly to the likes of the Kingston HyperX Cloud II as both headset manufacturers claim the utmost quality and comfort in their marketing of these champion products. The Cloud II has become my personal headset of use since reviewing it, but the large community support behind the Astro A40 leaves a lot to prove. Can it live up to the hype? Read on to find out.

Specifications

Released in October 2014, this product allows you to enjoy Dolby 7.1 surround-sound through a USB connection (when used with the MixAmp Pro), coupled with a frequency response of 20-21,000 Hz and a nominal impedance of 48 Ohms through it's 3.5mm jack into the MixAmp Pro supplied.

Weighing in at 324 grams, it's a little heavier than other headsets we have tried like the Cloud II and Tt eSPORTS' Dracco captain, but Astro combat this heavy weight by providing plush cloth in the earcups and headband.

The detachable rubber microphone connects to the base through a 3.5mm jack and offers a unidirectional sound pick-up.

The MixAmp Pro supplied features four pre-installed equalizer options, a button to enable and disable the Dolby Surround-sound, the ability to toggle your sound to enjoy louder gameplay or voice communication alongside a power button and your normal volume control. The MixAmp Pro helps you to connect your A40's to a PC (through USB with an optional Optical connection), a PlayStation 3 and 4, or an Apple Mac computer.

Pricing & Availability

This version of the Astro comes with a $249.99 price tag on Amazon at the time of writing. It's sitting at around $100 over the Kingston HyperX Cloud II, however, this headset comes bundled with the MixAmp Pro, which is valued at $130 by itself. This means that although it costs $100 more, you're getting a $130 MixAmp Pro bundled into the kit.

What's in the box?

Where do we begin? This model comes with the A40 headset, the MixAmp Pro with a USB cable to power it, an optical cable sound connection, a single 3.5mm female to dual 3.5mm male adaptor, a small 3.5mm extension cable, the separate microphone, a quick-start guide, and finally the warranty information.

There's unfortunately no carry pouch included with this product, I can foresee a hard carry pouch with various slots for the cables to be placed would come in handy. Otherwise you're going to have to carry the whole original box to your local LAN party or friends house. Manageable yes, but not optimal.

The myriad of different connections look extremely daunting at first, but in the end, they are actually quite useful given this headset can be suited to many different applications.

PRICING: You can find the ASTRO Gaming A40 and MixAmp Pro for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The ASTRO Gaming A40 and MixAmp Pro retails for $249.99 at Amazon.

Australia: The ASTRO Gaming A40 and MixAmp Pro retails for $329 at PLE Computers.

Canada: The ASTRO Gaming A40 and MixAmp Pro retails for CDN$269.99 at Amazon Canada.