Astro A30 review: stellar if not completely out of this world

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Astro A30: One-minute reappraisal

Astro ever aims for the stars, and its latest offering, the Astro A30, is nary different. While the marque doesn’t ever get determination – specifically with its much budget-friendly offerings – the maneuver astatine slightest gets it to the moon, and that's particularly existent here. 

The Astro A30 looks large and inherits immoderate of the A40’s customizability. And, it’s a prime acquisition arsenic well, delivering successful audio performance, comfort, and versatility – adjacent if you bash person to wage a somewhat hefty terms to get it. However, it’s not devoid of shortcomings, though immoderate of those tin beryllium remedied by specified EQing, and contempt having each the close elements, it doesn’t bash capable to truly basal out.

Still, it's large wherever it matters. It's besides among the latest models to articulation this caller breed of gaming headsets that tries to bash it all, which I'm perfectly present for, particularly since it besides means that it could perchance prevention users wealth (and possibly adjacent little their c footprint).

Is the Astro A30 going to triumph the contention to the stars? Probably not, but it’s inactive a stellar prime and 1 of the best wireless gaming headsets close now.

Astro A30: Price and availability

• How overmuch does it cost? $229.99 / £229.99 / $429.95
• When is it available? Available now
• Where tin you get it? Available successful the US, the UK, and Australia

I privation the Astro A30 wasn’t truthful steeply-priced. At $229.99 / £229.99 / $429.95, it is simply a hefty acquisition for astir people, peculiarly due to the fact that we’re successful the mediate of precocious inflation. That isn’t to accidental it isn’t worthy it due to the fact that you are getting a versatile brace present that tin beryllium utilized for PC and console gaming, and tin moonlight arsenic headphones. 

But, determination are different gaming headsets with precise akin features and capabilities astatine a much affordable asking price. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless is simply a terrific example. For conscionable $179 / £174 (about AU$310), it besides delivers somewhat amended dependable prime and promises a longer artillery life.

If you person currency to spare, however, and are a instrumentality of Astro headsets, similar the legendary Astro A50, you mightiness similar the Astro A30. It’s besides a bully 1 to adhd to your postulation if you’ve got 1 going.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Astro A30: Design

• Comfortable and customizable but immoderate clamping force
• Plastic yoke is easy scratched
• Mobile app support

Personally, I adore the Astro A30’s look and design. I admit the uniqueness of its rounded quadrate receptor cups since galore of the newer releases from Astro’s rivals person gone with an oval design. Plus some its talker tags and receptor cups are magnetically attached truthful you tin swap yours retired to lucifer immoderate aesthetic you’re presently into.

There are things that I privation were better, however. The integrative yoke that attaches the receptor cupful to the set is easy scratched – truthful overmuch so, I’ve had to mildly region shaved bits of it whenever I accidentally scrape it against something. And, I thin to beryllium a small OCD astir my cogwheel truthful I’m usually precise cautious and instrumentality bully attraction of them.

On apical of that, the Astro A30 has a spot much clamping unit than astir of the gaming headsets I’ve tested successful caller months. Coming from idiosyncratic with a regular-sized head, that’s saying something. To offset that, I enactment the headset implicit my cats’ nutrient bin and kept it determination for 24 hours. That seemed to hole the issue.

I don’t deliberation either of those things is simply a monolithic deal-breaker. Besides, the Astro A30 has a slew of fantabulous plan features that much than marque up for those. The representation foam receptor cups, for one, are plush, comfortable, and brushed to the touch. The carnal controls are intuitive and casual to remember. And, the wide acceptable is great, truthful arsenic agelong arsenic you interruption it successful a little, it should enactment comfy for hours.

Another fantastic diagnostic worthy highlighting is the mobile app support. The Astro A30, arsenic I’ve mentioned, isn’t conscionable for PC and console gaming. It moonlights arsenic a large brace of headphones arsenic well, 1 you tin usage with your phone, wearables, and tablets to devour different forms of amusement via Bluetooth. With your phone, you tin download the Logitech G mobile app and negociate your audio mix, cheque connected artillery life, and astir importantly, personalize the audio with its five-band EQ.

• Design: 5 / 5

Astro A30: Performance

• EQ and dual-audio mixing
• Good sub-bass and balanced precocious end
• Clear microphones

One chill happening astir the Logitech G mobile app is that its five-band EQ, which is disposable for the Astro A30, is really beauteous powerful. It lets you chopped oregon boost a frequence by 12db, which has allowed maine to hole the insignificant complaints I person astir its default audio performance. I could offset the sibilance a little, for example, that’s contiguous astatine default owed to the precocious extremity being a small excessively pronounced. 

Another chill diagnostic present is the dual-audio mixing. Not lone does the Astro A30 connection multi-connectivity and multi-platform compatibility, but besides lets you perceive audio from 2 antithetic sources astatine the aforesaid time. It does a bully occupation of balancing them arsenic well. I personally don’t person a batch of usage for specified a feature, but precise fewer gaming headsets connection it truthful it gives the A30 a spot of an edge.

Not that it needs other frills to beryllium great. The Astro A30’s audio show hardly needs assistance, delivering bully sub-bass extension, bully mids, and a reasonably balanced precocious end. Listening to tunes similar Kendrick Lamar's DNA, Naseebo Lal & Abida Parveen's Tu Jhoom, and Rihanna's Lift Me Up has been enjoyable, though possibly not perfect.

When listening to music, I’m decidedly not getting a batch of rumble here, adjacent with bass-heavy tunes and adjacent erstwhile I’m EQing – that rumble is astatine astir the 60Hz frequency, and the mobile app’s EQ set stops astatine 125Hz. Meanwhile, the precocious extremity tends to beryllium a small pronounced truthful immoderate sibilance appears erstwhile listening to things with a spot of sizzle. Finally, determination tends to beryllium beardown low-mids, truthful depending connected what you’re listening to, things mightiness dependable a small muddy.

As acold arsenic soundstage goes, the Astro A30 is not the astir intimate headset arsenic it feels similar there's immoderate region betwixt the listener and the music. It’s not bad, but it besides feels similar you're watching musicians from the assemblage alternatively of lasting connected signifier oregon successful a tiny country with them.

You’ll get a somewhat antithetic acquisition erstwhile you’re playing your favourite PC games. I’ve recovered erstwhile playing Control, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Rocket League that the lifted precocious extremity allows games to dependable much elaborate and the boosted low-mids marque everything dependable a small fuller. As for the soundstage, that small spot of region really helps immerse you successful the game.

Adding to its versatility – and quality to moonlight arsenic a brace of headphones – is its dual-mic design. The removable roar mic tackles your communications during gaming, portion the built-in mic allows you to support things compact erstwhile you’re astatine the airdrome oregon bid station. They’re a large brace of microphones too. The roar mic comes done intelligibly and has decent inheritance sound isolation, contempt the frequence scope not being precise wide and having a small little precocious end. Meanwhile, the built-in mic has a small much precocious end, though you volition dependable farther distant and the inheritance sound volition travel done a small louder.

There’s surely decent artillery beingness here, giving you astir 27 hours of playtime, but honestly, for a brace of headphones that doesn’t person RGB lighting, I expected more. Its longevity seems to widen a spot erstwhile connected Bluetooth, however.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I bargain the Astro A30?

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Astro A30: Report card

• First reviewed February 2023

How I tested the Astro A30

When investigating PC gaming headsets, I wage precise adjacent attraction to audio quality, investigating its frequencies, volume, soundstage, and dependable imaging. Because a batch of gamers similar a batch of rumble to truly get into the astir aggravated moments of their game, I besides consciousness for immoderate rumble a gaming headset tin offer. If there's EQ-ing offered via bundle oregon app, I play astir with that arsenic well, particularly if a headset's default dependable show isn't rather connected par.

I besides don't conscionable trial with games; due to the fact that astir gamers usage the aforesaid headset for watching movies and listening to music, I spot however good 1 fares play different media arsenic well. I besides trial it with antithetic inputs, particularly if it has multi-platform compatibility.

Of course, arsenic important are a gaming headset's comfort, versatility, build, and mic performance, particularly for gamers who watercourse oregon play a batch of multiplayer games. If it's a wireless headset similar the Astro A30, I trial its wireless show and range.

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