Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Microphone, Great Battery Life, Great Sound, Great Customization, Comfortable
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2019
I was reluctant to buy this headset because of all the negative reviews on nearly every website about the mic. I saw almost nothing but complaints except on one lone Reddit thread where someone explained you simply needed to update the firmware. Using it out of the box on your Xbox may result in a poor quality mic, so download Astro Command Center from astrogaming.com, connect your base station to your PC, flip the switch to PC, plug in the headset, and it will prompt you to update the firmware.
There are multiple settings for the mic in Command Center. Here is a link to a YouTube video I found of someone reviewing the Xbox model with recorded examples of the various mic settings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuwJ7aHw0i4
After watching this, I decided on HOME > AIRY. When you change this setting, or any other settings, you MUST click Sync to Device to save these settings in the headset for use on Xbox.
I've been testing various mics/headsets on the Xbox lately. I have an old 5.1 A40 model with a mixamp, a newer A40 model with the silver Mixamp M80, the standard Microsoft Xbox headset, a Plantronics headset, and the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 headset. The old mixamp for the 5.1 A40 went bad which caused a lot of mic static. The new A40 model wasn't surround sound, but I never had any complaints about the mic. The standard Microsoft Xbox mic constantly picked up air noise from my ceiling fan (even on low), the Plantronics mic was horrendous, and the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 mic was excellent.
I've been searching for a quality surround sound headset for a long time that could be used on both Xbox and PC that had a decent mic. This is absolutely it. Feedback from gamers online indicates the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 mic is ever-so-slightly better than this mic, but they can hear me clearly and perfectly with this mic. The headset does not have a mute button - you have to flip the boom mic almost completely vertical to mute the mic. You can tell it's muted either by the sudden lack of sidetone, or if you disable your sidetone, you can kinda feel the mic slip into place after a bit of resistance flipping it up.
The speakers for voice chat (VOIP) sound like dedicated speakers, separate from the speakers for game and other audio. On the PC, this requires Astro Command Center to function (the headset will show up as two different headsets in your Sound settings under Playback Devices - you must set one as the Default and the other as the Default Communications, and you can tell which is which because one icon will have a boom mic). The degree of control between game audio and voice audio is excellent.
Game/other audio sounds incredible. It perfectly fulfills what I've been searching for since my original A40 mixamp went bad. The degree of control with the equalizer settings in Command Center is outstanding. You can also export/import your settings/levels with Command Center, including the advanced equalizer for those more knowledgeable with frequency and sound bandwidth. The directional sound is magnificent. A number of other gamers have indicated they can pinpoint the source of noises (footsteps, etc.) with Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos on stereo headsets, but I have never been able to. I don't use Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos with this headset, and I have exacting precision with this now.
I work from home and am on the phone through my work computer a majority of the day. There is constantly distracting noise outside, and this headset does a great job blocking out exterior noises. Command Center does require administrator rights to install, so if this is a limitation for you on a work device, be aware. But after using this headset for 8 hours straight for work, then gaming for 3 hours after, I have had zero issues with the battery life or the sound quality diminishing. The Command Center has a battery life indicator, as well as the base station, both when charging and when the headset is in use. The features indicate 15 hour battery life, but even with those 11-hour-straight uses, I have yet to drop below 70%. I am sure, however, this will diminish a bit over time. Additionally, it never became uncomfortable during these long uses. I have larger ears, which was another turnoff to the various other headsets I've owned. The ear cups on this headset are consistent with other Astro models in their generous size and are quite comfortable during even long uses.
Other reviews have a few notes about placing the headset in the base to charge, indicating a bit of minor frustration or inconsistency. I've not had any issues with it outside of when I'm in a rush, but I've learned how to quickly seat it properly my first attempt. Hold it by the center of the headband, place the right earpiece in its spot, and gently drop the left earpiece into its spot, and it should seat perfectly every time.
The only three cons, which seem minor/inconsequential, are the sidetone vs. mic's noise cancellation and the length of the earpiece extenders from the headband.
My room is constantly hot, so I constantly have my ceiling fan on. I have to have sidetone in my headset, otherwise I have a difficult time talking. The mic seems to pick up air from the fan constantly, as I hear 'wind rushing' all the time through my headset's sidetone. HOWEVER, the noise cancellation somehow seems to prevent noise from going through voice chat. I keep Party Overlay activated on my Xbox, and even when hearing this noise through sidetone, my voice-indicator never pops up, and people online have indicated they never hear the noise, either - even when I am speaking.
I have a fairly large/tall head, hence my big ears. I have to fully extend the sides of the headset to fit on my head. This has always been the case for the Astro headsets (all models of this style all seem to be the same size). If your ears are fairly low on your head, or if you have a fairly tall head, it is possible this could cause an issue. However, just about any gamer who's used this style headset - even those who say they have larger heads - have always said it fits very comfortably, so the likelihood of this being an issue is incredibly slim.
Price. $300. Three hundred smackaroos. Some may feel this is a laughable point to make. For others, this may make this headset feel incredibly inaccessible. For those of the latter mind, if you are someone who takes good care of headsets/electronics and you're looking for a quality surround sound gaming headset, save up for these. It will absolutely be worth it, in my opinion.
