Astro is undoubtedly one of the market references in the audio segment for gaming. Its headphones are the most used in eSports tournaments, and in the competitive one. However, the company has not updated its hardware for a long time when it comes to the high-end. The Astro A40 and A50 are not fully compatible with the new generation without external accessories (like the HDMI adapter, which doesn’t allow 120fps), so many gamers were waiting for a tune-up.
Although the company has not updated those mentioned, it has come up with a more than interesting proposal: the Astro A30. The new headphones also arrive within the high-end range for gaming, but they do so with a different proposal. Put aside your DACs, that is, the acclaimed Mix Amp to make way for multi-device headphones with more than acceptable audio quality.
The interesting thing about the Astro A30 is that they are compatible, simultaneously, with three audio sources. That is, we can have them connected to the console, the PC and the mobile at the same time, and receive audio from the three sources. This is especially interesting for use with Xbox or PlayStation, but use the Discord voice chat from the PC or from the mobile.
Astro A30
The Astro A30 are headphones gaming that allow you to receive audio from multiple sources at the same time. Ideal for FPS games thanks to its profile, you can listen to the console and the PC Discord at the same time while receiving a call. Totally wireless, with great autonomy and very good audio quality, which is only marred by microphones that are not up to the rest of the components of the set.
It’s an interesting paradigm shift, as they offer more versatility for gaming, which is the main focus of these headsets. They are Bluetooth, but it also has a wireless USB connection and a 3.5mm jack. Another strong point is its autonomy, since they promise up to 30 hours of play without the need for a charge. They are also compatible with Dolby Atmos and PlayStation 3D audio wirelessly through the Lightspeed connector. Of course, each console has its own adapter, and the version for PS5 will not work on Xbox and vice versa, but both will work on PC. Also with any console through 3.5mm connector.
The design is the classic of the brand. Although they vary from the A40 and A50, they are just as comfortable and maintain the boxy shape. This time there are no metal temples, they are completely made of plastic, but with a fairly solid construction. However, they allow, like the A40, to exchange the tags or magnetically replace the ear pads. Astro also includes everything you need in the box. The charging cable, the Wireless USB connector, the 3.5 mm multi-line cable, the headphones themselves and a rigid transport case.
Astro A30: An exquisite design with outstanding audio but mediocre voice
The Astro A3o have all the controls on the headphones themselves, both the volume and the game chat mixer (only compatible with Xbox and PC) are integrated into a joystick, and includes a physical button for mutealthough they can also be silenced from the remote.
Regarding the audio quality, the Astro A30 has an outstanding section but another mediocre one. The audio is very good, and even above average for its price. A little less bass than the A40, but a less compressed and sharper sound than the A50 (very interesting since these are the highest range). Although they are not compatible with the Astro Command Center or with specific profiles or advanced equalization, they can be balanced through the Logitech G mobile app, which can also be used to apply other settings to the headset or save an audio profile. for each game.
The mediocre section is on his microphone. Or rather, microphones. The Astro A30 has an integrated microphone and a boom type. Neither of them reach the quality of the A50 or A40 micros, despite the fact that they have one behind them. They are better than many headphones, but certainly quite mediocre for this price range. Although it includes two microphones, it only has one active at a time.
Either the internal or the Boom. And as long as the latter, which is removable, is on the headset, it will be used by default. The app allows you to adjust the sidetone or noise cancellation, but even so the quality is quite poor, both for 3.5mm and Lightspeed USB. And even worse, via Bluetooth, with a lot of compression. It would not have hurt if, by having two headphones, the second one was used to improve quality or improve noise cancellation, in a similar way to Sony’s Pulse 3D, which uses this system.
It is perhaps the poorest section of these Astros A30, which, standing out both in audio quality, leaves a section as important as the micro at such a low level. We are not asking for the quality of the Blue micro compatible with the A40, but rather better quality in the micro, at least in the Boom. Even with the latter, a lot of ambient noise, breathing or keyboard noises sneaks in, despite the cancellation being activated.
It is something that is quite noticeable, especially considering that there are headphones with better microphones for half the price. And especially when they are also thinking for the mobile game, where the ambient noise is much higher. We have tried all the possible configurations, and although it can be improved a bit on the computer using third-party software, on consoles and mobile it will be especially poorespecially when using the Bluetooth mode, in which the compression is higher.
Astro A30, are they worth it?
Little can be blamed for the Astro A30. They still sound terrific for the price range, even better than many more expensive ones. It’s very loud, with good dynamic range and pretty good mids. This is especially good for games like Warzone, since they include a profile that allows you to hear the footsteps of enemies without sacrificing bass and other tones, something that most headphones do, making the sound heard tinny and overdriven. That does not happen in the Astro, although we recommend equalizing them to adapt them to our liking, the two default profiles, Immersive and Footsetpsthey are perfect for games in general and for shooters in particular.
Its autonomy, also very good, and with moderate volume, exceeds the 27 hours of battery life that the brand promises, although it depends a lot on whether they are being used simultaneously on two devices.
if you play shooter on console, these are the headsets you have to buy. They work on all devices, you can even use Discord on PlayStation from mobile and listen to the audio of the game. Also if you want to use them on the go with the Switch. If you only play on PC and you are concerned about the quality of the micro for streaming, perhaps in your case it would be more interesting to get some A40TR with MixAmp which can be found cheaper at a discount. You lose wireless capabilities, but you will gain voice quality and have access to the advanced settings of the Astro app for PC and Mac.