Review: Astro Gaming A40 Audio System

I’ve been using the Astro A40 Audio system for about 6 months now, and let me tell you, it is flat out amazing. For those of you unfamiliar with what this system is all about, let me give you the low down. Astro Gaming wanted to develop a headphone system that catered to gamers that were tired of buying retrofitted office products. To that end, they worked with teams from Major League Gaming (MLG) in order to develop what they feel is the best surround sound headphone system on the market today. Buying the full system will net you the A40 Headset, MixAmp (which utilizes Dolby Headphone technology to produce 5.1 digital surround sound through two speakers), detachable microphone, swappable “speaker tags,” and enough cabling to hook up your system to virtually any system on the market today. At $250 for the complete setup, the price tag is kind of steep, but you DO get your moneys worth. For an idea of the massive amounts of stuff that this package includes, check out the photos from my unboxing. More detailed information about this product and the company can be found at Astro Gaming’s website. I tested the A40 Audio system extensively on Xbox 360 in Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War, and on PC during Skype conversations.

Presentation

From point A to point B, I was impressed with Astro’s attention to detail in every possible way that you could imagine. When doing research on a possible headphone purchase, one of their employees went above and beyond to give me comparisons between their product, and their competitors. They detailed why they chose to do certain things, and why they felt their execution was superior to their competitors. Upon receiving the system in the mail, I was almost taken aback by the high quality of the packaging; I felt as if I was opening another console for the first time! Everything was organized neatly into two boxes, one containing the headset and it’s case, and the other containing the MixAmp and all the cabling. Following the easy to ready instructions, I was up and running in no time. I was suprised to find that I’m able to wear the headphones night after night withought feeling discomfort or getting “listener fatigue;” from the research that I’ve done, this is most definately an exception in the headphone industry.

Graphics

All of the packaging, including boxes, manuals, and online marketing materials were top notch. As a person with some background in graphical design, I enjoyed all the research I did on this product, eventually leading up to actually having it in my hands.

Sound

Utilizing Dolby Headphone technology to produce simulated 5.1 surround sound out of two speakers, the A40 MixAmp is essentially a home theater reciever that can fit in the palm of your hand. That’s right, no generic 5.1 here; it genuine Dolby product, containing Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Digital, and the afore mentioned Dolby® Headphone. Some people may argue that simulated surround is not as realistic as having 5 speakers crammed into your headphones, or even utilizing a standard home theater setup, but the first time you hear someone sneak up behind you in Call of Duty 4, you’ll wonder what they’re talking about. The crispness and clarity will have you hearing things you’ve never heard before, in games you play every day! Another big feature of the A40 system is that it offloads voice communication while in a LAN environment, essentially eliminating system lag in order to provide crystal clear converstaion with your teammates. I was not able to try this feature, but most, if not all, of the MLG pro teams are currently using the system, which utilizes a daisy chainable connection in the back of the Mixamp to connect all the people on your team. The adjustable volume control on the unit also allows you to further enhance communication by determining the game audio to voice communication ratio.

Gameplay

Your situational awareness will increase greatly when wearing the A40 system. This is the exact same equipment the pros are currently using, and if they aren’t, it is been proven that they’re clearly at a disadvantage. You will be able to tell where enemies are coming from, allowing you to position yourself to dispatch of them quicker. You won’t automatically become a better player on the digital battlefield by using this setup, but it will certainly help you get there faster.

Replay Value

This setup is such a high quality piece of sound equipment (audiophile grade, even) that I’ll be using it for many years to come. It is constructed well, and the company backs their product to the hilt. If you purchase this product, you will not regret it.

Review originally posted on GamerHusbands.com.

5 Responses to “Review: Astro Gaming A40 Audio System”

1. Hojimoto says:

   July 10, 2009 at 9:03 am

   I got mine just before the July LAN last year. LOVE them. So worth the money. It’s even given me a bit of a competitive edge since the surround sound lets you know which direction enemies are approaching from in a Warthog, or even their footsteps. Nice write up man.

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2. RickJames017 says:

   July 17, 2009 at 10:04 pm

   Hey, just wondering. Is tis headset wired or wireless?

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3. Hojimoto says:

   July 18, 2009 at 8:18 am

   Hey Rick, this is most definitely a wired headset. Some have said it’s one of the drawbacks having so many cables running around, but I don’t mind. It’s well worth the money and gives great performance.

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4. Godlywayz says:

   August 7, 2009 at 12:15 am

   This product is a beautiful thing. I’ve never regretted spending the money on it. Sound is pretty incredible, and Astro Gaming does a great job of supplying you with everything you need, and most of what you want.

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5. drgrnthumb says:

   September 3, 2009 at 2:52 pm

   It’s proven that wired headsets have much better sound quality than wireless headsets.

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