By Jonathan Charles | Jun 05, 2012 01:15 PM EDT
The Astro A line of headsets have been a popular choice of headsets for serious gamers who want to get the advantage of players, though all have been wired. That's changing with the unveiling of the Astro A50, the company's first wireless headset, and Mobile & Apps is taking a look.
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It's been two years since the company unveiled a new headset, introducing the smaller A30, with the Astro A50 ending the two-year gap. The headset will support 5.8GHz wireless connectivity, and looks similar to the Astro A40. Both headsets reportedly include the same ear badding, audio drivers and cans, but the A50 removed the back exterior panels and added the 5.8GHz connectivity along with a rechargeable lithium ion battery.
Features
It comes with a base station transmitter, which is apparently modelled after the Astro Mixamp, and brings Dolby 7.1 surround sound. The transmitter can be used concurrently with four A50 headsets and supports the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
As the headset is wireless, audio control has been relocated to the headset whereas previously it was used from the Mixamp. The mixing dial has been replaced by a button to control chat volume and game volume. Master volume can be controlled through a dial on the right-hand side of headset, and lifting the mic upright mutes voice (just like the Razer Chimaera).
"Astro has simplified the experience by making the controls easily accessible and limiting the array of controls to the bare essentials," The Verge confirmed in its hands-on amid worries the headset would be over complicated.
Sans Mixamp
On the audio side, the A50 uses the A40's drivers, which offers "tight low-end response without dampening mids and highs." The A50 also comes with three audio presets, switched between through a switch on the headset. The three default settings are Astro, core and media - preferred settings, flat equalization and a media-centric preset respectively. Astro is apparently tailored towards gaming, core is more representative of the material, while media is for music and video.
The Astro A50 will be available for order within two weeks for $299.99, and is expected to ship early July.
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