Astro A10 Headphones Review

The Astro A10 have the same design as the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017, but with a few brightly-colored accents on the ear cups. Thanks to their boom microphone, they have a distinct gaming-oriented design. However, you can't remove the microphone, so they don't transition well to outdoor use. The microfiber-covered ear pads also give them a slightly more high-end vibe than the HyperX Cloud Stinger or the Logitech G430 Gaming Headset.

The Astro A10 are decently comfortable. They have spacious ear cups that fit well around most listeners' ears. Also, they're well-padded and covered in a microfiber coating that feels nice on the skin. However, they're tighter on the head than the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017, which can get a bit fatiguing during long gaming sessions. For slightly more comfortable gaming headphones, take a look at the Turtle Beach Recon 70.

Update 08/05/2019: These headphones have a flip-to-mute microphone, which we didn't account for in 'Microphone Control'. The review and text have been updated.

The Astro Gaming A10 have disappointing controls. The limited button layout only gives you control over the volume, and you can flip the microphone up to mute it. However, the volume slider doesn't have any discrete points for those who prefer a consistent volume setting.

The Astro A10 are fairly breathable thanks to their slightly porous pads. However, since they fully encapsulate the ear, your ears may feel slightly warm during long gaming sessions.

The Astro A10, like most gaming headphones, aren't very portable. They're big, bulky, and don't fold into a more compact format. They might not easily fit into a bag or a backpack.

They don't come with a case.

The Astro A10 have a good build quality. They're mostly made out of plastic, which feels solid and durable. They don't have the premium build of the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017, but their headband is more flexible and feels a lot more durable. The cable is thick, rubberized, and detachable so you can always replace it if ever it gets worn down by regular wear and tear.

These headphones are reasonably stable. They should stay on your ears during casual gaming sessions, but they aren't designed to be worn during workouts. They may fall off your head during more intense physical exercise.

• Astro A10 headphones
• Audio cable
• Manuals

The Astro Gaming A10 have a bass-heavy but somewhat uneven sound profile. The extra boom in the bass range can help bring action-packed scenes in your favorite video games to life. However, vocals and leads can sound honky but lacking overall presence, dulling vocal-centric content like cutscenes.

The Astro Gaming A10 have very good frequency response consistency. While they're relatively consistent in delivering bass, there are more inconsistencies in the treble range, making it harder to get the same listening experience each time you use them. You may need to readjust them each time you wear them to get the same listening experience.

These headphones have great bass accuracy. Low-bass is slightly underemphasized, so you may not feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed video games. However, the overemphasis in the mid and high-bass adds an extra boom and punch to the audio.

These headphones have okay mid accuracy. The dip in the mid-mid pushes vocals and leads to the back of the mix while the bump in the high mid intensifies lead instruments, making the mid-range sound uneven and, at times, honky.

The Astro Gaming A10 have mediocre treble accuracy. The dip in the low treble means instruments in this range lack detail and presence. The slight bump in the mid-treble can also make sibilants like T and S sounds bright and piercing.

These headphones have middling peaks and dips performance. While the peak in the bass range produces a punchy bass, its continuation into the low-mid produces a cluttered sound. As it turns into a deep dip in the mid-mid, lead instruments and vocals may also be pushed to the back of the mix. The rise in high-mid, in comparison, makes notes in this range harsh and honky. Finally, the deepest dip in the low treble dulls lead instruments, while the peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants piercing.

These headphones have great imaging. Weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Our test unit's L/R drivers are also fairly well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, creating a stereo image with accurate placement and object localization (such as voices and sound effects). However, these results are only valid for our unit, and your experience may vary.

The Astro A10's passive soundstage, like most closed-back headphones, is sub-par. While the resulting soundstage is perceived as relatively open and larger than that of on-ears and in-ears, it doesn't sound as spacious as the open-backed Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017.

These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.

The Astro Gaming A10 have a great weighted harmonic distortion performance. Where the spike in the low treble at normal listening volumes can make your audio sound harsh and impure, this might not be noticeable to everyone. Its frequencies otherwise fall within good limits, which should result in clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings we used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid for these test settings.

These headphones have terrible noise isolation. They hardly block out any background noises in the bass and mid-ranges, so you can hear the low thump and rumble of engines and voices from people nearby. On the upside, they have a fair performance in the treble range, so they may block out some higher-frequency noises like the hum of a nearby AC unit. If you're looking for a similar pair of gaming headphones that block out slightly more background audio, check out the JBL Quantum 100.

The Astro A10 have mediocre leakage. While the overall leakage isn't very loud, it sounds fuller than in-ear headphones. If you're listening to audio at loud volumes in a typical office setting, it could be audible to others.

These headphones have a non-detachable boom microphone.

The recording quality of the boom mic is excellent. Recorded speech sounds rich, full, and detailed but lacking in brilliance and airiness.

The microphone of the Astro A10 Headset is excellent at noise handling. It transmits your voice clearly, even if you're in a noisy setting.

These headphones don't have a battery.

The Astro Gaming A10 aren't compatible with Astro Command Center.

These wired headphones can't be used with Bluetooth. If you want a gaming headset that supports Bluetooth, check out the Turtle Beach Elite 800 Wireless.

These headphones are wired-only.

These headphones have a wired 1/8" TRRS connection with in-line volume control.

You can plug these headphones into your Xbox One controller for full audio and microphone compatibility.

These headphones don't have a dock. If you need a headset with a dock that also has a wired connection for gaming or watching movies, consider the SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017.