Astro A10 Gen 2 Headphones Review

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a somewhat similar look to their predecessor, the Astro A10, with blocky ear cups and the manufacturer's logo on the headband. That said, there are several updates to their design. The headband now has a thicker width, and the boom mic is shorter, which some users may prefer as it doesn't stick out as far. These headphones come in a few different colors to help match your style: 'Lilac', 'Mint', 'White', 'Grey', and 'Black'.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a comfortable fit. They're lighter than the Astro A10 and clamp less tightly due to their differently-designed yoke and headband design. The padding is made of a different cloth material, which feels cooler against your skin than the previous generation, and there's more of it on the headband. Unfortunately, while they feel very light on the head and don't exert pressure on your head, the ear cups are a bit small, meaning if you have larger-sized ears, they may not fit well. The headband also has a limited range of expansion, and you may not be able to make them fit well if you have a large head.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have sub-par controls. Like the Astro A10, they only have two physical controls. The in-line volume wheel has stops at min and max, but it lacks discrete points, making it hard to ensure consistent volume settings. You can also flip the mic upward if you want to mute it, and there's a distinct clicking sound that lets you know you're muted. Unfortunately, we noticed that each time we used our unit's mic, it started at a low volume, and we had to adjust the volume accordingly.

These headphones aren't very portable, which is common for gaming headphones. They have a big, bulky design that can't fold into a more compact form. They lack a carrying case to help protect them when you're on the move.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a good build quality. They're mostly plastic with a detachable audio cable design. They also have slight differences from the Astro A10. Their headband has more padding than their predecessor and is slightly thicker. The cloth padding is different, and when you're wearing the second-gen, the padding feels cooler against your skin. Another notable change is the shortening of the boom mic. The second-gen is five cm shorter than the predecessor. Overall, they feel sturdy enough to survive a couple of accidental drops without taking too much damage.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a fairly stable fit. They're not meant to be worn during physical exercise, and they can fall off your head with low-intensity head movements. You shouldn't experience an issue if you're gaming at your desk or couch.

• Astro A10 Gen 2 headset
• 1/8" TRRS audio cable
• Y-splitter
• Manuals

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a more balanced and warm sound profile than the Astro A10. While they lack a thumpy low-bass, they have a touch of extra boom to help bring out sound effects while you game. Dialogue and instruments are also clear and present but lack detail. Unfortunately, unlike the HyperX Cloud Alpha S, they don't have any sound customization features to help you adjust their sound to suit your tastes.

These headphones have a sub-par frequency response consistency. They have a lower clamping force than the Astro A10, and as a result, they don't deliver audio as consistently as their predecessor. You may especially notice a drop in bass if you have thick hair or glasses. It's important to take the time to adjust the headphones' positioning, fit, and seal to ensure a more consistent sound each time you use them.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have good bass accuracy. Although they lack thump and rumble, they have a bump of extra boom and warmth that can help emphasize sound effects like footsteps in first-person shooters.

Note: Bass delivery varies depending on fit, seal, and positioning. Our response represents the average response, and your experience may differ.

These gaming headphones have excellent mid accuracy. The range is fairly balanced, so dialogue and lead instruments sound clear and present. There's a dip in the mid-mid, so vocals and lead instruments on songs like Lord's Apparition from the Elden Ring soundtrack are pushed to the back of the mix.

The Astro A10 Gen 2's treble accuracy is fair. It's underemphasized across the range, so dialogue and instruments are veiled while sibilants like cymbals are dull.

Note: Treble delivery varies depending on fit, seal, and positioning. Our response represents the average response, and your experience may differ.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have good peaks and dips performance. There is some mismatch present between the left and right drivers. A bump in the high-bass affects the left driver more prominently, adding more boom to mixes. A dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix, while a peak in the high-mid can make their upper harmonics bright. A peak in the right driver's low-treble can further make vocals and lead instruments harsh. Another peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a great imaging performance. The weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, which results in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. The L/R driver are also well-matched when it comes to phase and amplitude response. It helps ensure a balanced and stable stereo image. Although there's a small peak between the mid to high-mid in the phase response, it isn't audible with real-life content. The frequency mismatch also falls slightly outside good levels, meaning there can be small holes in the stereo image. That said, imaging can vary between units and can indicate a manufacturer's quality control and ergonomics.

These headphones have an okay passive soundstage performance. It seems somewhat small and unnatural, but sound is perceived as coming from speakers placed around you rather than from inside your head, which can help create a more immersive listening experience. However, since they're closed-back headphones, their soundstage isn't as open or spacious as that produced by open-back headphones.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a good weighted harmonic distortion performance. There's a spike in the low to mid-bass, making your audio sound impure. However, it can be hard to hear with real-life content. The rest of the frequency response falls within good limits, resulting in mostly clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

The Astro A10 Gen 2's noise isolation performance is poor, which is normal from gaming headphones. They don't block out any of the low rumbles of bus engines and have a challenging time cutting down ambient chatter. They can isolate you from the high-pitched hum of an AC unit, though.

The Astro A10 Gen 2's leakage performance is mediocre. Most of their leakage is concentrated in the mid to treble range, and escaping audio sounds fuller than in-ear headphones. If you're gaming at a high volume in a moderately noisy environment like a living room, others around you will hear it.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 have a decent recording quality. It doesn't perform as well as the Astro A10, and it's likely because the mic is shorter than their predecessor. Due to its length, the mic doesn't sit as close to the mouth, meaning your voice sounds bright and natural but lacking in body.

The noise handling performance is decent. Although the mic doesn't perform as well as that of the Astro A10 in this regard, it's likely due to its shortened length. Since the mic sits further away from your mouth, the speech-to-noise ratio is lower as the mic captures some ambient sound alongside speech. That said, moderate background noise isn't enough to drown out your voice completely. If you're gaming near an open window with traffic outdoors, your voice is still clear above the noise.

These headphones come with a detachable 1/8" TRRS cable with an in-line volume wheel. These headphones also come with a Y-splitter so that you can connect them to your PC.

The Astro A10 Gen 2 can only connect to PCs when using their 1/8" TRRS cable.

These headphones can connect to your PS4 console with full audio and mic compatibility via analog.

You can plug in the Astro A10 Gen 2's 1/8" TRRS cable into your Xbox's controller for full audio and mic compatibility.