The Astro A10 Gen 2 are the next generation of the Astro A10 and are basic wired gaming headphones. They have an updated design from their predecessor that's lighter and clamps less tightly on your head. Their boom mic arm is shorter, and while it offers decent overall performance, it falls a bit short of the first-gen. Their sound profile also sounds more balanced and warm, which can help emphasize sound effects like footsteps in your audio. They lack low-bass, so gameplay feels light on thump and rumble. They also don't have any sound customization features to help you adjust their sound to your liking.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are decent for neutral sound. While they lack thump and rumble, they have a touch of extra boom and warmth to balance out their bass. Their mids are fairly neutral, but their underemphasized treble veils vocals and lead instruments. Unfortunately, they're prone to inconsistent audio delivery, so you need to take the time to ensure a good fit each time you use them. That said, for closed-back headphones, they have an okay passive soundstage. Sound seems to be coming from speakers placed in the room around you, which can help immerse you in your audio.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are poor for commute and travel. They have a bulky, gamer-centric design and don't come with a carrying case to help protect them when you're on the go. Unfortunately, they also don't block out the low rumble of bus engines and leak audio at high volumes, which can annoy others around you. On the upside, they have a comfortable and well-built design.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are sub-par for sports and fitness, although they're not designed for this purpose. They have a bulky over-ear design that can fall off your head with moderate head movements. Luckily, even though they have a wired design, their audio cable is detachable, meaning if it gets snagged on something, it shouldn't pull the headphones off of your head.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are sub-par for office use. These headphones aren't designed for this purpose, as they don't look very casual, and they struggle to block out common office noise like ambient chatter. That said, if you don't mind their design or if you work in a quiet place, they have a comfortable and well-built design. If you need to take conference calls or attend virtual meetings, their boom mic also offers decent overall performance, ensuring that you're heard clearly.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are wired gaming headphones, and you can't use them wirelessly.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are decent for wired gaming. They have a comfortable fit suitable for long gaming sessions, and their wired design ensures a virtually latency-free gaming experience. If you like to game with others, the mic offers a decent recording quality, meaning your voice sounds clear, even in moderately noisy environments. Unfortunately, they lack companion software and an EQ to tune their otherwise warm sound profile to your liking. They're also prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery, so it's important to take the time to ensure a good fit.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are okay for phone calls. They have a flippable boom mic that sits further from your mouth than the first generation. The mic offers decent overall performance, so your voice sounds clear, even if you're talking in a moderately noisy environment like a busy office. The headphones aren't designed to block out background noise, and if you're taking a call from somewhere noisy, like a busy street, you're likely to have a hard time hearing the other person.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are available in 'Lilac', 'Mint', 'White', 'Grey', and 'Black'. We tested the 'Black' variant, and you can see our model's label here.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are the next generation of the Astro A10. These affordable wired gaming headphones have a lighter design than their predecessor and don't clamp as tightly on your head. They also have a shorter boom mic, and their sound profile leans a bit warm rather than uneven. They're still quite basic headphones, and unlike the HyperX Cloud Alpha S, which are also budget-friendly gaming headphones, they don't have any customization features, so you can't customize them to your liking.
Check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets under $100, the best headsets for PS5, and the best headsets for Xbox Series X/S.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 are the second generation of the Astro A10 and have slight changes to their design and tuning. The Gen 2 have a lighter, more comfortable design with a more neutral overall sound profile, which some users may prefer. That said, they're more prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery due to their fit. That said, the Gen 1 have a better overall microphone performance as their mic sits closer to your mouth.
The SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless have a slight edge over the Astro A10 Gen 2. While both are wired headphones, the SteelSeries also support Bluetooth, so you can use them more casually or receive audio from your phone while simultaneously gaming. Their boom mic also offers a better overall performance. In comparison, the Astro are better-built, and have a more immersive passive soundstage performance.
The Astro A10 Gen 2 and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 are budget-friendly wired gaming headphones with slight differences in performance. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Astro headphones have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, and their passive soundstage feels larger and more immersive. However, the SteelSeries headphones' mic has a better overall performance.
The HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II are slightly better wired gaming headphones than the Astro A10 Gen 2. The HyperX are more comfortable, better built, and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also support Dolby 7.1, which can help create a more immersive audio experience, and their boom mic offers a significantly better overall performance. However, the Astro can create a better passive soundstage that feels wider. Sound also feels like it's coming from speakers placed in the room around you, rather than from inside your head, which is outstanding.
The HyperX Cloud Stinger are slightly better gaming headphones than the Astro A10 Gen 2. While both headphones are comfortable, the HyperX have a significantly better boom mic performance, and they're able to reproduce low-bass with more thump and rumble. On the other hand, the Astro have a better build quality.
The Corsair Void PRO RGB Wireless are better gaming headphones than the Astro A10 Gen 2. While both headphones are comfortable, the Corsair are wireless gaming headphones with low wireless latency, and they support Dolby 7.1, which is a virtual soundstage feature that can help create a more immersive sound. They also have companion software that offers a graphic EQ and presets so you can customize their sound to your liking, and their boom mic offers a better noise handling performance. However, if you prefer wired gaming headphones, the Astro are better-built, have a more neutral sound profile that some users may prefer, and their mic has a better recording quality.
The Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE are slightly more versatile headphones than the Astro A10 Gen 2. You can use the Corsair wired or wirelessly, they have a better build quality, their boom mic offers better overall performance, and they're compatible with companion software, which offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound. However, the Astro are more comfortable.
Depending on your usage, you may prefer either the HyperX Cloud Flight S or the Astro A10 Gen 2. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the HyperX are wireless headphones with low wireless latency, a better overall mic performance, and have a virtual soundstage feature. In contrast, the Astro are wired gaming headphones with a wired, more immersive passive soundstage.
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 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.
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.