Astro A50 Gen 4  Headphones Review

The Astro A50 Gen 4 have a flat sound signature that resembles the SoundGuys.com Studio Curve more than our in-house preference target. That said, you can tweak their sound with the app's supported graphic EQ or presets.

These headphones have great frequency response consistency. This means they deliver audio similarly across different users and between reseats, so you can expect consistent sound without fussing to get them to sit just right.

These headphones have very good bass compliance. Their low-end bass response is underemphasized, likely due to their semi-open enclosure, so sound effects in action-heavy games can lack a bit of thump and rumble. However, a small bump in the high-bass compensates for this by adding a bit of boom and punch to your audio, emphasizing footsteps in your favorite tactical shooter.

The headphones have excellent mid-range compliance. Vocals and lead instruments sound full-bodied and clear with good presence. However, a small dip in the mid-mids can nudge them to the back of the mix. Ambient effects and character dialogue in Baldur's Gate 3 sound clear, although, during exciting action sequences, the slight boominess of the bass can compete for your attention.

The Astro A50's treble compliance is great. On average, the frequency response matches our preference curve, but fluctuates in certain bands. De-emphasis in the low-treble and high-treble can cause vocals to sound less comprehensible and closed-off.

The headphones have decent peaks and dips performance. Their frequency response resembles their flat sound signature through most of the range, though wildly fluctuating peaks and valleys inundate the treble range. In particular the mid- and high-treble each have a noteworthy peak, followed by a dip, rendering vocals alternately piercing and dull, and hissy and closed-off.

The headphones' L/R drivers have great stereo matching. Throughout most of the range, there aren't any exceptional or consistent issues. That said, a combination of phase and frequency response mismatch at isolated frequencies (300Hz and 1kHz) may result in a loss of clarity as fundamental frequencies' stereo positioning loses precision.

While the headphones' mediocre group delay performance is indicative of relative phase shifts across low-bass frequencies, it doesn't result in easily audible issues. The constructive and destructive wave interactions caused by these phase shifts only result in a small notch around 35Hz, which won't be noticeable in regular content.

The headphones' PRTF doesn't resemble that of our benchmark speaker setup. As a result, spatial cues originating from pinna excitement may not sound as natural to you.

These headphones have great harmonic distortion performance. Trained listeners may be able to detect some timbral coloration due to harmonic distortion at very high levels and with great effort. In practice, most people won't notice any issues with gaming content.

The headphones have a dedicated button for surround sound. With a PC, you can also use the Windows Sonic for Headphones software or Dolby Access with Dolby Atmos (although Dolby Atmos is an added cost with the 'PC/PS' variant). Both variants can support Dolby Atmos, but the feature is restricted to PCs and Xbox consoles.

To use them with your Xbox, you enable Dolby Atmos in your console's settings and use the Dolby Access app to control surround sound. You can use the button on the headphones to turn this feature on/off. With the 'PC/PS' variant and the PlayStation 4 console, audio gets upscaled to Dolby Digital (7.1). With a PlayStation 5, you'll need to purchase a separate HDMI to Optical Adapter for PlayStation 5 by the manufacturer to use Dolby Digital. Otherwise, using the PS5's Tempest 3D via a USB connection disables the EQ and mic settings saved from your PC to the headphones.

Keep in mind that whether your headphones come with a lifetime Dolby Atmos license seems to depend on whether you have a 'PC/Xbox' version or not, when you purchased them, where you purchased them, and if you've updated their firmware. An Xbox-compatible variant with the latest firmware ought to have a lifetime license, but the manufacturer has changed support over the lifecycle of the headphones. If your headphones don't have a current Dolby Atmos license, try updating the firmware first, as you may gain the license. Our unit is the 'PC/PS' variant and doesn't come with a Dolby Atmos license.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when they're used in this configuration.

The Astro A50 look very similar to the Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019, with similar squarish ear cups found on the brand's headsets. The headset has a fairly conservative color scheme, with few adornments besides a slightly contrasting model logo on the ear cups. Still, the bulky design and non-removable microphone make the headset stand out in most environments. You can also swap out the plates on the other surface of the ear cups if you want to individualize your headphones a little more, and you can purchase mod kits from the Astro website. You can't mix and match the kits, so get the one for your model.

These are comfortable headphones. Their ear cups are spacious and deep, accommodating most ear shapes and sizes. They don't clamp the head as tightly as the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017. Their headband does a good job of distributing their weight as well. The coating on the padding is also quite soft and feels nice on the skin. However, they're quite big and heavy.

The Astro A50's control scheme is acceptable. The headphones lack any onboard controls for music playback or call management. Instead, they address the needs of gamers rather than casual users. Their mic is flip-to-mute, and otherwise, the controls have single functions.

Right ear cup towards the front:

• Volume wheel
• Spin: Increase/decrease volume.
• EQ preset cycle button
• Single press: Cycle through EQ presets.
• Dolby button
• Single press: Dolby Digital Surround Sound on/off.
• Power button
• Single press: Turns power on/off.

They also have two additional controls on the outside face of the right ear cup that let you balance the mix between in-game audio and call audio.

They differ from the previous generation by having a button to cycle between EQ presets instead of a switch, and the base now has a screen that shows you which preset you're on. There's good audible and tactile feedback, and all the controls are easy to use.

These headphones aren't especially portable. This makes sense for gaming headphones that stay in the same location. They're very bulky and don't fold into a more compact format, though their ear cups swivel flat to reduce their footprint. They also need to be within range of their base station to work, which further limits their portability.

These over-ears are very well-built and feel durable. The ear cups are dense and made from solid plastic, so the headphones feel like they can handle a few accidental drops without too much damage. The hinges are sturdy and made of metal, but their headband seems to be the weakest point of their construction.

The headphones are reasonably stable. They don't clamp your head tightly, and head movement can easily make them shift off your head. This is unlikely to pose a problem when seated and gaming. If you're a dynamic and expressive gamer, the headphones will likely move around or fall off with head movements. If you prefer to relax and sit still while gaming, they'll stay in place.

• Astro A50 fourth-generation headphones
• Base station
• Micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
• Optical cable
• Manuals

The headphones aren't meant to block out noise. They're not equipped with an ANC system and have a semi-open enclosure, allowing sound in and out of the ear cups.

The headphones don't block out much noise outside of the treble range. While they'll mute out a bit of whirr from your PC's case fans, they won't do much against office chatter, buses revving by, or planes flying overhead.

The Astro A50's leakage performance is bad. They aren't the best to use around people in quiet environments because sound still escapes loudly enough that even in crowded settings, it's noticeable. They don't leak much bass, but the mids and highs are audible as a thin representation of your audio, complete with lead instruments and bright percussion.

The boom mic has excellent recording quality. Owing to the relatively flat frequency response of the microphone (except at the upper frequencies beyond speech), your voice sounds clear, natural, and full-bodied. While the included software also has additional mic settings you can adjust to taste, the headset's mic already starts with a solid foundational recording quality.

The boom mic has impressive noise handling performance. Teammates or those on the other end of a phone call can understand you clearly, even in loud or crowded environments.

Note: There are four mic profiles inside their companion software with four different noise gate settings. We tested the microphone with the 'Streaming' setting, as it has the lowest noise gate. You can also select 'Night,' which has the least aggressive noise gate setting, 'Home,' which is the default, or 'Tournament,' which is the most aggressive setting.

These over-ears have very good battery performance. They provide over 17 hours of battery life, which is more than enough for most gaming sessions, although this can vary depending on real-world usage. You can also use them when charging, which is a useful feature. They only take about two hours to charge with the Micro-USB cable, but more than four hours with the dock. On the upside, this charging cycle is still noticeably shorter than the older Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017. The base has four bars to indicate the battery charge status. They have an auto-off timer, too, which turns off the headphones during periods of inactivity. However, it's rather short, which can be annoying if you're gaming and don't move too much, as it can still trigger even if audio is being played.

These headphones are compatible with Astro Command Center. However, some users have reported encountering severe issues when using the software. They can't update the headphones' firmware, which is necessary to connect them via USB to newer consoles. Users also can't access any of the software's features. These issues may be due to Astro moving the software download from their site to the Microsoft Store. This poses a significant drawback if you want to pick up a pair of these headphones. Astro have changed their companion app software to the Logitech G HUB app for the latest iteration of these headphones, the Astro A50 X Wireless. So far, this software has proven to be much more stable.

When working correctly, the Astro Command Center offers a wide array of features. It has a graphic EQ that you can use to set up different presets, which you can cycle through using the EQ button on the right ear cup. You can also choose between four noise gate settings for the boom mic to isolate your voice from ambient noise. Unfortunately, you can't control the mic's frequency response like you can on the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017. There's also no option to extend or turn off the gyroscope auto-off timer feature, which is frustrating. They also have no true button mapping beyond the EQ presets. You'll need to use the Windows Sonic for Headphones software for surround sound.

You can't use the Astro A50 wired. They come with a USB-A to Micro-USB cable, which is only for charging. They also have an optical cable used for plugging in their base station. If you want gaming headphones that you can use wired with console controllers, check out the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE.

These headphones have excellent wireless connectivity, thanks to their base station. It doesn't have as long a wireless range as other headphones in the Astro range, like the Astro A30 Wireless. Still, latency is very low, so your audio and visuals will stay in sync during the heat of competitive gameplay.

These headphones wirelessly connect to your PC using the included base station over USB-A or optical (if your soundcard has an optical port). You get full audio and microphone support and software to adjust the settings to taste.

You can use both the 'PC/PS' and 'PC/Xbox' versions of the headphones with PS4 and PS5. Since the PS5 doesn't support optical, you'll need to update the headphones to the latest firmware using the Astro Command Center with your PC. This firmware lets you connect the base station to the console via USB. However, some users have reported that the audio quality drops when using this connection compared to using optical. While we conducted our original testing using the base station connected to our PC via USB, these results will still be valid compared to the sound you get from the PS5 when connected via USB.

Alternatively, you can purchase an Astro HDMI adapter for the PS5 directly from the manufacturer, allowing you to connect to the console via optical. The manufacturer advertises this adapter to enable the 'Game:Voice Balance' channel mixer control for this console.

These headphones have full mic and audio compatibility with PS4 and PS5 consoles when you connect their non-Bluetooth wireless transmitter to the console via USB. However, you may need a firmware update for this connection to work on PS5 consoles.

Astro makes a 'PC/Xbox' compatible variant of the headphones with full mic and audio support on Xbox consoles. If you have the PC/PS variant of these headphones, they can only receive audio when connected to an Xbox One and don't function at all with Xbox Series X|S consoles.

Note: While the 'PC/PS' versions of these headphones aren't fully compatible with Xbox One or Xbox Series X consoles, the 'PC/Xbox' variants are.

The fourth generation Astro A50's dock is great. It has a lot of inputs and acts as a charging station for the headset. This variant is fully compatible via USB on the PS4, PS5, and PC. The manufacturer advertises the base station as console-locked for either PS4 or Xbox One, but the headset can connect to both base variants.