The Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 are premium wireless gaming headphones. They have a similar design to the previous-generation Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017, but with updates like a more compact base station. Kitted with a boom mic and designed with some replaceable parts, you can find models for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles. While the software includes a host of features, unfortunately, there have been user reports of significant issues using it.
Our Verdict
The Astro A50 Gen 4 aren't meant for sports and fitness. You need their base station connected to your source device, as the headphones don't support Bluetooth or wired connections. That said, if you're planning on doing a few reps on a pull-up bar while in line for your next match, they'll do fine. Just be sure not to make sudden movements, as their somewhat lacking stability means they won't handle jerky motions well.
- Comfortable fit.
- Bulky design.
- Base station is required to make the headphones work.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 aren't meant for travel. They only operate with their base station and don't support a wired connection or Bluetooth, making them almost impossible to use on a bus, train, or plane. If you can manage that somehow, they don't isolate you from much noise either, and are bulky, making them a pain to store.
- Comfortable fit.
- Bulky design.
- Base station is required to make the headphones work.
- Terrible isolation performance.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 are passable for office use. Their battery life can last a whole workday, but if you work in a busy office, they may not be ideal due to their poor isolation performance. They also leak a lot of audio, which can bother people working around you. Finally, you need their base station for them to function since they aren't Bluetooth-compatible.
- Comfortable fit.
- Excellent mic recording quality and noise handling capability.
- Terrible isolation performance.
- High levels of audio leakage.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 are very good for wireless gaming. Their wireless base station transmits audio with very low latency, and the headphones are comfortable enough to wear for extended periods. Their boom mic yields excellent recording quality and does an impressive job of isolating your voice from background noise. They also feature onboard controls for volume adjustment, channel mixing, EQ preset cycling, and enabling their virtual surround sound feature.
- Comfortable fit.
- Excellent mic recording quality and noise handling capability.
- High levels of audio leakage.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 can't be used wired.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 have decent audio reproduction accuracy. They have impressive harmonic distortion and stereo mismatch performance overall. However, more seasoned listeners may notice a lack of stereo positioning precision in the midrange due to frequency and phase fluctuations. The headphones' mediocre group delay performance is indicative of frequency response fluctuations in the bass range, but they aren't high enough amplitude that most people will notice. That said, the headphones do exhibit audible peaks and dips relative to their flat sound profile, particularly in the treble range, which renders vocals in game soundtracks alternately piercing and dull, and hissy and lifeless, depending on the pitch. While these over-ears also interact with your pinna, their PRTF may indicate that the spatial cues from the aforementioned interaction won't sound as natural as our benchmark discrete speaker setup.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 has a semi-open enclosure that isn't meant to block outside noise. As a result, you'll hear most background noise, including chatty coworkers or loud traffic. Additionally, people sitting close to you may hear your audio leaking from your headphones.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 have a great mic system. It reproduces your voice in a true-to-life manner, with speech remaining comprehensible. Due to the microphone's pickup pattern, noise is naturally rejected, remaining quiet in the background while your speech remains in the foreground.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 have great frequency response consistency. Most individuals can expect their listening experience to match our frequency response measurements, even between reseats.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Jan 13, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.
- Updated Dec 15, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
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Updated Jan 08, 2025:
We updated the review and comparisons to more accurately reflect the headphones' enclosure as semi-open and made text adjustments throughout for clarification.
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Updated Jan 06, 2025:
Several Sound tests have been updated following Test Bench 1.8. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the Usages and Product Comparisons to match these results. We want to ensure you see our more recent data so some outdated text has been removed.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Astro A50 are available in two variants: 'PC/PS4' and 'PC/Xbox'. We tested the 'PC/PS4' variant, but we can't confirm whether or not the other model performs similarly overall.
Let us know in the comments if you've encountered a different variant of these headphones.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Astro A50 are great gaming headphones, but aren't the most versatile as they can only be used wirelessly, and you need to buy the appropriate console variant for your needs. Unlike the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, they don't support Bluetooth for more casual use either. Thankfully, they're very comfortable and have a flat sound profile that can be customized using the graphic EQ in their companion software. They also come with a charging base that offers several inputs. These headphones represent an incremental update to the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017, improving battery charging and reducing base size. You get an improved microphone on the newer pair. While the fourth generation Astro A50 are wireless-only with semi-open backs, the Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 are the brand's open-backed and wired-only entry.
See our recommendations for the best wireless gaming headsets, the best PS5 gaming headsets, the best Xbox Series X gaming headsets, and the best gaming headsets.
The Astro A50 Gen 4 and the Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 are both great gaming headphones. The A50 are wireless-only, while the A40 are wired-only and have a fully open-back design. So, if you also don't want to be limited by battery life, then the A40 are a better option. However, if you prefer a cable-free experience or walking around with headphones on, the A50 Gen 4 are a better pick.
Depending on how you game, you may prefer either the Astro A50 Gen 4 or the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro. The Astro are wireless gaming headphones that are more comfortable, better built, and have more consistent audio delivery. Additionally, their boom mic has a significantly better overall performance. However, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro are wired headphones that come with a GameDAC so that you can make adjustments as you game. Their companion software offers significant customization features too.
The Audeze Maxwell have a slight edge over the Astro A50 Gen 4. While both headphones are well-built, the Audeze have a significantly longer continuous battery life and support Bluetooth. They can also be used wired via USB or analog. However, the Astro are more comfortable and their boom mic offers a better overall performance. The Astro also deliver audio more consistently between individuals and reseats.
The Astro A50 X are better overall gaming headphones than the Astro A50 Gen 4. The new version introduces more connectivity options via the base station, with USB-C and HDMI 2.1 inputs and the option to switch between different gaming systems and charge the headphones. While both headsets are similarly comfortable and well-built, the newer version's companion software is more reliable. They also have a longer continuous battery life. That said, the previous generation have better mic noise handling and give you the option to switch between EQ presets or enable Dolby Digital Surround sound via the physical controls.
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You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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