The PBX Astral Prism is a cheap, wired gaming headset with a boom mic. This model features eye-catching LED lights contained in the yokes, as well as a headphone stand that also lights up, perfect for cultivating an ambiance in your gaming enclave. While the materials used in its construction aren't exactly premium, it's what you expect at a price point around $10.
Our Verdict
The PBX Astral Prism isn't designed for sports and fitness. While most gaming headsets aren't suitable for this use, this headset's poor build quality and uniquely loose fit make it an especially bad choice for exercising.
Cheap and flimsy build quality.
Not very comfortable.
The PBX Astral Prism is unsuitable for travel use. This headset isn't very comfortable for most people, and its flimsy, cheap build quality won't make for a durable or reliable travel companion. It also offers very little in the way of noise isolation, so you'll hear everything from rumbling jet engines to chattering passengers blended into your audio.
Good microphone recording quality.
Full mic and audio support via analog connection.
Cheap and flimsy build quality.
Not very comfortable.
Limited control scheme.
The PBX Astral Prism is disappointing for office work. There's no ANC system, and the passive isolation provided by the headset's over-ear seal is limited to just treble range noises, like fridge hum and whirring fans, so you'll be at the mercy of chattering coworkers and passing cars. They're not very comfortable either, due to the cheap nature of the padding on the headband and ear cups, plus if your head is average-sized or above, you'll notice that the ear cups ride up on your ears. That said, the microphone is surprisingly good, rendering your voice with plenty of detail and separating it effectively from noisy backgrounds.
Good microphone recording quality.
Cheap and flimsy build quality.
Not very comfortable.
Limited control scheme.
The PBX Astral Prism can only be used wired, so it's unsuitable for this use case.
The PBX Astral Prism is passable for wired gaming. Its fit won't be very comfortable for most people, especially if you have a larger head or ears. Its sound profile also isn't especially suited to gaming: while there's some high-bass emphasis that can bring out footsteps, the treble reproduction is extremely recessed, which causes sparring cut-scenes to sound muted. On the upside, the wired connection allows for full mic and audio support with both consoles and PCs, and the mic's recording quality is very good.
Good microphone recording quality.
Full mic and audio support via analog connection.
Not very comfortable.
Reproduces very little treble-range content.
The PBX Astral Prism is disappointing for audio reproduction accuracy. The frequency response deviates from the warm sound profile, especially in the treble range. That said, this headset produces very little treble-range content anyway, so any inconsistencies are hard to hear. The downside of this is that higher-pitched instruments, like cymbals and shakers, sound like they're being played on the other side of a brick wall. The poor L/R driver matching also means that sounds in certain frequency bands will tend to shift around a song's stereo field, defying the mix engineer's best intentions.
Not very comfortable.
The PBX Astral Prism is bad for noise isolation. There's no ANC system, and the over-ear seal provides only some paltry treble-range attenuation that can reduce the annoyance caused by whirring PC fans. It offers no isolation from mid- and bass-range noises, though, like cars passing by an open window.
Not very comfortable.
The PBX Astral Prism has a good microphone. While its boom mic isn't detachable, it has some bend to it. It's able to capture your voice in a balanced way, with plenty of detail. It also separates your voice well from noisy backgrounds, even rendering it intelligible in the face of passing trains and cars.
Not very comfortable.
The PBX Astral Prism is poor for frequency response consistency. The small ear cups and limited range of headband adjustment mean that audio delivery will vary quite a bit depending on your head shape and facial features. You'll even notice some inconsistencies between different listening sessions, so you'll need to ensure you take the time to properly adjust the fit.
Not very comfortable.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The PBX Astral Prism is available in one color variant: 'White'. We tested this variant and took a photo of its label. If you encounter another variant of this headset, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The PBX Astral Prism is an incredibly cheap wired gaming headset, best suited for those who need mic functionality at a very low price point. Its weak reproduction of sub-bass and treble-range content, along with its poor driver matching (at least with our unit), limits its usability to games that don't rely on audio fidelity or accurate positional cues to provide a competitive edge, so it'll do the job for playing turn-based RPGs with friends online. If you're willing to slightly increase your budget, it's worth upgrading to the Turtle Beach Recon 50X/Recon 50P, which offer a more balanced sound while retaining solid mic quality. If you'd rather go wireless, the Logitech G435 LIGHTSPEED Wireless is your best bet, with a comfortable fit and almost 20 hours of continuous battery life. It'll set you back quite a bit more than the PBX, even if it's still considered a budget headset.
To check out other alternatives, see our recommendations for the best budget and cheap gaming headsets, or if you need something console-specific, check out our best PlayStation and Xbox headsets.
The Turtle Beach Recon 50X/Recon 50P is a better gaming headset for most people than the PBX Astral Prism. That said, the PBX's extremely low price point and solid mic recording quality make it a solid choice for those who just want to talk to their friends online while playing a casual game. Though the Turtle Beach doesn't exactly feel premium, it has a higher build quality than the PBX and a more comfortable fit. It's also able to reproduce more treble and bass-range content, making for a more balanced sound. That said, the Turtle Beach lacks the PBX's distinctive LED lighting, which you might prefer for cultivating an ambiance in your gaming room.
The Logitech G432 is a better gaming headset than the PBX Astral Prism and, if you have the extra budget, it's well worth the outlay. That said, there's not much competition around the PBX's $10-20 price point, so if that's your budget, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the boom mic's performance. That said, in every other regard, the Logitech is superior. It has a more comfortable fit, a much more balanced default sound profile, better build quality, and it even comes with a companion app to tweak the sound to your liking.
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Test Results
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