When upgrading from the Corsair HS70 gaming headset, I was divided between the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and the Astro A50, the brand's flagship wireless headset. I went with the latter, and it's safe to say that I made the right choice.

Astro is Logitech's gaming brand, and the A50 comes with all the bells and whistles, plus a few unique innovations that I wish every headset had. I’ve owned the Gen 4 A50 for a few months now as my daily driver, and coming from a Corsair HS70, the A50 solved all those problems while creating some new ones of its own. It’s not the best value for money, but it’s the only premium headset out there that’s completely wireless, even when charging it.

About this review: I purchased the Astro A50 (Gen 4), and this review was written after many months of using it. Logitech had no input into its contents.

Price and availability

The Astro A50 is quite old at this point. It was released way back in June 2019 for $300, but nowadays, it can often be found on sale for $200-$250. With the recent launch of the fifth-generation Astro A50 X Lightspeed, prices of the Gen 4 model are expected to take a dip. It’s a good headset at $200, but anything lower than that and it’s a bargain.

Design

Bold but in a functional way

This headset is made for gamers, and its bold design leaves no questions about it. You get thick, chunky earpads, metal rods that act as hinges, and a flexible, flip-to-mute microphone, which all work to give it a futuristic, sci-fi look that I personally like. It’s not minimalist in any way other than its color scheme, which is all black with some gold accents, and the lack of typical RGB lighting.

The build quality is adequate at best. It’s constructed using cheap plastic, with only the hinges on both sides made of metal. On top, there is a thin, plastic headband, which is arguably the weakest part of the entire package. That said, the headset can take a few drops without breaking. Plus, the plastic has a soft, matte finish that looks and feels better than hard plastic.

Since the earpads are magnetically held in place, you can simply take them out and replace them with new ones if they’re worn out.

Logitech crammed every button on the right earcup. From top to bottom, we have the power button slider, the Dolby Atmos button, the equalizer preset button, and finally, the volume wheel. With no texture to the buttons and equal spacing between them, I’ve had frequent accidental button presses, especially with the Dolby Atmos and equalizer buttons. I’m not a fan of the volume wheel either; it rolls indefinitely with no distinct maximum or minimum point, so you’re left rolling it for a few extra rotations just to make sure the volume is at max. You also have two hidden buttons on the right earcup for adjusting the balance between game and voice audio, acting as sort of a mix-amp. At the very bottom of this earpad is a micro-USB for charging the headset with a wire.

The earpieces can be rotated to sit on your shoulders. Since the earpads are magnetically held in place, you can simply take them out and replace them with new ones if they’re worn out. These and the cushion piece on the headband can be taken out for easy replacement. Under the earpads, the speaker grille is covered with cushioned fabric to prevent your ears from pressing into hard plastic, which I really like.

Sound and microphone

A good mic and even better drivers

For its intended gamer audience, the sound quality is excellent. It can absolutely work as a daily media consumption headset on top of a wireless, low-latency gaming headset. The lows and mids are punchy and prominent, but like all gaming headsets, some details are lost in the highs. That’s alright since most gaming audio occurs in the mids and lows. When playing The Crew 2 or Grid (2019) with this headset, I set the transmission to manual and listened to the engine’s rumble as the only cue to change gears, which the Astro A50 delivered accurately and beautifully. The noise isolation isn’t very good thanks to the airy velour earpads, and since these headphones don’t have any ANC, you’ll have to resort to cranking up the volume to block any ambient noise.

I set the transmission to manual and listened to the engine’s rumble as the only cue to change gears, which the Astro A50 delivered accurately and beautifully.

With in-built Dolby Atmos functionality, you also get surround sound with a much wider soundstage on any piece of audio with the push of a button, albeit with a slight decrease in max volume. It’s not for everybody, but I like the extra spatial detail.

The microphone sounds a bit muffled, but it's still among the best gaming headset microphones out there. It can clearly pick up your voice and can even filter out surrounding sounds depending on the noise gate level you’ve picked in the software. Simply flick the mic down to unmute and flick it back up to mute it. You’ll hear an audible click indicating the cut-off point.

Base station

It can wirelessly charge your headset, but that’s about it

Depending on what kind of headsets you’ve used to and the amount of free space on your table, Astro A50’s base station will either be a game-changer or the most useless thing ever. This sleek, glossy piece of plastic is the sole way to connect your headset to your PC or console. If this breaks, your headset is nothing more than a paperweight unless you buy a replacement base station, which costs roughly one-third of the headset’s full price tag.

The base station also functions as a wireless charging station for the headset. Simply place the headset, which magnetically fits, and will start charging with little to no hassle. At the front, the base station displays the headset’s charging level, selected platform, equalizer preset, and whether Dolby Atmos is turned on.

The convenience of setting the headset down when you hit the sheets without fumbling around for a cable means everything to me.

Since the headset charges slower on the base station than directly with a USB cable, you might not prefer to use its wireless charging capabilities, which seem to be its only redeeming factor. If that’s so, the information displayed on the front isn’t entirely necessary. Without any mix-amp wheel, which the Astro A40 has, it serves no function other than to take up table space and serve as a liability. A simple wireless USB dongle that stays hidden behind your PC would do equally well and might even bring the headset’s price down.

I like the base station solely due to its charging capabilities. The convenience of setting the headset down when you hit the sheets without fumbling around for a cable means everything to me. When I wake up, the headset is fully charged and ready to go. And since I have no headset stand on my table, the base station acts as the perfect resting and charging spot.

Battery and charging

More than a day-long battery

The battery is this headset’s strongest suit. It can easily hit 12-15 hours of constant use, which means that even at my busiest, my headset had 40-50% battery left at the end of the day. Plus, you can always put the headset on the base station for short bursts of charge while you’re up and about for a few extra hours.

The headset has gyro sensors in it that detect active motion. If you put them down on a table and they don’t detect any motion for more than 30 seconds, they’ll automatically turn off to conserve battery.

I was also impressed by this headset’s auto-shutdown capabilities. It has gyro sensors that detect active motion. If you put the headset down on a table and the sensors don’t detect any motion for more than 30 seconds, they’ll automatically turn off to conserve battery. And when you pick them back up, they turn on and establish a connection with the base station before you even put them on. I love not having to turn off my headset every time I put it down, since the A50 can do that for me. If you forget to put them on charge at night, you can use any micro-USB cable to charge the headset while using them.

Software and connectivity

Good in hardware but lacking in software

The software is a hit-and-miss most of the time, mainly due to various glitches. When I first tried connecting the headset to my PC, the official website instructed me to go to the Microsoft store to download the Astro Command Center application. But for the life of me, I couldn’t get the app to detect my headset. After various Reddit searches, I found out that there’s actually a setup EXE file on the official website hidden in the support section of all places, and that’s the version that finally worked.

The main highlight of the Command Center is the equalizer section, where you can create and add equalization presets or download some from the internet. In the microphone section, you can pick the noise gate level you want to select depending on how noisy your surroundings are. You can also turn on the sidetone, which will play back your voice through the headset. You can also program up to three equalizer presets, which can be saved to the base station so you don’t have to keep the application running while using the headset. It's a great feature, but for some reason, every time I turn on my headset, the sidetone is set to maximum, and I have to lower it through the software. Then there’s the surprisingly frequent firmware updates. Every week or so, you’ll get notified regarding a new firmware update, and the application will keep pestering you until you update the headset.

You don’t get a lot of connectivity options with the Astro A50. It’s a wireless headset, but it doesn’t support Bluetooth. The 2.4GHz wireless connection between it and the base station is the only way it can play audio, but at least it’s pretty strong. Audio arrives with zero lag so if even you’re coming from a wired headset, you won’t feel any difference. It has a decent range; I can move around my house without losing audio, and only after stepping out do issues like audio gaps pop up. Thankfully, unlike my old Corsair HS70, the Astro A50 takes no longer than three seconds to connect to the base station when turned on.

The Astro A50 has three variants: PS4/PS5 + PC, Xbox One + PC, and Mac + PC. Pick the right option if you plan on using it with a console and your PC. For connection, you connect the base station with your selected platform using the included micro-USB cable, which provides the audio data to the base station along with the power to charge the headset wirelessly. To connect the headset to the Nintendo Switch, which isn’t natively supported, you can use the included cable or any AUX cable with a 3.5mm plug.

Should you buy the Astro A50 (Gen 4)?

• You want hassle-free wireless charging
• You need a wireless gaming headset with exceptional audio quality and a microphone
• You want built-in Dolby Atmos functionality

• You want good value for money
• You want a wireless gaming headset with Bluetooth and ANC
• You like a headset with more premium build quality and more modern looks

If you’re like me and want a certain level of convenience when it comes to headsets, the Astro A50 (Gen 4) absolutely delivers. The wireless charging base station and auto-shutdown are some of my favorite features. I wanted to escape the hassle of constantly finding a wire to charge my headset, especially during gaming sessions when it’s the most annoying, and this headset was the only solution. If you want an even superior version of this headset, you can go with the Astro A50 X. It will cost you a lot more, but you get an all-around better headset with most of the shortcomings of the Gen 4 headset fixed.

For everyone else, this is just a very expensive headset that does what most other midrange wireless gaming headsets can do. If the convenience factors like charging wirelessly don’t grind your gears, I’d recommend you save your money.