Astro A50X, analysis: the best gaming headphones on the market

Astro has always been synonymous high quality sound for gaming. It is not for this reason that they have historically been the most commonly used headphones in competition and have long been a symbol of CDL. However, the emergence of a new generation has changed the audio landscape. The disappearance of optical audio has greatly limited its compatibility with new consoles, giving way to the popularization of other brands such as Audeze Maxwell (now owned by Sony), which was a competitive section of the PS5 and Series in these early years.

Under the umbrella of Logitech G, Logitech’s high-end gaming division, the company has released the Astro A30, huge headphones but a far cry from the icon that the A40 and A50 represented in the previous generation. Now, Logitech has brought to market the best on-paper (and off-paper) gaming headphones, not only in sound quality, but also in features and compatibility: the Logitech G Astro A50X.

Astro A50X is the successor to the best headphones of the previous generation. A50. The same aesthetic offer, but with huge added value. Logitech has improved these headphones with offerings that we’ve seen in many of their products in the past, while also giving them the best in-ear microphone in the entire market.

Not only do they retain the aesthetics of the old Astro, but they also provide full compatibility with PC, Xbox and PS5, adding Bluetooth support. The integration is native across all platforms: they’re the only headphones fully compatible with the PS5’s chat and audio mix, and they offer 4K output at 120Hz, 24-bit audio, Bluetooth, and real-time equalization.

A50X: next generation headphones

The secret of the A50X is in its base. In addition to charging the headphones, it serves center HDMI. You can connect all consoles simultaneously to its base using a single HDMI port on your TV or monitor. The base does go through video via HDMI and extracts audio without detain And no input lag. This allows support native video support for consoles, including ALLM, VRR, HDR and Dolby Atmos. in the case of Xbox Series X and 24-bit audio on consoles and PC. However, the user may refuse to use the video capabilities of the database. The Astro A50X also allows you to connect consoles simply via USB, but due to their limitations, the audio will be 16-bit and in the case of the PS5 you won’t have a chat and game mix.

One touch to the headphones You can switch between Xbox, PS5 or PC and the base will automatically switch the video output. corresponding to the source. Plus, it doesn’t limit HDMI-CEC capabilities, so you can power your devices from your TV and vice versa, but not from your headphones when changing sources. Another benefit of connecting your consoles via HDMI is that you’ll be able to set up your PS5 as 7.1, combining chat/game and offers full compatibility with Dolby Atmos in the case of Xbox (the base includes a license to use the Dolby application completely free of charge).

Neither the design of the base nor the design of the headphones has changed. It remains one of the most comfortable on the market and has one of the most distinctive designs. Without changing its design, the A50X remains compatible with third-party magnetic pads such as Wicked which are used in competitions. In addition, Logitech Fixed an issue where the top bar would come off over time.

Dolby Atmos and parametric equalization

Optical audio removal also says goodbye to the button surround sound from previous A50s. Now this button is for Bluetooth, with which we can connect Astro A50X to any compatible device, from your smartphone to your Apple TV or audio equipment. In addition, it allows simultaneous audio playback: we can listen to the audio from PS5 while answering a call on our mobile phone. Important note: Bluetooth is not in the headphones, but in the base, so the listening range is limited to a relatively close one. Do not take them out of the house. The range is wide, but very focused on listening in one room. It’s more of an add-on than a feature you’ll use all the time.

Its integration with the rest of Logitech’s products also says goodbye to Astro Command Center. The headset is now set up and controlled from the Logitech G Hub app, available on PC, Mac, and mobile devices. It gives you the ability to change every aspect of the headphones, from side tone to main lighting, and is the meeting point for all equalizers.

Logitech G Hub lets you add custom equalizers for both the microphone and the audio itself, including advanced parametric EQ options for audio or noise-canceling features for the microphone. Regarding the Logitech G Hub, an important note: although it is available on both PC and mobile, the settings are saved in the headphones and this does not allow you to use both versions of the application at the same time: the Astro A50x will always use the last applied settings. so that the mobile phone overwrites the PC and vice versa.

Regarding equalizers, Logitech has confirmed to us that third-party equalizers, such as those in the Dolby Atmos app on PC or Xbox, do not override the A50X’s equalizers, but rather both co-exist, so it’s important to keep that in mind. if you are looking for a specific equalizer for a specific game. On PS5, you don’t have to worry as Sony doesn’t provide Atmos headphone compatibility on its console.

The Astro A50X offers superior sound and the best microphone on the market.

When it comes to sound quality, there’s not much to complain about. They are still S-tier when it comes to gaming audio quality., especially in competition. The sound signature is more like this PRO X 2 from Logitech than the previous A50 or A4oTR with MixAmp. The sound is quite detailed at almost all frequencies, with good bass that provides great immersion, but you’ll have to turn it down if you’re playing a competitive first-person shooter. Parametric equalizer allows significantly customize the sound signatureand thanks to the quality of their graphene drivers, they open up a huge range of possibilities.

The sound right out of the box is very good, but we found its EQ to be quite flat, so you’ll have to spend some time tweaking it to your liking, especially for games where sound is important. If you’re playing Warzone, start by setting your game mix to home theater, drop a couple of dBs in the low end and bump up 110-125Hz (try +6 3.5 Q), you’ll see a difference compared to listening steps. If you’re using Dolby Atmos, be sure to use Game Mode, but leave the rest of the filters in your app disabled. However, we are preparing a list of the best equalizers for A50X that can be used in the most popular competitive games: Valorant, Call of Duty, The Finals, Tarkov…

Regarding the A50X microphone, Logitech has launched the best microphone available in headphones on the market. They have no competition. Neither the Audeze Maxwell nor any of the high-end headphones compatible with the console come close to the sound quality offered by the A50X microphone, and it is on par with many dedicated microphones that cost hundreds of euros. In addition, it allows you to add filters to suppress external sound that may be inserted, such as keyboard sound (the microphone is omnidirectional). This is perhaps the most amazing feature of these headphones, and it sets the bar very high for anyone looking to bring high-quality headphones with a built-in microphone to the market. Huge 10 Logitech in this section. Also, being near the A50, They include an automatic mute feature when we pick up the microphone. Which, by the way, is integrated into the headphones themselves and works on all platforms.

As for battery life, Logitech promises 24 hours of audio, but this is subject to volume and headphone usage. They are closer to 18-20 hours than to a full day. However, they charge quite quickly from the base (without fast charging), and in general, I think you will have no complaints about their autonomy.

Astro A50X: are they worth it?

Today Astro A50X the best gaming headphones you can buy. Built-in compatibility with PS5, Xbox and PC, as well as support for the latest video standards and Dolby Atmos, make the A50X the best option if you game on multiple systems. Bluetooth is a great addition, but what definitely stands out the most is its outstanding microphone. The sound quality is excellent, and the parametric equalizer opens up the possibility of unprecedented headphone customization not only from Logitech, but also from the entire gaming industry. Except, If you’re a gamer, it’s the PS5, they’re the only ones that currently offer a combination of chat and gameplay.

Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks that we can remove from it is lack of 3.5 mm jack. and how difficult it is to set it up with a video capture device if you want to stream outside of your PC. Logitech has released a new app for this task called Mixline and it makes it much easier to select input and output sources or mix audio from multiple sources. If you’re streaming from a console, you may run into some issues depending on the capture model and your system setup.

On the other hand, you need to keep a close eye on its configuration with the PS5 if you want to take advantage of all its capabilities natively, but aside from these “buts,” Logitech has brought an outstanding product to the market. On the other hand, its price is also very high on the scale of high-quality gaming audio: 399 euros.