I’ve covered my fair share of headsets in my time here at Checkpoint, but despite having used some good options over the years, my large head – and let’s face it, overuse considering I really put all of my gaming tech through its paces – I’ve yet to find one for PC gaming that really sticks. With the Astro A50 Wireless + Base Station, I think I’ve finally settled on my long-term headset of choice. Combining a premium feel with high quality audio and easy connectivity, it’s easily the most reliable device I’ve added to my collection in a long time – but it’s not exactly a cheap proposition.
With the latest version of the Astro A50 Wireless, it includes a base station, a 2.4GHz connection, and improved drivers, along with being proven to be compatible with current-gen consoles PS5 or Xbox Series X, depending on which one you purchase. While I verified that my A50 does indeed work with the PS5, the majority of my time with it was spent using it as my primary headset on my gaming laptop.
Connectivity was a breeze, by simply connecting the base station and resting the headset in the dock. It’s magnetised so that you can drop it in pretty easily and it will sit in there perfectly almost every time, which I appreciated. It also looks like a bit of a show-piece on display in the base, which for a premium product is a nice touch; normally headsets just lay inelegantly next to my console or on the coffee table in front of me, so it’s nice that it has a “home”. Style-wise, it looks a bit plastic-y and clunky, with large vertical aluminum supports that connect the rounded rectangular earcups to the headband. It’s not small, but on my big head I kind of like that about it. I’m not wearing these outside the house so the chunky “gamer” look of the headset doesn’t bother me that much.
The headset itself is comfortable to wear, too. While other headsets in the past I’ve had to maneuver and shift to make them more comfortable for long sessions, I found with the A50 that I can just settle in for hours and not ever feel the need to really adjust. You flip the mic up to mute which saves searching for a fiddly button, and everything clicks into place in a satisfying manner. There’s also a slider for power, a button for Dolby Atmos, and another button to cycle through EQ modes.
All of this doesn’t mean much if the audio quality isn’t good, but thankfully the A50 delivers where it counts. They sound incredibly clear, whether it’s an epic score in an RPG, listening to your latest Spotify playlist or simply chatting with your friends on Discord. With Dolby Atmos support, games can have 360 degree audio that means you’ll hear footsteps of foes around the corner in Valorant or enjoy the ambience in a crowded game like New World. There’s also a range of EQ options to fiddle around with and software if you want to make those changes, but I found the default settings to sound very good at all times, with minimal need for adjustment.
In all my time using the headset (probably 100+ hours at this point), it never once disconnected or had any trouble, and it offers 15 hours of battery life, which is pretty impressive. I never ran it down unless I was trying, and considering it comfortably charges in the dock where I always put it back, the battery just never runs out, which is how it should be. Still, 15 hours is impressive enough that even if you forget to dock it a couple of times, you’ll still have plenty of game time.
While the Astro A50 Wireless + Base Station might provide a lot of great features, the price does still slightly hurt. At around $550 in retail, the A50 is more expensive than some video game consoles. That’s quite a large consideration, and likely only an option for hardcore PC gamers who spend all of their time on their custom rig. Value wise, it’s hard to recommend something like this over the Xbox Wireless Headset or the PS5 PULSE 3D headset, which come in at almost a quarter of the price.
Still, if you’re looking for a high-quality headset that looks good, feels good and has all the bells and whistles you could possibly need in a headset to complement your expensive PC setup, the Astro A50 Wireless + Base Station will serve your needs very well. It has become my go-to headset of choice when I’m gaming of PC, and I can’t imagine that being usurped anytime soon.
You can find more about the Astro A50 Wireless + Base Station right here.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
