The Astro A30 Wireless is, as its name suggests, an updated version of the Astro A20 Wireless gaming headset. Just like the A20 Wireless, the Astro A30 Wireless offers excellent sound quality and a comfortable fit. And, just like the A20 Wireless, the A30 Wireless suffers from a convoluted control scheme, a difficult pairing process, and the general feeling that a $ 230 device should be a little easier to use.
Still, there’s no denying that the A30 Wireless basically gets what it sets out to do. The device delivers great sound for games, movies, TV, music, and productivity and looks pretty stylish in the process. Bluetooth connectivity makes the headset easy to put on, although the microphone functionality could be better. You can even use it wirelessly with PlayStation and Xbox consoles, as long as you’re willing to buy an additional adapter.
While I wish the A30 Wireless was a little easier to control and didn’t rely on a mercurial smartphone app for fine adjustments, it’s a good, albeit expensive, choice for both PC and console gamers alike. they want their gaming headsets to do a little bit of everything. Read our full Astro A30 Wireless review to see if it’s for you or if another top gaming headset would be a better fit.
Recensione Astro A30 Wireless: Design
To give credit where it is due, the Astro A30 Wireless is one of the best looking gaming headphones I have reviewed in a long time. Unlike most of its competitors, which tend to be bulky, utilitarian, and colorless, the A30 Wireless is sleek, light, and full of subtle, elegant touches. The looks and feature set of the A30 Wireless both speak to a gaming headset that’s just as comfortable on the go as in front of a computer or console. A lot of gaming headsets aspire to be all-purpose accessories, but the Astro A30 Wireless is truly successful.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
First of all, you can get the headset in black or white. Either way, it has a plastic frame with an extendable plastic headband. I’m usually a little wary of plastic bands, as they’re much easier to break than steel, but the A30 Wireless feels pretty tough. The headset itself is also thin, with a slightly padded headband and earpads that look almost rectangular. At 12.1 ounces, it doesn’t weigh much more or less than its competitors, but it feels much more compact, which is a pretty neat trick. It also has absolutely gorgeous iridescent labels on the outside of the pavilions, which are so shiny they are difficult to photograph. That’s enough to make you want other gaming headsets to offer similar aesthetic flourishes.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
However, things get a little more confusing at the back of the pavilions. On the right earcup, you’ll find a power button, a Bluetooth pairing button, a four-way control knob, and a USB-C charging port. On the left, there is a microphone mute switch and two 3.5mm ports, one for a microphone and one for an audio cable.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
There is nothing seriously wrong with the left pavilion. But the power and Bluetooth buttons on the right one look identical, so it will take some practice to choose the correct control. Plus, pairing notifications are incredibly loud and obnoxious, and you can’t adjust their volume; you can only decide whether to turn them on or off completely. This makes it difficult to use the headset without removing it to monitor power and pairing modes.
The control node is what I found the most frustrating of the A30 Wireless. This bump can control everything from volume to chatmix, but it’s easy to click the wrong way around. The volume increases are also absolutely minimal. I often hit the nub over and over again, unsure if my media was actually getting louder, until it suddenly reached an unpleasant volume. It doesn’t automatically connect to volume in Windows, Android, PlayStation, or Switch, which means you’ll constantly have to tinker with two different adjustment settings.
Recensione Astro A30 Wireless: Comfort
The Astro A30 Wireless is nice to wear most of the time, although I wish it were a little easier to get a good fit. I wore the headset for a few hours at a time during each play or work session and never felt any discomfort, even with glasses on. The earpads were soft enough and created an airtight seal without making your ears sweat.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
On the other hand, the adjustable headband has no notches or numbers, so finding a consistent fit is difficult. This is especially true as the A30 Wireless comes with a carrying case and you will need to make the headset as small as possible to fit inside. I’ve always been able to adjust the A30 Wireless to roughly the correct position, but I didn’t like the fact that I didn’t have a real way to tell.
Astro A30 Wireless review: performance
When it comes to gaming performance, Astro headphones generally excel, and the A30 Wireless is no exception. I’ve tested the A30 Wireless with a variety of PC and console titles, including Nioh and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the PS5, Age of Empires IV and Diablo Immortal on PC, Live A Live on Switch, and Final Fantasy Dimensions on Android. Whether you were playing via USB or Bluetooth, the soundscape was rich and immediate. Although the A30 Wireless is heavier in the highs than in the lows, it works well for most games. The headset did a great job of balancing voice, sound effects, and music, whether I was cutting through hordes of demons or building a medieval city.
Likewise, the device sounded excellent for music and other multimedia content. Watching an episode of Bob’s Burgers, the voices of the characters came out loud and clear. I have also listened to songs from Flogging Molly, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Rolling Stones and GF Handel. While the headphones don’t really provide enough bass for hardcore music fans, the songs sounded more than enough for everyday listening. Okay, since the A30 Wireless is, in theory, easy to carry and wear on the go.
Astro A30 Wireless Review: Features
An excellent feature of the Astro A30 Wireless is that it can connect to any system in your home. A USB-A dongle makes it compatible with docked PCs, PlayStation consoles and Switches. Bluetooth connects it to handheld switches, Android and iOS phones, and smart TVs. A 3.5mm audio cable covers it for older devices.
The only complicating factor is that you can buy the A30 Wireless in PlayStation or Xbox configurations and they are not compatible with each other due to Microsoft’s arcane wireless protocols. Having to buy an extra $ 20 dongle to pair the headset with PlayStation and Xbox consoles is obnoxious, but at least Astro offers the option; most of its competitors simply don’t.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
However, beyond basic connectivity, the A30 Wireless can be a real hassle to set up. The A30 Wireless runs on a proprietary smartphone app. This means that you have to connect the headset to your phone via Bluetooth every time you want to change the sound profile or microphone settings. And you’ll have to change these settings more often than you think, because the headset occasionally resets itself to its default values. This is especially annoying if you hate the side sound of the microphone, as the default is 40%, rather than off.
The microphone is another area where the A30 Wireless isn’t as smooth as it should be. The headset has two microphones: a detachable boom microphone and an internal microphone that should automatically activate whenever the boom microphone isn’t around. However, during my tests, the internal microphone often did not activate and neither my phone nor my computer would recognize that it was present. Even when the microphone was working properly, it was too quiet and fuzzy to hold a conversation effectively.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
The boom microphone offers excellent sound quality and the flexible design makes it easy to place close to your mouth. But the internal mic is more problematic than it’s worth, and I wonder why Astro included it in the first place. The device would probably have been cheaper without it and just as functional.
Finally, there is the battery life, which Astro estimates at 27 hours. During our tests, the A30 Wireless seemed to drain at this rate, although we imagine that the exact battery life will depend on whether you are using USB or Bluetooth connections, as well as how much the microphone is needed.
Astro A30 Wireless review: verdict
The Astro A30 Wireless is one of those solid “good, not great” gaming headsets that should satisfy most potential buyers. The sound quality is up to normal Astro standards and you can wear it comfortably for hours. The controls are too complicated for their own good and the software could perform better, but these aren’t the main selling points of a gaming headset.
Additionally, the A30 Wireless occupies a relatively small niche as a wireless gaming headset that works with both PS5 and Xbox Series X, but still offers Bluetooth. The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless costs a little less at $ 200, but lacks Bluetooth; the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT has better design and sound quality, but also costs $ 270. The A30 Wireless may not be perfect for either work or play, but it’s more than enough for both, and it’s rare .
