Astro A20 Wireless

Astro is a good alternative among wireless headsets for gaming on various consoles or PC use. The headset comes with various features to give a comfortable and smooth use. It only supports a wireless connection as it is not designed to connect with an audio jack. They also don’t support Bluetooth, making it impossible to use on the phone. The A20 series has a fairly decent microphone that you can use even in noisy surroundings giving a clear and quality output. With very few straightforward commands making, it is easy to use.

One of the best features of Astro A20 is its extraordinary battery life that you can use up to 15 hours after a full charge. They are comfortable to use due to their light plastic body, which makes them weigh less. Their ear cups come with soft, fine pads to ensure your ears are not strained. The headset has fairly good sound quality. It is coupled with a few EQ presets to give you some control over the sound type you would prefer.

What are some of the pros and cons of the Astro A20 headset?

 

Pros

· It has a fairly good sound quality

· It is pretty comfortable

· It has a wireless range of up to 15 meters

· It supports various with many platforms such as the Xbox series, Pc, and Mac.

· You can use it on PS5 through a PS5 transmitter

· Good battery life of up to 15 hours

· Relatively cheap

Cons

· It takes longer for a full charge

· It only supports wireless connection

· It lacks an audio jack connection

· Its EQ presets cannot be easily differentiated

Body Design

It is a simple body design but a bit classy. Most of the A20 is made of plastic, making it less durable. But if you are those guys good at taking care of the stuff, you don’t have to worry about its plastic body. Its headband is reinforced with rubber to ensure it is both comfortable on your head and can sustain certain head adjustments. The ear cups are square with fabric ear pads for comfortability and can adjust by tilting fit into your ears.

Read: Skullcandy Crusher 2014 Review

Command Buttons

It is one of the easiest-to-use headsets with straightforward buttons such as volume and buttons for selecting game and chat channels. It also has a power button and another below for swapping between EQ presets. However, it is impossible to use more than one audio channel. The mic acts as a mute button by flipping it.

The comfort of Astro A20

They are comfortable with a fabric covering the ear cups that is fine to ensure they sit well on your ears. The rubber headband ensures it does not strain your head. It clamps a bit tight on your head when you use them for the first time, but you will get used as time goes on. The fabric ear cups may get warmer, becoming uncomfortable; hence not recommended if you are planning to spend a bit longer gaming.

Breathability

The fabric-covered ear cups ensure easy air circulation; however, they may still get warm over long sessions. Adjust them correctly to allow good air circulation; the headsets are becoming uncomfortable.

Sound Quality

It has a fairly good sound quality. It has a bass amount of 0.56db and a treble amount of 0.38 dB. On a stable and quality wireless sound frequency, you can feel the boom of its bass. The treble is a bit sharp to blend in with the heavy boom but not the best if you don’t love the piercing sound. You can swap to the preferred EQ settings of your choice that are already preset for you. It is also possible to create your own EQ sets using the Astro command center software.

Bass Quality

Its bass specifications are as follows, low bass amount of -0.34 dB, mid-bass, 4.27 dB, and a high bass amount of 4.36 dB. It is not the best if you are after a high bass amount, but it is a decent choice. You can feel the boom with this headphone with its good bass accuracy.

Treble quality

The Astra A20 treble specifications are a low treble amount at 0.66dB, a mid-treble amount at 7.4 dB, and a high treble of -3.84 dB. The treble is a bit sharp, but the bass cancels it out. It is not the best if you want to feel every detail of your frequencies.

Peaks/Dips

The headphone has excellent peaks and dips with a bit of balance on a high amount of bass and sharp peaks when the sound shifts to mid-treble.

Noise Isolation

The headset performs relatively poorly when it comes to noise isolation. A bit of noise is isolated in the treble range, but noise isolation is very poor when you are in the bass range. You are likely to hear all the noise in a noisy setting.

Leakage level

The headset has fairly good sound protection against leakage. If you are working a few meters away from other people, you won’t worry much about them getting what you are listening to. But in a setting where you are close to people, they will likely hear the sound of your headset. The headsets have leakage of up to one foot away.

Durability

The plastic body makes it not the best for rough handling. The Astra A20 is less durable than the A50 series but can sustain a few drops. The headband is reinforced with rubber to ensure it is well protected from head stress and stretches.

Portability

They have a length of 15.2 CM, a width of 17.5 CM, and a height of 7.1 cm. They are considered bulky, which makes them less portable. The headphone range is about 15 meters, limiting the distance you can move around while using them away from the transmitting device.

Stability on your head

The headphones can clamp a bit tight on your head, making them stable. They are also wireless and hence cannot fall off like wired ones if the connecting wires get in your way. If well-adjusted or placed on your head, you are sure they are not sliding off as you work. They do not move around your head and make them a good choice if you make sudden movements.

Wireless Range

The headset has a 15 meters range that can allow you to move around as you work. It is enabled with a 2.4 GHz transmitter and receiver to keep the signal stable and strong within the specified range.

Microphone

What is Astra A20’s microphone, how does it work, and what are its features? It has a non-detachable microphone that is not integrated and also not in-line. The microphone is not detachable but also a boom one.

I. Microphone recording quality

It has a good recording quality that can withstand a noisy environment and record good quality audio. It has an LFE of 91.1 Hz and; an HFE of 1,974.03 Hz with a gain of 43.26 dB. The microphone records a decent quality sound but lacks detail in frequencies. It is nothing to worry about as your sound will be perfectly audible.

II. Microphone’s noise handling

The mic can filter noise when walking in relatively noisy settings. It can produce quality sound in places with disturbances but cannot render excellent results in extremely noisy settings.

Battery

It is one of the excellent features of the Astro A20. The battery life can span over 15 hours on a full charge. It is a rechargeable battery that you can use while charging, but it is best to charge it and use it fully. It takes up to three hours for a full charge which might be a bit slow if you are always on the go playing games. It uses a micro-USB charging port with a charging cable that is part of the purchased headset.

Connectivity

The connection to this headset is only through wireless connections. It is not Bluetooth compatible, limiting its use with Bluetooth-compatible devices. It has a low latency wireless connection hence recommended for gaming. The headphone does not have an audio jack making them unable to connect through wired means. It is compatible on PC through non-Bluetooth wireless, supporting audio and microphone. It is compatible with PlayStation through a PS4 non-Bluetooth wireless connection with audio and microphone support. It also supports Xbox through Xbox one non-Bluetooth wireless, offering audio and microphone support. There is Astro A20 that is designed for excellent performance with Xbox one.

Sound Imaging

The headset has a fair sound imaging feature. Its weighted group delay is at 0.27, weighted phase mismatch at 4.73, weighted amplitude mismatch at 1.11, and weighted frequency mismatch at 2.18. The headset has a balanced bass with a clear treble sound, ensuring you can sound effects and instruments in detail.

Base/Dock

It is a wireless dock with both a USB input and optical input. The wireless connection is through a base transmitter but is not the best compared with other models—the base transmitter links with your console through USB or optical features. A major shortcoming of this headset is the inability to swap across platforms example, a PlayStation and Xbox. It is also not possible to connect several headsets to a single transmitter.

Where does Xbox rank against other Headphones?

Astro A20 might be a good take compared to its price and features, but it is nowhere near other advanced Astro series such as the Astro A50 regarding comfort and quality. It is also a bit unbalanced in terms of sound quality compared to the Corsair HS70 wireless. The headset also can’t be used like the steel series Arctis 7 wireless. Despite the excellent battery life and good gaming experience, a wide variety of headsets offer more than they can manage.

Compared to Astro A20 Gen 2 Wireless

It has almost a similar performance to the Astro A20. However, this mode has high breathability with high microphone quality and performance. It also has an even longer battery use duration with high durability. The sound quality is also better with a slightly lower wireless latency. The model is also enabled to support the Astro command center companion software to ensure it renders the best performance.

Astro A10

It is one of the earliest of the Astro company headsets. It is inferior to the Astro A20 model, which has better performance and range. It cannot switch channels, and a mic flips for muting. The A10 is also wired, allowing you to use it without the need to charge. The A10 microphone is also way better has it is based on a wired platform which ensures better sound quality. It lacks an advanced EQ to allow swapping to a sound setting of your choice.

Astro A40 TR headset

The A40 variant is also wired headphones like the A10, which gives it an edge over the A20. A40 has a better body design and style, making it more durable and comfortable. Its boom microphone is also superior to the one in Astro A20. The headset features a Mix Amp to control the sound quality and settings. Its USB connection allows you to link with your Xbox or PS4. It has a battery span of about 15 hours after a full charge. The major shortcoming of the A40 is that it only comes in variants designed to work on a specific platform. If you are a guy that switches from either PC to Xbox or Ps4, this will be a great upset.

Astro A50

It is one of the best performances of the Astro company headphones. Its superior comfort, advanced comfort, and a superior body design for durability. It is more expensive than the other models, but you are assured the worth of your money. It has a superior sound quality with excellent EQ presets for you to choose from and enjoy the best audio.

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Wireless

They are more advanced than the A20, with superior performance and features. They are also wireless but support many wireless connections, such as Bluetooth. A high-performing microphone ensures high-quality sound and the ability to sustain noise. The model also has more advanced controls that make its use much smoother.

Here are a few questions about the Astro A20 wireless:

How is gaming with Astro A20 Wireless?

The headset is designed to offer you one of the best and most smooth gaming experiences. Its high performance on sound quality ensures the game’s sound effects are in detail. The fabric ear cups ensure comfortable gaming without straining your ears and absorbing heat and sweat. The headset performs pretty well on Xbox one compared to PC, but it will offer you the best gaming experience.

It is one of the best when playing high-action games with noisy sound effects. Its moderate bass ensures the explosions or gunfire sound effects are not distracting you as you try to keep your calm and concentration in the line of fire.

How does Astro A20 wireless Connect?

It supports a wireless connection only. However, it supports wireless connection only; the headset is not compatible with Bluetooth wireless connections. It is not a true wireless connection headset despite being wireless, making it incompatible with PS5. You can use a PS5 transmitter on your headset.

Does Astro A20 wireless isolate sound well?

It is not the best when it comes to isolating sound. It will work poorly, more so when used in extremely noisy settings. Its ear cups have a little tilt, limiting how effectively it covers your ears and prevents outside noise. The fabric used on the ear cups also contributes to sound from the outside penetrating to the inside. But it is a good choice in a quiet setting with a sound-absorbing system.

Should I purchase Astro A20 Wireless?

It is not the best in the market, but it offers pretty excellent performance compared to its price. Some features include long battery life, good sound quality, comfort, a wireless range of up to 15 meters, and compatibility with many platforms such as Xbox series, Pc, and Mac. You can check it out if you are after a simple headset, cheap but with good performance and results.

How much does it cost?

The Astro A20 costs around $ 100 to $ 120 depending on the platform you purchase it from and the variant.

Can you use it for mobile gaming?

The headset does not support an audio jack or Bluetooth wireless connection. With that limitation, using this headset for mobile gaming is impossible. There are various headsets that you can use for mobile gaming.

Can I use it for Phone calls?

It is not possible to connect this headset with your phone making it impossible to use it for phone calls. The headset does not have an audio jack and is not compatible with Bluetooth wireless connection. However, several other alternatives can support phone calls.

Conclusion

Astro A20 wireless is among the best headsets with high performance. It is affordable but with good features that can meet all your needs for decent headphones. Its best features include a battery life of up to 15 hours, good sound quality, comfort, a wireless range of up to 15 meters, and its compatibility with many platforms such as Xbox series, Pc, and Mac. It is time you check out this headset to set experience the best of its features and performance.