The Astro Gaming A40 Audio System is pretty much the most popular gaming system in the competitive gaming scene. If you’re into competitive Call Of Duty or other games then I’m sure you’ll be pretty familiar with them especially if you’re a regular viewer of the Major League Gaming competitions and matches.

Packaging & Presentation

The box this system arrives in is pretty spectacular in itself. It uses high quality cardboard and boasts a picture of the headset and mixamp on the front , overlaid with the text “A40 + MixAmp Pro”. Removing the outer sleeve your greeted with a nicely designed box covered in various art work. This then folds outwards in too two sections revealing the A40 headset and MixAmp. An extra compartment on the right houses the microphone and array of cables.

In total you receive 6 cables including a 3.0m optical cable, USB power cable, 1.5m Xbox Live chat cable, 2.0m, 3.5mm audio cable, 2.0m A40 inline mute cable and a 65mm PC splitter cable.

The Headset

The headset itself looks great and is available in both black and white – personally I much prefer the white. Without any cables attached the A40’s weigh in at 324g making them very slightly heavier than some competitors products. Once you’re wearing the headset though you’ll struggle to notice the minor weight difference.

When first using the headset I was a little hesitant because they felt very fragile. After a couple of days of use though I realised that they were actually just very flexible and durable which is what you need in a gaming headset when they’re being taken on and off so often. As you’d expect the ear-cups rotate and fold flat to help with portability.

The detachable microphone for the headset is very well manufactured and in terms of performance it’s impressive. It’s made from a rubberised material which can be easily maneuvered into position and more importantly stay there. The mic is also the perfect length unlike so many others I’ve used in the past. All noise reduction technology is built into the mic and so thankfully you won’t be finding one of those pesky black foam tips on the end. Thanks to Astro placing a microphone port on each ear-cup you can wear the mic on whichever side you wish.

My only criticisms of the headphones are the fabric ear-surrounds. Personally I prefer leather surrounds as I think they help to reduce background noise. Not only this but sound leaks from the headphones when in use, even when not at a particularly high volume level.

The MixAmp

The MixAmp is a great little device that brings with it a whole set of great features. The rear face of the MixAmp hosts three input ports including the optical port, MP3 (3.5mm) and stream. Also found on the back is a mini-USB port for powering the device. The stream port is used to capture everything you hear including voice communications and game sounds which is primarily used for when your streaming online etc.

On the main glossy face we have three buttons and two dials. The first and biggest dial controls the master volume. The second dial is much smaller and controls the balance of the game audio and voice audio. The button located in the top left hand corner is for power, whilst the other two are for the EQ (4 settings) and to activate the supported Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound.

Finally on the bottom face you’ll find another four ports. Two of these allow you to daisy chain multiple MixAmps together, great if you’re playing on LAN as it allows you to create a private communication string between all the linked players. I realise that realistically not many people will use this, but it’s useful to have just in case. You’ve also got the port to the headset and chat/controller port located here.

The device has been beautifully designed in every aspect and has enough weight to keep it from slipping around. With the MP3 port on the back you can also hook up your laptop/iPod to listen to music while you game or while waiting for a game to begin. Another great feature of the MixAmp.

Sound Performance

These A40 headphones sound absolutely superb. The powerful audio delivered is crisp, sharp and detailed, and when paired with the 7.1 Surround Sound the result is phenomenal. When playing a casual game of Search & Destroy on Call Of Duty: Ghosts and there’s a player in the vicinity, their footsteps are heard very clearly and you can tell their exact location. To really immerse yourself in a game, high quality audio is an absolute must and that’s just what the A40 system delivers.

These aren’t just for gaming though, remove the microphone and you have yourself a normal pair of headphones. Even when playing just an audio track through the headphones the sound quality is just as good.

Our Verdict

The Astro Gaming A40 Audio System is hands down one of the best, if not thee best gaming system I have ever used and tested. Being priced at £200 the system is quite a big investment financially but with all the features it packs and the  top sound quality I can’t help but think that it’s worth it.

[columns_row width=”half”]
[column]Positives
+ Brilliant audio quality
+ Comfortable
+ Great MixAmp
+ Nice, modern design[/column]
[column]Negatives
– Quite Expensive
– A little bulky[/column]
[/columns_row]

It does come with a few downsides as you’d expect and although the headset looks great it is a big bulky and not something that I’d be plugging into my iPod and walking outside with. Overall though the A40 System gets a big thumbs up from us.

If you’d like to find out more about the headset or even purchase one use the link below to head straight there.