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A30 Headset Black
Score: 98%
Developer: Astro Gaming
Device Type: Audio
Compatible With:


Function:

Whether it be your tunes, sound effects, in-game dialogue or vital communication with team members in an online match, sound is important to gamers. As is comfort, especially when gaming sessions end up outlasting the night in which they began. The A30 Headset offers comfort, style, sound quality and, perhaps, a bit of personality.

Performance:

Astro Gaming products look slick, as do the boxes in which they rest in on store shelves, while awaiting new homes. However, while looking good is nice, there's an old adage that states, "Beauty is only skin deep, but good design goes clear to the bone"... or something to that effect.

The sound quality is very nice, with strong bass response and crisp, clean sound from low to high; especially if used in conjunction with the Astro Gaming's MixAmp (sold separately). I found the A30 to be equally adept at playing my tunes, surfing the web or playing games. I used the headset with EnglishCentral.com, testing how well it worked with voice recognition and found that the only two problems I had was the occasional insertion of an "ow" phoneme (which may have had to do with the closeness of the microphone to my mouth) and a lot of dropped "R"s, which, upon close analysis of my recorded playback, both seem to be effects of my particular manner of speaking, rather than any failure of the A30, itself.

The A30 Headset feels very well put-together, with smoothly pivoting joints that don't have wobble or give to them. Once the headband is adjusted and I have them in place, they stay put comfortably without shifting on me.

The quality makes me think that they could stand up to the stress of carrying them with me from my consoles to my PC or on the go, but the included soft-sided travel case means they don't really have to. The travel case opens like a book, has a pocket on the left side for the various accessory cords that come with it and a formed area on the right side that the A30 Headset basically mounts to, keeping it safe in place if you should jostle the case about. When you've got everything tucked into place, just zip the case shut and you're off. There's even a rectangular plastic buckle sort of piece stitched on the back that you could use to attach it to luggage with a luggage strap, perhaps, but as the case isn't mentioned in the instructions, I'm only guessing on that part.

However, these headphones were made to travel, from the travel case they come in to the multiple quick-disconnect cables that can be left attached to ones' PC, console and mobile device (if desired) swapping quickly and easily by simply disconnecting from one and plugging into the other.


Features:
  • A30 Headset with Quick Disconnect
  • Speaker Tags for Customizable Style
  • Travel Case
  • 4-Pole Quick Disconnect Cable (6.5 ft.)
  • PC Quick Disconnect Cable with Volume Control (6.5 ft.)
  • 4-Pole Mobile Quick Disconnect (3 ft.)
  • Flexible Boom Microphone

Drawbacks & Problems::

I had no problems with the A30 Headset, but I think it is worth mentioning here that the A30 is listed on Astro Gaming's website as being their "Supra-aural, 'on-ear' cushion design", while the A40 is their "Circumaural, 'over-ear' cushion design." While it's true that the A40 is a true circumaural ear cup, the foam and fabric cups of the A30 Headset are not flat, but are designed much in the circumaural shape, only too small for the average person's ear to entirely fit inside. I find that the only part of my ear that's not inside the ear cup is my ear lobe, which I don't use for hearing. (Actually, I don't know that I use them for anything at all, for that matter.) So, while it's not a true circumaural design, it does offer a surprising amount of attenuation of background noise, although probably not as much as the A40 Headset would provide. Just make sure that you don't need to be able to easily hear someone calling from the other room.

I would say that the A30 Headset is positioned as a great "well-rounded" headset, perfect for anything this side of Major League gaming... and perhaps for that, as well.


-Geck0, GameVortex Communications
AKA Robert Perkins

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