The Astro A30. Astrogaming's original and still current on-ear gaming headset, released after the well known Astro A40, and aimed at gamers with a need for portability and versatility which the A40s can't provide. I was able to score the A30s for a ridiculously good deal with the Mixamp Pro (2011 version).
How does the bite size Astro headset compared to the older, immensely popular, and higher priced A40 and A50? Let's find out.
Build Quality:
Rating: Great
The A30's frame consists of mainly plastic, which feels a little cheap and less prestigious than the tank-like frames of the A40 and A50s. However, the A30's plastic is flexible and feels like it'd take much abuse with nary a complaint.
The top headband portion is matte plastic, and houses ample cloth padding on the underside on headband. While the padding is thick and springy, I personally feel it puts some annoying pressure on the top of the head. I personally feel the padding could've been spread across the entire top headband piece with less thickness and yield better results in comfort and pressure distribution.
The frame on the cup side is covered in a glossy finish, which is quite the contrast compared to the headband. Not sure why Astro decided on a clashing finish to the plastic. The outer cups sport removable speaker tags, reminiscent of the A40s. Unfortunately, removing the speaker tags expose something disappointing: the A30s are closed back regardless whether the speaker tags are on or not, which is a change from the A40s. I personally like to keep the speaker tags off, as it reduces the weight by a subtle amount (I stress the word subtle). No other benefits are gained from what I could tell.
The cups are supraaural and square in shape, including the cloth ear pads which seem to have memory foam inside. Considering the overabundance of synthetic leather pads, the cloth pads are welcome, though the square shape doesn't allow the pads to sit as well as I'd like on the ear compared to traditional round-shaped ear pads. That, and the memory foam traps some heat compared to cloth pads without memory foam.
The cups swivel inward for a flat profile when placing the around your neck, with the outer cup facing outwards. I much prefer just an inward swivel like the A30 over having a fully collapsible design which may lead to more portability at the expense of more potential breaking points.
Located on the bottom of the left cup is a silver barrel that holds the cable as well as small 2.5mm input for the removable boom microphone. The cable itself is non-removable and extremely short as it simply holds the inline mic (an alternative to the boom mic), as well as the mic/mute switch, and A/B selector switch which lets you choose between A (boom mic) and B (in line mic). The cable terminates into both a 3.5mm stereo plug as well as a 2.5mm chat plug placed side by side. There is enough distance between the two plugs to attach a 3.5mm coupler or 3.5mm extension cable if you choose to use some other cable, though it will block you from using the chat plug.
The included cable (referred to as the 'Mobile QD Cable') connects to the dual plugs on the headphone end with a pair of inputs on the control 'puck', one 2.5mm (for the mic) and the 3.5mm for audio. This end is where the 'Call / Pick up / Track Control Button' is placed for Iphone/mobile phone use. The cable is of good quality, though a bit short in length. Thankfully, an extension cable is included, which fortunately retains the mic channel.
All in all, the A30 may feel like cheap plastic overall, but it looks like it can take a ton of abuse. You would really have to commit to the act of mutilating the A30s for them to break. Under normal circumstances, these look like they'll last a lifetime.
Accessories:
I can't exactly say what comes with the A30 alone as I bought it in a bundle with the Mixamp Pro (2011 version). Depending on whether you buy the A30s alone or in a bundle, you may/may not get some of these accessories:
Boom Mic: Detachable and connects to the headphone via a 2.5mm plug. It bends, but doesn't give in easily, and doesn't retain memory all too well. You'll more than likely have to readjust the boom mic every time you attach it to the A30s.
Speaker Tags: Attaches to the cups via 4 small magnets on the corners of the tags. They are customizable (other designs can be purchased on the Astrogaming website).
Mobile QD Cable: The main cable used.
Extender Cable: 1 meter extension cable for the mobile QD cable (will more than likely work for any 3.5mm terminated cable that has both audio and chat channels, which should be most headsets that don't separate the chat and regular audio into two separate plugs.)
PC Splitter cable: Separates the audio/mic channels into two plugs. I personally did not receive this cable in my package, though the quick start guide includes it in the image.
My suspicions for Mixamp related goodies:
Optical cable
Mini usb cable
XBOX cable
3.5mm cable
Comfort:
Rating: Very Good
The Astro A30s are about as good as any on-ear headphone I've used to date in terms of comfort (with the exception of the Ultrasone HS-15, which is quite a bit more comfortable than any other on-ear I've owned). The A30s are lightweight, clamp just enough for a secure fit, and the cloth covered memory foam pads sit on the ears comfortably, though the shape of the pads make it a little harder to position properly on the ear.
The only gripes I have with the A30's comfort is the headband padding which puts some pressure on the top of the scalp, despite how well padded it is. Also, the ear pads can build up heat, though not as much as typical synthetic leather pads.
Design Issues:
Headband padding - Could stand to have been wider for better distribution of weight. The pad pushes down on the top of your head which can get a little uncomfortable.
Square ear pads - Not really an issue, but round shaped ear pads would be easier to adjust and position on the ears.
Permanently attached and incredibly short cable with in line mic and mic/mute switch - The design seems cumbersome. This could've easily been remedied by just having two detachable cables: One with the the mic and switches, and another standard cable.
Isolation/Leakage:
Rating: Decent
It's passable for a closed headset. It doesn't leak in or out a ton, but it doesn't work all that well either way. If you're using the A30s next to someone sleeping, you're sure to bother them, and in loud rooms, they won't block out outside noise as much as I'd hope.
Microphone:
Rating: Decent
The A30 comes with both a removable boom mic as well as a cable with an inline mic. I found both microphones to perform decently in personal tests. In other tests with a good friend of mine, I was told the boom mic came out clearly though came off a bit bright and artificial sounding. The inline mic sounded more natural to him at the expense of a little vocal clarity. He preferred I'd use the inline mic, due to the brightness and artificial tone of the boom mic. To compare, I was told that the V-moda BoomPro microphone blew both of the A30's mics out of the water.
Sound:
Rating: Okay
A bit thin, lacking in definition, clarity, and dimensionality. The positive aspect of it's sound is it's bass, which while a little lacking in control, is lively and quite enjoyable for music. The A30 performs at it's best for energetic, bassy music from my experience which highlight the bass and treble moreso than the details in the mids. Let me explain a bit further below...
Bass:
Rating: Decent
On one hand, the A30's bass is not what I consider heavily emphasized, but on the other hand, it's rumbly, a bit loose, yet still on the dry side. It may lack control, speed, and quick decay, and can at times, creep up and rob some of the mid's clarity and presence. The A30 is a dry, somewhat thin sounding headphone which doesn't quite match up with it's rumbly bass. That type of bass doesn't usually associate itself with thin sounding headphones. When music gets busy with a lot of bass, the A30s can distort and scramble up the bass with other details. I have to say, despite it's flaws, it's still the best part of the A30s for me. The bass is enjoyable even if it doesn't maintain control like other headphones with this level of bass prominence.
Mids:
Rating: Okay
The mids are dry, thin and a bit diffused sounding which gives way to the somewhat peaky treble. I have to say it's a bit disappointing, as it comes off a bit stunted and lacking in definition, sharpness and clarity.
Dolby Headphone tends to add some warmth and smoothness to the presentation of any and every headphones, and in the case of the A30s, robs it even more of it's clarity (or lack thereof). This is but one reason why I don't find the A30s to match up well with Dolby Headphone, which is the surround processor the Mixamp uses, and is typically bundled with the A30s.
Treble:
Rating: Decent
The treble is another aspect of the A30s that I somewhat like, though at times becomes harsh/sibilant and distorts at higher volumes. It sparkles on a frequent basis lending some air to the presentation. The treble comes out as the cleanest area in the frequency response. It matches up more with the bass than the mids.
Soundstage:
Rating: Mediocre
The A30s soundstage comes off very flat and lacking in dimension, depth, and width. This is without a doubt the most disappointing aspect of it's sound to me. As usual, I don't find much to complain about in stereo, as most headphones sound a bit two dimensional/linear to me, with most sounds placed in a straight line between my ears. The problem with the A30s is that the imaging mostly comes off as 3 different points in and between the head: the left, center, right. The transition between the left/center/right seem imprecise to my ears with some gaps in between those extremes. Using virtual surround didn't help matters much. The soundstage remained fairly linear with a notable lack of depth. A lack of depth doesn't translate well for positional cues.
Positioning:
Rating: Mediocre
The soundstage and imprecise imaging did not benefit greatly from virtual surround, making positional cues a bit hard to locate. I found the A30s to be one of the hardest headphones to use for gaming, as front positional cues and rear cues were not easy to discern, and linear soundstage choked any potential possible out of the A30s for competitive gaming.
Clarity:
Rating: Okay
The slow bass, hazy mids, distorted at times treble, and non-dimensional soundstage, robbed any hopes of great clarity out of the A30s. It's not muffled sounding for music (really, the A30s can be quite enjoyable for the right kind of music). It can come off a bit energetic in the bass and treble, but as far as minute details and gaming friendliness, the A30s fall short.
Amping:
Not necessary
Personal Recommendation?
Movies, Music, In General? Small Maybe
Gaming? No
Though I try to find the good aspects of any headphone/headset I review, the Astro A30 is a headphone I find hard to recommend. The headset alone falls in a price range that stack it up against headsets like the Skullcandy Slyr which trounce the A30 in every way other than size and perhaps durability. I find it pretty uninspired for gaming purposes in any shape or form, with average to subpar performance for both stereo and virtual surround gaming.
The A30s definitely works best for music, and even then it lags behind it's cousin: the Skullcandy Slyr. If you happen to own the A30s, you may like it for music use (I do find some enjoyment), though there are better headphones for much less (i.e. Koss KSC75, KSC35, Sportapro, Portapro, Ultrasone HS-15).
The only way I'd ever recommend getting the Astro A30 is if you find the A30/Mixamp bundle for a really good deal (at the time of purchase, I got my combo for $80 which is $120 off the standard price. The Mixamp alone is worth getting for that price, so I considered the A30s as a free bonus).
Comparisons:
At the time of review, I only had the DNA On Ear and Ultrasone HS-15 as 'fair' comparisons, as they are both closed, on ear headsets (though the DNA On Ear is a headset in functionality, not form, due to it's inline mic, and possibility to be used with the V-moda BoomPro.)
Monster DNA On Ear: The Monster DNA really makes the A30 sound like a very poor alternative, though considering the DNA On Ear's price, it better be. That being said, the DNA On Ear can be found as low as $30 more than the A30s, and the performance gain is worth every bit of that and then some. The DNA On Ear is fuller, more immersive, and considerably more natural sounding than the A30s, despite it's bass heavy tuning. The mids and treble are considerably better integrated and fleshed out. The positional cues aren't as 'sharp' as the A30s, but easier to locate in the virtual landscape in any case. The Monster DNA On Ear is, for all intents and purposes, clearly superior over the A30s.
Ultrasone HS-15: The Ultrasone HS-15 feels more comparable to the A30 performance-wise, but at less than half the cost and different tonality. The Ultrasone HS-15 is warm, and oddly recessed sounding (I blame S-logic) with some treble peakiness. Despite it's generally mellow tone (other than the sizzly treble), the HS-15 is considerably better for gaming, with a much more rounded off soundstage and decent positional cues. The HS-15 is also a noticeable step up in comfort due to a nearly non-existent weight and amazingly comfortable pads. The bass in particular really, really tramples all over the A30's bass (as well as many other headphone's bass presentation). The A30's brighter signature does sound subjectively clearer than the HS-15's mellow tone which at times can sound muffled in comparison. The Ultrasone HS-15 costs as low as 1/5th the price of the A30s, and in my opinion is the better headset.
Final Impressions:
I wanted to like the A30s, and give it a somewhat positive review. Really. Yet, reality proved that some headphones just don't stack up to the competition, the A30s being a forgettable headset that should be passed on by most people other than those who can score them for a very low price.
Final Scores...
