Another thing the manufacturer doesn’t state is the material of the earmuffs…we can confirm they are neither fabric nor synthetic leather, they look like a plastic compound which isolates outside noise quite well but , in turn, also causes a lot of sweating. We will come back to this in detail throughout the article.
Unboxing and external analysis
The ASTRO A30 Wireless comes in a black box with a lid; On the outside we can see a photo of the headset (in this case in white but they are also available in black) accompanied by the brand, model and, in this case, highlighting its compatibility with the PS5.
On the back, the manufacturer lists and highlights the fundamental characteristics of the device in the form of a double sketch.
To be able to remove the inner box, we have to pull this area from the top, breaking the packaging.
And removing the lid gives us access to an inner box, black with white lines as you can see, which opens in the shape of a chest. Inside there is at first glance a fairly practical carrying case, since as we will see these headphones are rather well designed to be taken from one place to another.
Let’s start with the accessories that come with the headphones. Logitech includes in these ASTRO A30s the usual instruction booklets (with a QR code to download the mobile application), two cables that we see immediately, the wireless receiver and the microphone.
As we said, two cables are included: one is USB-A to USB-C for charging the headphones’ battery, and the other is minijack to minijack for the analog connection.
The medium-sized black wireless receiver has a USB-A port and a button to force pair with the headphones.
The microphone is quite flexible (in fact, it came fully folded), it connects via a 3.5mm double-pole mini-jack to the headset, and ends in a flat design which, although the manufacturer does not indicate not, seems unidirectional.
The carrying case appears to be neoprene with textile on the outside, it is quite light and seems very durable. It opens with a zipper and is adorned with the unique ASTRO logo.
At the opening of this case, we came across the perfectly protected headphones, as well as a small box in which the accessories that we have already shown you arrived. Here you can already see the outer part of the earmuffs, with this rather striking aesthetic.
Out of the box, meet the ASTRO A30 Wireless. Although the manufacturer has not specified its weight, they seem quite light.
One of the peculiarities of these headphones is the exterior of the earmuffs, with the cover that can be easily removed (the hook is magnetic) and that allows us to see the interchangeable interior, which is as standard made of a iridescent material that looks like burnt metal.
The headband is stretchy, and is adorned with a metal insert with the brand logo. It must be said that it is not the type of stretchy headband that “clicks”, but the movement is continuous and it feels like “plasticorro”, honestly.
Although quite light, the ear cups are relatively bulky, thanks to the good padding of their cushions. As we’ve said before, they’re not fabric or leather, or at least they don’t feel like it to the touch.
The headband is made of the same material, little to add here.
Both headphones are packed with buttons and connections. On the right we have the USB-C connector for charging the battery, as well as a kind of 4-way joystick that is used to raise and lower the volume and, depending on the device it is connected to, can be used to skip songs, pause (by tapping), etc. Here too we have the on/off button and the Bluetooth pairing button.
On the left earphone, there are the two analog connection minijacks (one for the microphone) and the microphone mute button. Likewise, it is in this earmuff that there is a perforation behind which the integrated microphone is hidden, in case we do not want to use the one on the stem.
Of course inserting and removing the mic is a breeze as it’s a standard 3.5mm analog connection it just has a knot so you have to insert it in the same position every time .
Seeing how these ASTRO A30 Wireless look from the outside, it’s time to put them to the test.
How does the ASTRO A30 Wireless work?
Let’s start by talking about comfort and ergonomics. The adjustment of the headband, although it seems strange, is quite stable and it is easy to adjust them to the size of everyone’s head. Plus, since the earcups rotate 90 degrees, they easily conform to the shape of your head.
The fit is very good, closing the ear almost completely inside the helmet to isolate us from outside noise… and that’s something they do wonderfully, they isolate a lot of noise, although the counterpart of this is a lot of perspiration and heat is generated… unfortunately, and although they are very comfortable and very light, they are not earphones to wear for more than a few hours for this reason.
We initially tested the ASTRO A30s on PC, but since they don’t have a specific app, the ASTRO Windows Store app doesn’t detect them and neither does Logitech G Hub, PC usage we have them given was rather circumstantial, and soon we will let you know our impressions on this subject. For this reason, we started connecting them to the smartphone via Bluetooth and using the Logitech app for their configuration, where we had no problem doing it.
From the main screen we have access to all its functions, and we can, for example, see the exact state of the battery, configure the volume manually, change profiles or configure the options of each of the profiles (it are two by default, but you can create others).
For example, the configuration of the microphones in each profile is very interesting. We can configure the internal and the external independently, and we will be able to select the noise reduction that we want to apply, as well as what Logitech has called “side tone”, which is nothing more than a return (s listen, something interesting about these headphones that isolate so much noise).
In the Equalizer section there are also two preconfigured profiles, but we can create our own if we want. Also, it’s great that there is a button to test the sound with a preset sound.
As for the profiles, there are also two pre-configured ones, but we can modify them, delete them and create new ones to leave the configuration as we like. What it doesn’t give is the ability to change button assignments on the physical joystick that we saw earlier.
The sound quality of these ASTRO A30 Wireless is quite good, without being impressive. The highs and mids are fairly crisp, but not too rich in nuance, while the lows are decent, without anything spectacular. In fact, we expected more impressive sound from headphones in this price range, and while the sound quality is pretty good, it’s still just that, good.
We also wanted to test this capability that the manufacturer was talking about, which consists of connecting the headphones with the USB dongle and, at the same time, via Bluetooth. In our case we tested it with the headphones connected to a PS4 and, at the same time, to the smartphone, and the result was very satisfactory because we could concentrate on the game (remember that they isolate a lot noise ), and listen to phone notifications without problems.
As for battery life, the manufacturer wasn’t lying and in our testing it lasted us around 30 hours, albeit at a fairly low volume. It must also be said that the manufacturer says that the maximum range of use is 15 meters, but in reality it is much less… in our case, at 10 meters the connection was already lost, and without walls between the two (at least with the USB key). Even so, we consider it to be more than enough.
Conclusion and judgment
The ASTRO A30 Wireless are headphones with many lights and shadows, at least from our perspective. They have a really spectacular aesthetic, worthy of users who like to show off and personalize their devices, and they are very, very comfortable and light, ideal to use on the go, especially since having a built-in microphone, you can remove the rod if you want to take them with you.
The sound is just good, nothing spectacular, and honestly we expected better given that they cost 269 dollars. This does not mean that the sound is bad, far from it, just that we expected something much better. Overall, they continue to be a great option for users who want comfortable headphones that they can use on all of their devices, as we think the biggest benefit they offer is their cross-platform compatibility: PC, Mac, consoles, mobile phones and any other audio device with analog output.
Another advantage of these headphones is that they have excellent battery life, which together with their carrying case seems ideal for taking them from place to place and using them anywhere.
For all these reasons, we think these ASTRO A30 Wireless deserve our gold medal, as well as our recommendation for their design.
