Astro A10 Gen 1 vs Gen 2 Review | A is for Accessible

Astro A10 Gen Comparison Review | Astro have made a bit of a name for themselves with their headsets. Their entry level units are affordable, comfortable and have decent sound for the cost.

Read our original Astro A10 Gen 2 Review here

a brand owned by Logitech, their quality control requirements are understandably high, but does the phrase “You get what you pay for” apply here?

I was given two A10 units. a Gen 1 and Gen 2. Logitech were kind enough to allow me to review them comparatively.

Cable Ties

The A10 from the first generation is an analog gaming headset offering a boom microphone, generous padding and comfort via good amounts of adjustment. Both units came with the same analog cable. One end of the cable connects into the headphone and resembles a 3.5mm combo jack, but is longer by a few millimeters.

Both the generation 1 and 2 come with the same cable and the cable is prone to failure. Astro will replace these at no cost but you may have to buy an extra in case. The main issue here was that one ear cup would stop working as the cable wore down.

Since both units share the same cable, you get the volume control in-line, which, though limited, is a far cry better than having to adjust volume on your keyboard. The insertion points for the cables have changed between the first and second generation.

It’s All About Comfort

The Gen 2 model Astro sent us which came in white trim had more padding at the top of the headset. This made it much more comfortable than the Gen 1. There wasn’t much of a difference in the way each felt over my head but having more softness on the top of my head did help. The Gen 2 had thinner foam pads around the ear cups compared to the Gen 1 but this didn’t have much of an effect on my perceived comfort. Both got hot as the hours wore on, and this held true for both high end and low end headsets.

There was some exposed wiring, much like the Sennheiser HD25s, which I thought was a fun design cue. I’d call the design on the second generation a little more adventurous, while being functional. The labels for right and left channels are now in the ear cups, which is far easier to read before putting on as opposed to the older model which has a smaller piece of text above each ear cup.

I did expect that both A10 models I received had swivelling, which my Audiotechica SJ55s did have, and would’ve differentiated it from some headsets in a similar price range.

Both Gen 1 and 2 are compatible with PC, Xbox and PlayStation due to connecting through an analog photo 3.5mm jack. It’ll also work on your smartphone, which is a bonus.

All About That Bass

For an entry level device both the A10s given to me had deep, wide bass and warm mids but didn’t have sparkly highs. This is no surprise given the price point of R1200 but they definitely did not sound as good as my Audiotechnica SJ55s. They sounded okay, which is fine if you are playing games and the bass response does help since most gaming audio is so low-end heavy.

The microphone worked as claimed and everyone heard me but it was nowhere near as good as the G733 headset I reviewed a few months ago. There were no complaints in meetings either. Again, this is no surprise since the G733 is a premium headset and comes in at double the price. For the price, though, the A10 Gen1 and Gen 2 microphones are star performers.

Verdict

For the price, I recommend it as a starter headset, or if you do meetings often as it will last longer than a dedicated headset like the Logitech H390 and has replaceable parts.

While the design of the Gen 2 is a little louder than the Gen 1, it’s largely the same product and I found both had similar audio characteristics. I had to equalise both to reduce the bass to allow more of the other frequencies to stand out.

Well done Astro, now please fix the cable issue in the next revision.