Lets face it, if you wanted the be all-end all of headsets for your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC co-op gaming experience you want the Astro A40's. Of course it sits firmly in the "get what you pay for" category with a $199.99 price tag. Today Astro has announced a new headset to its lineup, still compatible with the existing mix-amps that Astro makes, called the A30.
The Astro A30's feature all the same technology as the A40s, but in a smaller more compact design. Best of all? It's $50 cheaper at $149.99.
What makes these headsets so great? In terms of communication, the headsets let you daisy chain mixamps together to form a discrete voice channel for multiplayer gaming, perfect for setting your co-op team's voice apart from the rest of the game. The mixamps allow you to discretely adjust each channel to your liking, all while pumping out 5.1 Dolby Digital.
Still, the $149.99 price doesn't include a mix-amp, that'll set you back another $80 - making the point of entry just a bit too high for some. Is $230 too much for your ears?
ASTRO GAMING INTRODUCES THE ASTRO A30 CROSS-GAMING HEADSET
New ASTRO A30 Headset Leverages ASTRO’s Pro Video Gaming Audio Expertise
For Use Across Mobile Devices, Laptops, PCs and Consoles
SAN FRANCISCO – March 16, 2010 – ASTRO Gaming, creator of premium video gaming equipment for professional gamers, has launched the ASTRO A30 Cross-Gaming Headset, a professional-grade cross-gaming platform audio solution for gamers on-the-go. The ASTRO A30 Cross-Gaming Headset features a lightweight street-smart design and delivers tournament-level audio quality and crystal-clear voice communication across all types of digital entertainment devices including gaming consoles, PCs and mobile devices. All ASTRO Gaming products are available directly through the company website at: www.astrogaming.com.
“We’ve taken the DNA from ASTRO’s tournament-proven A40 pro gaming headset and injected our superior audio and voice communication technologies into a smaller, more lifestyle driven headset for gamers on-the-go,” said Brett Lovelady, Founder of ASTRO Gaming. “With the A30’s, you can play and chat at home through consoles and PCs, and then take it on the road, using A30s to listen to music and take phone calls on a smart phone, or play the latest portable video game systems with game quality sound. With so much flexibility, the A30 is simply the best cross-gaming, mobile savvy headset on the market.”
The ASTRO A30 Cross-Gaming Headset is the first audio equipment designed specifically to move freely between mobile, console and PC gaming platforms, as well as across all forms of digital entertainment. True to its cross-gaming claim, the highly portable, on-ear A30 headset comes with three audio cables for easy connection to a variety of mobile devices, gaming consoles and PCs. The A30 is also fully compatible with ASTRO’s award-winning Dolby®-powered ASTRO MixAmp™, the audio engine that seamlessly blends voice and game sounds.
“The A30's closed-ear design and street savvy styling lets gamers play out in public and still look great while doing it,” said Aron Drayer, Director of Marketing, ASTRO Gaming. “As with the ASTRO A40s, the ASTRO A30 Cross-Gaming Headset will allow users to fully customize the speaker tags with their own artwork or with our pre-loaded imagery. Clans and guilds can create tags for team members with group logos while other artistically inclined users can upload their own designs to make a unique personalized statement.”
Features include:
· Award-Winning ASTRO Gaming Sound and Voice Communication: The ASTRO A30 uses the same ASTRO Audio DNA developed for the critically-acclaimed A40 pro gaming headset.
· Dual Mic System: The removable boom mic provides perfect voice communication for tournament or home play, while the in-line mic allows for on-the-go phone conversations or internet chatting through handheld devices.
· Comfortable, Lightweight On-Ear Design: The ASTRO A30s are designed to be used outside in the real world, with noise-reducing closed backs and a street-smart, customizable design.
· Interchangeable Speaker Tags: As with the original A40 design, the ASTRO A30 headset features removable and customizable speaker tags that can be designed online to create a unique look for teams, clans, guilds or simply for pure personal expression.
· Ballistic Nylon Travel Case: The A30s come standard with a backpack friendly, protective case for traveling to tournaments or a friend’s house.
· ASTRO MixAmp Compatible: The ASTRO A30 headset is fully compatible with the ASTRO MixAmp system, which allows for full voice communication features across gaming consoles and personal computers.
· Cross-Gaming Cabling Included: The ASTRO A30 ships with three length appropriate audio cables standard to enable the headset’s superior audio across mobile, PC and gaming consoles.