One of our favorite wireless headsets just got an audio upgrade

Astro Gaming likes to freshen up its A50 wireless headset on occasion, as it did a couple of years ago, and has now done yet again. Not that we're complaining—the A50 is one of the best wireless gaming headsets on the market, and very close to being the overall top pick in the wireless category.

One thing that held it back from pole position is the battery charge. There have been issues with battery draining while the headset is off, with some users having reported trouble getting the headset to properly charge in the first place. It's not clear how widespread the issue actually is, however.

The new and improved A50 wireless headset and base station combo touts the same 15+ hours of battery life as the previous iteration. For this new version, Astro Gaming said it made a "host of improvements to audio performance, wireless range, docking and charging, mic clarity, and more." Hopefully that means any charging issues users might have previously experienced are gone on this new version.

As it pertains to that, Astro Gaming says the all-new base station makes pairing and charging the headset simple, while also providing low-latency voice communication. We haven't spent any hands or ears-on time with this latest build, but did find that the previous version offered "flawless in-game sound and bomb-proof build quality."

As with before, buyers can tack on an A50 Mod Kit for added comfort. The optional upgrade consists of a leatherette headband and leather ear cushions that can be swapped with the original ones. According to Astro Gaming, the leather accessories also provide added noise isolation.

This is a headset geared toward both PC and console gaming. As such, users can choose between a PC/Xbox One or PC/PlayStation 4 version. Both are available to preorder now for $299.99, or $339.98 with the Mod Kit. The updated A50 will ship sometime this summer.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

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