The Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset: Quality audio across all your devices

The Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset is the latest headset offering from Logitech. It is a top-tier, high quality peripheral device in my view, but it is not for the casual gamer. It delivers superb audio quality, plenty of accessibility and compatibility, and a broadcast quality microphone. But, with a price tag of $749.95, this isn’t a headset for everyone. The question has to be asked: is it worth it? I’ve been lucky enough to be using this new headset the past few weeks. So, what’s my answer to that question..?

 

The upgrades are beyond skin deep

I’ve been rocking the Astro A50 (Gen 4) on my gaming PC since August 2020. The headset has been well and truly put through its paces. I game. A lot. I also watch my fair share of television on my PC.

After probably thousands of hours, the headset still holds up. The matt coating peeled off; I had a bug that took extensive googling and some creativity to get the firmware to update to fix the problem; and the boom microphone, while still works, now drops to fully extended once out of the locked position and lost its ‘ratchet’ positioning ability. But the headset has been a solid performer, still comfortable, with battery life and audio quality still great.

Pulling the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset out of the box, I have to say, I did a double take. It looks and feels identical to the previous model. Apparently it’s 20g lighter, but that’s hard to notice on your head when the previous model wasn’t exactly heavy. Slipping the headset onto my head, it was a well-worn pair of slippers. Instantly comfortable, familiar, ready to do their job.

But you have to go digging for the upgrades. Because, truly, this headset looks almost identical: the same ear coverings, the same microphone boom, the same headband, the same base station design and charge contacts. The most noticeable difference, besides adding Logitech to the branding instead of the Astro division, is the rear of the base unit.

Otherwise, it’s hard to tell what the difference is… at first. (And, trust me, while I’m burying the lead, it’s one you’ll hear clearly.)

 

Flexibility of the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset

One of the biggest changes with the new version headset is its compatibility with next-gen consoles. The previous headset had an Xbox and PC version and a Playstation and PC version. This Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset has you covered for PC, Xbox Series S|X and Playstation 5. In fact, you can rock all three through the base unit at the same time, switching between them with the press of a button on the side of the headset.

This does mean some noticeable changes at the back of the base.

On the A50 (Gen 4)’s, there was the micro-USB input (urgh), an AUX input, optical audio in and out, and a physical switch to switch between PC and Xbox. There was also a handy USB-A port for charging devices. But that’s not the case anymore.

The Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset wields a USB-C cable that splits and goes to a mains-power power supply and a USB cable to your PC. I’m all for upgrades to USB-C, so that’s a win in my books!

(And, yes, you read that right: this headset plugs into mains power, so keep that in mind with your power management.)

For Xbox Series S|X and Playstation 5, each console has a USB-C port and HDMI input with a HDMI-output to your TV. This means that everything is plugged in, at once, and you can switch between them via your headset. This does mean you lose the USB charging port on the base station, but, really, that’s not that big a deal.

But, wait, there’s more…

Bluetooth: the ALMOST perfect addition

Besides PC and consoles, there’s an extra bit of compatibility which is almost a perfect winner for me.

Bluetooth.

I say almost, and I’ll explain why.

The ability to connect a device via Bluetooth is a very welcome addition. It means, my home office setup, which features my gaming computer and work laptop, can have one less peripheral on the desktop. My desk now features a Logitech G915 TKL keyboard and a Logitech G309 mouse, which allow connections via wireless and Bluetooth, meaning my gaming computer is all connected wirelessly and, with the press of a button on each device, I can switch and use the same devices on my work laptop via Bluetooth.

Adding Bluetooth to the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset has given me the same option. This means I don’t have to keep two headsets on my desk anymore. As such, in the morning, I turn on my work laptop and the headset will connect via Bluetooth and I can use the headset (for audio and microphone) for work calls. Then, of night, I switch on my gaming PC and enjoy the sweet, sweet audio from music, movies and games through the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset.

BUT…

It’s worth noting that the Bluetooth connects to the base station.

This is a massive L for me and a big missed opportunity from Logitech.

Yup, all audio needs to go through the base station. Which makes perfect sense for PC, Playstation and Xbox. But, with the impressive battery life (more on that in a bit), comfort, and quality, I do so wish the Bluetooth receiver was integrated into the headset instead of the base unit. This would allow me to throw the headset into my work bag for when I have to head into the office. Admittedly, the headset is not exactly small and compact that’d fit in a bag easily, and while it is built solidly, such abuse would take a toll over time, but it’d be quite handy all the same.

At least at home, I’m down a headset on my desk and I can leave the other ones in my work bag now.

 

Battery Life

Before I get into audio quality, let’s talk battery life, which has had a big upgrade.

It’s a tad disturbing at how good the battery life is on this headset, with claims of 24 hours playtime at 78 dB. I believe that.

I’ll get up and jump into work in the morning. Be in calls, and sometimes listening to tunes through the headset, most of the day. Turn off my work laptop. Leave the headset on my desk, cook some dinner, and come back and game into the night. And when I hit bed, I still have 40-50% battery left.

LONG gaming sessions on your console on your couch will be no problem for this headset. Even with your phone connected via Bluetooth.

As I write this, I’ve been rocking tunes and TV the last four hours, and the software tells me I have 90% battery and approximately 22 hours left of battery life.

I will note, though, that I have had a couple of failed headset seatings in the base station already. I had the same problem with the previous model. Having the exact same base unit / charging points as the previous model, the extra battery life is handy for the rare time you miss the contacts just right and your headset doesn’t charge overnight. But, if you do, the headset also charges very quickly when sat back in the base station.

In brief, I doubt you’ll have any issues with battery life here.

Quality audio that will have you fully immersed

So, my Astro A50 (Gen 4) had some great quality audio. I’d played around with EQ settings on it before and had a pretty damn good sound coming through. I definitely never had issue with the quality I was achieving.

When I first threw on the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset, I didn’t really notice much difference. For a headset that looked identical, it made me wonder if nothing had changed. The new headset rocks 40mm PRO-G Graphene drivers and has Dolby Atmos (and Windows Sonic Spatial), and, through PC, pumps out 24bit/48kHz quality audio through Logitech’s LIGHTSPEED Wireless.

But it wasn’t until I jumped into the software (more on that below), and moved from default (that sounded like my A50 (Gen 4)) to other EQ presets, that the potential of the headset came to the floor. The ability to create your own EQ settings for the audio from the headset or the recording quality of the microphone, as well as simply downloading any of 100s from the community, boosts this headset to another level.

The audio is crystal clear, rich, full.

I’m not saying I’m an audio engineer, but I’ve spent a LOT of my time with music, including doing plenty of video work for musicians in a former life. Now, I can’t give you all the fancy audio graphs (perhaps check over at rtings.com for those), but I can tell you that I enjoy the sound that I achieve from this headset immensely. Music and video are a pleasure to listen to, and gaming is great.

It is easy to adjust your sidetone (so you can hear yourself through the headset and don’t yell loud enough for the neighbours to hear) and adjust the balance between voice audio or game audio. Same as before, too, you can simply press the buttons on the right earpiece to adjust the balance between game and voice, which is very handy to make sure hear your teammates in the heat of battle.

With that said, with the standard ear coverings (and, noting I don’t know if Logitech offer the leather padded ear pieces that provide better noise insulation and isolation), there is some pretty wicked audio bleed that happens if you have your volume up. If you’re on the couch playing Xbox while your partner reads, expect to get told to turn it down. Similarly, one thing that goes against the headset for work calls, is the audio bleed could mean work calls are overheard. But, for me at least, none of that is an issue.

 

Broadcast quality recording on the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset

One REALLY noticeable upgrade is the microphone. Now offering a broadcast quality 48kHz full bandwidth microphone, for those of you that are streamers or podcasters, this headset offers you a beautiful sound without having to resort to a dedicated microphone.

And when I say it’s a noticeable upgrade, it really is. The first thing my gaming mates said when I joined with the new microphone was how much better I sounded on Discord.

I could continue to talk about this, but there’s no real point when I can let some recordings do the talking. Noting, though, the below are raw audio without any post-production and with pretty basic EQ tweaks. If I was recording a podcast, there’s plenty you could tweak both pre- and post-production to get a top quality sound.

Have a listen to an audio recording from my A50 (Gen 4) headset:

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Now listen to the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset (with the default EQ):

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And finally, the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset with a custom EQ:

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Same as fine-tuning your audio output, if you head into the Logitech G-Hub software there is the option to go customise your EQ or download dozens of presets from the community. It is pretty easy to fine tune your audio to suit your voice and get it just right for your production. With what you lose SLIGHTLY on quality compared to, say, a dedicated microphone like the Blue Yeti X, you pick up on convenience. This headset really does offer an all-in-one option.

 

The Logitech G-Hub Software

If you happen to have a suite of Logitech gear like I do now, it’s nice having all the devices controlled by the one software program. The Astro A50 (Gen 4) had to run a different program, being the ASTRO Command Center. Since Logitech have welcomed the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset back into the fold with all its other peripherals, the new headset just adds itself alongside my keyboard, mouse and wireless charge pad for control through the Logitech G-Hub.

The software itself is quite good, with the ability to adjust EQs for both the microphone and audio output or use presets as mentioned above.

The first time I explored the software, though, I will say I had to fumble around a fair bit to find the settings for sidetone and balance and power management. To find them, click the Settings Cog down the bottom on the device screen. It’s perfectly logical, but, between the “Meet A50 X” popups and what not, I just struggled the first time. Perhaps turning 40 has made tech a bit harder for me to navigate…

 

A quick note on the range

Before wrapping up, it’s worth noting that the headset has a range of approximately 12 metres from the base station. According to specifications, this is apparently a reduction compared to the previous headset. In reality, though, I find it stays connected more reliably at range. My fridge is range tester; I keep connection and ability to talk to mates when I go to the fridge during gaming sessions and maintain connection and audio fidelity, which wasn’t always the case. This is extremely handy and a big plus for those of us that find themselves sitting in front of their screens way too much. It’s particularly nice to walk out into my front yard to get some sun during a long meeting.

(As always, do ensure you take off your headset before heading to the bathroom. At the very least, lift the microphone boom up to auto-mute. I’m looking at you, countless past clan-mates, who accidentally broadcast the wrong stream.)

 

A request for the next model?

Looking at my Logitech devices on my desk in the dark, there’s one thing that is strangely inconsistent. The Logitech G. On my keyboard and wireless chargepad, the G is customisable RGB burning bright. My mouse has no RGB in it at all and sits almost invisible on the black chargepad. And the base station of the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset has blinking lights for charge levels and the PC light indicating I’m currently connected to my PC.

The Logitech G is invisible in the dark with no RGB and no function.

A handy feature would be a simple little RGB in there that glows when your headset is cradled correctly in the base station and is charging. Be so much better glance value over the small blinking dots that, without my glasses, are blurs that I obviously have missed a few times already when putting my headset up for the night to charge.

 

Final thoughts on the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset

This headset is a solid piece of gear.

It provides a lightweight (all things considered) and comfortable headset with long-lasting battery life and great range which will let you game for hours.

Audio is crisp, crystal and rich across a range of mediums (music, video, gaming, voice calls).

It provides flexibility to change between your next-gen gaming platforms and/or work systems.

And it provides a great broadcast quality microphone in an all-in-one gaming headset.

But, similarly, it comes with a hefty price tag of $749.95.

Does it provide the audio quality you would get from a dedicated, high-end noise cancelling wireless headset? Perhaps not. Does it provide the broadcast quality you would get from a dedicated, high-end microphone? No. (Although, I tell you what, this one goes a lot closer than any other gaming headset I’ve seen for a while.)

But it provides you superb quality in terms of both audio input and output in one comfortable unit that is not one to be sneezed at if, like me, you are almost permanently sporting your gaming headset.

This isn’t going to be something everyone is going to be able to afford. But it’s one to definitely consider if you game for lengthy periods of time and can spend this kind of money in our current cost-of-living crisis.

I guess the big question is this: If I didn’t have the privilege of having a review unit provided by Logitech to put through its paces, would I be heading out to buy one? Honestly, due to the amount of time I wear a headset, the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset is something that would definitely be one I would consider if I was in need for a new headset.

On the bright side, it’s a good hundo cheaper getting it from Amazon.

DRN would like to thank Logitech for providing the review unit.