Astro Gaming A40 Audio System

Gaming audio is one of those areas that have really come into its own in the past couple of years. An immersive audio experience can go a long way to pull the player into the game world. Unfortunately, to get a good positional experience, most users have had to resort to 5.1 speaker sets. While no one questions their effectiveness, they do tend to question things like space availability and price when one considers a 5.1 system. It’s also no fun to have to turn your speakers down if you want to engage in any late night gaming sessions without waking the neighbors.


Thankfully, manufacturers have been developing good surround headsets for years now, although their positional performance has traditionally lagged behind that of 5.1 speaker systems. A drawback to a gaming headset is that most of them are designed around PC gaming with 6-channel analog inputs. Consoles, especially the current generation, make use of TOSlink optical connections and Dolby Digital surround, preventing Xbox and PS3 players from enjoying a private gaming session. Astro Gaming is the latest manufacturer to tackle this problem with their A40 Audio System.

The A40 Audio system is actually two different products that work in conjunction to provide a discrete surround experience: the A40 Mixamp and A40 Headset. While Astro Gaming sells the products separately for $129.95 and $199.95 respectively, you can purchase both in a bundle for $249.95. While this route is certainly cheaper than buying them separately, it’s by no means a small chunk of change. Before we start focusing on price, let’s take a look at what the A40 audio system has to offer.