Astro A30 vs A40
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Differences Summary
Connectivity and Controls
Headphone Audio Quality
Microphone Audio Quality
Software
Comfort and Build Quality
Verdict
Differences Summary
The Astro A30 can be used wirelessly or wired, and the A40 can only be used wired.
The A30 has an integrated mic along with a boom mic. The A40 only uses a boom mic.
The A30 comes with pleather ear cushions and an all plastic frame. The A40 uses velour ear cushions and has some metal on the headband.
The A30 includes a carrying case for storing the headset and all its accessories.
The A30 connects to the Logitech G phone app. The A40 doesn’t directly pair to any software.
The A30 sounds more open and emphasizes mids and highs, while the A40 is more bass heavy.
Connectivity and Controls
A30
The A30 is compatible with all consoles, but there is an Xbox and PlayStation specific version so make sure you get the right one to get the corresponding wireless transmitter. The A30 can play audio from 3 different sources at the same time. It comes with a 2.4 GHz wireless dongle and it can play audio from that, Bluetooth, and the 3.5 mm cable all at once.
The left earcup has a power button on the top that turns the device on or off when held for 3 seconds. The battery is stated to last 27 hours. My A30 had a bug where it would not turn off at all until I factory reset the device with the phone app.
Under the power button is a Bluetooth button that can set the device into pairing mode when held. Once you pair to another device, Bluetooth cannot be turned off separately. The A30 will always try to connect to the last device it was paired to whenever it’s powered on in the future unless you factory reset it.
At the bottom is a joystick control. Tilting it up or down increases the headphone gain. Tilting left or right adjusts the game/chat volume mix. Clicking the joystick in gives access to the usual Bluetooth controls such as answering calls or skipping tracks.
Finally, on the right earcup is a mic mute switch.
A40
The A40 is a wired only headset that connects using a 3.5 mm cable. When bought alone it comes with a splitter for desktop PC use. It can be purchased in a bundle with the MixAmp Pro, but I won’t be covering that in this article. I went over it in a different one.
The only control on the A40 is a mic mute switch on the inline cable. Mine has never worked since I bought it.
Headphone Audio Quality
Control with the A30.
Black Ops - Cold War with the A40.
The A30 sounds much more open and spacious than the A40. Part of that is due to the frequency response tuning. The A40 has far more midbass and sub-bass and that extends into the mids. There’s a lot of power in the low end, and the entire sound is a lot darker. Every time you pick up an object in the game Control, the swooshing wind noise and vibrations sound excellent in the A40. The A30 lacks that bite.
The A30 has a sound signature closer to the Cloud II where the upper mids and highs take over. It’s not necessarily more detailed than the A40, but the tone is different. The sound is much thinner, and some people will enjoy this for FPS games since it helps footsteps stand out from rumbles and explosions.
The A40 is semi-open back while the A30 is completely closed back, but the A40 still sounds very closed off. I find the A40 to sound much more natural, and it’s an easy pick for me for both single player games and music. The A30 just can’t deliver the same power or quality of bass that the A40 can. The driver starts to make a hollow metallic clanging sound when you try to boost the low end too much.
Even for Call of Duty and other shooters, I prefer the A40. It just needs a bit of EQ to brighten up the upper mids and restrain the bass to help pinpoint footsteps and weapon fire.
Microphone Audio Quality
The A40 Mic Tests were done with it plugged into the MixAmp simply because the bundle I bought didn’t come with a splitter. So when I mention the noise gate setting in the recording, that’s controlled in the Astro Command Center program.
The A40’s mic is much better than the A30’s boom mic and integrated mic. The A30 mics are a lot more nasally and lack fullness in the lower bass. The A40’s isn’t amazing though. It’s pretty muffled compared to a dedicated USB or XLR microphone.
Still, the background noise rejection is great on both boom mics. Plus, the integrated mic of the A30 is quite useable on the go or for phone calls. The position of it makes it susceptile to picking up much more ambience and it hollows out vocals, but it’s far better than the Razer Barracuda Pro mic for example.
Software
Logitech G phone app.
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The A30 can be controlled with the Logitech G app for Android or iPhone. This app lets you adjust the EQ, noise gate, sidetone, sleep timer, and other functions. Without this app, many of those adjustments cannot be made at all. That’s unfortunate since that app is very buggy and often won’t detect the A30 at all or will just pop up error messages when trying to control it.
That’s pretty typical for Logitech software.
Astro Command Center.
Since the A40 only connects using a 3.5 mm cable, it doesn’t have any direct software support. However, the MixAmp Pro is compatible with Astro Command Center for PC. I talk more about this in my A40 vs A50 article.
Comfort and Build Quality
The A30 is made completely of plastic, while the A40 has some metal on the frame connecting the headband to the earcups. To this day I don’t know what kind of metal it is.
The A30’s ear pads are pleather with memory foam inside. They’re very comfortable at first, but the clamping force is a bit much considering that the memory foam is pretty stiff. The A40 comes with velour pads and they can be swapped out for pleather when you buy the Mod Kit.
Both devices can swivel to be rested on your shoulders, but the clamp of the A30 makes this quite uncomfortable. I’d only do this with the A40. After I use the A30 for longer, I’ll be able to comment more on its durability, but the A40 gets scuffed very easily and most of the paint has chipped off after just a year of use. So I give the comfort W to the A40, but the build/durability jury is still out.
My A40 looks scuffed bad.
Verdict
I much prefer the Astro A40 over the A30. The bass is superior and it’s more comfortable. I recommend the A40 to fellow bassheads and for those that want a more comfortable device. If you’re in the market for the A40, I’d also look into the Drop + EPOS PC38X which I enjoy even more.
I recommend the Astro A30 for those interested in its features and portability and care more about mids and highs in their sound. Still, if you’re thinking of spending the $230 launch price of the A30, consider the Audeze Penrose. It’s also supports 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth simultaneous audio, but the sound quality decimates both the A30 and A40 in every way.
Product Links
Astro A30: https://amzn.to/3ejKjnz
Astro A40 TR (alone): https://amzn.to/3qfdyLV
Astro A40 TR with MixAmp: https://amzn.to/303c7W9
Astro A40 TR Mod Kit: https://amzn.to/3EUCn3A
Astro MixAmp Pro TR: https://amzn.to/3kewJlb
