Astro A40 TR Mod Kit Review
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Contents
The Astro A40 Mod Kit comes with:
Two faux leather ear pads
Two speaker tags
Headband padding
Voice isolating mic
Mod Kit parts on the left and stock parts on the right.
I bought the Call of Duty version of the Mod Kit for $60. There are other colors and versions. Click the Amazon link to see the current pricing.
Installation
The Astro A40 TR is designed to be used with the mod kit. The mic can be pulled right out, and the speaker tags and ear pads can just be pulled off since they're held on by magnets.
The installation of the mod kit is overall really easy except the headband. It's a bit awkward to pull apart the first time, but after that it's looser and you can do it in a few seconds.
The only thing I can really say is pull both sides straight out, but it did take me a few minutes the first time, and I watched a video of someone else having issues with it too.
Performance
Call of Duty: Vanguard with the Mod Kit installed.
So what does the mod kit do? Three things. It improves comfort, seals in sound, and gives you a voice isolating mic.
Mod Kit Comfort
Comfort is subjective, and I actually find both the stock ear pads that are some sort of soft fabric like ear muffs and the mod kit pads to be equally comfortable.
I honestly don't have a preference, and of all the headsets I own, I find the A40 and A50 to be the most comfortable overall. I don't really feel the headband at all either way, but the mod kit padding has more give.
Mod Kit Sound Quality
Stock speaker tag.
Gap left by the stock speaker tags.
I think the real reason to get the Mod Kit is for the sound seal. By default, the A40 is an open back headset. The speaker tags on the outside leave a gap which lets air and sound leak in and out. That's by design.
The speaker tags on the mod kit have some rubber to seal up that opening. In addition, the pleather ear cushions fit very snug and the material does an even better job than the default fabric to trap the sound inside and keep sounds from outside from getting in.
It really puts you in your own world, and other people won't hear your audio unless they're right next to you and you crank the volume all the way up.
Rubber sealing on the Mod Kit speaker tags.
From a sound quality perspective, I prefer the closed back option because the bass can be felt more without actually increasing the volume of low frequencies which might overpower other sounds. It also just sounds less "airy".
You only hear the sound from the drivers to your ears. Not it venting out. So for music, I'm all about it. It's kind of like listening to someone speaking really close to a mic (with the mod kit), or being a few more inches away without it.
Or being in a sound treated booth with the mod kit or just a small room with flat walls without it.
So does this help tactically in games? I played a ton of Call of Duty with the mod kit on and off and going through a bunch of EQ presets - most of which I made my own. The answer is no. The modkit doesn’t help or hurt performance. It's really just your preference.
I've read people say that open back headphones are somehow better for FPS games because it lets you get better "positional audio". I’ve been A/B testing the mod kit on and off for weeks while working on this review.
The idea that open back is better for positional audio is complete BS.
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War with stock parts.
An open back headset will make everything sound farther away. A closed back will make everything sound closer. But how far objects are in relation to your character in the game isn't going to change at all.
That's the sound design of the game. And how well that is conveyed is the quality of the drivers. Not whether the headset is open or closed back.
Mod Kit Mic Quality
Stock mic (left) and Mod Kit mic.
It will be easier to follow along with my mod kit mic tests in my video review, but here is the raw audio so you can take a listen.
The mod kit mic is very similar quality to the stock mic. It's not very good. I should say by headset standards it's actually well above average. But compared to a $30 USB condenser mic, it can’t compete.
The mod kit mic gives you slightly better voice isolation. However, that's mostly going to come from the Mixamp and the Astro Command Center software which applies a noise gate and some sort of aggressive noise reduction filter.
The software works with any headset mic plugged into the Mixamp. The actual mod kit mic itself is not really doing a whole lot of work.
If you’re looking to get the Mod Kit mic to cut out background noise like keyboard typing, PC fans, or even other people, skip this. I would either get a dynamic mic or dabble with some noise reduction filters.
Testing the Mod Kit mic with different noise gates and noise reduction filters by Astro.
Verdict
I recommend the Astro A40 TR Mod Kit. The designs are sick, the comfort is top notch, I like the closed back option. I use it on mine. However, just like the mixamp, it's not required and don't feel pressured to buy it. It's a nice extra if you have the extra money.
Product Listings
Astro A40 TR with Mixamp: https://amzn.to/303c7W9
Astro A40 TR Mod Kit: https://amzn.to/3EUCn3A
