GoKawiilWhy you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Logitech-owned gaming headset brand Astro is all about gaming. So much so that its headsets are not really designed for any type of non-gaming listening, which is why they connect with multiple gaming devices and are surprisingly... unportable. But since we're looking for the best gaming headsets , this is right up our alley.
The Astro A20 X is a lightweight wireless gaming headset designed to connect to two devices (it's compatible with Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and, of course, PCs), with a detachable boom microphone, and bright, attractive RGB lighting. It looks a lot like the Logitech G522 we recently reviewed, because the design is practically identical — the main difference is that the A20 X comes with a multi-device base station while the G522 does not. The A20 X is also about $40 pricier than the G522, at $179.99.
Design and Comfort of the A20 X
The A20 X is a wireless over-ear (circumaural) headset with a lightweight plastic build, an elastic strap for adjustment, and bright, customizable RGB lighting on the earcups. It features a detachable boom microphone and it comes with a small wireless base station that lets you connect the headset to two devices at once — PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch. The A20 X comes in black and white colorways; our review unit came in white. The white headset features light gray cloth-covered earpads and red accents — the underside of the headband, the quick-switch button, and the mic-mute button are all red. The black version has the same red accents, but the earpads are black to match the frame.
Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The A20 X doesn't look too different from other lightweight, all-plastic wireless headsets, such as the Corsair Void Wireless v2 . But it especially doesn't look different from other lightweight, all-plastic headsets from Logitech — in fact, it's virtually identical to the Logitech G522 headset. It's the exact same headset, build-wise: It has the same angular plastic earcups, the same split plastic headband, the same stretchy, elastic adjustment strap — it even has the same mirrored silver Logitech G logo on the yokes. The main difference between the A20 X and the Logitech G522 is the A20 X's base station, which allows you to connect to two devices, e.g. a PC and a console, and quickly switch between them.
Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Adjustment-wise, the A20 X is pretty minimal — perhaps too minimal. The earcups tilt and pivot slightly to better fit your head, but do not swivel to lie flat (or anywhere close to that). They are not height adjustable at all — instead, height adjustment is via the elastic ski-band-like strap that connects to two plastic protrusions on the inside of the headband. The strap has two notches on each side, which gives you a total of three different lengths (four, I suppose, if you count removing the strap altogether). This isn't a lot, and the headband is pretty stretchy — I found that even the shortest setting was a little too big for me. Luckily, the headset was light enough that it didn't cause much discomfort, but I did occasionally feel like the headset was slipping down/off.
Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
... continue reading