Logitech Astro A50 X headset is a console and PC triple threat
Simultaneous PS5, Xbox and PC listening, no cable swapping required
If you split your gaming time across multiple consoles and/or a gaming PC, even the best gaming headsets can leave you scrabbling with USB cables or swapping dongles before you can sit down to play. That won’t be a problem for the Astro A50 X; this all-encompassing headset’s clever base station does all that for you with a single button press.
Using the firm’s new PlaySync tech, the Astro A50 X becomes a middle-man for console’s HDMI signals. It’ll pass a 4K/120p picture through to your TV, and take over audio duties while you’re wearing the headset. Once docked to the base station, sound is sent to your TV too.
Two HDMI 2.1 inputs and two USB connections let you hook up a PS5 and Xbox Series X simultaneously, then swap between them with a button on the headset; the video input changes at the same time, so you won’t need to swap TV channels. A third USB-C connection then handles PC audio – handy if your gaming monitor only plays nicely with DisplayPort.
The headset itself is good for 24 hours of play time between trips to the base station for charging, has built-in Bluetooth and dual device mixing so you can pair to a Nintendo Switch or other gaming handheld, and a boom microphone with 16-bit, 48kHz uplink Astro says is ‘broadcast quality’. The whole thing is made from a minimum of 35% post-consumer recycled content, too.
On the sound front, the A50 X uses 40mm dynamic drivers made from ultra-light graphene. These are smaller than the 50mm ones seen in the Logitech G Pro X 2, but still promise a level of sonic fidelity you just won’t get from other gaming headsets. You can tune separate EQs for the headphones and the microphone using parent company Logitech’s G-Hub desktop software or smartphone companion app.
The Astro A50 X will start shipping on the 20th of December in the US, directly from Logitech, with third-party retailers set to follow in early 2024. Expect to pay $380, in your choice of black or white colours.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
