Cut through the noise.
The bold design of the ASTRO A*STAR™ In-Ear Headset is the ultimate in hack-n-slash combat; featuring an in-line medallion with mic, volume dial and answer/hang up button, flat tangle-resistant cables, a PC splitter, three sizes of ear gels and a handy carrycase. Inspired by the light-weight materials and aggressive forms of high performance headgear, the A*STAR’s will cut through the noise, fully extending your audio arsenal to play your favorite mobile games, music, videos and voice on the go.
**Most importantly, the ASTRO MixAmp or MixAmp 5.8 MUST be purchased in order to enable 7.1 Dolby Surround in your A*STAR In-ear Headset.**
- ASTRO AUDIO - Featuring 9mm drivers and 20 – 20,000 Hz frequency response range, the A*STAR’s have been engineered to deliver clean, clear sound at every frequency, optimized for handheld gaming devices, mobile phones and media players.
- Medallion - The A*STAR’s control center includes a high performance mic and easily accessible controls for call answer/hang up, play/pause, mic mute and volume control.
- Flat Cables - Durable, highly-conductive, with the added benefit of resisting tangles.
- Windshield for Mic - Have a crystal clear conversation while braving the blistering winds.
- Carry Case - Multi-function pocket-size soft case to comfortably hold your A*STAR’s along with a portable audio or mobile phone device.
- Optional Upgrade - The A*STAR headsets work perfectly on portable gaming systems or mobile devices, but need to be teamed with a MixAmp or MixAmp 5.8 for use on a console. (The A*STAR mic is designed for mobile use so for use on XBL/PSN voice chat, you will need to move the medallion closer to your mouth.)
© TAITO CORPORATION 1978. 2011. All Rights Reserved. SPACE INVADERS and the Space Invader icons are trademarks or registered trademarks of Taito Corporation.
- • Drivers: 9mm
- • Transducer Principle : Dynamic, Closed
- • Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
- • Nominal Impedance : 32ohm
- • Characteristic SPL: 100+/-3dB @ 1kHz
- • Distortion: Less than 1% @ 1kHz
- • Connector: 3.5MM jack with PC splitter
Check out what the peeps are sayin'...
-
Official Xbox Magazine (US) March 2011
Astro A*Star - In-Ear Headset Exit only
Why review an in-ear headset, you might ask? In a word: Kinect. Ever since it released, we’ve been looking for a way to not only get our Dance Central on late at night without Soulja Boy’s wall-rattling beats waking other people in the house, but also avoid having big-can sets slide off our heads as we bust a move. Also, Astro’s product line is targeted directly at gamers. So could pairing the A*Stars with the belt-clip–enabled MixAmp 5.8 wireless receiver be the private Kinect audio system we’ve been looking for?
( full story... ) -
1UP October 2010
Hands-on With the MixAmp 5.8 and the A*Star Headset
I've mentioned in the past that I have become quite a fan of headphone gaming. Living with a girlfriend and having neighbors who don't appreciate a good subwoofer rocking the apartment will do that to a person. So when I was invited by Astro Gaming to come check out two of their newest products, I started to feel a geeky tingle of excitement in my knees to see what they've been cooking.
( full story... )
Why review an in-ear headset, you might ask? In a word: Kinect. Ever since it released, we’ve been looking for a way to not only get our Dance Central on late at night without Soulja Boy’s wall-rattling beats waking other people in the house, but also avoid having big-can sets slide off our heads as we bust a move. Also, Astro’s product line is targeted directly at gamers. So could pairing the A*Stars with the belt-clip–enabled MixAmp 5.8 wireless receiver be the private Kinect audio system we’ve been looking for?
In a word: yes. Jacking the A*Stars into the MixAmp, then running the tangle-free A*Star cord (they wisely used flat cables, though they can still knot on occasion) up under your shirt works perfectly. We had a bit of trouble getting our earbuds to stay in, but we blame that on our ears and not the product; it’s tough to fault Astro when they include three different-sized earpieces in the box. And the sound quality from the little A*Stars is fantastic, particularly at the low end. We were able to Hook, Step, and Double Dig ’Em with little-to-no fussing or loss in audio fidelity. Whether we were gaming or listening to music, the Astro product sounded phenomenal.
Our only issue cropped up during phone calls, if you choose to use them outside of gaming. While moving and talking, we’d sometimes hear a slight, momentary ticking sound. It goes away after a second, though, and the person on the other end of the line heard us loud and clear. It’s not a deal-breaker, and considering that these trounce the Apple in-ear headphones in both sound- and build-quality for the exact same price, it’s tough not to recommend the A*Stars. — Ryan McCaffrey
+ Fantastic sound quality for the money, particularly on the low end.
+ Tangle-free wires. Woohoo!
- Occasional brief ticking sound during phone calls.
? Do the perfect in-ear headphones (with an in-line microphone) exist somewhere out there?
VERDICT - 8.5
Click here to read the review!
In a word: yes. Jacking the A*Stars into the MixAmp, then running the tangle-free A*Star cord (they wisely used flat cables, though they can still knot on occasion) up under your shirt works perfectly. We had a bit of trouble getting our earbuds to stay in, but we blame that on our ears and not the product; it’s tough to fault Astro when they include three different-sized earpieces in the box. And the sound quality from the little A*Stars is fantastic, particularly at the low end. We were able to Hook, Step, and Double Dig ’Em with little-to-no fussing or loss in audio fidelity. Whether we were gaming or listening to music, the Astro product sounded phenomenal.
Our only issue cropped up during phone calls, if you choose to use them outside of gaming. While moving and talking, we’d sometimes hear a slight, momentary ticking sound. It goes away after a second, though, and the person on the other end of the line heard us loud and clear. It’s not a deal-breaker, and considering that these trounce the Apple in-ear headphones in both sound- and build-quality for the exact same price, it’s tough not to recommend the A*Stars. — Ryan McCaffrey
+ Fantastic sound quality for the money, particularly on the low end.
+ Tangle-free wires. Woohoo!
- Occasional brief ticking sound during phone calls.
? Do the perfect in-ear headphones (with an in-line microphone) exist somewhere out there?
VERDICT - 8.5
Click here to read the review!
I've mentioned in the past that I have become quite a fan of headphone gaming. Living with a girlfriend and having neighbors who don't appreciate a good subwoofer rocking the apartment will do that to a person. So when I was invited by Astro Gaming to come check out two of their newest products, I started to feel a geeky tingle of excitement in my knees to see what they've been cooking.
ASTRO MixAmp 5.8
The first product that I had a chance to try out is the MixAmp 5.8 Wireless Audio Transmitter and Receiver. This device is an improvement over the existing MixAmp, but now provides many of its features as a wireless device.
It's a two device product, one being called the TX Unit which is what you plug your gaming console, or PC soundcard (optical output required) into. Additionally, the back of the device has a second optical port that can feed to your home theater system. It also has an AUX input for a USB Chat Cable (sold separately) -- used primarily for PS3 and PC gamers who need to use voice chat -- and two USB ports on the back for what is listed as "future accessories." No word yet on what these future accessories will be.
The second device is known as the RX Unit which is powered by 3 AAA batteries (or a rechargeable battery that's sold separately), and can turn any pair of headphones into a surround sound headset. That, frankly, is what got me the most excited about the device.
The demonstration featured a slick pair of A30 Headsets, and while this system and the company as a whole prides itself on creating high quality products for gamers, I wanted to see how well the MixAmp 5.8 worked with my cheap pair of RCA headphones back at the office. I played a few minutes with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Call of Duty 4 with my RCA's plugged into the device and they worked pretty damn well, giving very good positional surround sound. Color me impressed.
Next up was testing the wireless range. For that I asked our trusty MyCheats contract worker, Jobert, to see how far away he could stand and still pick up the wireless signal. We don't have a tape measure on hand, but it's probably close to 15 to 20 feet away. For those of you with a large living room, you're in luck. This will work fine.
So if you're tired of having wires strung around your living room (much like how my living room looks using my Tritton AX 720's), this is a nice accessory to eliminate the clutter. It also provides some pretty good surround sound if you don't have any existing equipment like that. The MixAmp 5.8's are set to go for about $99 when they hit market soon (you can pre-order starting today), and if you're really lucky you could actually win the MixAmp 5.8 right now as part of our contest over at UGO today.
ASTRO A*STAR In-Ear Headset
Specs:
* Drivers: 9mm
* Transducer Principle: Dynamite, Closed
* Frequency Response: 20 - 20,000 Hz
* Nominal Impedance: 32 ohm
* Characteristic SPL: 100+/-3dB at 1kHz
* Distortion: Less than 1 percent at 1kHz
* Connector: 3.5MM jack with PC splitter
The other device I was allowed to sample is the A*STAR in-ear headsets that are high quality earbuds. These are designed more for mobile phones and devices like the PSP and Nintendo DS. Instead of the spaghetti-like cables that I'm used to seeing with earbuds (or headphones in general), these will have flat cables that resemble something more like linguine (What? I like pasta). These types of cables, I'm told, are more durable and are practically tangle-free. There is also a control device that is being called a Medallion (see below) which has a microphone built into it, as well as call answering/hang up features, play/pause, mic mute and volume control.These aren't available yet (you can pre-order them in mid-November from Astro Gaming's site but won't be available until early December) so I wasn't able to bring them back to the office to try out with some of our other media devices. However I was able to listen to the music quality these headphones delivered when they were plugged into an iPhone 4 during the demo. What struck me immediately was the deep bass response. The highs in the music cut through clear as well, but I honestly didn't think earbuds could deliver bass that deep.
I'm not a typical earbud user. I don't have an iPod or an iPhone. When I listen to music I like to use big headphones or listen to it on my speakers at home. These are not going to make me abandon my headphone wearing for the time being, but for those gamers who have been looking for some solid earbuds for their portable games, you only have to wait about a month to try these out.
Want to see the real thing? Click here to read the original review!
ASTRO MixAmp 5.8
The first product that I had a chance to try out is the MixAmp 5.8 Wireless Audio Transmitter and Receiver. This device is an improvement over the existing MixAmp, but now provides many of its features as a wireless device.
It's a two device product, one being called the TX Unit which is what you plug your gaming console, or PC soundcard (optical output required) into. Additionally, the back of the device has a second optical port that can feed to your home theater system. It also has an AUX input for a USB Chat Cable (sold separately) -- used primarily for PS3 and PC gamers who need to use voice chat -- and two USB ports on the back for what is listed as "future accessories." No word yet on what these future accessories will be.
The second device is known as the RX Unit which is powered by 3 AAA batteries (or a rechargeable battery that's sold separately), and can turn any pair of headphones into a surround sound headset. That, frankly, is what got me the most excited about the device.
The demonstration featured a slick pair of A30 Headsets, and while this system and the company as a whole prides itself on creating high quality products for gamers, I wanted to see how well the MixAmp 5.8 worked with my cheap pair of RCA headphones back at the office. I played a few minutes with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Call of Duty 4 with my RCA's plugged into the device and they worked pretty damn well, giving very good positional surround sound. Color me impressed.
Next up was testing the wireless range. For that I asked our trusty MyCheats contract worker, Jobert, to see how far away he could stand and still pick up the wireless signal. We don't have a tape measure on hand, but it's probably close to 15 to 20 feet away. For those of you with a large living room, you're in luck. This will work fine.
So if you're tired of having wires strung around your living room (much like how my living room looks using my Tritton AX 720's), this is a nice accessory to eliminate the clutter. It also provides some pretty good surround sound if you don't have any existing equipment like that. The MixAmp 5.8's are set to go for about $99 when they hit market soon (you can pre-order starting today), and if you're really lucky you could actually win the MixAmp 5.8 right now as part of our contest over at UGO today.
ASTRO A*STAR In-Ear Headset
Specs:
* Drivers: 9mm
* Transducer Principle: Dynamite, Closed
* Frequency Response: 20 - 20,000 Hz
* Nominal Impedance: 32 ohm
* Characteristic SPL: 100+/-3dB at 1kHz
* Distortion: Less than 1 percent at 1kHz
* Connector: 3.5MM jack with PC splitter
The other device I was allowed to sample is the A*STAR in-ear headsets that are high quality earbuds. These are designed more for mobile phones and devices like the PSP and Nintendo DS. Instead of the spaghetti-like cables that I'm used to seeing with earbuds (or headphones in general), these will have flat cables that resemble something more like linguine (What? I like pasta). These types of cables, I'm told, are more durable and are practically tangle-free. There is also a control device that is being called a Medallion (see below) which has a microphone built into it, as well as call answering/hang up features, play/pause, mic mute and volume control.These aren't available yet (you can pre-order them in mid-November from Astro Gaming's site but won't be available until early December) so I wasn't able to bring them back to the office to try out with some of our other media devices. However I was able to listen to the music quality these headphones delivered when they were plugged into an iPhone 4 during the demo. What struck me immediately was the deep bass response. The highs in the music cut through clear as well, but I honestly didn't think earbuds could deliver bass that deep.
I'm not a typical earbud user. I don't have an iPod or an iPhone. When I listen to music I like to use big headphones or listen to it on my speakers at home. These are not going to make me abandon my headphone wearing for the time being, but for those gamers who have been looking for some solid earbuds for their portable games, you only have to wait about a month to try these out.
Want to see the real thing? Click here to read the original review!