While people in the office found the A40 TR very comfortable for long stretches of time, I personally found it a bit irritating mostly because I wear thick-rimmed glasses (a constant factor that most headsets still fail to satisfy). It’s still irritating that volume control on the side of the headset isn’t standard issue, but in all fairness this is and old device. Halfway through the audio cable is a mic mute button, but for all other functions you’ll have to shell out for a control amp. X-Edition also comes with a very long 3.5mm AUX cable out the box, as well as an equally lengthy 3.5mm splitter in case your PC has separate ports for mic and audio. All of the removable parts are held together by jacks or magnetic pins and you can buy mod kits from the Astro websites to mix and match parts as much as you like (and as far as your wallet will permit, since they’re pretty pricey). Moreover, it features removable speaker tags on the outside of the ear cups, and you can even remove the mic or change its position from left to right if that’s what you want. I did find it a bit troublesome to adjust while it was on my head, but that also has the welcome advantage that it won’t move around a ton while you’re actually wearing it, so I call that a win. The padded and adjustable headband has clear notches to make sure you’re always able to make it fit just right. Unlike the A10, for instance, the material here has a glossy finish and a distinctly premium feel. X-Edition comes in a red-and-blue colour scheme and made up of a sturdy plastic chassis. Even so, the HyperX Cloud Flight is worth considering in the same price range, and you may want to see what you can find in the $100 neighborhood before you commit.The A40 TR looks pretty par for the course all things considered, but it packs a few surprises that help it stand out from the competition. Ultimately, if you want a no-nonsense headset that's going to make every game, on every system, sound as good as it possibly can, the A40 TR remains a strong choice and the X-Edition is a very pretty variation. At the same time, it's missed out on some of the best innovations of the 2010s: nuanced comfort options, inline volume controls and subtle music performance, for starters. It still sounds great, looks great and works with just about any system effortlessly. When you consider that the A40 TR has basically not changed in the past 10 years, it's remarkable how well the headset has held up. Whether you'd want to depends on whether you have $150 to drop on a dedicated gaming headset in addition to another $50-200 to spend on a dedicated music headset. You can indeed take the A40 TR with you on the train or the plane, though, thanks to its removable mic and swiveling ear cups. MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music I understand that this is a byproduct of the A40 being tuned for game sound, but a little bass can go a long way, especially in a headset that handles higher registers so well. The vocals and treble in every case were fantastic, but the lower registers and bass always had a muddy, unfocused sound, as if I were listening to them on a cheap speaker. I listened to tracks by Flogging Molly, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Rolling Stones and G.F.
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