Key takeaways
- Wired 3.5 mm (A10): plugs into a controller, laptop or handheld with a headphone jack. Nothing to charge, nothing to pair, no dongle to lose. You are tethered to whatever the cable reaches.
- Wired with a MixAmp (A40 TR + MixAmp Pro TR): adds a small DAC box on the desk with a physical game/voice balance dial. It needs a free USB port and, on older consoles, an optical output that many newer TVs and consoles no longer provide. PlayStation and Xbox versions are sold as separate SKUs.
- 2.4 GHz wireless via dongle or base station (A20, previous-generation A50): the lowest-latency wireless option and the least fuss to live with, but these ship as separate PlayStation and Xbox versions. Buying the wrong one is the most common Black Friday mistake in this range.
- Wireless plus Bluetooth (A30, A50 X): one SKU covers PS5, Xbox and PC, and Bluetooth lets you blend a phone call or music over game audio. The A50 X base station also passes HDMI 2.1 through to your TV at up to 4K/120 Hz, so the console plugs into the base rather than into the television.
The best Black Friday Astro Gaming deals sit at the two ends of the range: the wired A10 and the A40 TR/MixAmp bundle take the deepest percentage cuts — usually 25–40% off — while the wireless A50 X flagship carries the largest absolute saving, commonly $50–$80 off a bundle that normally sells in the $350–$400 band. The mid-range wireless models (A20, A30) discount the least, so they are rarely the smartest Black Friday target unless you specifically need Bluetooth audio mixing.
Four connection types, four different purchases
Astro Gaming, now a Logitech G brand, keeps a deliberately small range. Nearly every disappointing purchase traces back to ignoring the split below, because connection type — not driver size or colourway — decides which consoles work, whether you have anything to charge, and how much hardware ends up on your desk.
- Wired 3.5 mm (A10): plugs into a controller, laptop or handheld with a headphone jack. Nothing to charge, nothing to pair, no dongle to lose. You are tethered to whatever the cable reaches.
- Wired with a MixAmp (A40 TR + MixAmp Pro TR): adds a small DAC box on the desk with a physical game/voice balance dial. It needs a free USB port and, on older consoles, an optical output that many newer TVs and consoles no longer provide. PlayStation and Xbox versions are sold as separate SKUs.
- 2.4 GHz wireless via dongle or base station (A20, previous-generation A50): the lowest-latency wireless option and the least fuss to live with, but these ship as separate PlayStation and Xbox versions. Buying the wrong one is the most common Black Friday mistake in this range.
- Wireless plus Bluetooth (A30, A50 X): one SKU covers PS5, Xbox and PC, and Bluetooth lets you blend a phone call or music over game audio. The A50 X base station also passes HDMI 2.1 through to your TV at up to 4K/120 Hz, so the console plugs into the base rather than into the television.
Astro Black Friday price comparison
Figures below are general market ranges rather than quotes from any single retailer, and the Black Friday column shows the band these models typically fall into during the sale window.
| Model | Connection | Platform support | Rated battery | Typical price | Typical Black Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astro A10 (Gen 2) | Wired 3.5 mm, fixed cable | Anything with a 3.5 mm jack — PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile | None | $50–$70 | $30–$45 |
| Astro A20 (Gen 2) | 2.4 GHz USB transmitter | Separate PS and Xbox versions, plus PC | Up to 15 h | $110–$140 | $80–$100 |
| Astro A30 | 2.4 GHz dongle + Bluetooth | One SKU: PS5, Xbox, PC, mobile | Up to 27 h | $200–$240 | $150–$190 |
| Astro A40 TR + MixAmp Pro TR | Wired, detachable cable, MixAmp DAC | Separate PS and Xbox MixAmp versions, plus PC | None | $230–$280 | $170–$210 |
| Astro A50 (previous generation) | 2.4 GHz base station | Separate PS and Xbox versions, plus PC | Up to 15 h | $250–$300 | $190–$230 |
| Astro A50 X | 2.4 GHz base station + Bluetooth, HDMI 2.1 passthrough | One SKU: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Up to 24 h | $350–$400 | $300–$360 |
Two patterns are worth internalising before you compare badges. The previous-generation A50 is the model most likely to be cleared aggressively, because stock is finite and it sits a tier below the A50 X. Meanwhile the wired A40 TR bundle and the discounted A50 X can land within roughly $100–$150 of each other, so on the day, compare final prices rather than the percentage advertised on each listing.
Which model fits your setup
| Your situation | Best fit | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Small apartment, one TV shared with the household | A50 X | HDMI passthrough means one base station handles console switching, and Bluetooth keeps phone audio off the TV speakers |
| PC-only desk, sessions of four hours or more | A40 TR + MixAmp | No battery to manage, no charging cradle competing for a wall outlet, hardware dial for voice chat |
| Console plus PC on the same desk | A30 or A50 X | Single cross-platform SKU, no re-pairing or swapping dongles between devices |
| Kids and pets in the house | A10 or A20 | Lowest replacement cost; the A10 has no dongle or battery to lose, though its fixed cable is the weak point |
| Glasses wearer, or you keep headsets for years | A40 TR or A50 X | Both accept replacement ear pads and headband cushions, so worn foam is a cheap fix rather than a new purchase |
| Hard budget under $100 | A20 on sale, or A10 | The A20’s discount band lands closest to that ceiling; the A10 leaves money for a stand or a spare cable |
Desk and room realities before you order
Headsets are small; their accessories are not. Black Friday is when buyers discover that a base station needs a permanent home, so plan the space first.
| Setup | What lands on your desk or shelf | Space to allow |
|---|---|---|
| Wired 3.5 mm | One cable to the controller or PC | 1.5–2 m of slack; a clamp-on hook under the desk edge keeps it off the floor |
| Wired + MixAmp | A DAC box roughly the size of a deck of cards, plus USB and headset leads | About a 10 × 10 cm flat patch with 5 cm behind it for cable bends |
| USB dongle (A20, A30) | A transmitter the size of a small flash drive | Reserve a front-panel port; dongles buried behind a metal case lose range |
| Base station (A50, A50 X) | A charging cradle that also passes HDMI | About 15 × 15 cm near the console, with clearance for an HDMI run to the TV and a USB power lead |
Two rules of thumb make the difference between a tidy setup and a tangle. If your desk is 24 in (60 cm) deep and the monitor sits on its own stand, a clamp-on hook at the desk edge costs no surface area, whereas a weighted stand consumes roughly a 10 × 10 cm footprint. And in a 10 × 12 ft room where the console and desk share one wall, keep the base station within about 3 ft (1 m) of the console so the HDMI and USB runs stay short and out of walkways.
What wears out first
- Ear pads. Foam flattens and the surface coating begins to flake somewhere between 12 and 24 months of daily use. On the A40 TR and A50 the pads and headband cushion are replaceable, so a $25–$40 pad set resets comfort; on models without replacement pads, worn foam effectively ends the headset.
- Cables. The A10’s 3.5 mm cable is fixed, so a frayed or chewed cable retires the whole headset. The A40 TR uses a detachable cable that costs a few dollars to swap — a meaningful advantage for heavy users.
- Batteries. Wireless cells fade gradually; after roughly two years of daily charge cycles, runtime drops noticeably, and the cell is not designed to be swapped by the user. Treat a wireless headset as a two-to-three-year item, or buy wired and sidestep the issue.
- The MixAmp. On the wired bundle, the USB port and the balance dial are the two mechanical wear points worth protecting.
FAQ
Do all Astro headsets work on both PlayStation and Xbox?
No. The A10 works anywhere there is a 3.5 mm jack; the A30 and A50 X are single-SKU cross-platform models; the A20, the previous-generation A50 and the A40 TR’s MixAmp are sold in separate PlayStation and Xbox versions.
Is the A50 X worth the premium over the A40 TR?
If you want wireless freedom, Bluetooth mixing and HDMI passthrough switching across PS5, Xbox and PC from one SKU, yes. If your sessions are desk-bound and you would rather never charge anything, the A40 TR bundle delivers the same pad and headband system for noticeably less.
Are the deepest percentage discounts the best deals?
Usually not. A 40% cut on a $60 headset saves about $24; a 15% cut on a $380 flagship saves roughly $57. Compare the final price against the model’s normal range, not the percentage shown next to it.
Do I need a headset stand?
Not strictly, but a hook or stand stops the ear pads being compressed on the desk and keeps the cable clear of chair wheels. Where desk space is tight, a clamp-on hook beats a weighted stand.
Work backwards from the connection type and the space you actually have: pick wired if you never want to think about charging, pick a dongle model if you want the cheapest wireless, and pick the base-station flagship only if HDMI passthrough and cross-platform switching genuinely solve a problem in your room. That order of thinking will save you more on Black Friday than any single discount badge.
