Astro A40 TR vs A40
Choosing the right gear is a no-joke task for a dedicated gamer. You certainly want to enjoy the most vivid and immersive experience, besides having the most accurate and responsive control, when diving into your favorite game. One of the essential parts of a complete gaming gear is a good headset. However, since the rise of professional and dedicated gaming, there have been lots of products specially designed for gaming released into the market. Thus, with the numerous options available, choosing the right gaming headset can be confusing.
If you have read some review articles on several popular gaming websites, chances are you are already familiar with the original Astro A40. It has been widely regarded as one of the best gaming headsets available for the money. Perhaps you have owned it yourself. However, the manufacturer has just recently released a new model that is called Astro A40 TR. Thus, the question is, what is the difference between the original Astro A40 and Astro A40 TR? Is the new release really better than the original one? Find out below!
What Does TR Actually Stand For?
Astro has released a new line of products that come with the TR tag. TR stands “Tournament Ready”. These products are designed to be modular and ready for use in any environment and in any condition. These products are meant to be used for eSports, serious professional gaming, such as in professional tournaments. They aim to perform uncompromisingly even for live streaming in a loud arena.
The products included in the TR series are the Astro A40 TR headset, the MixAmp Pro TR, and the Astro A40 TR Mod Kit. It is interesting that the manufacturer has purposely chosen Astro A40 as the base of the TR line. This is obviously because of Astro A40’s huge success and popularity in the field. Since the original model has managed to stay at the top of the competition over a prolonged period of time, the company wouldn’t find much of a problem in marketing the new Astro A40 TR.
Along with the new TR line, Astro has also released a new software application that is named Astro Command Center. It is an application that provides the user full control over all audio input and output parameters. It is a robust and powerful application that enables you to adjust and shape the audio character of your headset.
Astro A40 vs. Astro A40 TR: Design and Appearance
Actually, Astro has updated the original Astro A40 with Astro A40 Gen2, which is only available as a part of the MixAmp M80 Bundle for Xbox One. It is available in several color variants, including white/blue, grey-orange, and the Halo 5 Special silver/teal. It has more color variants than Astro A40 TR. These Astro A40 Gen2 headsets come with an open back design, a swappable precision mic, and customizable speaker tags. (Read also : Astro A40 vs Turtle Beach X41)
On the other hand, Astro A40 TR is only available in white and black. So, if you prefer to use a headset with a particular color that is neither white nor black, you may find Astro A40 Gen2 to be more attractive. Nevertheless, Astro A40 TR also features an open back design, a swappable precision mic, and customizable speaker tags.
Astro A40 vs. Astro A40 TR: Removable Parts and Mod Kit
Even though the two have similarities in design, there is one crucial difference between the two. The original Astro A40 and Astro A40 Gen2 do not have removable components like Astro A40 TR. Thus, the original Astro A40 and its successor, Astro A40 Gen2, are not compatible with the TR Mod Kit and are not as customizable.
Some components of Astro A40 TR are removable and replaceable, allowing for flexible customization, easy maintenance, and proper adaptation to different environments and conditions. There is the TR Mod Kit to customize your Astro A40 TR. The swappable TR Mod Kit components include noise canceling ear cushions, voice isolating mics, padded headbands, and closed back speaker tags.
Wait, closed back speaker tags? Yep, that’s right – you can change Astro A40 TR into a closed back headset. Such feature can be very useful for a dedicated gamer, especially if you often participate in LAN tournaments where the environment can become very crowded and noisy due to the participants and the spectators. In such case, an open back headset will let the noise from the environment bleed into your hearing, disturbing your focus and concentration. With both the noise canceling ear cushions and the closed back speaker tags, you won’t have to worry about the noise.
Astro A40 vs. Astro A40 TR: Performance
The original Astro A40, despite its stellar overall quality, is plagued with drops. The headset would sometimes experience drops that make the audio experience bumpy. Sometimes, the drops can be infuriating because they make you unable to hear incoming enemies or event-related audio signs. Astro A40 Gen2 does not solve the problem, and thus is considered disappointing by many people.
Astro A40 TR with the MixAmp Pro TR effectively eliminates the problem, and it performs fantastically almost everything. The sound is crystal clear at all times, allowing you to enjoy impressively accurate and immersive surround experience. When adapted into a closed back headset, the noise cancellation is quite satisfying. It minimizes environmental noise fairly well.
In addition, Astro A40 TR can be used pseudo-wirelessly when playing on a console; you can plug it into your controller instead of the console. However, such configuration does not involve the MixAmp Pro TR, and produces stereo instead of surround audio. As the effect, the MixAmp Pro TR is generally the ideal solution.
Astro A40 TR vs A40
In general, Astro A40 TR is an impressive model and a much-needed update for the original Astro A40 and Astro A40 Gen2. When paired with the MixAmp Pro TR, the audio performance becomes outstanding, effectively eliminating drop issues. In terms of design, the most distinctive difference is that Astro A40 TR has removable and swappable components using the TR Mod Kit, with the noise canceling ear cushions and closed back speaker tags being very useful for LAN tourneys.