Logitech have announced the next generation of wireless gaming headsets, the Astro A50 X Lightspeed, which is the successor to the very popular A50s, but this is not just a new look headset, but rather a new look everything.

The Astro brand of headsets are quite popular, it is why we included the Astro A30’s in our Accessories Holiday Gift Guide, it supports all the platforms, is super comfy and affordable, at least as far as wireless headsets go. The A50’s were the ultimate in that range, they offered great sound, great battery life and were easy to wear, so what could the next generation really offer? How about multiple source options, direct audio capture from your source and even better audio quality.

The massive change for the A50 X is not just that its newer, but the base station has been upgraded to make the setup and more importantly the use much easier. The old A50’s base station let you connect to your source via optical for the best audio, but if you wanted to use a different source then you had to use the AUX input, which didn’t provide the best sound possible. The new A50 X base station is leaps above that, as it offers up HDMI 2.1 throughput for your consoles, yes consoles, along with audio splitting via the unit itself, let me explain.

The base station has 3 input sets, one standard USB-C for your computer and two HDMI 2.1/USB-C pairs, one for Xbox and one for PlayStation. That is a massive step up from the last release and most other headsets, as you generally only get support for one console and PC, not both unless its via 3.5mm. These ports are not just a HDMI switch, but rather when you connect the console to the base station and then pass it through to your TV or monitor, using a USB-C cable from the console as well, you can get the audio as well and then the base station splits it away from the tv source to the headset.

That might sound great, but multiple sources was on the last version I hear you say, yes it was, but that was via a switch at the back of the unit, this time however you can swap via the headset. That means you can be on your PlayStation 5 for some Spider-Man 2 or God of War Ragnarok and then with the press of a button on the headset, be on your Xbox Series X for some Starfield of Forza Motorsport and there was nothing you had to do, except pick up a new controller. Of course, with HMDI pass through, you might be expecting a loss of features, like no 4K or VRR, but that is not true, the unit supports passthrough of 4K 120Hz HDR, VRR, and ALLM. This means the best picture quality is possible and the team have done the work to ensure that it offers ultra-low latency for that.

All of this sounds great, but what if you only have a console and a PC, or perhaps you have a Switch and a PlayStation 5, what can you do? Well if you just connect a single HDMI cable to the base station from a docked Switch, you still get the audio passed through to your headset, same with a computer passed through the USB-C cable, even the Apple hardware will do that. For those who like to game on their mobile device, fear not as the unit also offers up Bluetooth, meaning you can include that and swap between your console or mobile at any time, but better yet, you can also run Bluetooth at the same time. Meaning you can enjoy calls via Discord or your regular mobile connection and the game audio direct from the console or PC. Plus with the on-ear controls for volume and audio balance, you won’t have to worry about pausing the action to make adjustments.

Connections are well and good, but the audio quality is more important as connecting all the devices in the world means nothing if the quality of the audio sounds like its coming from a tin can. Logitech have ensured the audio will match expectations of players, with a pair of 40mm drivers in the headset, built to make use of the companies new graphene diaphragm. With the new driver, gamers will find improvements in sound reproduction accuracy, time to signal accuracy and distortion reduction, allowing players to identify audio objects more clearly, and more quickly discern their location as objects move relative to the player. All of this is delivered to your ears via a 24-bit uncompressed audio signal, which should help you out.

Oh yeah, the microphone, can’t forget that and that is something that Logitech haven’t, as this is the first headset to come with their first 16 bit 48 kHz mic. What that means is that there is more bandwith to capture your voice, which means a clearer voice for those you are squading up with.

Finally, let us talk about apps, as there are more customisation options available to players via either the dedicated G Hub on PC or the Logitech G app on mobile. With the apps you can set audio profiles, modify the EQ for games or even make changes to the mic to suit your voice perfectly. Without any of the apps, the headset should still sound great out of the box, but if you want to make great greater, then the apps can help. It is also the first headset to support the G Hub app, which is a big deal.

As for when you can get your ears connected to the Logitech Astro A50 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset, December 20th is when the headset will ship from Logitech, but it won’t be in stores until next year. The only thing that may put the brakes on making this an impulse buy is the price, the RRP is $749.95.