There are gamers who are a little more gamers than others and especially more fortunate. These players are lucky to have several machines to play. From the Playstation to the Xbox to the PC, the advantage of having such a trio is to no longer be limited by exclusivities. Yes, we also know that these days, exclusives outside of the Playstation can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but you never know, Microsoft might wake up one day with many exclusives.
In the meantime, the most complicated thing remains managing the three consoles, which involves having at least three HDMI ports available (or at least two HDMI ports with a DisplayPort port for the PC), which is not always the case. For many, we have gotten into the habit of unplugging the HDMI cable from one of the machines to put it on the other. In the long run, this can be tiring, especially if you have decided to have a clean installation and not touch it anymore. But the most difficult thing is especially at the audio level. Indeed, if we are going to avoid multiplying the screens, this is not always the case for the audio. And we have noticed it recently, gamers love to play just in case, so if we have the two or three consoles of the moment and a PC, either we have a headset to do everything, or we have several. Having several headsets is not what we recommend and at home for example, we have a headset for everyone and as for the HDMI cable, we go through the reconnection box. And that's where Logitech comes in.
Indeed, Logitech announced at the end of last year a solution for gamers who have, for example, a Sony PS5, an Xbox Series X/S and a PC but who have not had the good idea to invest in a TV or monitor with at least two HDMI ports (for both consoles) and a DisplayPort port (for the PC). Also, these gamers end up with a TV with one or two HDMI ports and having to plug/unplug not only the HDMI cable but also the audio part which can be exhausting if you have only one headset, or even two, because the Xbox uses a proprietary system for sound.
PlaySync, to synchronize them all
Logitech therefore has the solution with its new Astro A50X which succeeds the Astro A50, released in 2019, an eternity in the world of tech. While we find a relatively similar design with the new Astro A50X, the real novelty comes from the new PlaySync technology which allows the Astro A50X to be connected to three gaming systems at the same time (PS5, Xbox, PC) and to be able to switch between these three systems with a simple button (Audio and Video). This new function is modeled via a new base that will not only be used to recharge the wireless headset, the Astro A50X, but also to make the link with the three gaming systems.
From this base, we already find an HDMI Pass-Through port that makes it possible to make the link between the three gaming systems and the famous TV or monitor that only has one HDMI port (let's say it dates from 2010). And for each of the gaming systems, there is a USB-C port for the audio part and an HDMI 2.1 port, except for the PC which only has the USB-C input because Logitech assumes that both consoles plug into a TV while the PC will necessarily be on a monitor, which is a bit stupid in itself because there are players like us, who play exclusively on monitors and this, even with consoles.
In short, we didn't notice any particular installation issues except that the back of the Astro A50X base quickly became a complete mess, especially since you have to take into account the power supply for the base. We wondered whether the new installation was worth it or not in the end because it was still better to have it tidied up before... In any case, as a surprise never comes alone, we were lucky to have an LG monitor and apparently, the HDMI Pass-Through does not work correctly with some LG devices due to factory settings. To date, we have not been able to get it to work on our LG UltraGear monitor but no problems with a monitor from another brand like our Acer Predator monitor.
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On the sound side, no particular problems, the Astro A50X inherits everything that has and continues to make the Astro A50 successful, namely good sound. We can hear the different sounds and environments of the games perfectly, there is enough bass but not too much and over the course of the games, it is with undisguised pleasure that we use the Astro A50X on a daily basis. It lacks a little detail in the treble but nothing too serious, especially in games. In fact, the strength of the Astro is to be balanced in all areas. It is not the best but it is pretty good everywhere! Afterwards, we always have access to the equalizers (via a smartphone app or via PC) to straighten the bar. We can even equalize the microphone, which is to say the level of customization that Logitech offers. And speaking of the latter, it is very good, we did not have any particular problems with our interlocutors.
It should also be noted that the Astro A50X is also Bluetooth, which will allow you to connect the headset directly to a smartphone or the Nintendo Switch for example. Another surprise regarding the audio quality around music, the Astro A50X will not compete with a Sony WH-1000XM5 or an Apple Airpods Max but we will be very happy with it on a daily basis. As for autonomy, the Astro A50X offers a little more than 20 hours of autonomy in gaming use, which is not bad at all. In addition to that, each time we put the headset down, it recharges so there are no real autonomy concerns. The headset itself therefore takes up the design of the Astro A50 identically and offers an excellent plastic finish. It is comfortable during gaming sessions and we may blame the earpieces which heat up a little too much during long hours! We would have perhaps preferred a rendering closer to leather and therefore fresher in some ways.
Logitech's Astro A50X is available at the price of 399 euros.
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