Lite-On iHAS524

If you’re a gamer, be it competitive or casual, you’ve probably come to realise that the equipment you use has a big impact on the enjoyment you get from gaming – and it can often affect your performance as well.

American company Astro Gaming are a niche brand targeting the audio side of gaming with high-end products. According to their website, “Astro Gaming creates premium video gaming equipment for pro gamers, leagues and their lifestyles”. The flagship of their product line-up is the Astro A40 Audio System, which I’ve had the pleasure of playing with recently.

This system is comprised of two parts – the A40 headset and the MixAmp headseat amplifier. While both products are worthy of acclaim, the MixAmp is really the focal point for Astro.

So what does a headset amplifier actually do? In essence, it takes the line-level or headphone output from your system and amplifies it to give you louder, higher-quality sound through your headphones.

Your computer’s onboard sound card may drive your headphones perfectly loud enough for you when you’re playing online from your lounge or bedroom with little external noise around you. Jump into a noisy LAN environment, however, and you’ll find your sound starts to get drowned out pretty quickly.