Astro A40 vs Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (2021): Which Is The Better Gaming Headset?

One of the essentials to getting the best gaming experience is having the perfect set of headphones. Today, we’re going to be comparing two worthy headsets: the Astro Gaming A40 Headset and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Wireless Gaming Headset. Both headsets are quite popular because of their performance, comfort, and durability. However, they do come with their differences. For instance, the Astro A40 is a wired headset while the Stealth 700 is wireless. Keep reading as we go over more differences to try to help you make a better purchase decision.

Astro A40 vs Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Comparison Chart

Design and Comfort

While the Astro A40 is a wired headset and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 is wireless, they both offer excellent comfort to users.

The Astro A40 is lightweight, weighing only 0.8 lbs. Its over-ear pads are made of memory foam to allow long hours of gaming without hurting your ears. It also enables smooth vertical adjustment to allow you to tweak it for a better fit. Its speaker tags leave a gap above the earcups, allowing its 40mm drivers room to breathe while also providing a more natural and accurate sound. The only downside to this design is that there is a significant amount of sound leakage. 

If you prefer a closed-back design, you can purchase Astro’s Mod Kit, which includes closed-back speaker tags, synthetic leather earpads and headband pad, and a microphone replacement. 

On the other hand, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 is built mainly from plastic, with a metal-reinforced headband to make it more durable. The Stealth 700 is also a lightweight headset but weighs a little more than the Astro A40 at 1.28 lbs. It has a dual-hinge system that allows a wider range of tilt, while also allowing the headphones to conveniently lay flat on your chest when you are not using them. The earpads are made of memory foam with a cooling gel layer for a more comfortable gaming experience especially with prolonged hours of playing. Its microphone has a flip-to-mute feature and folds out of the left earcup. 

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 also brags of its exclusive, patented ProSpecs Glasses Relief System which features easy adjustment tabs that create small grooves in the ear cushions, allowing players with glasses to wear them comfortably. 

Perhaps the most important design difference to note between the two is that Astro A40 is wired while Turtle Beach Stealth 700 is wireless.

Audio Performance

The Astro A40 delivers natural and accurate sound while the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 has boosted sound.

Both brands provide excellent audio performance with slight differences. The Astro A40 uses a 40mm neodymium audio driver while the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 uses a larger 50mm driver. In theory, a bigger driver diameter will deliver more power and better bass. However, in reality, the sound difference is actually quite hard to distinguish. The quality of the driver makes a more noticeable difference than its size. 

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 also has a higher high-frequency range at 22 000 Hz compared to the Astro A40’s 20 000 Hz. A higher high-frequency response should allow for clearer and crisper trebles. But when put to the test, both headphones deliver almost equal treble output. 

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 is equipped with active noise cancellation for uninterrupted listening. This is a feature lacking on the Astro A40. However, the A40 comes with a noise-canceling microphone, a feature that isn’t found on the Stealth 700.

Additional Features

The Astro A40 is compatible with the MixAmp Pro whereas the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 can be tweaked using its Audio Hub app.

The Astro A40 is compatible with Astro’s very own MixAmp Pro, a personal audio mixer and headphone amplifier that allows you to control the master volume separately from the voice chat and game audio balance. It offers four different EQ settings (Astro’s custom EQ, a sculpted Balanced EQ, flat EQ, and a Tournament EQ preset) that you can switch between. 

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 has a feature called Superhuman Hearing available in its Audio Hub app. Superhuman Hearing changes the headset’s audio frequencies and allows in-game cues to come through more clearly. This feature is useful in competitive gaming.

Verdict

Both headsets deliver excellent sound quality, comfort, and durability with the Astro A40 being perfect for those looking for a wired gaming headset and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 for those looking for a wireless one.

The Astro A40 and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 are both excellent headsets with superb sound quality that will improve immersion and your overall gaming experience. 

When it gets down to choosing one over the other, perhaps the biggest deciding factor would be whether you want a wired headset or a wireless one. A wired headset, like the A40, will always be lighter than its wireless counterpart because of the lack of a battery. This translates to improved comfort. However, nothing beats the freedom and convenience of not having a wire attached to your head, something you will get with the Stealth 700.

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