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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 vs SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Feb 13, 2024 06:35 PM

SEE PRICE
Walmart.com

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Apr 17, 2024 11:28 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Picture

Variants

  • A40 TR + MixAmp (PS4, MixAmp)
  • A40 TR + MixAmp (Xbox One, MixAmp)
  • Arctis 9X (Black)

Our Verdict

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017

SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless

While the Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 and the SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless are similarly performing wired gaming headphones, the SteelSeries are particularly suited for those who game exclusively on Xbox. The Astro are slightly more comfortable and have a MixAmp that some may enjoy for making adjustments to their audio. They're more versatile since they can easily be plugged into most consoles and receive both audio and microphone support. The SteelSeries, on the other hand, have a virtual surround feature, leak less sound, and can be used wirelessly. They also have a 28-hour battery life that can also be used passively when you're out of battery.

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Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.6
7.8

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.9
8.5

Passive Soundstage 
 

7.6
6.3

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Design Picture 2
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Comfort Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.83 lbs
0.82 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
1 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

6.2
7.7

Controls Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Controls Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Decent

Feedback  

Good
Great

Call/Music Control  

No
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Adjustable Level

Channel Mixing 
 

Yes
Yes

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Presets + Surround Sound
Bluetooth Sync + Presets

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.7
6.3

Breathability After Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Breathability After Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.1 °C
6.2 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.3
5.4

Portability Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Portability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Portability Picture

 

7.2" (18.3 cm)
8.6" (21.8 cm)

 

7.5" (19.1 cm)
7.0" (17.8 cm)

 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
3.5" (8.9 cm)

Volume  

216.00 in³ (3,539.59 cm³)
211.00 in³ (3,457.66 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Case Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
6.0

Build Quality Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Build Quality Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

6.0
7.5

Stability Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Stability Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Angled Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Side Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Front Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Rear Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Top Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 In The Box Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

2 dB
-3.5 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-4.29 dB
-1.51 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.8
5.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

1.03 dB
1.47 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.2
7.6

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.43 dB
3.2 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
59.07 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

1.7 dB
-6.1 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

5.01 dB
-0.36 dB

High-Bass 
 

5.99 dB
2.35 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.7
8.9

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.74 dB
1.45 dB

Low-Mid 
 

2.05 dB
0.93 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.13 dB
0.13 dB

High-Mid 
 

0.58 dB
-1.33 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.9
8.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.63 dB
2.29 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-4.52 dB
-2.03 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-0.17 dB
1.13 dB

High-Treble 
 

-11.58 dB
-5.88 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.9
7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

2.12 dB
1.49 dB

Dips 
 

1.35 dB
0.64 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.7
8.2

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.17
0.45

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

5.69
5.59

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.16
0.65

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.25
2.34

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

7.6
6.3

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

1.39 dB
3.49 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

3.76 dB
5.73 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

9.37 dB
21.61 dB

Openness 
 

9.2
5.7

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

7.4
2.6

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Virtual Soundstage
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.1
7.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.388
0.316

WHD @ 100 
 

0.296
0.176

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Wired
Wireless (Proprietary)

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default
Default

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

1.8
4.2

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-5.36 dB
-10.57 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.2 dB
0.06 dB

Mid 
 

-0.61 dB
-9.61 dB

Treble 
 

-15.08 dB
-23.05 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

3.6
7.7

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

55.68 dB
35.49 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

Yes
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

8.1
8.3

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

20 Hz
85.99 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.46 dB
3.36 dB

HFE 
 

4,627.75 Hz
9,805.86 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.29
0.46

Gain 
 

21.13 dB
15.13 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

8.3
8.0

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

58.27 dB
34.17 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.5
8.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.0
8.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
8.1

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
28 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
28 hrs

Charge Time 
 

N/A
2.4 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Yes

Charging Port  

None
micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

6.0
8.0

App Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 App Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Astro Command Center
SteelSeries Engine

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

Yes
Yes

Windows  

Yes
Yes

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.5
9.1

Cable Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 Cable Picture
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable 
 

Yes
No

Length 
 

6.80 ft (2.07 m)
N/A

Connector 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.2 ms

Latency - USB 
 

20 ms
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

0.0
6.6

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless

NFC Pairing 
 

No

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
139.00 ft (42.37 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

N/A
242 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Codec  

SBC

AAC Support 
 

No

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A

Show text

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
7.5

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
70.00 ft (21.34 m)

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
56 ms

Recorded Latency 
 

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

PS4 Wired USB 
 

Audio Only
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not Included)

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only (Not included)

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

7.8
3.4

Type 
 

Wired USB dock
Wireless USB Dongle

USB Input 
 

Yes
Yes

Line In 
 

Yes
No

Line Out 
 

Yes
No

Optical Input 
 

Yes
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
USB

Show text

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017

SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 vs SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless: Main Discussion

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