Get insider access
Preferred store
Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
  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 Profile: Target Compliance
    5. Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
    6. Treble Profile: Target Compliance
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation - Full Range
    2. Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
    3. Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
    4. ANC Wind Handling
    5. 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 2019 vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Jan 20, 2025 03:47 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Mar 21, 2025 01:28 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Picture

Variants

  • A40 TR + MixAmp 2019 (PS4, MixAmp)
  • A40 TR + MixAmp 2019 (Xbox One, MixAmp)
  • + Sennheiser PC38X (Black)
  • + EPOS PC38X (Black)
  • + Sennheiser PC38X (Black/Yellow)
  • + EPOS PC38X (Black/Yellow)

Our Verdict

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019

Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X

The Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 are better wired gaming headphones than the Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X. While both headphones are comfortable, the Astro have better controls, are better built, and are compatible with Astro Command Center software, which allows you to customize their sound using a graphic EQ and presets. Some users have reported issues when using the companion software though. They also have a virtual soundstage feature, but the simpler plug-and-play operation of the Sennheiser may be more appealing.

0 

Check Price

PS4, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp 2019
Searching
Finding store
Black
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding store
Xbox One, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp 2019
Searching
Finding store
Black
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding store
 
Black/Yellow
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding store
 
Black/Yellow
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding store

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.6
8.0

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.1
6.6

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.7
7.4

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.4
9.5

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
8.6

Passive Soundstage 
 

8.3
7.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Design Picture 2
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
8.0

Comfort Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Comfort Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.82 lbs
0.55 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
1.4 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

6.2
5.6

Controls Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Controls Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Good
Decent

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

Yes
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Presets + Surround Sound
No
Show text

Breathability 
 

6.4
6.4

Breathability After Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Breathability After Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.1 °C
6 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

5.3
5.5

Portability Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Portability Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Portability Picture

 

7.2" (18.3 cm)
7.4" (18.9 cm)

 

7.5" (19.1 cm)
6.7" (17.1 cm)

 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
3.6" (9.2 cm)

Volume  

216.00 in³ (3,539.59 cm³)
181.42 in³ (2,973.00 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show text

Case 
 

0.0
5.5

Case Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Case Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Case Picture

Type  

No case
Pouch

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Build Quality Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

6.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Stability Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Angled Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Side Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Front Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Rear Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Top Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 In The Box Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

750 Hz
400 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

-1.7 dB
-4.2 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-4.3 dB
-2.8 dB
Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.1
7.6

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 
 

0.6 dB
0.48 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 Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.7
7.4

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

3.2 dB
5.5 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

20 Hz
29.76 Hz

Low Bass 
 

-4.44 dB
-7.59 dB

Mid Bass 
 

-0.84 dB
-2.91 dB

High Bass 
 

1.45 dB
-0.47 dB
Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.4
9.5

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

1.57 dB
0.74 dB

Low Mid 
 

1.09 dB
-0.64 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.59 dB
-0.9 dB

High Mid 
 

-2.07 dB
0.34 dB
Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.1
6.6

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.87 dB
3.63 dB

Low Treble 
 

-6.69 dB
-1.13 dB

Mid Treble 
 

-1.17 dB
-4.92 dB

High Treble 
 

-10.52 dB
-8.32 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
8.6

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.5 dB
0.82 dB

Dips 
 

1.83 dB
1.28 dB
Show text

Imaging 
 

8.4
8.8

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
0.17

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

7.8
2.83

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.93
0.93

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.86
1.43
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

8.3
7.1

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.79 dB
2.84 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.37 dB
2.22 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

16.94 dB
8.7 dB

Openness 
 

9.1
9.4

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

7.6
7.8
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Virtual Soundstage
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

Dolby 7.1
No App
Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.3
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.333
0.359

WHD @ 100 
 

0.196
0.134
Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

36797
No Firmware

Power 
 

USB
Passive

Connection 
 

USB
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 16-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

Natural Bass
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Show text
Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

2.4
1.5

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Overall Attenuation 
 

-5.41 dB
-3.45 dB

Bass 
 

0.07 dB
0.21 dB

Mid 
 

-1.18 dB
1.00 dB

Treble 
 

-16.70 dB
-12.79 dB
Show text

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

2.6
1.5

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-4.64 dB
-2.44 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-4.75 dB
-2.67 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-5.11 dB
-3.04 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show text

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 ANC Wind Handling Graph
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X ANC Wind Handling Graph

ANC Wind Noise 
 

N/A
N/A

Leakage 
 

3.4
3.1

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

56.31 dB
57.66 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

Yes
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

8.3
8.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

20 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

1.46 dB
1.6 dB

HFE 
 

3,948.06 Hz
8,010.97 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.238
0.176

Gain 
 

28.71 dB
27.08 dB
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

8.3
7.5

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

41.84 dB
35.95 dB

Noise Gate 
 

On/Off Toggle
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.5
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

App Support 
 

6.0
0.0

App Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 App Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X App Picture

App Name  

Astro Command Center
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

Yes
No

Windows  

Yes
No

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

Adjustable Level
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show text
Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.7
9.9

Cable Picture  

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 Cable Picture
Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable 
 

Yes
Yes

Length 
 

6.80 ft (2.07 m)
4.23 ft (1.29 m)

Connector 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/16" TRRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.3 ms
0.3 ms

Latency - USB 
 

10.6 ms
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

USB
Analog
Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No
No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - SBC 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency Codec  

No Bluetooth Audio
No Bluetooth Audio

AAC Support 
 

No
No
Show text

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

Base/Dock 
 

7.8
0.0

Type 
 

Wired USB dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

Yes
No

Line In 
 

Yes
No

Line Out 
 

Yes
No

Optical Input 
 

Yes
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
No Base/Dock
Show text

Check Price

PS4, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp 2019
Searching
Finding store
Black
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding store
Xbox One, MixAmp
A40 TR + MixAmp 2019
Searching
Finding store
Black
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding store
 
Black/Yellow
+ Sennheiser PC38X
Searching
Finding store
 
Black/Yellow
+ EPOS PC38X
Searching
Finding store

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019

Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X

Comments

  1. Comparison

Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2019 vs Drop + Sennheiser/EPOS PC38X: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones