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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017 vs SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Astro A50 Gen 3
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.4
Updated Jan 26, 2024 05:59 PM
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Updated Apr 17, 2024 11:28 PM
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TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- A50 (PS4)
- A50 (Xbox One)
- Arctis 9X (Black)
Our Verdict
Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless
The SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless and the Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017 are both good gaming headphones but for different reasons. The SteelSeries have a better microphone recording quality, and their battery life is also noticeably longer. With the SteelSeries, you can stream music from a Bluetooth source at the same time as playing games. They can also be used passively with a 1/8” audio cable, while the Astro don’t have the appropriate jack. On the other hand, the Astro are more comfortable and deliver sound more consistently across users than the SteelSeries.
Main Differences forMixed Usage
Mixed Usage
Threshold
Mixed Usage
6.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.8 lbs
0.82 lbs
Clamping Force
1.1 lbs
1 lbs
Controls
6.2
7.7
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
Breathability
6.7
6.3
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
5.2 °C
6.2 °C
Portability
5.4
5.4
Portability Picture
L
7.1"
8.6" (21.8 cm)
W
7.4"
7.0" (17.8 cm)
H
4"
3.5" (8.9 cm)
Volume
210 in³
211.00 in³ (3,457.66 cm³)
Transmitter Required
Yes
No
Case
0.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
8.0
6.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-1.48 dB
-3.5 dB
Treble Amount
-0.83 dB
-1.51 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.9
5.3
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.42 dB
1.47 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.4
7.6
Std. Err.
2.13 dB
3.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
40.58 Hz
59.07 Hz
Low-Bass
-3.97 dB
-6.1 dB
Mid-Bass
-0.47 dB
-0.36 dB
High-Bass
1.66 dB
2.35 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.4
8.9
Std. Err.
2.13 dB
1.45 dB
Low-Mid
0.04 dB
0.93 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.94 dB
0.13 dB
High-Mid
0.59 dB
-1.33 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.6
8.5
Std. Err.
3.25 dB
2.29 dB
Low-Treble
-2.93 dB
-2.03 dB
Mid-Treble
2.04 dB
1.13 dB
High-Treble
-6.09 dB
-5.88 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.2
7.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.91 dB
1.49 dB
Dips
1.23 dB
0.64 dB
Imaging
8.7
8.2
Phase Response
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.18
0.45
Weighted Phase Mismatch
9.19
5.59
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.22
0.65
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.51
2.34
Passive Soundstage
7.1
6.3
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
1.81 dB
3.49 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
3.8 dB
5.73 dB
PRTF Distance
5.67 dB
21.61 dB
Openness
9.2
5.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
7.2
2.6
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Dolby 7.1
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.5
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.259
0.316
WHD @ 100
0.165
0.176
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Wireless (Proprietary)
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
Isolation
Noise Isolation
2.3
4.2
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-5.74 dB
-10.57 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-0.08 dB
0.06 dB
Mid
-1.11 dB
-9.61 dB
Treble
-15.91 dB
-23.05 dB
Leakage
3.8
7.7
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
54.74 dB
35.49 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.2
8.3
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
348.96 Hz
85.99 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
1.38 dB
3.36 dB
HFE
3,466.89 Hz
9,805.86 Hz
Weighted THD
0.334
0.46
Gain
23.46 dB
15.13 dB
Noise Handling
9.0
8.0
SpNR
46.83 dB
34.17 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.4
8.1
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
13 hrs
28 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
13 hrs
28 hrs
Charge Time
5.8 hrs
2.4 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
Yes
Charging Port
micro-USB
micro-USB
App Support
7.5
8.0
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
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
9.1
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connector
No Wired Option
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
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
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
6.7
7.5
Line Of Sight Range
58 ft
70.00 ft (21.34 m)
Latency - Dongle
99 ms
56 ms
Recorded Latency
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only (Not included)
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
Audio Only (Not included)
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only (Not Included)
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Audio Only (Not included)
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only (Not included)
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
Base/Dock
9.6
3.4
Type
Wireless 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
Yes
No
Power Supply
USB
USB
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
No
Audio Only (Not included)
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio + Microphone
No
Astro A50 Gen 3 Wireless 2017
SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless
Comments
Astro A50 Gen 3 vs SteelSeries Arctis 9X Wireless: Main Discussion
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