Astro’s new budget A10 headset is made for players who want to look cute on stream

engadget.com:

In today’s world of Twitch and Zoom a good headset is becoming a must-have item for their comfort and audio quality. But there are two major stopping blocks toward them being an everyday item: their high cost and unfriendly designs. No one wants to look like an air traffic controller or call center employee, but at the other end it’s all severe black and neon green, more suited to Fortnite or Roblox than a meeting about your latest call about KPIs and OKRs. But Astro, one of the leading names in gaming headsets, might just have the solution with its new A10 headset.

The Logitech-owned company has an array of headsets with an “A” prefix followed by a number; the higher the number, the more advanced and expensive the headset. The current top of the line is the A50, a wireless set that comes with a base station for charging. It looks like a piece of equipment from a science fiction movie, and it costs $300.

The new A10 sits at the opposite end of the lineup, a $60 wired headset that pretty much eschews all frills. There’s a flexible flip-to-mute mic and in-line volume control and that’s about it. The ear pads and headband are well-padded in a smooth cloth that is only lightly textured so it doesn’t catch on my hair when I slide it on and off. The mic has a rubbery feel to it, both to the touch but also in the way you can band it back and forth.

And it’s not just the mic you can bend back and forth; the band of the A10 can be twisted into a near spiral without showing any cracking or tearing. It’s designed to be dropped and thrown, which is good because I have knocked it off my desk several times today while working. (I have a messy workspace, okay?)

Key to the new A10’s appeal is the color options; it comes in black, white,