Fortunately, after a week or so, you'll memorize what's what and always know what to hit. Changing the master volume is done by a spinning an easy-to-find dial that sits parallel to your right ear.

For the longest time, I couldn't get over the idea that voice should be in front - where the microphone is - and game volume should be in the back - where the headphones are. Tapping on the front of the right headphone increases the game volume, tapping the back increases voice volume. Miraculously, the folks at Astro found a way to jam the A40's voice/game mixer into the headset without making the A50s significantly heavier or bulkier. The most significant change in the A50s isn't the elimination of a single cord, but rather an entire mixer. The HardwareOf course, all this wireless stuff might not even be the A50’s biggest triumph. Astro tells us it’s is in the process of addressing this glitch, which should be fixed soon in a firmware update. Even so, they have a tendency to dip audio intermittently for a fraction of a second. With a direct line of sight to the receiver, the Astro A50’s can transmit to about 30 feet without jeopardizing the sound or dealing with significant audio dropout. Unless your living room is the size of the Taj Mahal, these things will transmit audio flawlessly. This is, indubitably, the one you trip on as you tumble into your candle collection and burn down your house. What makes the A50s wireless is the subtraction of the worst of all cords - the one that winds from your headset to console. If you’re an Xbox-er who abhors wires as much as I do, you might want to wait for the Tritton Warheads, which are releasing soon and feature wireless game chat – even on Xbox. When your headphones are charging on the included stand, they're going to be more wired than a robot ferret drinking Mountain Dew. There's no way to 'fix' this, as wires are our necessary evil, but if you're hoping for an entirely cord-free setup, bad news: it still doesn't exist. If your console is out in the open, those cords will add up, all wiggling around like snake spaghetti. But Xbox usage is especially messy, requiring you to plug your headset into your controller to experience Xbox Live chat audio, which sort of defeats the point of “wireless” headphones. The Astro A50s work with Xbox 360, PS3, PCs and Mac, and many handheld consoles and home theaters. The headset doesn’t need to be plugged in to the receiver though. Define The receiver will need to be plugged in to at least two ports (TOSLINK cable for audio, USB for power) at all times.

The A50s don’t require you to plug your headphones into any MixAmp at all, but calling them 'wireless' is still a bit of a misnomer. Astro has been flirting with wireless headsets for a while, even selling wireless A40s that plugs in to a separate wireless MixAmp for US $279.99. I use a wireless mouse, buy speakers that are AirPlay compatible, and opt for induction charging whenever possible. That's why I'll take wireless - with all it's intricacies and hiccups - anytime I can get it.

Astro a50 xbox one chat adapter