Description
This product is a replacement boom microphone for the Astro A40 TR gaming headset. That is the single most important fact on the page, and Astro states it plainly in the listing: every A40 TR headset ships with this microphone, so it should only be purchased if you need a replacement. It is a genuine Astro Gaming part supplied in the manufacturer’s original packaging, in black, listed since April 2016.
If you arrived here looking for a microphone to record with, to stream with, or to use on its own with a computer, this is not that product and it will not do that job. It is a spare part that clips into an A40 TR headset. The section below covers what it is, and the rest of this page covers what to buy instead if you actually want a microphone.
What This Part Does
The A40 TR is a wired gaming headset with a detachable boom microphone, and detachability is one of its selling points: you can remove the boom to use the headset as plain headphones, and you can replace the boom if it breaks. This listing is that replaceable component sold on its own.
Booms fail in predictable ways. The flexible arm loses its shape or snaps, the connector wears from repeated insertion, or the microphone capsule stops picking up cleanly. When that happens, buying the part is far cheaper than replacing a working headset, and it is the sensible repair. The fact that Astro sells the component separately at all is a point in the headset’s favor, because plenty of manufacturers do not.
The listing gives a few electrical specifications: an impedance of 50 ohms, a signal to noise ratio of 76 dB, one channel, and a power source described as corded electric, meaning it draws what it needs through the headset connection rather than from a battery. Astro lists the hardware platform as Xbox One and PS4, which reflects the era of the listing rather than a limitation of the part itself; the microphone works with whatever the A40 TR headset works with.
Compatibility Is Narrow
Read the compatibility carefully. Astro specifies this as a replacement microphone for black A40 TR headsets. It is not described as compatible with other Astro headsets, with earlier A40 models that are not TR versions, or with headsets from other manufacturers. Boom microphone connectors are proprietary and not interchangeable across brands or even across generations within a brand.
Before ordering, confirm two things: that your headset is specifically an A40 TR, and that the connector on your headset matches the one on this part. If your A40 TR is a colored variant rather than black, the part will presumably still function, but the color will not match, and the listing only names the black version.
Before You Order a Replacement
A boom microphone is not always the component at fault when voice chat stops working, and a spare part is only the right purchase once you have established that it is. Three checks are worth running first.
Start with the cable and the connection. On a wired headset, the inline cable and its connector see far more mechanical stress than the boom does, and a failing cable produces symptoms that look identical to a failed microphone. Try a different cable if you have one, and try the headset on a different device to rule out a port or a software setting.
Then check the software side. Muted inputs, a wrong default recording device, a disabled microphone in operating system privacy settings, or a chat application using a different device are all common causes of a microphone that appears dead. On consoles, check the chat mix and party settings as well. None of these require a new part.
Finally, inspect the boom itself. A visible break in the flexible arm, a loose or bent connector, or a capsule that produces sound only when the arm is held at a particular angle all point to the boom as the failure, and in those cases this replacement is the correct fix. Physical damage of that sort does not repair itself and is not worth improvising around, since a taped boom arm will fail again in the same place.
Highlights
- Genuine Astro Gaming replacement microphone in original manufacturer packaging.
- Specified for black Astro A40 TR headsets.
- Listed impedance of 50 ohms with a 76 dB signal to noise ratio.
- Single channel, powered through the headset connection rather than separately.
- Detachable design, so the headset can be used as plain headphones without it.
- Sold as a spare part, since Astro states the microphone ships with every A40 TR headset.
Things To Consider
The imported specification block for this product is close to meaningless and several fields would actively mislead:
- The microphone form factor is listed as “Lavalier”. A lavalier is a small clip-on microphone worn on clothing. This is a boom microphone that attaches to a headset. The two are not the same thing and are not interchangeable.
- Item weight is listed as 2.2 pounds. A boom microphone weighs a fraction of an ounce. This figure is not credible.
- Product dimensions are given as 1.97 x 1.97 x 1.97 inches, a cube, which cannot describe a boom arm.
- Special features reads “Adjustable Headband”. This part has no headband; it is not a headset.
- A noise level of 52 dB is listed alongside a 76 dB signal to noise ratio, and the listing gives no context for either figure.
The categorization is also worth flagging rather than fixing. This item sits under computer microphones on this site and in the source listing data, which places a headset spare part alongside standalone recording microphones. A reader browsing that category should know the difference before clicking through.
The practical consideration for a buyer is straightforward: check whether you need this at all. If you have just bought an A40 TR headset, the microphone is already in the box. If you are replacing a broken one, this is the correct part and buying the genuine component avoids compatibility problems. If neither applies, you want a different product.
Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Not
Buy this part if you own a black Astro A40 TR headset and its microphone is damaged, lost or no longer working. It is the manufacturer’s own component, it comes in original packaging, and it restores a working headset for a fraction of a replacement cost. Repairing rather than replacing is the right call whenever the part is available.
Do not buy it for any other purpose. If you want a microphone for streaming, podcasting or recording, a USB unit such as the ZealSound K66 or the compact Blue Snowflake plugs straight into a computer, and a studio condenser such as the Rode NT2000 is the serious recording option, though it needs an audio interface. If what you actually need is a whole headset, something like the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition covers gaming audio and voice chat in one purchase. Our computer microphones category and headsets category cover both routes.
