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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-04 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
• PChero 3.5mm — biggest strength: an in-line volume wheel that adds volume adjustment to any 3.5mm headphones that lack one, with no power required and, per the spec sheet, no attenuation of sound quality.
• PChero 3.5mm — biggest trade-off: it's a short 3.3ft extension cable only. No microphone, no mute, no call button.
• Tobysome A50 — biggest strength: it's a full media cable — volume wheel, inline mic with two switch settings, mute button and a call pickup/hangup button — built as a replacement for Astro A10/A20/A30/A40/A40TR/A50 headsets.
• Tobysome A50 — biggest trade-off: it's tuned to that specific headset family and its Xbox One / MixAmp / PC chain, so it's a poor fit if you don't own one of those headsets.
• Who each is for: PChero if you just want volume control on generic 3.5mm gear; Tobysome A50 if you're replacing a lost or damaged cable on an Astro-style headset and want mic plus controls back.
The PChero 3.5mm is a male-to-female stereo audio extension cable with a volume wheel sitting in the middle of it. Plug the male end into your phone, tablet, laptop, PC, MP3 player, car stereo or any other device with a 3.5mm aux port, and plug your headphones into the female end. That's the whole idea, and it's a good one: the in-line control lets you pick your own comfort level for volume, which is exactly what you want when your existing headphones have no volume control of their own. The description is explicit that it needs no power to operate, so there's no battery to charge and no pairing to fiddle with.
Build-wise, the details are sensible for a cable this cheap-feeling in concept: bare copper conductors, gold-plated plugs, polished metal connectors and strain-relief rings at the ends. The jacket is soft PVC with a tangle-free design, so it winds up without turning into a knot in your bag. It's black, round, and comes coiled in protective tubing. Length is 3.3ft — about a meter — which is long enough to reach from a pocket or a controller to your ears, but not a room-spanning run.
Who should skip it? If you need a microphone, this isn't it. There's no mic, no mute, no call button. And if you're expecting a Bluetooth solution, this is a wired aux cable — nothing wireless about it. If your headphones already have a volume control you like, this adds little.
Tobysome A50: Who It's For
The Tobysome A50 is a different animal. It's a replacement cable for Astro A10, A20, A30, A40, A40TR and A50 gaming headsets, and it's built to connect those headsets to an Xbox One controller, a MixAmp, or a PC or Mac with a combined mic/headphone 3.5mm jack. If your original cable got chewed by a pet, lost in a move, or just stopped working, this is the practical fix.
What you get along the 2m (about 6.6ft) run is a lot of control: a volume wheel, an inline microphone, a mute button, and a call pickup/hangup button. The mic switch has two positions, and this is the detail people miss — setting A enables the microphone in the A10/A40 headset itself, while setting B enables the inline mic built into the cable. The spec sheet is clear that to control your device with the cable, the switch needs to be in the B position. Get that wrong and you'll wonder why the buttons do nothing.
The cable uses a super core wire construction with gold-plated connectors, and Tobysome pitches it as delivering clear, lossless 3D stereo sound. The connector is male-to-male with a 7-pin count, which tells you it's not a generic aux cord — it's wired for that headset ecosystem. Tobysome positions itself as a maker of replacement 3C accessories, and this is squarely that: a spare part that restores function.
Who should buy it? Astro headset owners who want their inline controls back without hunting down an original cable. It's also a reasonable pick for someone using one of those headsets with a phone or music device on the go, since the inline mic and volume wheel let you take calls and adjust music from the cable rather than the headset. If you game at a desk with a MixAmp or plug into a controller, this is the cable designed for exactly that chain.
Who should skip it? If you don't own one of the listed Astro headsets, this cable is the wrong shape and the wrong wiring for you. And if you were hoping for a wireless setup, this is a wired replacement cable — it won't make anything Bluetooth. There's also no water-resistance rating here, so treat it as an indoor gaming cable rather than something to expose to rain.
• Best for adding volume to headphones that lack it → PChero 3.5mm. That's its entire purpose, and it does it without power.
• Best for replacing a lost or broken Astro headset cable → Tobysome A50. The 7-pin, male-to-male design and Astro compatibility list make it a direct swap.
• Best for a built-in microphone → Tobysome A50. PChero has no mic at all; Tobysome has both an inline mic and a headset-mic mode via the A/B switch.
• Best for call handling and mute → Tobysome A50. It has dedicated mute and pickup/hangup buttons; PChero has only a volume wheel.
• Best for reach → Tobysome A50. At roughly 6.6ft it's about double the 3.3ft PChero, which matters if your source sits far from your head.
• Best for cars, bikes and generic devices → PChero 3.5mm. Any phone, tablet, laptop, MP3 player, car stereo or 3.5mm speaker will take it; the Tobysome cable won't behave the same way outside its headset family.
• Best for a light, packable spare → PChero 3.5mm. Tangle-free PVC, coiled in tubing, and small enough to live in a pocket.
• Best for a music-and-calls cable on an Astro headset → Tobysome A50. The inline mic and volume wheel are made for exactly that.
If you're building a motorcycle setup, here's the honest framing: a wired cable can give you volume control, and the PChero is the more universal of the two for that, since it works with whatever 3.5mm source and speakers or earbuds you already own — a wired with mic headset for motorcycle arrangement rather than a wireless one. Neither cable is waterproof, and neither is a Bluetooth headphones for motorcycle solution. If riding in weather is your priority, look for a headset with a proper water-resistance rating instead of trying to make a cable do that job.
In my opinion, the right pick comes down to one question: do you already own an Astro headset? If yes, I'd buy the Tobysome A50 — it restores your mic, mute, call button and volume wheel in one part, and the 6.6ft length gives you room to move. If you don't, I'd buy the PChero 3.5mm, because it works with practically any 3.5mm device and adds the volume control you're missing with no power and no fuss. For motorcycle use specifically, I'd lean PChero for its universal fit — but I'd pair it with a water-resistant headset rather than expecting the cable to handle rain. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit.
Just a cable. It's a 3.3ft male-to-female stereo extension with an in-line volume wheel, no microphone and no battery. You plug your own headphones or earbuds into it.
Per its spec sheet it's built for Astro A10/A20/A30/A40/A40TR/A50 headsets and Xbox One controllers, MixAmps, and PCs or Macs with a combined mic/headphone jack. It's a 7-pin male-to-male cable, so it isn't a general-purpose aux cord.
Check the switch. Position A enables the headset's own microphone; position B enables the inline mic in the cable. The spec sheet notes that to control your device with the cable, the switch must be in the B position.
Neither cable is listed with a water-resistance rating, so I wouldn't count on either for wet rides. If you want ipx7 waterproof gaming headphones for motorcycle use, that's a headset spec to look for separately — these two are best treated as fair-weather, wired audio accessories.
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