ASUS ROG Strix Wireless Gaming Headset Review

[section label=”Price/Where to buy”]

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Price / Where to Buy:

US – TBA – ASUS ROG STRIX Wireless Headset
PH – Php8500

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ROG Strix is the newest recruit into the Republic of Gamers. A series of specialized gaming gear designed for the rebel in all of us, Strix exemplifies ROG’s premier performance, innovative technology, and leading quality, but with its own confident and dynamic attitude. Featuring bold designs and bright colors, this exciting new series possesses a spirit of fierce individualism that charges every gaming experience with thrilling energy. ROG Strix equips players with the necessary speed and agility to dominate their game.

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Features & Specifications

2.4GHz wireless gaming headset with 7.1 surround sound, 10+ hour battery life, and multiplatform compatibility

• Low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless connection
• Dual-antenna design for better and more stable audio transmission
• 7.1 virtual surround sound
• Full audio control with Sonic Studio
• Wide compatibility with gaming consoles, PCs, Mac, and mobile devices
• 10+ hour battery life for marathon gaming without interruption

Official product page

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Closer Look

Comparing to the Strix Pro, Asus decided to cut down corner’s in its packaging with a glossy plastic instead of cardboard. On the back you can find a detailed description of its features as well as its specifications and a sneak peek of its software.

Inside the box you have the following items:

• Strix Wireless Headset
• Product Manual & Warranty Guide
• Wireless Receiver
• Detachable boom mic
• Micro USB charging cable
• 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable
• 3.5mm splitter

The ROG Strix wireless carry the exact same look of its older brother, the Strix Pro headset, but with a better orange accent and the ROG name & logo on the side.

The left side earpiece has the 4 onboard controls available: 2 for volume, a mic on/off switch and the illuminated power switch. Just below the volume controls are the ports for the included cables.

The earcups seem to have improved over its big brother with a wider earspace in exchance for a smaller earcup cushion. The headset cushion also improved by being just slightly softer compared to the Strix Pro.

[section label=”Software”]

The headset is fairly large and bulky for travel. One minor complaint of mine is the clamping force of the headset when wearing for the first few times. Aside from that the headset is all around comfortable thanks to the swivel capability of the earcups and improved headband cushion.

Software

I am very impressed with the software as it has whack ton of options for tweaking it to your liking. The software is very straight forward and all you need and its functions is presented in one window. This removes the hassle of switching tabs and going back and forth to tweak different settings. The sound profile includes a bonus configuration for mimicking the ASUS’ Orion Pro and Vulcan Pro headset.

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User Experience & Conclusion

Let’s break it down for the ASUS ROG Strix Wireless Headset:

Performance. The software greatly improves the performance of the headset. Options are great, most 7.1 headsets only offer an equalizer on their software. The redesigned frame of the headset makes the earcup swivel to better fit different head shape and sizes and also reduces the clamping force of the headset when worn. The quality is still the same with the Strix Pro but for the price I was expecting a little bit of improvement. Audio quality is subjective and for those looking for pitch-perfect audio reproduction, you’re still better off with dedicated monitors but this headset does deliver exquisite audio still but not in the level of its price-neighbors particularly the ATH-M50x and its budget brothers.

Build Quality. The build quality of the ROG Strix Wireless is pretty much the same with the Strix Pro with some minor improvements aimed at comfort. One thing to note is that you’ll hear an audible feedback and when clicking the on-ear buttons. Not to mention the irritating actuation point of the button that makes the earcup push against the your ear just to successfully click the button. The mic switch is also not comfortable because the force required to toggle the switch is strong enough to make the headset adjust slighty up or down.

Functionality. Functionality-wise, the ROG Strix Wireless headset performs as much as you’d expect. The battery life is at 10hours for music playback and is around 6-8 hours for instense gaming sessions specially with the 7.1 surround functionality on.  Unfortunately, the Environmental Noise Cancellation was cut down in this headset. Although it still provide some noise cancellation, it still isn’t enough to enjoy the headset at a large crowd without having to crank up the volume to loud.

Bundle. The bundle is pretty much straight forward. The included cables makes up for the total price of the headset to cater maximum compatibility among different use case scenarios. However, adding a bluetooth option to make this headset fully wireless would’ve been great considering its price point. And with the headset being wireless, I expected a carrying pouch for it for travelling purposes because its too bulky.

Value. Priced at Php8,500, this headset makes is very tough choice. All the improvements that were made from Strix Pro plus the wireless functionality and the ROG branding is a hard price to pay. Alternatively, you can just opt for the Strix Pro priced at 4,630 and the remaining 4,000php could just be invested at another headset for traveling and for your mobile entertainment.

The design is still a “hate it or love it” but with a much more improved design and ergonomics. The software makes up most of the headset’s value as it brings out its full performance thanks to the tweaking options present in the software. However, for the price of 8,500, the headset is very much a hard sell considering you can just opt for 2 headsets aimed for different use cases at that price point. I wouldn’t recommend this as your daily driver because the battery drains much faster when you use more feature of the software and not to mention the charge time required, alternatively you can just plug in the micro USB cable to have it charge while gaming but that just mostly defeats the purpose of a wireless headset specially when using it with your mobile phone as it has no bluetooth function.

BossMac’s Notes: There have been only a few wireless gaming headsets released over the past few months and that’s because this is a very, very niche market. Despite the appeal of wireless technology and its evident prevalence in the audio/listening market, its technical execution in the field of professional gaming peripheral is tough to execute due to the high expectations of its audience. That said, the only notable wireless gaming headsets right now are the likes from Razer, Creative SoundBlaster, and Corsair all of which specialize in some form over the others. The ASUS ROG Strix leverages the same technical prowess as its wired brothers with the signal reliability of the same. Getting picky with sound, the wired does have the power advantage but for the majority of listeners, the built-in batteries offer enough punch to deliver notable performance even in virtual surround mode. Wired mode removes these limitations and allows the headset to work in tandem with your audio card to deliver the best that this headset can offer.

Ultimately it all boils down to preference and ASUS does offer a well-rounded set of hardware and software for gamers, providing a full set of utilities for convenient voice chat and game audio reproduction and this makes the ASUS ROG STRIX wireless headset a top choice in deciding which wireless headset to go for.

ASUS backs this product with a 1-year warrant. We give it our B2G Performance Award!