Best Gamer HEADSET ASUS review

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Best Gamer HEADSET ASUS review

When you build one of the Best gaming PC you might spend a lot of time thinking about all the ways you can get better visuals, higher resolutions and ever-higher framerates. But what about audio? One of the first thing many system builders will overlook is the sound quality of their PC – even though gaming is so much more immersive and enjoyable when you have one of the best PC gaming headsets.

We have been fortunate enough to be able to get our hands one a wide variety of exciting and inventive headsets over the last year or so, and while many of the best PC gaming headsets will be wireless with full surround capability, there are still plenty of more affordable options. Don’t fall into that perennial trap of buying more expensive tech for no reason. All of the best PC gaming headsets will strike a balance between quality, price and aesthetic. Bar none.

Regardless of any other features, it should be obvious that great sound quality is absolutely the most important thing even the best gaming headset needs. A headset can have all the fanciest features in the world, but if it doesn’t sound good, then it’s a waste of your time and money – period. That’s why we’ve tested a swathe for your information below.

    Asus ROG Centurion 7.1

            10 drivers, 7.1 channels, one impeccable headset

                 Interface: Wired (USB) | Features: 10-driver 7.1 surround sound, dual-USB              amplifier, Sonic Software compatibility, HDMI passthrough, amplifier with audio profile and channel volume controls, unidirectional microphone

  Eschewing any traditional rules of fashion, the ROG Centurion 7.1 is a beautiful          headset regardless. Even if it’s a genuine pain to get going, this excellent PC gaming         headset features both surprising style and a knack for emitting extremely clear sound.    The Asus ROG Centurion 7.1’s onboard amp controls give you complete control over  this bombastic sound, and this beast can even bolster its already amazing sound through a passthrough to an external set of speakers. Really, this thing is great. 

VERDICT

If you can handle the Asus ROG Centurion’s weight and ostentatious design, the headset offers superb audio clarity and game-beating sound-manipulating features.

FOR

• Excellent spatial sound
• Speaker pass through
• Software gives an edge in shooters
• Includes display stand

AGAINST

• Can only be used with its amp
• Heavy and bulky
• Chunky cable

Design

Ever wanted to look like a Tie Fighter pilot while playing Star Wars Battlefront? The Asus ROG Centurion will have you covered. A gargantuan black headset with orange and chrome accents, it’s one of the biggest headsets we’ve ever played with.

That has both its benefits and drawbacks. The default, giant leather cups (which can be swapped out with in-the-box fabric ones if you prefer) fully encompass the ear, doing a great job of passively keeping external sound out, while the large retractable microphone boom can be easily grabbed and pulled into action, flexing where needed. There’s a decent amount of breathability in the cups too – even after long sessions wearing them, your ears will stay relatively cool.

However, they are unavoidably bulky. With their own pulsing lights, you’ll definitely stand out at your next tournament, but their size hardly makes them portable – as evidenced by the included stand that accompanies the package. The ROG Centurion is definitely intended to take pride of place on your desk and travel nowhere else. They’re not heavy enough to be painful (liberal padding on the headband does its job well), but a lighter weight would make them more comfortable, and better suited to anyone without a head the size of a melon.

The-in-your-face design language continues over to the Centurion’s amp, a stout hexagonal prism about the size of a hockey puck. It’s laden with buttons to control 7.1 channel levels, master volume, speaker passthrough, mic muting and the Centurion’s myriad in-game audio profiles, and has enough indicator lights itself to start its own airport runway.

Setup and amp

Unlike some of its competition, the Asus ROG Centurion is a purely wired affair, meaning you’re tethered to your computer the whole time while wearing it. It’s doubly inflexible, however, due to the connection it uses. On the end of its fixed, thick braided cable sits a HDMI port to plug into the amp, rather than a more common USB connector, let alone a headphone jack.

This essentially means that the headset can only be used in conjunction with the Centurion’s amp. That cable can also get in the way a bit, being too rigid to comfortably drape down your neck and onto your shoulder.

The imposing nature of the kit doesn’t stop there – the amp requires a two-way, Y-splitter USB cable connection with your PC, meaning you’ll need two spare USB ports to power the Centurion.

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Dual-USB requirements can be justified however by just how much this little amp is doing. Not only is it driving your 7.1 channel experience, it’s also allowing for surround sound speaker passthrough, thanks to another HDMI connection cable, which splits off into the corresponding colored speaker channel jacks.

In addition, the amp is where you’ll control all the ROG Centurion’s audio profiles and channel volumes. The top central dial acts as a power and volume controller, while also letting you scroll between profiles. A secondary, smaller wheel on the front lets you pick between individual channels to tweak. 

Along with four physical buttons for switching between 7.1 and stereo, activating the volume-boosting amp function, switching on the mic and jumping between the headset and stereo passthrough option, there’s a lot to take in. But, once you’ve got a grasp of all the controls, the amp’s dials give you unprecedented control over almost every aspect of its audio performance.

Sound quality

The Asus ROG Centurion 7.1 headset is not for the faint of heart then, but it more than justifies its boisterous build through the quality of its sound. When popped over your ears and powered up, it’s enough to make you lose track of time playing.

It manages to deliver a convincing 7.1 surround sound experience, thanks to its use of 10 individual drivers. Each ear cup houses five discrete neodymium magnets, finely tuned to give a sense of enveloping sound while you play.

Though you can tweak EQ settings with an Asus software package (more on that in a second), by default it’s a warm and convincing soundstage. It’s not quite a match for dedicated surround speakers, but it’s certainly more accurately placing sounds than with a virtual surround set up employed by headphones not equipped with individual drivers.

Adjustable audio presets can be activated on the fly, too, thanks to the amp. Though there are options for highlighting gunfire, racing sounds and a vocal-boosting RPG option, it’s the FPS footsteps mode that’s likely to be the most useful. While it sounds like an unnatural mix of a first-person shooter’s audio, the tweaked frequencies let you easily pinpoint anyone sneaking up behind you, giving you an edge on the competition.

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