We had a chance to test the ASUS ROG Cetra II, in-ear gaming headphones that seem to be the perfect allies for gamers in view of the upcoming summer heat. In this review I want to tell you about these headphones, starting from the simple contents of the box and analyzing all the various aspects that distinguish them.
The ASUS ROG Cetra II are available on Amazon and the list price is € 139.99, but now it is possible to find it at € 123.52, but before proceeding with the purchase let’s try to understand if they are actually for you. Let’s begin!
What’s in the box
The care of ASUS in presenting its products stands out from the beginning, the box is in fact very beautiful, it has the ASUS ROG logo and at the bottom we find the writing ROG Cetra II in a laminated-like material (lamincards come to mind ) which creates plays of light based on how we tilt it.
The opening is very simple and takes place laterally, while inside we find the sponge precisely cut to keep the contents firmly and protected. In the package we find:
- The ASUS ROG Cetra II headphones with integrated controller and integrated USB-C cable
- 3 pairs of silicone rubber pads of different sizes, one of which is already mounted on the earphones
- a pair of foam pads
- 3 different fins for greater comfort and more stability in the ear
- a clip to secure the cable
- a case to protect the headphones when on the go
- warranty manual
Below you can see an unboxing of the product where I show everything I told you about above.
Design
The design of the ASUS ROG Cetra II is certainly aggressive and personally I don’t mind, certainlyand they are not headphones that go unnoticed, thanks also to the ASUS ROG logo equipped with RGB LED lighting. Each earphone, quite large compared to the average but with a solid appearance (they are made of aluminum and plastic), hides a driver in LSR material, in fact we find the ASUS Essence drivers able to offer more stable speaker performance with improved bass.
There is so much choice in the box when it comes to i rubber padsif you prefer the classic silicone ones you will have 3 sizes available, but there are also foam ones, available in one size, also because the foam pads should easily adapt to your ear thanks to their softness and adaptability.
There are also 3 pairs of fins of different sizes that can be easily changed or completely removed. Here there is total freedom, the fins can in fact guarantee greater stability during use, but there are also those who do not prefer them, like myself, and in this case they can be safely removed, using only the rubber pads. Even using the AUS ROG Cetra II without the fins, I found no problems, using the right size of rubber pads the headphones do not tend to come out of the ear and fall and are therefore comfortable and stable.
There is a integrated controller equipped with 4 buttons and a small circular white LED. This controller has a button on the side that allows you to switch between ANC, Ambient and No ANC modes; the activated mode can be found by means of the front white LED, which lights up steadily when the active mode is ANC, flashes when in Ambient mode and is completely off when the ANC is deactivated.
On the front there are two buttons for adjusting the volume and a central button that allows you to pause and start playing content on the screen. The controller is certainly practical, but I would have expected a few more key combinations, perhaps with the ability to go forward or backward in playback with a double press or a long press of the + and – keys.
The cable honestly disappointed me a little for two reasons in particular: length and quality. I remember these headphones connect via cable USB-C, a connection that is convenient on latest generation laptops and mobile devices where the connection port is close at hand, while it can give some “problems” on Desktop PCs, given the USB Type-C ports are often located on the back . A desktop computer case can often be out of reach, so the problem I’m referring to is the distance between the gamer and the USB-C port in question, and a longer cable would certainly have helped.
Another thing that did not convince me 100% is the quality of the cable, it is definitely a resistant cable, but from a premium-looking ASUS ROG product like this I would have expected a braided or thicker cable. Obviously this is not a problem from a functional point of view, but maybe ASUS could take this into account for a future version?
Audio and microphone
The audio quality provided by the ASUS ROG Cetra II is excellent forgaming use, the gaming experience is fantastic and doesn’t make us miss a pair of over-ear headphones. There are various EQ presets available for games, such as FPS where audio is very important to locate the position of enemies, and it is also possible to activate the virtual 7.1 surround sound through the Armory Crate software, which I will tell you about shortly.
These are headphones that can also be safely used for general use, to see a movie or to listen to music if you do not have special needs. However, they do not shine in listening to music, certainly they are usable but you can see the difference with in-ear headphones dedicated to this area, and honestly it is also right so since we are talking about a product clearly aimed at gamers, and in that sector it behaves admirably.
L’ANC it is not perfect, but it still performs well in a home environment, where noises may exist but are still usually more contained than outside. In outdoor use, however, the active noise cancellation did not impress me, you can hear the difference when you go to deactivate the ANC but in any case I have experienced better. The ambient mode is instead very useful to be able to hear all external sounds at best and works discreetly.
The microphone is integrated in the earphones and is omnidirectional, during my tests I found it sufficient to communicate with your playmates during gaming sessions, but let’s say that I would have expected better quality; the audio is in fact a bit muffled and not crystal clear, so I would not use them for calls and the various communication apps.
Software
The software with which you can manage these headphones is Asus Armory Crate, when you connect the headphones to the PC for the first time, if it is not already installed, a popup appears suggesting its installation and takes us directly to the application download. Once inside you find yourself in front of 3 sections: Audio, Lighting and Firmware Update.
The section Audio gives us access to many parameters, including volume, bits, Hz, equalization profile, equalizer to customize the sound to your liking, the ability to activate various reverb options, virtual surround sound and in short everything you can see from the screenshot above . There are also some microphone options.
In the section Lighting on the other hand, it is possible to manage the LEDs on the earphones by choosing from many effects and in some cases setting the preferred color. There is also the possibility of using Aura Sync for synchronization with other compatible devices or the possibility of making the LEDs go to the beat of the music.
The third section is only used to check for updates and to install them if necessary. In general, the software seemed quite complete to me, there are many options with which to manage the audio settings independently trying to find the right balance, but everything must be done from a computer. The Armory crate app is also available on smartphones, but it does not find the earphones, it is probably not compatible with these Asus ROG Cetra II but it is a shame because for those who intend to use them mainly for gaming on smartphones it could certainly be more comfortable to manage the settings from there.
Conclusions
What can I say, the ASUS ROG Cetra II convinced me and I’m sure they can be valid companions for gaming sessions, both on the PC, especially during the summer when the temperatures rise and the over-ear headphones start to get a little ‘annoying, but especially for mobile gaming, therefore for smartphone users and for those who play with the Nintendo Switch. Something can be improved, mainly microphone and cable come to mind, but in any case they are defects that are noticed only in case of particular needs and that in general do not weigh too much on the overall experience.
#ASUS #ROG #Cetra #review #gaming #inear