ASUS started Computex 2019 with an announcement of bizarre products ranging from the Zenbook Pro Duo to their Prime Utopia Concept. Its gaming brand, ROG, followed after AMD’s announcement of Ryzen 3 by showing off their complete lineup of X570 motherboards. They even announced their 30th-anniversary edition of products but it appears that ROG saved some new stuff waiting to be found on the Computex show floor. And to our surprise, we were able to see a variety of products hiding in plain sight in the booth, one of which was their audio gaming gears.
ROG Theta Gaming Headset
The most recent ROG Delta received praise as it’s the first gaming headset to have a quad-DAC system which helps in providing exceptional audio quality. The inclusion of the DAC allows the Delta to be used more than just gaming. However, lot’s of fans were still looking for a true surround sound experience as the Centurion is long due for a refresh. Instead of refreshing both products, ASUS decided to combine the products’ signature features to create a new signature headset dubbed the ROG Theta.
The ROG Theta uses 4 Neodymium ESS 9601 headphone drivers on each side to produce a true 7.1 surround sound experience. Instead of 5 drivers on a conventional 7.1 headset, ASUS removes the sub driver and relies on the Realtek S1220A 7.1channel codec to deliver pinpoint placements and piping the entire frequency spectrum including lows.
Another catchy thing about the ROG Theta is that it uses AI for its microphone. The Theta’s boom mic comes with a dedicated processor honed by an AI to preserve the user’s vocal harmonics while muting over 50 million types of background noises.
ROG Theta Electret
Analog is not yet dead with ROG’s latest Theta Electret Hi-Fi Gaming Headset. One thing that can be immediately noticed is the removal of RGB lighting. This is because the Theta Electret uses a 3.5mm jack with a 6.3mm adapter to accommodate a wider range of setups, including DACs and sound cards.
The Theta Electret uses planar magnetic drivers or as Asus would call it, “Electret driver.” A 45mm neodymium magnet driver is used to cover everything from 20Hz to 7.5Khz.
ROG CETRA Gaming Earbuds
ROG now has an answer to Razer’s Hammerhead and HyperX’s Cloud Earbuds. Unlike the Hammerhead and Cloud Earbuds, the ROG Cetra has a USB-C connection instead of a 3.5mm jack. This allows the ROG Cetra to have Active Noise Cancellation. The ANC function can be toggled on and off using the inline controls together with the volume.
The ROG Cetra also has an Ambient Mode which can be toggled via the same inline control. Ambient Mode drowns out mids and lows but captures and reproduces human vocal range and allows high-frequency sound which ensures you can hear emergency related events around you.
There are 4 extra earbuds that have different sizes for an ergonomic fit. The three sets of silicone tips and a pair of foam tips are stored inside a carrying case that’s also included in the package.
ROG Throne Qi RGB Headset Stand
ROG also refreshed their acrylic headphone stand to a stunning RGB headset stand. The new ROG Throne Qi headset stand now has RGB lighting on the base, similar to Razer’s headset stand. Beneath the ROG logo on the base is a Qi wireless charging module which can charge your Qi supported devices. Moreover, the ROG RGB headset also has an ESS 9118 DAC to plug in your ROG headset. Adding icing on top is Asus’ AuraSync lighting and support for USB 3.1 for its ports.
Pricing and Availability
The upcoming audio gears from ROG will be available as early as Q3 2019 with some devices pushing out late ’til Q4 2019,
Check out other ROG Computex 2019 coverage
