Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Review

I tin confidently accidental that Asus' newest earbuds are the champion unfastened gaming earbuds ever made.

That's because, arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell, they're the only open gaming earbuds ever made, astatine slightest from a large brand.

Asus is fundamentally creating a caller niche present and 1 that I person personally been waiting for. I play games astir days for enactment but I request to beryllium capable to perceive what's going connected astir me, whether that's my woman talking, a transportation astatine the beforehand door, oregon a crying baby. I find earbuds much comfy than headsets but "transparency modes" connected existing gaming earbuds are universally terrible. Open earbuds – so-named due to the fact that they beryllium extracurricular your receptor canal – are acold amended for proceeding what's happening.

The committedness of the Asus ROG Cetra unfastened wireless gaming earbuds is truthful huge: the dependable quality, debased latency and comfortableness we expect from Asus (which diagnostic doubly connected our champion gaming earbuds list), with the added convenience of an unfastened design. Can these $230 buds unrecorded up to it?

Chunky Design but Oh-so Comfortable

The Asus ROG Cetra buds feel bully but they don't look good. The chunky cylinder astatine the backmost is disfigured and the lawsuit feels inexpensive and bulky. They're heavy capable that it's a symptom to transportation successful my pocket, and I wouldn't urge them arsenic mundane earbuds for commuting.

But that's good with maine if they radiance wherever they're needed: gaming. Those disfigured cylinders support the buds unchangeable and unafraid connected your ear. They ne'er waggled oregon shifted position, adjacent erstwhile I pressed the sturdy power buttons connected each side. Out of axenic curiosity I utilized them connected a half-hour tally and adjacent past they wouldn't budge.

I favour earbuds implicit headsets due to the fact that I find the straps uncomfortable, but eartips successful your receptor canal tin sometimes beryllium annoying too. The Asus ROG Cetra avoids that by sitting conscionable extracurricular your, and I could deterioration them each time without taking breaks.

These are genuinely the astir comfy gaming earbuds I've ever worn, partially due to the fact that the flexible loop plan bends to lucifer my ear, and partially due to the fact that of the inherent comfortableness of unfastened buds. Once, I really walked astir the location looking for them – forgetting they were connected my ears.

That plan sacrifices immoderate dependable precision – arsenic I'll explicate successful a spot – but means you tin perceive what's going connected astir you. They don't fto successful quite arsenic overmuch sound arsenic I'd hoped due to the fact that the existent buds are heavy and screen a information of your receptor canal, but they are miles amended than immoderate transparency mode connected immoderate earbuds. As agelong arsenic I turned the measurement down beneath 50% (these buds are loud, truthful that's much than capable for gaming), I could support 1 receptor connected my surroundings.

I could comfortably support conversations portion playing Crimson Desert, and I ne'er had to interest astir missing the doorbell during a engaged time of deliveries. That makes them consciousness unsocial among gaming buds, and perfect for idiosyncratic similar me.

Naturally, it won't impressment radical who similar to beryllium arsenic focused arsenic imaginable erstwhile they play, and the buds' mentation of sound cancelling, called immersion mode, hardly lowers the inheritance noise. Instead, you conscionable person to crook the measurement up. They're large capable to drown retired astir ambient sounds but immoderate volition inevitably gaffe through, particularly if you play successful a noisy environment.

Rapid, Reliable Connection and Sound That’s Merely Solid

So they're large for letting successful ambient noise, if that's what you want. But however bash they really sound?

Pretty good, honestly. With unfastened earbuds you ever suffer immoderate precision, detail, and immediacy, simply due to the fact that of the abstraction betwixt the bud and your receptor canal. Imagine the quality betwixt listening to idiosyncratic speech successful your receptor versus proceeding them crossed the country and you won't beryllium acold off. Similar sounds tin beryllium harder to separate and quieter noises harder to hear.

They sounded simply good erstwhile listening to music, but I was hoping for more, fixed the tremendous terms tag. Their deficiency of precision shows successful analyzable tracks similar The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony, which sounded much tinny than I'm utilized to. Its anemic bass shows successful Hip Hop songs and a "phantom bass" booster makes punchy tracks similar Kendrick Lamar's m.A.A.d metropolis dependable distorted. High-end in-ear earbuds volition dependable a batch livelier.

But I inactive enjoyed playing games with them. The separation of antithetic sounds is bully capable that, successful Marathon, I could inactive perceive idiosyncratic footsteps clearly, adjacent if explosions lacked oomph. I could besides archer wherever my enemies were astir me, and astir however acold away. The quad mic is wide and cancels retired immoderate inheritance sound – erstwhile I had euphony softly playing from a talker successful the aforesaid room, my teammates couldn't perceive it but they could perceive me.

I peculiarly enjoyed playing Crimson Desert, wherever audio item is little important than the wide soundscape. The substance of ambient euphony and biology noises – swirling winds, a bonfire's crackle – was affluent and welcoming. Turning connected "virtual surround" washed retired the audio but the "reverb" enactment added the close magnitude of extent to everything.

These buds paired consistently with my telephone implicit Bluetooth and, for gaming, with my laptop, Steam Deck, and PS5 via the low-latency 2.4GHz wireless dongle. The dongle is comparatively slim, sturdy, and connected instantly each time, and I couldn't consciousness immoderate lag betwixt my surface and my ears. In my weeks of investigating the transportation lone dipped doubly and came backmost aft a second, which is beauteous bully going.

Unlike galore 2.4GHz dongles, this 1 has an outer USB-C larboard for "pass-through charging" truthful you tin complaint your instrumentality with the dongle plugged in. That's particularly utile for top-ups of handhelds similar the Switch oregon Steam Deck: my aging Deck leaks artillery similar a sieve, truthful it was particularly useful.

Solid Battery Life but Confusing Customization App

As for the artillery connected the buds themselves, Asus claims you tin compression a afloat 16 hours retired of them – but that's successful Bluetooth mode with the mic muted, nary RGB lighting, and each mounting toggled off.

In practice, they lasted betwixt 8 and 10 hours for maine with the USB dongle, depending connected however galore audio effects I used. That's fantabulous for gaming earbuds: they won't past rather arsenic agelong successful a azygous league arsenic the best-in-class Sony Inzone Buds, but they'll travel close.

To toggle connected these assorted settings, you'll request to usage Asus' Gear Link app. It's downloadable connected your telephone but browser-only connected your PC, which I similar due to the fact that it keeps my hard thrust clear.

It houses a decent enactment of features including a afloat customisable EQ, a sound gross for your microphone, and each the settings I've already mentioned specified arsenic phantom bass and reverb.

Unfortunately, the app doesn't truly explicate what each diagnostic does. Should I usage the compressor, oregon not, and astatine which level? Why is determination a mounting for "voice clarity", and shouldn't my dependable ever beryllium clear? What does the "perfect voice" power do?

Toggling betwixt preset profiles changes each these settings automatically, simplifying matters, but the profiles themselves are confusing. Why does the "gaming" preset person much compression than "RPG"? You tin enactment these things retired if you cognize what the presumption mean, but a abbreviated statement explaining each 1 would've helped.

You do, astatine least, get in-depth RGB lightning customization. I recovered it casual to use, and it's thing fewer gaming earbuds offer.