Asus has today sent me the TUF Gaming H3 for review. Marketed as a PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and mobile phone headset with 7.1 surround sound, deep bass, lightweight design and fast-cooling ear cushions, what do I have to say about it? Read on below…
TUF Gaming H3: Specifications
Headphones
- Connector
3.5 mm(1/8”) connector Audio/mic combo
General Info
- Platform
PC
MAC
Mobile device
PlayStation® 4
Xbox 360®
Nintendo Switch
Headphones
- Driver
Driver diameter : 50 mm
- Microphone
Uni-directional
- Impedance
32 Ohm
- Frequency Response (headphones)
20 ~ 20000 Hz
Microphone
- Pick-up Pattern
Microphone boom:
Uni-directional - Frequency Response
Microphone boom:
50 ~ 10000 Hz - Sensitivity
Microphone boom:
Sensitivity : -40 dB
General Info
- Cable
1.3m headset cable+1.3m splitter cable
- Weight
294 g
- Accessories
Quick start guide
3.5mm audio/mic splitter cable
Product page can be found here.
TUF Gaming H3: Video Review
TUF Gaming H3: The Verdict
Design and Build Quality
The box it comes in has that Asus quality you’ve come to expect, but I was disappointed to see the H3 come in a plastic sleeve internally. We at Play3r are trying to actively promote the non-use of plastics in packaging and would have preferred to see a moulded eggbox style paper insert.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room, the design and build quality. While I’ve seen both mixed reviews of the TUF Gaming H3 with reviewers loving it and really not liking it. I’m inclined to side with the reviewers that like it.
It feels like a low-midrange headset which, in my opinion, is exactly where it sits. The headband is made from a protein leather and is very flexible which, in my opinion, is what it needs to be to survive the grind of being used on mobiles and consoles, instead of just sat on a desk or on top of a PC when not being used.
Attaching the headband to the earcups are stainless steel yokes which come in 4 colours, I was sent the headset with silver bare metal yokes, but Asus’ website shows grey, blue and red as other options. The yokes are long which gives the user plenty of adjustment as well as assisting the headband with extra rigidity on the edges. I found the headset to be very comfortable out of the box and it stayed that way with the clamp on your head feeling firm and not at all tight.
There’s no denying the earcups look and feel plasticky, but it’s a very solid plastic with no creaking or flexing of any kind and the TUF logo is stamped into the covers on both sides. While I wouldn’t recommend throwing this around, or any other headset for that matter, I feel like this can take normal daily use with no issues. Here on the left cup is where you’ll find a volume wheel, a microphone mute button and the flexible microphone arm which is fixed and cannot be removed.
Finally, the ear cushions. There is about 1-2cm of memory foam padding in the cushions which more than enough to avert contact with the drive housing and they are made with, like the headband, protein leather and are incredibly comfortable both on my ears and surrounding head area.
The cable is un-braided and is terminated with a 4-pole 3.5mm audio jack. As promoted, it does indeed work with PS4, Xbox One, mobile phones, Nintendo Switch and PC with the latter 3 being tested for the review. Also included is a second 4-pole to separate mic and headphone jack for PC use which was braided, a strange choice to braid one cable but not the other.
Under the hood, Asus has implemented 50mm Asus Essence drivers which sound fantastic, more on that shortly, with their, what they call, exclusive airtight chamber technology that delivers an immersive audio experience. Granting that they do create a seal around my ears, it’s not really airtight and does let in some background noise. A final note to mention the 7.1 surround sound feature is supported (only uses) Windows Sonic which I wasn’t a fan of and chose to disable.
Music Performance
I grabbed my ‘mix of genres’ playlist which gives me a mix of variety and music frequencies. I’m happy to tell you the headset performs well with well-balanced sound delivering good bass and treble and nothing overpowering at all. Mids were there but nothing to write home about. It lacks deep sound but that’s expected from a closed-back headset.
Gaming Performance
Gaming performance is again well delivered as expected but I personally felt it was lacking in the high-volume department, I played most games with the volume at 80% and the wheel cranked all the way up. But I like to be able to hear quiet footsteps and creaks and loud grenade explosions that hurt your ears and, being honest, that I most certainly did.
Microphone Performance
Microphone quality on the H3 is overall pretty good. It’s quite clear and while it does have some expected compression as we can hear we do need to remember it is a headset microphone and is actually pretty decent.
TUF Gaming H3: Conclusion
Alright: some final thoughts. The Asus TUF Gaming H3 is aimed at gamers wanting something better than a budget headset. Priced at around £60 on Amazon UK at the time of this review, you get a comfortable, durable, lightweight (at 294 grams) and good quality sounding headset which works on all consoles and PC, a handy selling point to those that want an all-in-one headset.
It puts up a strong fight against the Corsair HS50 and 60 PRO, the Razer Kraken X and the Logitech G433 all similarly priced to performance and is absolutely worthy of your contention.
I’m pleased to award the Asus TUF Gaming H3 our Gold Award! A big thanks to Asus for providing the H3 in for review.
What’s hot:
- Well built.
- Very flexible.
- Sounds great for the price!
- 3.5mm jack works on all consoles and PC
- Decent microphone.
What’s not:
- Strong competition from Corsair, Logitech and Razer.
- The mic isn’t detachable.
