[section_title title=”Performance”]Performance
Testing has been split into 3 main categories which I feel are the most important to consider when selecting a new headset; audio quality in gaming/music and of course, comfort. I don’t need to tell you how important these 3 categories are so let’s start out with the audio performance…
Audio Quality – Music
Audio testing here has been split up into 2 main sections as each headset/headphones all have their different qualities and quirks; music and gaming. Usually headsets shift in favour of one of these sections and sometimes the one left behind can lack that bit of quality. ASUS themselves have said that the STRIX is geared towards gaming but with me being an avid music lover/gamer, I figured I would be a great judge of character on the STRIX PRO.
With listening to music being one of the 2 main uses for a headset (other than communication), the ASUS STRIX PRO does have massive 60mm drivers which are designed for better positional audio, however this has little bearing on music. What the STRIX PRO does provide though is fairly crisp and clean musical tones through a variety of different genres of music; best suited to rock music in my opinion. With smooth mid tones, quite punchy low bass tones which have a nice distinct feel/sound, this is complimented by pretty crystal clear audio; a good strong showing from ASUS here. So touching more on the tonality of the bass, I feel this is one of the strongest area for the STRIX PRO when listening to music; the bass isn’t muffled and has a distinct punch to it, especially on rock music with bass drums or electronic with thumping beats. The mid-tones are smooth as mentioned but they can be a little muddy at times; quite normal for a headset aimed at gaming but the quality isn’t bad, quite the opposite actually; the overall sound quality when listening to music was more than satisfactory for a headset armed with tools for gaming.
Audio Quality – Gaming
Now gaming is something I can have some fun with in addition to doing some testing; combined make for a good experience overall. Kicking right into it, the 60mm drivers offer fantastic performance and in games such as Counterstrike: Global Offensive, my gameplay instantly improved over the last headset to grace my ears; the Logitech G430 for those wondering. Booms from gunfire sounded more defined, footsteps were clearer to hear and positional audio is fantastic; all very positive plus points. Even in games such as MOBAs like League of Legends, DOTA 2 and even MMO’s such as World of Warcraft, the spell/attack sounds are very well defined and even with background music, it isn’t muffled and both audio types are very distinctive of each other; a good sign of quality.
Touching more on the audio itself, the ASUS STRIX PRO doesn’t have any initial flaws in terms of sound quality; not for a £80 headset of course. One thing I feel is missing from the headset is Dolby support as this would have made the experience all the more well-rounded but I can of course see ASUS’s logic for not including it; higher cost, not much benefit in gaming but for films, it is second to none.
Comfort
Probably the most important of all the things to look for on a headset and one sometimes ignored is comfort; comfort is paramount for long gaming sessions and can be the difference between a good experience and a negative one. The ASUS STRIX PRO does have a very comfy design but one issue I found was that the ear cups gripped onto my ears a little too tightly; this was an initial problem but once I got used to the extra pressure, it felt quite comfortable. The headband is very comfortable and doesn’t protrude into my scalp/skull at all; this puts no pressure on my head at all and aside from the cups being a little tight, all is good and well here.
To give a better idea of comfort, I wore it for 3 days with around 7 hours per day to give a proper verdict as putting a headset on and taking it off after 5 minutes isn’t a test is it! After testing I can confirm
So all in all, the audio performance and comfort testing has been done but what’s my final verdict? Read on to find out…
