[section_title title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion
The ASUS STRIX PRO gaming headset has some admirable features on paper and in terms of specification, it was always going to be an interesting review. The rest of the range has been reviewed and of course has been award winning; something ASUS are used to. The big question is, audio is a much different and varied field than keyboards and mice so let’s crack on…
Opening my final thoughts with the performance, the ASUS STRIX PRO is a very well-rounded headset in my opinion with fantastic gaming audio performance for the price, a strong showing with music and of course, well-defined tones. There was a little bit of mud in the mid-tones, but nothing to detriment the headset from providing decent and quality tones. Aside from the tonality, the 60mm which are made from neodymium magnet is a very nice touch from ASUS and with a sensitivity of 98 dB, the use of quality components is very apparent.
Another fantastic touch is the ENC (environmental noise cancellation) for the microphone, which I will add is uni-directional. With a 90% ENC rating, this actually does a very superb job and works very well; especially well in-game where audio codecs aren’t up to the standard of say TeamSpeak 3 or Mumble. That being said, even with ENC switched off, the voice quality is clear, crisp and concise without too much muffle; you might get muffle if you are one of those people who spray when they talk. Aside from that, the ENC is a top quality feature and I’m glad ASUS went for it with the STRIX PRO.
Focusing on the design, the colour scheme was always going to be a big hit with me and orange is slowly creeping its way into the mainstream; Gigabyte with their SOC motherboards have certainly helped it. Overall I feel the ASUS STRIX PRO has a lot going for it in terms of aesthetics, the headband is very very comfortable and the padding around the ear cups are too. As mentioned in the testing, they do apply a little too much pressure for my liking but each to their own and after getting used to it; it isn’t all that bad and is very comfy. The design of the control box is also a particular highlight and the solid flexible premium grade braiding on the cables are another strong stand out feature with the PRO; too many headsets focus on the just audio quality and forget about the overall package. ASUS certainly have and the orange cog effect is a nice finishing touch to the ear cups.
The detachable microphone is a mixed affair but if you intend to use this headset for traveling with your smart phone, MP3 player or iPod, then this will of course be to your taste. It would have been nice for the microphone to be mounted on either side of the headset but installation on the left side suits me better so nothing negative; no real negative things so far. This couple with the multi-platform capability allows PS4 console users to take advantage of the STRIX PRO also; in addition PC/MAC and smart devices are also supported.
Last but not least we have the price, coming in at £79.99 the ASUS STRIX PRO is priced pretty competitively and should appeal to many gamers; having a matching set of peripherals will boost the appeal significantly, something SteelSeries needs to work upon. For £80 you get a good quality headset which is pretty versatile, good ENC support and of course crisp and quality audio with sweet positional audio. I will go out on a limb and say if the price was lowered slightly to £69.99, this would be a must have and although it’s brilliant, there is a lot of competition to choose from at the £80 price point which might not work in ASUS’s favour; I personally think it’s a very worthwhile buy however.
Overall the quality is there, the design is good and the price is more than acceptable for what you’re getting. ASUS have a very strong contender in the gaming headset market and the cross compatibility with PC/MAC/PS4 and even smart devices gives the STRIX PRO much versatility and for those looking for the complete packaging, will have a great time with a set of these!
Big thanks to ASUS for sending the STRIX PRO headset in for review and I look forward to seeing more in the future.
