Asus ROG Delta II assessment: Premium sound however cumbersome ear pads

Asus offered the ROG Delta II underneath its ROG gaming model at Computex 2024. The premium gaming headset follows on visually from its predecessors, the ROG Delta and ROG Delta S, however comes with considerably higher sound and new features. I used to be capable of take a more in-depth have a look at the gadget.

Asus ROG Delta II: Design, workmanship, consolation

• Medium weight
• Match extra for big heads
• Unusual attachment of the ear pads

In the event you’ve seen a ROG headset earlier than, you received’t be shocked by the Delta II. The headset is available in black with anthracite-colored connectors. The shells have a typical ROG triangular form and will not be spherical or oval like most different headsets. The headscarf is roofed with black fake leather-based, which is comparatively discreetly embossed with the “Republic of Avid gamers” lettering.

In fact, the ROG Delta II has RGB lighting, which can also be fairly discreet, solely the sting of the triangle on the ear cups and the ROG emblem on it are illuminated. In the event you’re searching for Christmas lights to your head, you’ll should look elsewhere.

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The controls on the headset are good and clear. On the left-hand facet is the wheel for adjusting the amount of the wi-fi connection, which additionally serves as a button for muting the microphone. Beneath there’s a operate button for wi-fi mode and under that is the on/off change for wi-fi or 2.4 GHz mode, which you need to use to change the headset on and off when it’s not linked to a different gadget through Bluetooth.

That is adopted by a USB-C port, which is just supposed for charging and firmware updates, and the slot for the microphone, which is after all removable. The remainder of the controls are positioned on the right-hand facet, the place you’ll discover a second wheel for the amount management of the Bluetooth connection (however and not using a button operate), the corresponding operate button for the Bluetooth connection, and a 3.5 millimeter jack socket for the wired connection.

As quickly as you unpack the ROG Delta II, you discover how gentle it feels in your fingers, despite the fact that it weighs simply 318 grams, which places it solidly within the midrange class of wi-fi gaming headsets. The clamping strain can also be nice, however with out being too unfastened that the headset would fall off the top.

The match is unusually massive. I’m not blessed with a petite cranium and subsequently intuitively set the scarf measurement a number of steps larger, solely to scale back it to a minimal afterwards, fully baffled. The ROG Delta II is unquestionably not for small heads, perhaps simply sufficient for voluminous hairstyles.

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The headset is mainly made from plastic, though a steel clip is used within the headband. Nonetheless, it feels fairly high-quality total, not low cost. My greatest criticism is the “mechanism” with which the ear pads are hooked up to the headset. You must fumble the rubber lip on the cushion into the corresponding hole on the headset. Different producers use magnets or a rotating mechanism for this.

Asus ROG Delta II: Vary of features

• 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth and jack
• Wi-fi and Bluetooth concurrently
• Lighting synchronized with different ROG {hardware}

The vary of features leaves little to be desired. The ROG Delta II can hook up with your units in three other ways: latency-free through radio (2.4 GHz, ROG Speednova) due to the equipped dongle, through Bluetooth, or through a 3.5 millimeter jack cable. Though the headset has a USB-C port, it can’t be used as a USB gadget. As talked about above, the connection is just used for charging and firmware updates.

The particular factor in regards to the ROG Delta II is that it may possibly play two audio sources concurrently. This implies you possibly can join it to your PC or PlayStation for gaming and to your cell phone on the identical time. If somebody calls, for instance, you need to use it to make a telephone name with out interrupting the sport sound.

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The features of the 2 wi-fi connections are separated in an exemplary method. The controls for the wi-fi connection are positioned on the left earpiece whereas these for Bluetooth are on the appropriate. Switching to pairing mode alone is considerably unintuitive. Often it’s a must to press and maintain the Bluetooth button, however with the ROG Delta II, it’s a must to press the operate button on either side concurrently. An extended press on the Bluetooth button on the right-hand facet solely switches the Bluetooth operate on or off.

As befits a correct gaming headset, there’s after all software program in which you’ll be able to configure many features and replace the firmware. Along with an equalizer, you possibly can after all configure the RGB lighting right down to the final element or, when you personal different ROG {hardware}, synchronize it straight.

The software program is offered in two variations, as a whole model of Armoury Crate, during which you can even configure all different ROG units and as a stand-alone module (Armoury Crate Gear), which is really useful when you don’t have every other ROG units or elements in addition to ROG Delta II. I discover this answer fairly elegant, as you don’t have to pull the remainder of the bead onto the PC when you solely use the headset.

You can too change further features on and off within the app. Of those, digital encompass sound is totally negligible, because it sounds such as you’re gaming within the toilet and reverb is a matter of style. Extra fascinating are the controls for Bass Increase, Voice Readability, and Compressor. These let you additional customise the sound.

Due to the big selection of connection choices, the ROG Delta II is suitable with all types of units so long as they assist Bluetooth or the USB dongle or have a 3.5 millimeter jack connection. The PS5 is supported natively whereas the Xbox requires the three.5 millimeter jack on the controller. The headset can be linked to smartphones, however the headset can’t be configured within the Armoury Crate smartphone app.

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Asus ROG Delta II: Sound high quality

• Weak bass at low quantity
• Superb sound for speech
• 8-band equalizer and different customization choices

The 50 millimeter titanium drivers do a unbelievable job with the sound. Actually, it’s nearly as good as a higher-priced gaming headset. By default, the combo is designed extra for speech, which is noticeable at low and medium volumes, the place the highs and mids are very current, however the lows are virtually non-existent. The opposite facet of the coin is that music sounds very flat, virtually tinny, at low volumes.

In the event you flip the amount as much as the higher third, the bass comes via higher and music is far more gratifying. In the event you don’t just like the sound on the manufacturing unit settings, you possibly can alter it within the Armoury Crate software program with an equalizer and compensate for the dearth of bass. Nonetheless, this additionally makes it far more current at larger volumes. If the ROG Delta II have been multimedia headphones, I’d criticize this, however for a gaming headset, this compromise is totally acceptable for my style.

Then again, there’s completely nothing to criticize in regards to the microphone. The speech is crystal clear, doesn’t scratch, and even has a pleasantly heat bass.

Asus ROG Delta II: Battery life

Asus guarantees as much as 110 hours of battery life, however solely when the backlight is switched off. The excellent news is that the ROG Delta II additionally achieves this at 50 p.c quantity. With RGB lighting, nonetheless, the battery life drops to 1 / 4. That’s proper, not a quarter, however a quarter. On common, the ROG Delta II lasts between 25 and 30 hours on a single cost.

So when you play for an hour or two within the night after work, you’ll have to cost it each fortnight. In the event you’re a full-time gamer, you’ll have to cost it three to 4 instances every week. To be sincere, that is completely affordable in on a regular basis life, because the headset can merely be charged in a single day. The underside line is RGB lighting consumes an unbelievable quantity of energy and when you’re not streaming with a webcam, you possibly can safely change it off as you possibly can’t see it your self anyway.

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Asus ROG Delta II: Value, availability

The Asus ROG Delta II is offered at numerous retailers together with Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and Newegg. Amazon at the moment lists the headset for $209.99, which is 9 p.c off of the unique value. It consists of the headset itself, the microphone, two pairs of ear pads–one lined with synthetic leather-based, the opposite with material–the wi-fi receiver with USB-C connection, an acceptable adapter to USB-A, a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging, and a generously dimensioned jack-to-jack cable (2 meters). That’s positively one thing to be pleased with.