ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless

There are so many great gaming headsets out there today that offer everything gamers could possibly want. Personally, I'm particularly fond of SteelSeries' top-of-the-line Arctis Nova Pro, JBL's Quantum One, the Epos H6 Pro, and the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless. These are my four favourites and with ASUS now challenging with their first Delta wireless headphones, I was very curious in advance. The Delta S Wireless cost £189 and are therefore in the same class as several of the headphones I mentioned as my favourites and there is no doubt that this is very tough competition for the Taiwanese computer giant.

The ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless shares the design with previous models where the cups themselves are triangle-shaped and although they look unattractive when you hold them in your hands, they fit very well around your ears and sit super comfortably on your head. I would call this one of the most comfortable things to put on your skull regardless of price tag or manufacturer as the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless does not induce any kind of soreness or uncomfortable "pressure" even if I wear them for a five-hour session. The covers themselves are made of plastic one covered with a kind of matte rubbery finish while the ear pads themselves are a super soft faux leather. The headband is also really, really comfortable.

Another aspect of these headphones that really shines is the microphone. In my opinion, there really aren't many other headsets, especially in this price range, that can compete with how clean and warm, clear and distinct my voice sounds through this microphone when I record myself with the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless on my head. Considering that the mic also doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, this brilliant microphone quality becomes even more impressive. It's also possible to activate active noise cancellation for the mic itself, which means it only picks up your voice and not, for example, chatter that happens nearby or when you're tapping away on your keyboard. A brilliant feature and a brilliant microphone, pure and simple.

As for the wireless functionality, it's all typical here and the latency is very low. There's no doubt that ASUS has taken it from the ground up when it comes to every conceivable functionality in these headsets, it's just a shame that they didn't put enough effort into the sound quality. Because that's where these headphones fail, in my opinion. The sound is flat and tinny without any real separation and often the soundscape feels small and cramped, but at the same time ploddingly messy. I have of course spent a lot of time in ASUS' Armoury Crate software trying to EQ out parts of the problem but have not succeeded very well, unfortunately. The control suite is lacking in resolution, dynamics, and the bass response is weak, at best. Something that means I can in no way recommend this headset over other similarly priced headsets. What ASUS does with this design, ergonomics, and the microphone is brilliant, but due to the lacklustre sound quality, the rating from me stays at a weak five.