ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless Gaming Headset Review

TweakTown’s Rating: 85%

The Bottom Line

Lightweight, comfortable, and compatible with PCs, smartphones, and consoles – the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless gaming headset seemingly does it all. But it’s held back by the out-of-the-box sound not being quite where it should be.

Pros

• +

  2.4 GHz and Bluetooth wireless make it versatile

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  Super comfortable and lightweight

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  Stylish design

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  Powerful drivers

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  Boom-free Beamforming Microphones work great

Cons

• –

  Requires customization and tweaking to get the best performance

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  ASUS’s Virtual Surround is not on par with the competition

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  No wired options mean no Xbox compatibility

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  AI Noise Cancellation but no ANC

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  Armoury Crate software isn’t the most reliable

Should you buy it?

Avoid

Consider

Shortlist

Buy

Buy at Amazon

Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

When ASUS released the ROG Delta S gaming headset, it was well-received as a premium wired offering that delivered impressive HD audio. And with its stylish Aura-lit design was also super comfortable despite the triangular cup shapes that looked anything but. The arrival of the new ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless could have been ‘the same thing but wireless’, as the product name would suggest, but there are several notable changes both under and over the hood.

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The comfortable, lightweight design remains, albeit with a few extra cheat-day grams, thanks to going wireless. Gone is the Aura-powered RGB lighting. The boom mic is also replaced by ASUS’s on-ear ‘Beamforming Microphones’ powered by AI. They pick up your voice while canceling almost everything else behind you. Where it gets interesting, though, is the addition of both 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth, which opens up the number of devices it can be connected wirelessly to. From a gaming PC to an Android smartphone to a PlayStation 5, to a Nintendo Switch – it all works and connects seamlessly.

And it’s all bolstered by decent battery life to the tune of around 25 hours. So then, so far, so good, right? Well, there are a few shortcomings, namely when it comes to overall sound balance and ASUS’s spotty Armoury Crate software on PC. Nothing that you’d consider an outright deal-breaker, but with the $299 AUD price tag, there’s a lot of audio competition out there.

Specifications & Close Up

• Product Type: Wireless headset

• Interface: Wireless 2.4GHz and BT

• Supported Platforms: PC, MAC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Android, Bluetooth device

• Drivers: Neodymium magnet 50 mm

• Headphones Impedance: 32 Ohm

• Headphones Frequency Response: 20 – 20000 Hz

• Microphone Pick-up Pattern: Bi-directional

• Microphone Sensitivity: -37 dB

• Microphone Frequency Response: 100 – 10000 Hz

• Surround: Virtual 7.1

• Battery: 1800 mAh (25 Hours on a full charge)

• Weight: 310 g

• Cable: USB-C charging cable (1m)

• Accessories: User guide, ROG Hybrid ear cushion, USB-C to USB 2.0 adapter

Kosta’s Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 UNIFY

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3800X

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition

• Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240R RGB AIO CPU Cooler

• RAM: 32GB (4x8GB) HyperX FURY DDR4 3200MHz

• SSD: Seagate FireCuda 520 SSD 2TB

• Power Supply: Cooler Master V 850W Gold SFX Power Supply

• Case: MPG SEKIRA 500P

• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

ASUS ROG Delta S Gaming Headset with USB-C

TodayYesterday7 days ago30 days ago$149.99$149.99$189.99$194.99Buy

* Prices last scanned on 5/25/2023 at 10:26 am CDT – prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Design & Software

Design

Weighing in at 310 grams, the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless feels every bit as lightweight as its wired sibling, but without any RGB lighting or even a boom-mic. The result is a look and feel that borders on lifestyle – and not something that screams ‘gamer’, which is a little strange coming from the home of ROG but also welcome when you factor in the versatility that comes from going wireless. Heading out of the house with the ROG Delta S Wireless connected to your phone is not only viable but awesome when you use the in-built microphone, you can’t see to answer a call.

With light-grey hinges (that swivel 90 degrees for portability) and a simple ASUS ROG logo, there’s a minimal quality to the design that’s stylish. The triangular-shaped cups might look a little strange, but when the result is one of the most comfortable fits currently available in the wireless gaming space, it’s hard to complain. The overall build quality is excellent, with sturdy plastics and great feeling protein leather on the cups and headband. Not to mention lots of flexibility.

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In fact, a big part of the comfort comes from the lack of pressure coming from the physical design and the drivers being angled in such a way as to not directly blast your ears. This is definitely a headset you can comfortably use for hours. As a nice little bonus, ASUS also packs in a spare set of hybrid mesh cushions for greater breathability.

In terms of controls, things are kept simple and intuitive. The volume dial isn’t so much a dial as it is a digital tilt switch to raise and lower the volume, with a press muting or unmuting the microphone. Outside of that, there’s a switch to turn off the headset and switch between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth. There’s also a single button to handle Bluetooth commands and syncing and a charge port. No on-board chat mix controls is a shame, as that’s something that would come in handy when connecting to multiple devices, which has clearly been factored into the design as the USB-C dongle tucks in neatly into the right ear cup.

Software

As an ASUS ROG product, it should come as no surprise that PC support for the ROG Delta S Wireless is strong. Discord and Teamspeak certifications lead to no fuss and clear in-game chatter, with all the customization and sound tweaking handled by ASUS’s Armoury Crate suite. A native Windows 10 and Windows 11 app that’s temperamental in the way native Windows 10 apps tend to be.

For this review, I had to install, uninstall using a tool, and then reinstall again because the EQ settings were not registering. The headset also required a firmware update and a PC reboot. It’s disappointing because connecting the ROG Delta S Wireless to a PlayStation 5 is pure plug-and-play magic, with Sony’s impressive Tempest 3D Audio automatically kicking in.

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When it’s all working, the customization and layout in Armoury Crate are great, with eight presets readily selectable – Communication, Flat, FPS, Gaming, Movie, Music, Racing, RPG, and Customize. There are volume indicators separated by channels, which is great for monitoring the Virtual Surround. There’s also a Reverb setting, which is interesting if a little artificial in how it sounds. Plus, with a 10-band Equaliser, you can tweak and switch between music-style presets and options to boost the bass and vocal frequencies and even compress the mix, which is another artificial bit of post-processing.

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The interesting stuff comes in the microphone department with AI Noise Cancellation settings in addition to the standard sliders for boosts and noise gates. The noise cancellation doesn’t affect the audio quality in any sort of big way and does well to filter out some background noises. Though not all of the very noisy mechanical keyboard that was located directly in the Beamforming Microphones sweet spot.

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Finally, there’s a power section to monitor battery life, add the charge level to the taskbar, and even set the sleep mode timer – a very cool touch. Of course, the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless works fine without the Armoury Crate software, but it’s kind of needed when the overall sound quality isn’t quite there out of the box.

Performance & Microphone

Performance

When testing a gaming headset, going straight to your music library might not sound like the right way to get a feel for the overall quality of the audio. And for the most part, that’s right, in-game performance in an FPS like Apex Legends is a very different thing than firing up some melodic drum-and-bass or lo-fi breakbeats. What music does provide is a clear indicator of balance and tuning. Is the sound flat and neutral like a pair of monitors, are the highs too crisp, is it too bass heavy for its own good, and is there a lack of definition in the mid-range?

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The 50 mm ASUS Essence drivers in the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless headset are powerful, so much so that the volume potential is a little scary. Big booming sound is the order of the day – but the balance is not quite where it should be.

Bass, for one, is a little muddy and unpronounced, and there’s a frequency range somewhere on the high-end that borders on harsh. The result, at least for music, is some definite EQ fine-tuning required to get things sounding decent. The out-of-the-box tuning is disappointing, especially for something this versatile.

When it comes to gaming, it’s a different story, and it’s here where the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless feels more at home. On PC and PS5, playing Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Stray, and the aforementioned Apex Legends, the results impressed – with or without surround. From directional sound effects to voices, gunshots, and music, it all comes across as clear and defined.

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On the PC side, the game-specific presets in Armoury Crate go one step further to add nuance and detail to the mix. That said, ASUS’s Virtual Surround falls short when paired up against Sony, Dolby Atmos, and DTS. It’s nothing more than ‘okay’. As all forms of headset surround are virtual, if you happen to have a Dolby Atmos subscription, well, that pairs wonderfully with the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless.

Microphone

As for the invisible microphone, the voice quality is decent, if a little hollow. It is clear, and the AI Noise Cancellation works well when enabled. Even though I might have had issues with the initial setup in Armoury Crate, turning the AI stuff on or off didn’t take up extra resources.

All in all, having decent voice quality with ‘Beamforming Microphones’ does make you wish that more gaming headsets went this route, as it feels freeing to not have to deal with extendable or detachable boom arms to chat.

Final Thoughts

Versatility goes a long way, especially when it comes to wireless gaming headsets. With Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz wireless over USB-C, the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless can be paired with pretty much any gaming device that isn’t an Xbox. And for that, its stylish, robust, and comfortable lightweight design is even more impressive.

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Battery life is great, too, homing in on 25 hours after a quick 15-minute charge. The lack of play-and-charge or 3.5mm functionality might seem like a missed opportunity, but no doubt that was a decision to keep the price down without sacrificing anything in the way of quality and comfort.

The only real area it feels out of step is with the out-of-the-box audio tuning that isn’t great for non-gaming-related media consumption. Having to tweak EQ settings for several minutes is never ideal for a gaming headset, so thankfully, ASUS’s Armoury Crate software relives some of that pain. At least on PC. A lightweight wireless audio solution that only just falls short of brilliance.