STRIX 2.0 Multi-Platform Gaming Headset Review

[__VeNoM__]

Taken from the ancient Roman and Greek word for owl, Strix means the keenest hearing and sharpest eyesight. Strix means feeling your environment so that you detect and react to the slightest movement. Strix means survival on the very edge of instinct.
Yet to be released STRIX 2.0 – Multi-Platform gaming headset. I was fortunate enough to take my place as a "Test Pilot" for this product. Delivered straight from ASUS in Taipei-Taiwan packaged, in what I assume is the finale packaging design for this product. Considering the journey my headset has been on I am surprised to see only minor damage to the box. Discretely wrapped in an ASUS product poster, containing layers and layers of tape.



First glance of the box draws your eye to the clear side window where you see a glimpse of an Owls eye. The contrast of the orange on black makes this box appealing, this could just be the Half-Life fan inside of me. Let’s take a look inside and see what you get…



Well packaged and well equipped. Package contents including Detachable microphone boom, Audio/mic splitter adapter, mobile phone adapter, quick start guide and of course the Strix 2.0 gaming headset.

Microphones – two of them to be precise. A detachable boom mic, which is very flexible to be positioned just where you like it. Although it doesn’t like sharp bends and slowly starts to straighten out. An inline microphone which located at chest height on the volume control unit, this is excellent positioning as you shouldn’t need to clip it on to your clothing. Both microphones permed very well to which I have no complaints.

Audio/Mic splitter – To put this simply, ASUS have provided everything you need to connect to a PC/MAC, Games Consoles, Tablet and smart phones. Cable length of 1.5m should be more than enough for the majority of gamers out there. Also included is an adapter cable for those of you sporting the older generation of mobile phones.

STRIX 2.0 headset - powered by 60 mm neodymium-magnet drivers to deliver punchy, high-fidelity sound from games, music, and more. The large ear cups with excellent noise isolation make every detail stand out with great clarity. With foldable ear cups to lay flat, ideal for packing and taking with you to a LAN party or storing away.



Connector: 3.5 mm(1/8”) connector Audio/mic combo
Impedance: 32 Ohm
Frequency Response (headphones): 20 ~ 20000 Hz
Sensitivity (headphones): 98 dB
Pick-up Pattern: Microphone boom - Uni-directional
Frequency Response: Microphone boom - 50 ~ 16000 Hz
Sensitivity: Microphone boom - Sensitivity: -40 dB
Weight: 320 g

Conclusion – Now I am not going to be praising this product just because I have been honoured with being a “Test Pilot” or the fact that I get to keep this product. I’ll give you all my honest opinion nothing more and nothing less.
When I first received this product the first thing that blew me away was the sheer size of this product! I mean boy are these headphones BIG. They dwarf my other headphones and feel heavier too. I would like to think the reason behind this though is that the drivers in this thing are massive. Then you have the big ear cups, these should be able to cover the majority of people ears without discomfort.
It feels cheap. The feeling of this headset feels as if they are cheaply made with no premium materials. The plastic feels hollow allowing you to hear creaking when the headset adjust to your head and jaw movements. Although this is only noticed in a quiet room with no audio playing.
Tight. This headset clamps my ears a little too tight for my liking and can be a little painful after wearing for longer periods. Although the headband being very comfortable and soft, I don’t even notice this most of the time.
It’s all about the bass. Well I for one love punchy bass, especially in my music and games. I have never before experienced a headset that can delivery such clarity whilst delivering such a level of bass. This headset simply blows my socks off. Sound quality is simply brilliant.
Buy it? Although I have no price range for this headset at the moment. I would class this headset as a good all-rounder mid-range gaming set. Ideal for someone who is not an audiophile but is also looking for good sound quality and good looks.

Thank you for reading – Please visit http://www.asus.com/Gaming/STRIX_20/ for further product details.

[C4RN1]

If you had to, what other headsets would you compare it to?

[__VeNoM__]

I would probably compare this to the creative fatality headset I had about 5 years ago. That had great sound and a detachable mic. However I have a Razer carcharias at the moment which I love for comfort and build quality. The STRIX 2.0 definitely has the better sound quality.

[C4RN1]

Yeah the larger drivers and the neodymium magnets make the difference. Neodymium magnets are just really powerful earth magnets. I have a few of them from the scsi hard drives I took out of an hp server I had to destroy for hard disk eradication. The magnets are impossible to pry apart without tools.

From what I remember the Vulcan ANC were the best I could find for a while. While they only had 40mm drivers, they had an awesome design and great quality audio. When I started playing xbox 360 on a monitor I upgraded to the Sennheiser pc350's with an astro mixamp and was blown away with build quality and sound quality. I think for the money back then you couldn't do much better, even though they were a closed design and made your head sweat like crazy.

After they finally broke at the hinge I invested in some ROG Orions. The Orions seem to be about the same sound quality as the Sennheisers but they had their quirks with build quality and mic quality. They have 50mm drivers with neodymium magnets, so I think that was the difference. You're looking at a $150 price difference between the two and same if not better sound.

The Strix are gigantic because they moved to 60mm neodymium drivers, the Cerberus has the same drivers but a less goofy design. I don't know if I'd really want something that big and goofy looking. If anything I'd probably paint the sides so it's all black and doesn't look like you're trying to attract attention.

If it's going to be a $200 headset Asus really has their work cut out for them. It can't compete at that price. $130-$140 max would be acceptable (what the Orion pro's were at launch), but I doubt that will happen because the Strix redesigns are selling for just as much if not more.

Thanks for the review, though I think i'll stick with my Orions.

[__VeNoM__]

Thank you C4RN1. It was my first product review and I was pushed for time so I didnt go in to much detail.