This year the PlayStation 5 can finally be purchased easily after two years of users having to fight with extreme profit seekers online. I bought a PS5 unit and to pay back the grudge of waiting for years to buy it, I spent the first few weeks playing it day and night until my wife was disturbed from sleep.
To keep things safe, I tried the ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless to see if it was the headphone of choice for non-stop gaming sessions. After two months of using it, I can say this is one of the best headphones for gamers especially those who own modern consoles like the PlayStation 5.
SPECIFICATIONS
ROG Delta S Wireless
Type Closed back earphones
50mm Neodymium drivers
Microphone? Beamforming
1800 mAh battery
25 Hours
USB-C charging port
Wireless charging None
CODEC?
All operating systems are supported
Virtual assistant support None
Physical control buttons
Waterproof ability None
Selling Price RM 899
DESIGN
The design looks neat and professional even though it's a pair of gaming headphones. The entire headset is black with only a white warrant applied to the Republic of Gamers (ROG) logo on the sides of the ear cups as well as the metal part that connects the cups to the head cup.
The ear cups are made of plastic but feel quite thick so it doesn't sound cheap when tapped. During over two months of using these headphones it has been dropped a few times but nothing has been eroded or scratched. Durable enough for gamers who find themselves a bit rough.
There is a soft cushion around the large head cup. The thick sponge makes wearing these headphones weighing 318 grams quite comfortable even for long gaming sessions. The lining is covered by a protein leather material which is another name for non-animal based leather. The same material is also used on the large D-shaped ear pads.
With 50mm audio drivers, these headphones are quite large with the entire ear cups covering my earlobes when worn. There is no issue of ear lobes not fitting or getting stuck. This further increases the comfort of use along with the thick padding sponge.
ROG provides two pairs of ear pads. I prefer the protein leather ear pads because they are cooler than the secondary pads made of canvas. The canvas version allows the ears to “breathe” because it has better ventilation but the surface feels rough. The process of installing and removing these two liners is painless and can be done in less than five minutes.
The ear cups can only be rotated up to a 90 degree angle. No additional folding mechanism makes the size more compact for easy storage in a backpack. The storage bag is also not given with the purchase. But with a rotatable cup at least it's still safe to put in a backpack.
The ear cup part has two metal rails to resize it on the head. This rail is quite sturdy and does not easily change size. There are several nicks on the side of the rail complete with nicks. It's easy to remember at what level this caliper was used as the notch was engraved directly on the metal rail. I can say that the ROG Delta S Wireless is compatible with both small and large-handed gamers because the ear cup rail is long enough.
On the left ear cup there is an LED light, music control button, audio adjustable switch with mute button, power switch with wireless docking mode and USB-C charging port. The storage place for the 2.4GHz USB-C receiver dongle is placed on the right cup with a magnet. The magnet is strong enough that this dongle will not even fall by accident.
ROG Delta S Wireless only works wirelessly with no wired connection support using the included 3.5mm cable or USB-C. Included is a USB-A to USB-C charging cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter which is useful for those who don't have a PC with USB-C.
The overall design and finish on the ROG Delta S Wireless is very neat. There is no LED lighting system that just drains the battery and the design is not so gamey that it seems strange to be used as headphones listening to music when outside.
USE AND COMFORT
The ROG Delta S Wireless are the most comfortable gaming headphones I've reviewed so far. Nothing feels heavy on the head despite the fact that 318 grams is much heavier than the majority of other headphones on the market such as the previously reviewed Sony WH1000XM5. Resident Evil 4 sessions lasted up to 5 hours without causing my ears to sweat or my neck to feel like it was under pressure.
If there is a shortcoming, it is just that there is no noise cancellation system (ANC) to prevent outside noise from impacting the gaming session. Even so with the large 50mm audio driver, the audio is thrown through enough that the noise from the outside is not easy to disturb.
All the buttons on the left cup are easy to access and distinguish because the distance between the buttons is large enough. After a few hours I was familiar with the position of each button. The wheel-type audio adjustment button is very ergonomic as it has to be pushed up to increase the sound volume and down for the opposite. Press the same button to mute the microphone. When this is done, the LED light will light up red as a reminder that the user has muted the audio from being heard by other players during an online gaming session.
The 2.4GHz radio connection dongle can be easily removed without aggressive prying. We use this dongle on a PlayStation 5 console at home and also on a MacBook Air at the office. Immediately after it is connected to the USB-C ports of these two devices, the ROG Delta S Wireless will detect that it is tethered using radio mode with a “connected” audio confirmation will be heard.
I would quite like it if the headphone docking system talked to the user instead of the confusing “doot doot doot” audio system. Does "doot doot doot" mean the headphones successfully tethered or failed?
In bluetooth mode, change the switch lever to bluetooth mode. Then press the physical control button for a few seconds to enter pairing mode. The blue light on the headphones will light up and the ROG Delta S Wireless should be visible on the smartphone being used.
We successfully tethered via bluetooth to Android, iOS, HarmonyOS, Windows, Mac, Tizen and Android TV devices without any issues. The issue is that we don't know what codec is used because it is not listed by ASUS on the website or displayed on the smartphone interface. It is very likely that only the SBC is disappointing. Another thing to clarify is that the 2.4GHz mode cannot be used on Android devices even those equipped with a USB-C port.
AUDIO QUALITY
Because we feel the audio is only SBC, the audio quality of the ROG Delta S Wireless for listening to music. Gaming headphones focus on bass and only a little treble. So the most compatible music to listen to is only rock, and EDM only. The rest of the music felt a little drowned out. It's not ASUS' fault here because the ROG Delta S Wireless isn't really advertised for listening to music.
This is evident because despite supporting virtual 7.1 audio, this feature cannot be used at all when listening to music on Android and iOS devices. This spatially immersive audio feature can only be enjoyed on PC and consoles.
Only for gaming can the skills of the ROG Delta S Wireless be heard. The blast of bombs thrown in COD Warzone can shake the brain. Every shot can be heard from which direction it is coming from, making it easy to find players who like to do camping on the map.
Above I touched on treble and this is also useful in Resident Evil 4 which is currently being played. There is a mini-game hunting mini-statues hidden around the map. It's hard to locate this statue without good headphones. Fortunately, the ROG Delta S Wireless supports surround audio on the PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 5 system can recognize the ROG Delta S Wireless installed with 3D audio which can then be tuned according to the user's comfort.
ROG Delta S Wireless is officially supported by PS5 along with Discord. We also didn't have time to test it on the Xbox Series X/S because we don't have one. On PC the audio system can be changed and tuned more extensively through the Armory Crate software. There are many options such as bass strength, Virtual Surround audio accuracy and microphone control which will be explained more thoroughly below.
MICROPHONE
There is no boom type microphone that is usually used on gaming headphones. The beam forming microphone system used according to ASUS is sufficient. I used these headphones in several online sessions and team members said the sound was clear. There is an AI system that eliminates noisy background noise. In the test it works well, only the voice sounds like a robot if the background audio that you want to filter is louder. Overall the ROG Delta S Wireless microphone is excellent.
BATTERY
The 1800 mAh battery promises up to 25 hours of use on a single charge. I don't even have a timer for the duration of the review to count. As far as we know the battery can last all weekend on a single charge. After the end of Sunday I recharged without looking at the battery level. Recharging time is around two hours. There is a quick charge mode that gives 3 hours of use after just 15 minutes of charging. The battery life of ROG Delta S Wireless is very good for intense gaming purposes.
IN THE BOX
Here's what you get with every purchase in Malaysia.
1x ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless.
1x 2.4GHz Dongle.
1x Install the fabric ear sponge.
1x USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
1x USB-A to USB-C Adapter.
1x Manual.
1x. Warranty book.
CONCLUSION
The ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless is the most comfortable, solid and satisfying headset I've used so far. Even if worn for a long time it does not feel like the head is stuck or easy to sweat. The sponge used can also be changed to a fabric version that provides good ventilation.
The audio quality is also very good especially in games that support surround audio. The location of enemies coming from various directions can be clearly heard. If there is a shortcoming it is just that it is not very pleasant to use for listening to music. In Malaysia, ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless is sold at a price of RM899, which makes it quite expensive compared to other gaming headphones. But as we said ROG Delta S Wireless are the best gaming headphones I've ever used so pay a little more for a flagship product.
Pro
Comfortable to wear even in long gaming sessions.
Good audio quality for gaming.
Good battery life too.
2.4GHz mode support for use on consoles.
Surround audio support is also solid.
Physical control buttons are easily accessible and ergonomic.
Cons
No storage container.
No direct wired connection support.
2.4GHz mode cannot be used on Android devices.