**ASUS ROG KITHARA HANDS ON **

NikTheSHNIK

NikTheSHNIK

NikTheSHNIK

OcUK Staff
Joined
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Hi guys,

ASUS sent us a sample of the ROG Kithara Headset to get heads on with. At £284.99 is this open back, planar driver behemoth worth it?!

ASUS ROG Kithara Wired Gaming Headset at a Glance:​

  • Wired gaming headset with swappable jack plugs
  • 100mm ROG-tuned HIFIMAN planar magnetic drivers for audiophile-grade fidelity
  • Full-band MEMS boom microphone with accurate voice pickup
  • Open-back design for natural soundscapes
  • Multi-platform compatibility, including PC, mobile, and console
  • Premium build quality and interchangeable earcups
My first thoughts after trying it was that it is SO OPEN. I almost could believe I can hear my surroundings better with the headset on than off! So not ideal for anywhere with background noise. Unless you want to be able to hear someone sneaking up on you.

But this headset is open back for a reason, its HIFIMAN tuned driver is meant to give more natural soundscapes and I could pick up on that, even with my tinitus, 90's nightclub diminished hearing.

Listening to music I could hear the fingers on the strings, parts of recordings I didn't know existed before. Truly it opened my ears as to what a headset could do.

I've not given it a go gaming but I'll ask some colleagues to post their feedback in this thread who have.

Stock should be landing with us soon.

Check the heasdet out HERE

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With a selection of connectors, two types of ear pad, two cable types and a USB adapter it's clear that Asus have considered the use cases for a wide range of potential customers.

The headset itself sounds fantastic, so if, like me, you spend as much time listening to music as gaming, this offers a true compromise free alternative to the usual scooped out gaming headsets.

I often argue with peripheral vendors that whilst their latest headsets might offer impressively loud explosions and almost haptic levels of thumping vibration, that actually results in overpowering what really matters for the competitive gamer. Boosting the lower frequencies to that extent gives a great first impression, but in reality you simply can't hear the enemy behind you reloading over the bomb which just went off on the other side of the map.
That's not a problem here though. Comparing to the studio reference AKG headphones that I've sworn by for over a decade, the Kithara offers the same really flat sound signature and wide soundscape, which offers the user incredible clarity in the mid-range where voices, footsteps and reload sound effects actually exist and I feel like that gives me an genuine advantage.

You can forget privacy though. These are the most open headphones that I've ever experienced. My other half can hear every line of dialogue, every song lyric from the other room.

On a personal note, I feel that the Kithara offers a warmer sound and slightly narrower soundscape than I expected. Music sounds a little less "raw" than my trusty AKGs, which is why I'm yet to plug them back in since getting my hands on the Kithara a couple of weeks ago.
 
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Hi @ScottiB

Thank you for the heads-up. One question back; did ASUS give any indication of being able to buy replacement pads at some point, whether through them directly, or via yourselves?

Just the Kithara seems to use it's own clip system for earpads and I'm not sure this is the same as existing HifiMan earpads.
 
From the reviews on YouTube if your main usage is gaming these are 'fine' and going to be better over normal headphones, granted for the price the mic is poor however if you like to listen to music your better off getting the normal version as these have been tuned to be bright by design and can spoil it.

If you've never had planars before and like the gaming focus of these then by all means but do a little homework before jumping in especially as the Audeze Maxwell can be had around this price and those are wireless.
 
Glanza said:
From the reviews on YouTube if your main usage is gaming these are 'fine' and going to be better over normal headphones, granted for the price the mic is poor however if you like to listen to music your better off getting the normal version as these have been tuned to be bright by design and can spoil it.

If you've never had planars before and like the gaming focus of these then by all means but do a little homework before jumping in especially as the Audeze Maxwell can be had around this price and those are wireless.
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The Maxwell 2's are out now for around the same price too, not a huge difference but they're a fantastic headphone.

I'm a big planar fan, been using them for years now with a set of LCD2's being my daily drivers. There's nothing quite like them for accuracy and bass, they're so damned rapid too. They're not for everyone, and there are fantastic alternatives, but I'd recommend everyone try them at least once. Especially given you can get some excellent entry level models for around the £100-150 range now.
 
On Head-fi a few posters comparing this to the FR of the Arya Stealth (LINK). I suppose the comparisons might increase as more of these get out into the open. It does sound like the Edition XV is warmer sound profile which I know I'd personally prefer. Albeit the Kithara has advantages with potentially better comfort and cleaner frequency response (less modal behaviours as they put it).
 
All the reviews says it is "gaming" orientated...but looking at the graph it looks really close to all the other Hifiman anyway just with that 8k spike. Which one of the pads can fix a little. I am wondering if they are being influenced by the name for this, rather than take the headphones as is on its merit. Since it can use normal 3.5mm bal cable, which it comes with.

For the money, £200 less than the Arya, and Headphone.com called it a better constructed headphones out of all the Hifiman product so far....it make sense to just get this, even if you don't use the mic cable, which honestly doesn't sound that great but useful if need it.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
All the reviews says it is "gaming" orientated...but looking at the graph it looks really close to all the other Hifiman anyway just with that 8k spike. Which one of the pads can fix a little. I am wondering if they are being influenced by the name for this, rather than take the headphones as is on its merit. Since it can use normal 3.5mm bal cable, which it comes with.

For the money, £200 less than the Arya, and Headphone.com called it a better constructed headphones out of all the Hifiman product so far....it make sense to just get this, even if you don't use the mic cable, which honestly doesn't sound that great but useful if need it.
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Agreed.

The only other downside I can think of is spare parts, including that unanswered question above about pads. You'll be reliant on third-party ear pads with this bespoke clip system the Kithara uses. I don't know whether Hifiman and ASUS are good at support normally.
 
Timber said:
Agreed.

The only other downside I can think of is spare parts, including that unanswered question above about pads. You'll be reliant on third-party ear pads with this bespoke clip system the Kithara uses. I don't know whether Hifiman and ASUS are good at support normally.
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For me, 2 sets of pads will last me enough time for me to get its money worth. I have only changed the pads on my HD580 once in my life. I just rotate my headphones. This isn't a problem for me but I can see why the clips could be a problem, but I would get a spare while they are new and fresh to the market and then problem solved.
 
Raymond Lin said:
For me, 2 sets of pads will last me enough time for me to get its money worth. I have only changed the pads on my HD580 once in my life. I just rotate my headphones. This isn't a problem for me but I can see why the clips could be a problem, but I would get a spare while they are new and fresh to the market and then problem solved.
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I know, but without going to activist mode I do think these companies should be cognisant of their duties. And it was one of super positive things flagged in the HEDDphone D1 reviews; that they built it with sustainability in mind although their website has no spare parts for sale that I can see. Which kind of fits into those previous conversations where some of these old companies; Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica etc. all have a mature spare parts pipeline. I personally love 'LEGO' headphones like the 6x0 & classic DT-line.

I guess the Kithara just needs to sell well enough and then the likes of Soulwit, Wicked Cushions, Geekria etc. to put out their own earpads.

As an aside I've only only recently become aware of the 'buy it once/for life' communities out there.
 
Mine arrived today, and so far, I am pretty happy with them as I am driving them with a Fossi K7
 
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