Hi Guys
Today I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the new Asus Republic of Gamers headset. I deal with a lot of headsets which vary in quality, price and performance. I was keen to try the new Asus ROG Vulcan as it offered a few new features and looked really good.
The reviews posted on-line so far seem to be really positive. When the set arrived on my desk, I could see why. The packaging is the usual Asus ROG affair and looks superb, it would certainly not look out of place next to the Asus ROG Mars II Graphics card that we had in the office last week.
The contents of the packaging were very nice too, the box comes with a warranty card and instruction manual. All very nicely presented but a little sparse. In fairness, how much info do you really need to set up a headset?
The Outer Box
The Instruction Manual and Warranty Cards
The headset comes in a sleek travel case which would be ideal for LAN events. Inside the case you get the set itself as well as the detachable mic and cable. It strikes me as a little odd that Asus made the whole thing modular but it seems to work well and all of the pieces fit snug as you would expect from a high quality product. The set itself is folded up inside the case, this makes for easy storage and makes carting your gear around a little easier.
The height adjustment is very generous with only minimal movement on the headband required for it to fit my head, there is plenty of room if you have a large head or if you fancy asking an elephant what he thinks of the headset.
The cups themselves are just right, they fit snugly over your ears and the foam is very soft. The headband is fairly stiff which leads to a quality feel but it doesn't quite hit the heights of build quality of the more expensive sets from Sennheiser, but for the price I am merely nit picking. considering that this headset has foldable bits on it, I was expecting it to feel quite flimsy but was surprised to be proved very wrong.
The headset fits well once moved into a comfortable position and can be used for long periods without needing to be removed. One of my main gripes is that some headsets [especially ones with stiffer headbands] is that they can become a little painful to wear over long periods of time and cause headaches or discomfort. This headset hasn't been off my head all day and has really won me over with that. I am always critical of sets that are uncomfortable and a lot of cheaper headsets simply cannot offer this level of comfort over long sessions of usage.
My main requirement from a headset is weight. I personally use the Sennheiser PC-350 set which is very light and comfortable almost to the point where you forget that you have it on. The Asus set is not as light as the 350 but is not noticable at all and feels light even over long periods of usage.
The Cups contain 40mm drivers which are a decent size and provide decent quality sound from an onboard sound chip. To test the set to my standards, I used my Asus Xonar D2X soundcard which is held in high esteem by reviewers and end users alike. Plugging the Vulcan into the D2X brought the headset to life.
The bass became instantly richer and the sound a lot crisper. If you are looking to get a new headset+sound card combo, then you could do a lot worse than the Vulcan paired with a decent card.
Plugging the Vulcan into my on-board audio was a little disappointing after using the sound card but it still provided a very good quality audio, certainly better than a lot of other sets in the same price range.
The volume can be controlled using the in-line volume control which also serves as a mic mute button.
The Mic Performance was decent but I felt it could do with a little improvement. Whilst my team-mates all had no problem hearing me, they all commented that I wasn't as clear as I usually was with my PC-350 set on. however considering that that set costs nearly £35 more, it can be forgiven. The mic is also removable if required.
There is a nice rubber grommet at the end of the cable that allows you to put the mic jack into it and stow it if it isn't in use. Whilst this may not seem like a big deal, I swap my headphone jack on my sound card for speakers regularly so it is nice to see it.
The Vulcan's ace up its sleeve is the ANC or Active Noise Cancellation which is its main selling point and what I was most looking forward to testing. I have been using the set with ANC off for most of the day and then tried with it on and the difference it makes is very noticeable.
At first, games and music sounded flat and lacking depth with ANC enabled. I was very sceptical at this point but persevered and after around 30 minutes of usage I decided that the clarity and crispness of the ANC is a brilliant addition to the set. The downside from before of using the set without a sound card was eliminated as the poorer sound from the onboard audio was counterbalanced by ANC.
ANC is designed to make outside and ambient noises disappear so it is nice to see that enabling it gives the audio a better sound across the board.
The only time I found the ANC intrusive was whilst playing Need For Speed: Shift 2 as the engine sounds sounded a little hollow compared to without ANC but this was minor as it takes a flick of a switch on the side of the set to turn ANC off. It seems a lot of heavier music tracks that I listened to lost a little bit of their atmosphere with the ANC enabled but again this is a feature that can be turned off if preferred and it is certainly a good addition for gaming. The ANC feature does require a single AAA battery to be inserted into the right cup of the set to work.
In Game, the set performed very well. Playing Bad Company 2, Call Of Duty:MW2, Shift 2, Deus EX HR, Crysis 2, Dirt 3 and Batman: Arkham Asylum was a pleasure with this set.
The detail in sound quality in my games was very good, footsteps and distant actions were immediately obvious and put me right in the action with great sound positioning and clear effects.
I used the following settings on my D2X sound card for testing
Tracks from a variety of artists such as Jose Gonzales, Tool, The Ocean, Fugazi, Aesop Rock, Nero and Comeback Kid all sounded great. As a music lover with a very diverse taste in genres it was a pleasure to listen to music on the set without feeling like it compromised the quality or feel of each track. There was some very pleasing bass effects most notably in very complicated rock tracks and all of the electronic and dance tracks I listened to. The bass performance was well complimented by very nice mid range performance where the ANC felt very noticeable, I would go as far to say that the mid range on this set outshines my far more expensive Sennheiser PC-350 which I was not expecting. I turned the ANC off and a lot of tracks sounded quite full and messy in comparison so it definately helps. I then compared it to my own PC-350 set and it certainly needs the ANC on as it is only an improvement with it enabled.
The point is that it works with the ANC disabled if required [should you run out of AAA's]
In Summary:
I am very surprised by this set. I personally had low expectations and was met with a serious gaming headset from Asus. If they produce more sets in line with this one then they could become a player in this area and certainly a brand to consider. Make no mistake, this is a premium headset!
I would give the Vulcan 8/10 based on its overall performance and 9/10 for its gaming performance.
Pros
Cons
Keep checking our news section on the forums for your chance to win your very own Asus Vulcan ANC headset!
Don't Forget, OcUK have the Vulcan Headset available for pre-order with stock due to land very soon!
Asus Vulcan ANC Noise Cancelling ROG Gaming Headset @ £79.98 inc VAT
The persistent commitment of the ASUS ROG team promises to provide the leading performance gaming products merged with the excitement of gaming with a unique, stylish and gamer-focused design. Join the Republic of Gamers and stand out from the crowd.
ASUS has released the ROG Vulcan ANC, the world's first active-noise-cancelling pro gaming headset designed to immerse users into games and keep them free of distractions like never before. Created from the needs of competitive pro gamers to remain focused during competition, the ROG team forged the Vulcan ANC with both performance and comfort in mind. The Vulcan ANC features 85% active noise cancellation to filter out sounds like low frequency computer fan noise and 30dB passive noise cancellation to reduce a wide range of ambient noises, including background voices.
The Vulcan ANC not only provides gamers an immersive gaming experience with noise cancelling features, but also a comfortable one. The lightweight design of 320g is lighter than other comparable models of the same size, with other headsets weighing around 350g. Soft memory foam encased in breathable Japanese protein leather ensures user comfort even after extended gaming sessions. It is also portable, with a foldable design that easily fits into a durable touring case to take between competitions or LAN parties.
The Vulcan ANC is built with enlarged 40mm headphone drivers for crisp, clear audio. ASUS audio experts optimised the headset for a wide sound stage so audio is balanced with both thundering bass and brilliant mids and highs. A stylish blade-shaped detachable boom microphone has built-in noise filtering technology so teammates hear clear conversations during games instead of ambient noise.
Awards:
Bit Tech - Premium Grade Award - 92%: "The Vulcan is a fantastic buy and our choice for a premium gaming headset."
Hardware Heaven - Recommended Award: "An excellent entry into high end gaming audio from ASUS which puts them right into competition with well-known brands such as SteelSeries and Razer."
Kit Guru - Must Have: "Our general impressions of the Asus Republic of Gamers Vulcan ANC headset are very positive; the sound quality and performance are bang on the money and the innovative ANC feature is something we've never seen before on a gaming headset."
Only £79.98 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Today I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the new Asus Republic of Gamers headset. I deal with a lot of headsets which vary in quality, price and performance. I was keen to try the new Asus ROG Vulcan as it offered a few new features and looked really good.
The reviews posted on-line so far seem to be really positive. When the set arrived on my desk, I could see why. The packaging is the usual Asus ROG affair and looks superb, it would certainly not look out of place next to the Asus ROG Mars II Graphics card that we had in the office last week.
The contents of the packaging were very nice too, the box comes with a warranty card and instruction manual. All very nicely presented but a little sparse. In fairness, how much info do you really need to set up a headset?
The Outer Box
The Instruction Manual and Warranty Cards
The headset comes in a sleek travel case which would be ideal for LAN events. Inside the case you get the set itself as well as the detachable mic and cable. It strikes me as a little odd that Asus made the whole thing modular but it seems to work well and all of the pieces fit snug as you would expect from a high quality product. The set itself is folded up inside the case, this makes for easy storage and makes carting your gear around a little easier.
The height adjustment is very generous with only minimal movement on the headband required for it to fit my head, there is plenty of room if you have a large head or if you fancy asking an elephant what he thinks of the headset.
The cups themselves are just right, they fit snugly over your ears and the foam is very soft. The headband is fairly stiff which leads to a quality feel but it doesn't quite hit the heights of build quality of the more expensive sets from Sennheiser, but for the price I am merely nit picking. considering that this headset has foldable bits on it, I was expecting it to feel quite flimsy but was surprised to be proved very wrong.
The headset fits well once moved into a comfortable position and can be used for long periods without needing to be removed. One of my main gripes is that some headsets [especially ones with stiffer headbands] is that they can become a little painful to wear over long periods of time and cause headaches or discomfort. This headset hasn't been off my head all day and has really won me over with that. I am always critical of sets that are uncomfortable and a lot of cheaper headsets simply cannot offer this level of comfort over long sessions of usage.
My main requirement from a headset is weight. I personally use the Sennheiser PC-350 set which is very light and comfortable almost to the point where you forget that you have it on. The Asus set is not as light as the 350 but is not noticable at all and feels light even over long periods of usage.
The Cups contain 40mm drivers which are a decent size and provide decent quality sound from an onboard sound chip. To test the set to my standards, I used my Asus Xonar D2X soundcard which is held in high esteem by reviewers and end users alike. Plugging the Vulcan into the D2X brought the headset to life.
The bass became instantly richer and the sound a lot crisper. If you are looking to get a new headset+sound card combo, then you could do a lot worse than the Vulcan paired with a decent card.
Plugging the Vulcan into my on-board audio was a little disappointing after using the sound card but it still provided a very good quality audio, certainly better than a lot of other sets in the same price range.
The volume can be controlled using the in-line volume control which also serves as a mic mute button.
The Mic Performance was decent but I felt it could do with a little improvement. Whilst my team-mates all had no problem hearing me, they all commented that I wasn't as clear as I usually was with my PC-350 set on. however considering that that set costs nearly £35 more, it can be forgiven. The mic is also removable if required.
There is a nice rubber grommet at the end of the cable that allows you to put the mic jack into it and stow it if it isn't in use. Whilst this may not seem like a big deal, I swap my headphone jack on my sound card for speakers regularly so it is nice to see it.
The Vulcan's ace up its sleeve is the ANC or Active Noise Cancellation which is its main selling point and what I was most looking forward to testing. I have been using the set with ANC off for most of the day and then tried with it on and the difference it makes is very noticeable.
At first, games and music sounded flat and lacking depth with ANC enabled. I was very sceptical at this point but persevered and after around 30 minutes of usage I decided that the clarity and crispness of the ANC is a brilliant addition to the set. The downside from before of using the set without a sound card was eliminated as the poorer sound from the onboard audio was counterbalanced by ANC.
ANC is designed to make outside and ambient noises disappear so it is nice to see that enabling it gives the audio a better sound across the board.
The only time I found the ANC intrusive was whilst playing Need For Speed: Shift 2 as the engine sounds sounded a little hollow compared to without ANC but this was minor as it takes a flick of a switch on the side of the set to turn ANC off. It seems a lot of heavier music tracks that I listened to lost a little bit of their atmosphere with the ANC enabled but again this is a feature that can be turned off if preferred and it is certainly a good addition for gaming. The ANC feature does require a single AAA battery to be inserted into the right cup of the set to work.
In Game, the set performed very well. Playing Bad Company 2, Call Of Duty:MW2, Shift 2, Deus EX HR, Crysis 2, Dirt 3 and Batman: Arkham Asylum was a pleasure with this set.
The detail in sound quality in my games was very good, footsteps and distant actions were immediately obvious and put me right in the action with great sound positioning and clear effects.
I used the following settings on my D2X sound card for testing
Tracks from a variety of artists such as Jose Gonzales, Tool, The Ocean, Fugazi, Aesop Rock, Nero and Comeback Kid all sounded great. As a music lover with a very diverse taste in genres it was a pleasure to listen to music on the set without feeling like it compromised the quality or feel of each track. There was some very pleasing bass effects most notably in very complicated rock tracks and all of the electronic and dance tracks I listened to. The bass performance was well complimented by very nice mid range performance where the ANC felt very noticeable, I would go as far to say that the mid range on this set outshines my far more expensive Sennheiser PC-350 which I was not expecting. I turned the ANC off and a lot of tracks sounded quite full and messy in comparison so it definately helps. I then compared it to my own PC-350 set and it certainly needs the ANC on as it is only an improvement with it enabled.
The point is that it works with the ANC disabled if required [should you run out of AAA's
]In Summary:
I am very surprised by this set. I personally had low expectations and was met with a serious gaming headset from Asus. If they produce more sets in line with this one then they could become a player in this area and certainly a brand to consider. Make no mistake, this is a premium headset!
I would give the Vulcan 8/10 based on its overall performance and 9/10 for its gaming performance.
Pros
- Great Mid Range and Bass Performance
- Comfortable and Light
- Neat package and Quality feel
- Nice Accessories
Cons
- Mic Performance wasn't amazing
- Branding is not subtle [although this is my own taste]
- could have come with an AAA battery
Keep checking our news section on the forums for your chance to win your very own Asus Vulcan ANC headset!
Don't Forget, OcUK have the Vulcan Headset available for pre-order with stock due to land very soon!
Asus Vulcan ANC Noise Cancelling ROG Gaming Headset @ £79.98 inc VAT
The persistent commitment of the ASUS ROG team promises to provide the leading performance gaming products merged with the excitement of gaming with a unique, stylish and gamer-focused design. Join the Republic of Gamers and stand out from the crowd.
ASUS has released the ROG Vulcan ANC, the world's first active-noise-cancelling pro gaming headset designed to immerse users into games and keep them free of distractions like never before. Created from the needs of competitive pro gamers to remain focused during competition, the ROG team forged the Vulcan ANC with both performance and comfort in mind. The Vulcan ANC features 85% active noise cancellation to filter out sounds like low frequency computer fan noise and 30dB passive noise cancellation to reduce a wide range of ambient noises, including background voices.
The Vulcan ANC not only provides gamers an immersive gaming experience with noise cancelling features, but also a comfortable one. The lightweight design of 320g is lighter than other comparable models of the same size, with other headsets weighing around 350g. Soft memory foam encased in breathable Japanese protein leather ensures user comfort even after extended gaming sessions. It is also portable, with a foldable design that easily fits into a durable touring case to take between competitions or LAN parties.
The Vulcan ANC is built with enlarged 40mm headphone drivers for crisp, clear audio. ASUS audio experts optimised the headset for a wide sound stage so audio is balanced with both thundering bass and brilliant mids and highs. A stylish blade-shaped detachable boom microphone has built-in noise filtering technology so teammates hear clear conversations during games instead of ambient noise.
Awards:
Bit Tech - Premium Grade Award - 92%: "The Vulcan is a fantastic buy and our choice for a premium gaming headset."
Hardware Heaven - Recommended Award: "An excellent entry into high end gaming audio from ASUS which puts them right into competition with well-known brands such as SteelSeries and Razer."
Kit Guru - Must Have: "Our general impressions of the Asus Republic of Gamers Vulcan ANC headset are very positive; the sound quality and performance are bang on the money and the innovative ANC feature is something we've never seen before on a gaming headset."
Only £79.98 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
