ASUS ROG Strix Fusion 500 Headset Review
Introduction
When ASUS were first getting their Strix brand up and running the decision was made to make an owl the mascot of the models. This led to all sorts of products which utilised this theme as ASUS tried to get it imprinted in the public consciousness.
The first Strix Headset perfectly resembled an owls eyes when the ear pieces were flattened, and whilst this might have been something of an acquired taste in terms of the aesthetics, there is no denying its effectiveness in making us all sit and take notice of this new group of products.
Since then we have reviewed a few ASUS headsets but the Strix models have been almost conspicuous by their absence. Was this a one time deal? Did ASUS change their Strix focus away from peripherals and solely towards the motherboard/GPU market or, as we know now, were they just biding their time before unleashing a new Strix headset.
Enter the ROG Strix Fusion 500.
The design of which entirely – as the Strix range has as a whole – eschews the owl design and aims squarely regular headset designs we’ve come to know and love. Does the sound quality live up to its lofty price tag and the kudos that the Strix range has acquired?
Technical Specifications
The plain specifications seem to underplay the qualities of the Fusion 500. If you’ve been following our headphone reviews you’ll know that 20Hz-20kHz is regular for a headset frequency response. However looking deeper into the ASUS specifications beyond this simple table and the ASUS Essence drive has a proclaimed 20Hz-40kHz response. That would provide much greater audio quality that the specifications below, so we’re intrigued as to which is the truth. What cannot be denied, but is also lacking from the table below, is that the Fusion 500 is equipped with ESS 9601 amplifier to push the bass hard and a ESS 9018 DAC which provides 24 bit, 96Hz playback. Additionally the Strix Fusion 500 also has Bongiovi Acoustics 7.1 virtual surround, toggled with a button on the headset. But it’s better to show than tell so let’s take a closer look.
