I did not have a partnership with Asus’ gaming arm and planar magnetic pioneers HiFiMan on my CES 2026 bingo card, but the ROG Kithara open-back planar magnetic gaming headset has just been announced. And after spending a few days with the fancy gaming cans before heading to Las Vegas, I can confirm they sound amazing – especially when I broke out a few CDs rather than relying on streaming. And at least to my head, they are extremely comfortable, despite weighing in at 0.93 pounds. That said, they will undoubtedly remain a niche product, as they come with all the trappings of audiophile headphones, like easily lost removable cables and adapters, a large, travel-unfriendly design, and a $359 price that – while reasonable for what you get – is pricier than our current pick for best gaming headset for audiophiles, Audeze’s Maxwell .
Asus ROG Kithara Specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally Headset Connectors 3.5mm / 6.3mm / 4.4mm balanced wired cable, USB-C adapter Drivers 100mm HIFIMAN planar magnetic driver Frequency Response 8 Hz – 55 kHz Impedance 16 ohms Microphone Pickup Pattern Unidirectional boom microphone (super-cardi) Frequency Response 20 Hz – 20 kHz SNR 74dB Weight Headset 420 grams
Asus clearly wants this headset to feel like an audiophile investment. Opening the box, I was greeted by a removable “sound signature certificate” and a note signed in foil ink by Kris Huang, the company’s GM of the gaming and workspace gear business. Under this foam-backed sheet, the headset and its four connectors (3.5 mm, 4.4 mm, and 6.3 mm) present themselves, along with a USB-C adapter that lets you connect the headphone and audio jacks and plug into a PC or other device. The various connectors screw onto the balanced audio cable, which plugs into the bottom of each ear cup. This is all pretty standard stuff for high-end wired headsets (or in-ear monitors), but will probably feel fiddly and foreign to many coming from the gaming headset realm.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
But that’s just for using the Kithera as a pair of headphones. If you want to use the mic (you know, to use the headset as a headset), you’ll need to use the shorter braided cable with its permanently attached mic and in-line controller for muting and volume adjustment. The microphone plugs into the left earcup, with the other jack connecting on the right side. This cable is OK, but at only about seven feet, it could be restrictive if you plug the headset into the jacks at the rear of your PC (as you generally should for the best possible audio).
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The in-line controller on this cable is the cheapest-feeling part of the Kithera kit, by far. The front houses a large plastic slider for muting the mic (with some red plastic visible so you can tell you’re muted if you look down at it). And there’s a volume wheel on the side, which I’d honestly suggest just not using. Like the in-line controller as a whole, it feels cheap, and it is so sensitive that you can go from zero to max volume with just slightly more than one roll of your thumb. When starting at full volume, I found it difficult to get to a pleasing level of around 75%. As soon as I started to move the wheel, the sound output was too quiet. I quickly resorted to just leaving the volume roller at max and adjusting sound output levels from my keyboard.
In all, there are a lot of connectors, adapters, and cables here. I personally feel like I’d lose something important before too long. But Asus does at least include a full-sized sheet of translucent paper documenting how to connect and use everything. I’d probably lose that, too.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
... continue reading