GoKawiilThe ROG Gjallar sounds pretty good for a soundbar, but it has a clunky design and an audio control hub that looks like it should be a lot more customizable than it is.
Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Asus' ROG gaming lineup has just launched its very first soundbar — a 2.1.2 system with a wireless 65W 6.5-inch subwoofer and a fancy audio control hub with built-in beam-forming mics. Because the best PC speakers need to do more than just play sound to be worth considering, I guess. Or, at least, they do when they're priced at $600, which is what the Asus ROG Gjallar retails for.
Design
The ROG Gjallar is a compact under-monitor soundbar with a fairly boxy design. It comes in all black, with a black metal grille on the top and front and a slim lightbar featuring Asus' ROG logo running diagonally through the center. Like most of Asus' ROG products, it's still pretty ostensibly branded, though the branding is somewhat subtle compared to other ROG products. There's a small, iridescent ROG logo plate on the front in the bottom left corner, and of course the lightbar says "Republic of Gamers" right on the front.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
This isn't the most attractive under-monitor gaming soundbar on the market. In fact, it's pretty boring, design-wise — it's just a block, basically. Sure, it's got the slightly artistic lightbar running through the center, but even that is only attractive if you happen to love the words "Republic of Gamers" (I'm sure some people do; not me, particularly).
Latest Videos From Tom's Hardware Watch full video here:
The soundbar is relatively compact compared to non-gaming soundbars, measuring 23.9 inches (607mm) wide by 3.62 inches (92mm) deep. It's approximately 3.23 inches (82mm) tall, though the front will sit just under 4 inches (99mm) high if you opt to use the included stands, which angle the soundbar up slightly. This is a bit taller than some of the other gaming soundbars we've tested. While it should still be easy enough to fit underneath your monitor, it definitely gives less clearance than the OXS Thunder Pro+ (23.9 x 4.8 x 3 inches / 608 x 122 x 78mm).
The soundbar comes with a slim, wireless 65W 6.5-inch side-firing subwoofer that features ROG's infamous angry eye logo debossed into its metal grille. The subwoofer measures 14.02 inches (356mm) tall and 12.04 inches (315mm) wide, but it's only 4.92 inches (125mm) deep. It has no ports aside from its A/C port and has just one control — a button for pairing it with the soundbar, should it somehow become unpaired.
... continue reading