ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro Review
Category : Headsets
Published by Marc Büchel on 01.10.12
These days ASUS is exploring some new territory with the ROG brand (Republic of Gamers). With the Vulcan they haven a very nice looking gaming headset in their portfolio, which, at a first glance, looks quite comfortable too. This is reason enough for us to check wether this thing is able to convince or not.
On the following pages we will show you the strengths and weaknesses of the
ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro Gaming Headeset.
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Preview
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Specifications
Headphones
- Frequency: 10 – 20'000 Hz
- Impendance: 32 Ohm
- Cable length: 3.0m
- Driver size: 40 mm
- Plug: USB
- Earpads made from artifical leather
Microphone
- Frequency: 100 – 10'000 Hz
- Characteristics:
Omni-directional, noise
cancelling, condenser mic
Delivery
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Test conditions
Regarding our Headset
respectively Microphone tests we subjectively describe acoustics, microphone quality
as well as ergonomics. The endresult therefore relies also on the tester himself.
We're doing our best to ensure comparable results if different reviewers were testing
different products. We think these review can be seen as a help if you like to buy
a specific product and can therefore be seen as subjective consumer advice.
Music
- Eminem - recovery
- Medina - You and I
- Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me
- Lady Gaga - Lovegame and Pokerface
- Diverse House Mixes
- Senteced - Mourn
- Apocalyptica - Master of Puppets
- Poisonblack - Love Controlled Despair
Movies
- Event Horizon
- Repo Men
- Moon
- Halo Legend
- Starwars Clonewars
- Transformers I
Games
- Call Of Duty Modern Warfare III
- Starcraft II
- Overlord II
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Wearing confort and ergonomics
If you have the ROG
Vulcan Pro on your head for the
first time, it feels very comfortable. There are several reasons for this. First
of all the weight is being distributed perfectly on the bolsters of both ear
pieces. Furthermore the ear cuffs have a flexible connection to the bail which
makes them fit perfectly all the time. There is also an oval shape and the fact
that the ear pieces are quite big, so even if you should have big ears the ear
pieces wont touch them. Something else we like is the noise isolation. To be
honest we want to say that there is no difference in noise isolation when the noise
cancelling function is on. The isolation comes from the fact that this headset
features a closed design and the ear pads, which are made from artificial
leather do a good job.
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Acoustics
Headphone
ASUS chose to
equip their gaming headset with two 40 millimeter drivers. These
should be capable of offering a decent audio experience. Unfortunately by
default this headset comes with an unbalanced preset. We noticed that the bass is
too loud compared to the mid and high tones. Sure there are people out there who
like a well pronounced bass but the more mature your taste has become the more
you'll like a linear play back. Luckily you can always use a software equalizer
to give the mid and high tones more presence. Although this is an analogue
stereo headset we would love to see a software from ASUS offering
different audio profiles. We think this would be a very nice addition that
people will love and enjoy.
Microphone
From a technical
point of view the microphone is very good.
Furthermore it is practical that attaching the bail is optional. Unfortunately
the microphone cannot be folded upwards if not needed. The distance to the mouth
is ok and people on the other end of the line will understand you lound and clear.
Also the noise cancelling is working well and there will be no white noise on
the far side.
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Conclusion
The
ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro is a very comfortable gaming headset which comes with good drivers and
a good microphone. To be honest, the drivers preset is really not perfect. ASUS went for a setup with a an
overpronounced bass. Furthermore the mid and high tones are simply too silent. The microphone
on the other hand was able to convince. The quality is good and
noise cancelling is working fine. We would have loved to see a software in the
delivery or on ASUSs download page which offers different audio
presets. This would make the sound appealing to a wider audience. Furthermore it's a very easy way to optimize the audio quality.
The very best thing about this headset is definitely the wearing comfort. Both ear pads fit perfectly and they suite different head shapes. A
big plus is also the fact that the ear pads are flexible. Furthermore they are very soft and and even if you should prefer to play games with
3D shutter glasses on you will feel no pressure marks. In fact this is one of the very few gaming headsets you can wear for hours and you wont feel anything hurting.
Last but not least we have to say that the ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro come
with a very competitive price tag. For about 80 Euros (est. 106.- Swiss Francs) you can
get this headset. For this amount of money you really get what you pay for and
it's definitely a good choice.
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Author:
m.buechel@ocaholic.ch