Asus Strix Fusion 700 - RGB Headset Review - Showcase

Here, in amongst letting the product do the hardware equivalent of a little twirl, we can discuss some of the less important aspects in terms of specs and accessories. The inclusion of a relatively long USB 2.0 braided cable is a nice touch (though expected at this price point, I will be honest), and - in my experience - I never had any issues with it snagging on anything in particular. This is, as anyone who has seen me wearing any kind of headphone/earphone, a passionate hatred of mine is any part of the product in question catching on my clothing or any obstacle. It is enough to drive me to rage within microseconds. Luckily, nothing to see here with the 700's, so moving on.

As for connectivity, Asus has made great strides in their product blurb to market this headset towards many users, not just those gaming on PC. Xbox users are now included in the console gamers scope, with even the Nintendo Switch getting a mention on the box's back. As before, I can potentially see the 2m cable being a somewhat limiting factor here for those in much larger rooms, or those using HTPC setups to game on their TVs. Mac users are also targeted as a market, which makes sense (though with an issue I didn't think of last time). Whilst MacOS does tend to attract the 'creative' types of the world, one must remember that 'gamer' is usually not something someone using MacOS tends to be, though I do know of a fair few who game on a Windows desktop but use a MacBook/Pro for their mobile solution. Anyway, given that Asus is a well known 'Gamers' brand (with ROG adding to that), this headset will likely go largely unnoticed by the MacOS community. That said, given that it's a fairly small percentage of computer users anyway, it's a non-issue. That aside, we shall later see if the audio experience lives up to something that said users might be interested in.

I'll take some time to look at unit physically. In a word, to my mind, it's very pretty. The slightly 'angular' aesthetic carries over from the 500's, but I do not think it makes them look overly aggressive or - for lack of a better term - 'gamer-y.' The outside of the ear cups are made of a shiny hard touch material, but the rest of the headset is made up of dark, subdued colors. The edges of the headband have the famous Strix Owl out the outside, and 'Strix' written on the inside. Some may dislike the shiny exterior to the ear cups (and they were the only bit of this unit that I was still unsure about by the end of my time with it), but to be honest I can see this being the only possible point of contention between those that like this unit, and those that don't. In my mind, Asus has done a decent job in making sure this product can - potentially - appeal to a variety of different markets.

The included ear cups are - still - extremely comfortable. The size has remained the same from the 500's, meaning they are - in my opinion - on the smaller side. Whilst I will always make a beeline toward any mesh style cup, I have to say that the default 'leather' cups were extremely comfortable... for the 10s or so I actually used them, before remembering that my head also does a good double act as a space heater.

The headband is very well padded, and generally, the headset sat very nicely on my head with only some adjustment needed. On that point, adjustment of the unit is done simply by two extendable tabs inside the headband. These travel smoothly, and after I did pull the cups down a little, the 700's sat true and with next to no 'wobble' that I could notice. The cups themselves are also able to swivel on a 90-degree axis, so should adjust themselves to the contours of your head within any issue at all. They did for me, at any rate. I also found that the headset could be loosened to a fair way beyond an 'ideal' fit, and it still did a decent job of keeping itself on my head. To me, that's a sign of good ergonomics. As an added bonus to those of us with fairly pronounced cheekbones, the ear cups also pivot along their longitudinal axis. This means that they self-adjust well for the curvature of your head. As someone who is very picky about headwear in general, this is - as always - a welcome feature.

Build quality is excellent, and the 700's feel very solid in the hand with a good heft (but not excessive, as this can increase wearer discomfort over time). All in all, the 700's are - on the outside - your fairly typical gamer headset, albeit with a few neat tricks up its proverbial sleeve. Padded headband, relatively large ear cups, a muted 'gamer' aesthetic, and - as is the trend for high-end headsets of 2018 - some level of RGB integration. All in all, it covers all of the bases that need to be covered.