Showcase
Let's get it out of the way, again. No RGB. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less. Sure, you could turn the RGB off on the other units, which is functionally the same, but seeing as that's what I'd do anyway, I don't miss not having it. Also, no messing around with extra software, this way. Well, not software to control the lighting, at least. The included accessories are, naturally, also on the lighter side, and the only thing extra over the base 500's is that USB dongle, which is required for obvious reasons. That said, do you really need more? There are the obligatory alternate set of earcups, as well, and these went straight on given my past experiences with either leather/faux-leather or cloth material pads. My head doesn't get along with them.
A small word on comfort, if I may? Naturally, this is highly subjective but bear with me. In a word, it's good. No headset I have ever tested has come close to the still familiar comfort of my Hyper X Cloud II's, but with mesh pads attached, the unit did a good job of moulding themselves to the shape of my very large head. I did find I had to loosen the headband quite a bit to be truly comfortable, but I suspect this is more a quirk of my anatomy than a fault with the design. The unit still stayed firmly on my head, however, even when loosened. This is an indicator of clever design, meaning the interior of the headband is what is loosened, rather than the frame as a whole. The 500W's share their comfort pedigree with the regular 500's, though, meaning that all comfort features (e.g. the heavily padded headband) make a return here. Naturally, this is very welcome. I will be frank in that Asus hasn't quite nailed down comfort (at least for me) perfectly, yet. After about 1.5-2h, the headset was a little hot on my head, though there was no 'fatigue' associated with the headband or cups, which is a bonus. I just have a hot and big head, and it's what nature saw fit to give me, sadly.
Shall we take a look at this unit more closely? The more astute amongst you will have noticed something odd when compared to the regular 500's. They share almost identical looks, save for one very important aspect. The exterior of the ear cups. Whereas the 500's and 700's featured a shiny/reflective plastic material, the 500W's feature a matte/dulled plastic material. In my view, this is miles better. Miles. I understand why the shiny material was used, don't get me wrong. Likely something to do with having the RGB on the aforementioned units reflects at least some of the light. However, given that lighting on this unit is non-existent, Asus evidently got rid of it. I think it looks much better with the matte surface, and now I would be happy to use the headset in a public place. In fact, I currently am ('Spirit in the Sky', Norman Greenbaum, if you're wondering, because who doesn't like Apollo 13?). The much more muted appearance, combined with the very slick looks of the other units really, really, help the W's case. Quite frankly, I don't care that they lack RGB. I don't care for it, and in my view, the decision to alter the exterior material was a genius stroke.
Some might call them a little plain, but I do not think so, at all. I think they strike the perfect balance between aggressive 'gamer' design but remain absolutely on the right side of subtle. They're exceptionally elegant. The Asus branding is, like the others, also kept to a minimum. The Strix owl is present, sure, but it's very small (etched into the headband's exterior, where it connects to the ear cup). If you're not a gamer, or into the PC hardware scene, you'd probably think these were a pair of snazzy headphones, and not even glance twice. To me, that's perfect. I want my audio gear to do its job, not draw the attention of a crowd. As big a company as Asus is, I do appreciate their choice to keep branding to a minimum here. It's appreciated and I think letting the product speak for itself out of pure design says a lot more than overtly aggressive marketing.
The headset, finally, continues Asus' excellent rep for build quality. The headset comes in at around .87kg, or around 70g heavier than the 500's. You can feel the slight weight difference, sure, but really at a push. The weight makes this headset feel exceptionally sturdy, but given how well they fit, it doesn't become overbearing or irritating. All in all, the W's retain the big 'gamer' headset feel and look, but notably turn down the dial on it. This, to my mind, is a good thing, meaning the headset has a more universal appeal. If you didn't think so already, it's apparent that I really like what Asus has done with this headset's design and visual flair. I think it's by far the best-looking headset I have reviewed so far, and might be one of the best looking 'gamer' oriented (whatever that means) audio peripherals on the market today.
Given that there is no RGB on this unit to mention, we can actually move straight into performance testing of this product. I will first cover the performance in games, alongside the microphone. I'll also briefly cover use of the Armoury software to control various aspects of the headset's internals.
