Announced earlier this week, the ROG Kithara is what you get when the worlds of audiophiles and gamers collide. This is Asus’ first open-back planar magnetic headphone, aimed at gamers who “demand absolute clarity, precision and realism.”
It might be an Asus product, but it can’t take all the credit. Asus has partnered with Hifiman, a renowned audiophile company that specialises in, among other things, planar magnetic headphones. So it makes sense that the ROG Kithara uses a pair of Hifiman’s 100mm planar magnetic drivers, which have apparently been “tuned specifically for gaming.”
Asus says the result is a wide 8Hz-55KHz frequency response, low distortion, and “a level of detail
that reveals subtle positional cues such as footsteps, reloads, and distant movement with
remarkable accuracy.”
These should also be great for enjoying music, though planar magnetic headphones tend to be lighter in the low-end than most will be used to. Something the bass heads should keep in mind.
ROG Kithara FTW
While Asus says the Kithara was built for “maximum versatility”, carrying over 400g around on your head could limit how versatile they are in real-world use. The decent selection of accessories in the box could swing things back in Asus’ favour.
You get two types of earpads, two different types of cables (one includes a full-band boom microphone), three kinds of removable jacks: 6.3mm, 4.4mm, and the usual 3.5mm, and a USB-C to dual 3.5mm adapter. That last piece means you could plug these directly into your smartphone or laptop. With an impedance of just 16 Ohms, you aren’t strictly required to purchase any additional equipment.
While we don’t yet know if the ROG Kithara will officially arrive in South Africa, it is currently available for purchase from Amazon US, but you’ll end up paying $70 extra for shipping and import taxes over the launch price of $300. In total, it can be yours for just shy of R6,000.
