Asus ROG Delta II review: Premium sound but cumbersome ear pads

Asus presented the ROG Delta II under its ROG gaming brand at Computex 2024. The premium gaming headset follows on visually from its predecessors, the ROG Delta and ROG Delta S, but comes with significantly better sound and new functions. I was able to take a closer look at the device.

Asus ROG Delta II: Design, workmanship, comfort

• Medium weight
• Fit more for large heads
• Strange attachment of the ear pads

If you’ve seen a ROG headset before, you won’t be surprised by the Delta II. The headset comes in black with anthracite-colored connectors. The shells have a typical ROG triangular shape and are not round or oval like most other headsets. The headband is covered with black faux leather, which is relatively discreetly embossed with the “Republic of Gamers” lettering.

Of course, the ROG Delta II has RGB lighting, which is also quite discreet, only the edge of the triangle on the ear cups and the ROG logo on it are illuminated. If you’re looking for Christmas lights for your head, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

The 50 millimeter titanium drivers do a fantastic job with the sound. In fact, it’s as good as a higher-priced gaming headset.

The controls on the headset are nice and clear. On the left-hand side is the wheel for adjusting the volume of the wireless connection, which also serves as a button for muting the microphone. Below there’s a function button for wireless mode and below this is the on/off switch for wireless or 2.4 GHz mode, which you can use to switch the headset on and off when it’s not connected to another device via Bluetooth.

This is followed by a USB-C port, which is only intended for charging and firmware updates, and the slot for the microphone, which is of course detachable. The rest of the controls are located on the right-hand side, where you’ll find a second wheel for the volume control of the Bluetooth connection (but without a button function), the corresponding function button for the Bluetooth connection, and a 3.5 millimeter jack socket for the wired connection.

As soon as you unpack the ROG Delta II, you notice how light it feels in your hands, even though it weighs just 318 grams, which puts it solidly in the midrange category of wireless gaming headsets. The clamping pressure is also pleasant, but without being too loose that the headset would fall off the head.

The fit is unusually large. I’m not blessed with a petite skull and therefore intuitively set the headband size a few steps higher, only to reduce it to a minimum afterwards, completely baffled. The ROG Delta II is definitely not for small heads, maybe just enough for voluminous hairstyles.

The headset is basically made of plastic, although a metal clip is used in the headband. Nevertheless, it feels quite high-quality overall, not cheap. My biggest criticism is the “mechanism” with which the ear pads are attached to the headset. You have to fumble the rubber lip on the cushion into the corresponding gap on the headset. Other manufacturers use magnets or a rotating mechanism for this.

Asus ROG Delta II: Range of functions

• 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth and jack
• Wireless and Bluetooth simultaneously
• Lighting synchronized with other ROG hardware

The range of functions leaves little to be desired. The ROG Delta II can connect to your devices in three different ways: latency-free via radio (2.4 GHz, ROG Speednova) thanks to the supplied dongle, via Bluetooth, or via a 3.5 millimeter jack cable. Although the headset has a USB-C port, it cannot be used as a USB device. As mentioned above, the connection is only used for charging and firmware updates.

The special thing about the ROG Delta II is that it can play two audio sources simultaneously. This means you can connect it to your PC or PlayStation for gaming and to your mobile phone at the same time. If someone calls, for example, you can use it to make a phone call without interrupting the game sound.

The functions of the two wireless connections are separated in an exemplary manner. The controls for the wireless connection are located on the left earpiece while those for Bluetooth are on the right. Switching to pairing mode alone is somewhat unintuitive. Usually you have to press and hold the Bluetooth button, but with the ROG Delta II, you have to press the function button on both sides simultaneously. A long press on the Bluetooth button on the right-hand side only switches the Bluetooth function on or off.

As befits a proper gaming headset, there is of course software in which you can configure many functions and update the firmware. In addition to an equalizer, you can of course configure the RGB lighting down to the last detail or, if you own other ROG hardware, synchronize it directly.

The software is available in two versions, as a complete version of Armoury Crate, in which you can also configure all other ROG devices and as a stand-alone module (Armoury Crate Gear), which is recommended if you don’t have any other ROG devices or components besides ROG Delta II. I find this solution quite elegant, as you don’t have to drag the rest of the bead onto the PC if you only use the headset.

You can also switch additional functions on and off in the app. Of these, virtual surround sound is completely negligible, as it sounds like you’re gaming in the bathroom and reverb is a matter of taste. More interesting are the controls for Bass Boost, Voice Clarity, and Compressor. These allow you to further customize the sound.

Thanks to the wide range of connection options, the ROG Delta II is compatible with all kinds of devices as long as they support Bluetooth or the USB dongle or have a 3.5 millimeter jack connection. The PS5 is supported natively while the Xbox requires the 3.5 millimeter jack on the controller. The headset can also be connected to smartphones, but the headset cannot be configured in the Armoury Crate smartphone app.

Asus ROG Delta II: Sound quality

• Weak bass at low volume
• Ideal sound for speech
• 8-band equalizer and other customization options

The 50 millimeter titanium drivers do a fantastic job with the sound. In fact, it’s as good as a higher-priced gaming headset. By default, the mix is designed more for speech, which is noticeable at low and medium volumes, where the highs and mids are very present, but the lows are almost non-existent. The other side of the coin is that music sounds very flat, almost tinny, at low volumes.

If you turn the volume up to the upper third, the bass comes through better and music is much more enjoyable. If you don’t like the sound at the factory settings, you can adjust it in the Armoury Crate software with an equalizer and compensate for the lack of bass. However, this also makes it much more present at higher volumes. If the ROG Delta II were multimedia headphones, I would criticize this, but for a gaming headset, this compromise is completely acceptable for my taste.

On the other hand, there’s absolutely nothing to criticize about the microphone. The speech is crystal clear, doesn’t scratch, and even has a pleasantly warm bass.

Asus ROG Delta II: Battery life

Asus promises up to 110 hours of battery life, but only when the backlight is switched off. The good news is that the ROG Delta II also achieves this at 50 percent volume. With RGB lighting, however, the battery life drops to a quarter. That’s right, not a quarter, but a quarter. On average, the ROG Delta II lasts between 25 and 30 hours on a single charge.

So if you play for an hour or two in the evening after work, you’ll need to charge it every fortnight. If you’re a full-time gamer, you’ll need to charge it three to four times a week. To be honest, this is perfectly reasonable in everyday life, as the headset can simply be charged overnight. The bottom line is RGB lighting consumes an incredible amount of power and if you’re not streaming with a webcam, you can safely switch it off as you can’t see it yourself anyway.

Asus ROG Delta II: Price, availability

The Asus ROG Delta II is available at various retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg. Amazon currently lists the headset for $209.99, which is nine percent off of the original price. It includes the headset itself, the microphone, two pairs of ear pads–one covered with artificial leather, the other with fabric–the wireless receiver with USB-C connection, a suitable adapter to USB-A, a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging, and a generously dimensioned jack-to-jack cable (2 meters). That’s definitely something to be proud of.