ASUS Strix 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset Review

Looking around the ASUS Strix 7.1

The Strix 7.1 bundle includes the headset, the Audio Control Station, a detachable microphone, an HDMI-to-3.5mm adapter cable that can connect to a set of multichannel PC speakers, and a USB cable that has one end with dual plugs.

The huge full-sized gaming headset is also heavy expectedly because of its 10 speaker drivers and reinforced hard plastic enclosure. The self-adjusting spring-loaded headband tended to stretch to its full length when supporting the weight of the worn headset, yet the large earcups, generous padding, and articulate joints made the Strix 7.1 comfortable to wear.

Each earcup fits on the head by two joints. One set of joints rotate at the ends of the headband. The other set are hinges on the earcup assembly.

The self-adjusting padded headband and earcups are covered with soft leather.

The widest section across the earpad measures 5.1 inches (130 mm.) The inner diameter of the earcup measures at least 2.5 inches between opposite points.

The detachable microphone plugs into the left earcup. The boom is bendable allowing for the position of the microphone tip to be adjusted.

The headset has a 1 meter long cord ending in an HDMI plug that connects to a USB audio station. This module acts as an external sound card and tabletop volume control. It connects to computers by a 1 meter long Y-USB cable. With the dual USB end, we found that one USB plugged into a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port was enough to power the Strix 7.1. No software installation is required to use the Strix 7.1 to its full capabilities.

Inside the audio station is a Cirrus Logic CS47028 audio SoC that integrates a DAC (digital audio converter) capable of 8 channel output with the digital sound processor. Each channel is serviced by a TI TPA6130 amp featuring 64 step volume controls.

There are two dials on the USB audio station. The dial in the front is for selecting a setting to change whether it be the volume level of a surround channel, the headset lighting, or the game-audio spectrum profiles. Turning the dial on the top moves the orange LED lights which indicate volume level or the current selection. Depending on the setting selection, pressing the top dial like a button mutes selected volume, turns off the lighting, or disables spectrum profiles.

On the bottom of the audio station is a small switch for turning environmental noise cancellation (ENC) on or off. On the top of the audio station is a small microphone for detecting ambient sounds to be removed from the main headset microphone recording stream.