ROG Kithara

Their first proper headphones, the ROG Kithara, have convinced them they can never go back to cheap headphones.

Finds the ROG Kithara next level for a gaming headset, standing up to many of their dedicated headphones.

After hours of music and gaming coming from the Maxwell, they find the ROG Kithara close to far pricier planar headphones, with better imaging, generous accessories and Hifiman's best build quality.

Bought the ROG Kithara cheaply and agrees it is excellent, better than the Arya for them thanks to ASUS's tuning and build.

Comparing the ROG Kithara with many headphones, they find it an unusual open-back planar gaming headset that excels at precise shooting, while the Maxwell 2 is better for immersive play.

Loves using the ASUS ROG Kithara for wired gaming.

Found the ROG Kithara pretty sweet and very similar to the Edition XS, hard to beat at $300, but returned it since they already owned the XS.

A small aftermarket strap made all the difference to the ROG Kithara's fit for them.

Uses the ROG Kithara at the office and found it sounded really good on a desktop DAC.

After a couple of days the ROG Kithara is the most comfortable headset they've worn, feels premium, and sounds crisp and open with clean bass and pinpoint footstep direction in BF6; the included DAC could use a bit more volume.

The ROG Kithara has replaced their Z1R and HD800S for gaming, with more bass than the 800S and a wider stage than the Z1R.

Expected to return the ROG Kithara after years of HD800S gaming but is happy with it for FPS.

As an HE1000 Stealth owner, they find the ROG Kithara clearly lacking in comparison, though great for the price and very lightweight.

Their new ROG Kithara sounds great and feels well built, except for a thinly padded, uncomfortable head strap.

Finds the ROG Kithara comfortable with the stock headband and lighter-feeling than their old, lighter Cloud Alpha S.

Finds the ROG Kithara really good for the price, likes the sound and can wear it for eight hours without issue.

A/B testing against the FiiO FT1 Pro, they prefer the ROG Kithara for music, with more bass detail and more detailed vocals.

Finds the ROG Kithara harder to drive with its included dongle but fine once properly powered.

Their new ROG Kithara sounds pretty good on PC, though they are still adjusting to open-back after years of gaming headsets.

Wasn't impressed by the ROG Kithara on its supplied USB cable, but with a desktop amp and balanced cable it became the best sound they've heard.

Finds the ROG Kithara super comfortable and great-sounding, slightly better than their Maxwell 2 for footsteps in Battlefield 6.

Their new ROG Kithara is far better than their HyperX Cloud III, though it could use about 5dB more volume from the PC.

Has EQ'd their ROG Kithara for a good thump and is adding a desktop amp for it.

After a week with the ROG Kithara, a long-time headphone enthusiast is pretty impressed.

Bought the ROG Kithara on sale and finds it blows their DT 990s out of the water for sound quality.

The ROG Kithara sounds good but they don't like it for long gaming sessions.

Loves the ROG Kithara but finds it not loud enough from their PC.

The ROG Kithara has shown them what good sound is, making their Arctis Nova Elite sound inferior.

Loving their new ROG Kithara after many headphones, though it leaks a lot of sound.

Owning several HiFiMan planars, they'd pick the Kithara over the Ananda Stealth, though the Arya Stealth is better.

“I would pick the Kithara over Ananda any day. But the Arya is hands down better than both.”

Owns both and usually reaches for the Kithara, which they find sounds better than the Audeze Maxwell 2 and benefits from extra amp power.

“The Kithara sounds very good, better than the Maxwell 2 in my opinion. I have both but usually use the Kithara.”

Kept the Kithara after trying others in the return window: the weight is noticeable though well distributed, and a few treble peaks need EQ.

“I decided to keep the kithara. My only problem with them is that they’re weight is noticeable, though it’s distributed well”

Happily runs their Kithara straight from the DualSense controller without a separate DAC.

“And here I am happy to just plug my Kithara into my DualSense”

Loves the Kithara's insane sound quality but is considering returning it because the open back gives no isolation from their noisy keyboard.

“I love the Kithara I just received. But... My keyboard is extremely noisy (Blackwidow v2) and I play a lot of games...”

Finds the Kithara amazing and built like a tank but behind their Tygr for FPS gaming.

“Just wanted to let you know that I got the Kithara, and while amazing, I dont think they stand up well against the Tygr at all, especially for fps games”

Returned the Kithara after about 10 days: imaging and footsteps were horrible in Arena Breakout, and they went back to a Cloud III.

“Same here, I had the Kithara for about 10 days, it was just horrible. Imaging/footsteps in ABI u can’t hear shit with it!”

With a DX5 II, the Kithara sounds good out of the box, but the wide stage makes sounds less accurate in BF6.

“I have the Kithara paired with DX5 II. I'm still new to Eqing but out of the box, Kithara are good.”

A week in with a K7 amp, the Kithara sounds amazing but the ear pads cause discomfort around the upper jaw.

“For about a week now I’ve been using my new Kithara headphones with the K7 amp. They sound amazing. But over the last few days I’ve started feeling discomfort around the upper jaw area”

Really liked the Kithara's spacious, airy sound, separation and excellent FPS positional audio, preferring it to the Audeze Maxwell 2.

“I previously used the **ASUS ROG Kithara**, which I really liked.”

Rates the Kithara 10/10 for sound, 7/10 comfort and 4/10 for the mic; fine from a PS5 controller but poor on a Realtek motherboard.

“Kithara - Sound Quality 10/10 | Mic Quality 4/10 | Comfort 7/10.”

After a month with the Kithara on an AE-9 sound card, they love the sound; comfort is fine with a Capra strap.

“I was using H6 and now bought Kithara. I have been using it for over a month and I do love the sound.”

Their first audiophile gear, the Kithara with a K7 DAC sounds really good with AutoEQ, but the cable tangles.

“As someone who’s never had audiophile/Hifi gear they sound really good using a squig.link AutoEQ in Peace.”

A first-time planar listener says the ROG Kithara blew their mind.

“Just got the kithara, blew mind.”

A PS5 Pro gamer loves the ROG Kithara's build, comfort and soundstage, with plenty of volume without a DAC.

“I’m loving the Kitharas thus far. The build quality, comfort, sound/soundstage are all very impressive.”

An owner of the ROG Kithara and Maxwell prefers the Kithara for all-day listening, but it has less bass and needs a good DAC to get loud enough.

“I have the Kithara and the Maxwell 1s. I prefer the Kithara for all day listening so far but they don't have as much bass.”

Paired with a DAC, this owner finds the ROG Kithara gets really loud and is great.

“I got the k13 r2r dac to pair with the kithara and it can get really loud if you have it on high gain.”

An owner of many headsets ranks the ROG Kithara first for sound, but notes it needs a DAC/amp and is open-back and wired.

“Ranking them for sound quality; 1 - Kitharas, but requires an dac/amp and is open-back & wired.”

Having used the Nova Pro Wireless, Maxwell 1 and MMX 300, a gamer likes the ROG Kithara's more natural, open sound but says it needs an amp.

“I must say I like the ASUS Rog Kithara pretty much.”

Owning the DT 1990, HD 490 Pro and Maxwell, a gamer finds the ROG Kithara's comfort, soundstage and imaging on point for Hunt, Tarkov and BF6.

“Comfort and audio for the Kithara's are on point”

Coming from an HD490 Pro, they find the Kithara's soundstage, comfort and bass better and sold the HD490, though they baby the planar drivers.

“I find them more comfortable for longer sessions. Bass is MUCH better in quality than the hd490 imo.”

A user owning several headsets says the ROG Kithara sounds best of the group by a decent margin.

“If you don't care, the Kithara is the best sounding of that bunch by a decent margin.”

A user really likes the open-back ROG Kithara and has been impressed.

“If you don’t need sound isolation and can go open back, I really like the ASUS ROG Kithara. I’ve been really impressed.”

A user likes their ROG Kithara more than previous SteelSeries, Razer and Astro headphones.

“look into the rog kithara I really like mine it's better than the other headphones I have had like from steelseries razer and astro”

After testing several headsets, a user found the ASUS ROG Kithara with a DAC the best for sound quality.

“The best for sound quality and were the kitheras with a dac.”

A player who has used the ASUS ROG Kithara since release, mainly for audio-heavy Hunt: Showdown, finds it great for sound and comfort in long sessions and hot days; the microphone is the weakest part.

“Been using the Kitharas since release for mainly hunt showdown (a shooter where audio is one of the core mechanics) and it’s great.”

A Sennheiser owner found the ASUS ROG Kithara soundstage surprisingly narrow, returned it, and would choose the HD 490 Pro instead.

“I found the Kithara's soundstage to be surprising narrow compared to the Sennheisers that I'm used to (PC37X, HD 550). I ended up returning it”

After trying many headsets in a year, a player loves the ASUS ROG Kithara; the only downside is being wired only.

“I love my Asus ROG Kitharas. I have tried a TON of headsets over the past year. The only downside is adjusting to wired only.”

Owns and loves the ASUS ROG Kithara open-back planars, though they need a DAC to sound their best.

“The Asus ROG Kithara is an excellent choice. I have them and I love them. But they need a DAC to make them sing”

Owns both the Kithara and HD 490 Pro: the Kithara is great and works on any platform, but they kept the 490 Pro for more detail in busy shooters and less treble fatigue.

“the Kithara are great and have everything you would need to play on any platform.”

Owns both and finds the Kithara better tuned for FPS than the HD 490 Pro, includes a mic, and is the better value.

“I own both. The Kithara has better tuning for FPS games vs the 490 with the velour pads. Both are excellent.”

Owns the Kithara, HD 490 Pro and Aune AR5000: the Kithara wins by a mile for soundstage, imaging and transients, while the 490 Pro is far more comfortable.

“Kithara to me, wins by a mile in soundstage and imaging and fast** **transients. Hd490 pro wins by a mile in comfort.”

After 2+ months, they love the Kithara's sound and soundstage for gaming and movies, though the pads shift and tire their ears over long sessions.

“So I've had the ROG Kithara for more than 2 months, and I have absolutely enjoyed them for their sound quality. They have excellent soundstage (almost like a 3D bubble)”

Didn't find the Kithara bad, but not in the same realm as the HD490 Pro.

“I didn’t even find the Kithara’s to be in the same realm. Not that they were bad but I didn’t find them as well off as the 490 Pro’s.”

Comparing for gaming, they found the ROG Kithara far better than their Sony XM3 and recommend it at about $300.

“IMO it was pretty bad compared to the stuff I was comparing it against (PC38X, Kithara, and 490 Pro at the time).”

Sounded god tier with a small EQ tweak, but returned them because of the weight and the mic.

“with a small +2db adjustment on 2800 and 1800 khz it sounded god tier, but had to return them becasue my triangled ass head couldnt support the weight”