We take a look at ASUS’ first step into the high end Gaming audio sector, the ROG Vulcan ANC headset. Is it worthy of the Republic of Gamers badge?
Product on Review: ASUS Republic of Gamers Vulcan-ANC
Manufacturer and Sponsor: ASUS
Street Price: £76.60 (At time of Review)
It was no surprise when ASUS and the Republic of Gamers design team moved into other aspects of gaming life and a high end gaming headset is a natural place to start. Many gamers choose to use a headset and it is a market where many companies have managed to gain an established foot hold and with the Vulcan ANC, ASUS hope to stamp their mark amongst them. The simple yet elegant design bares only its roots by flying the ROG colours of black and red.
ASUS’ Overview
We always listen to gamers’ feedback and provide solutions to enhance their gaming experience. The ultimate goal is to help you win. The ROG Vulcan ANC was forged to cater to the needs of pro gamers who usually use headsets to become fully immersed in the gameplay without distraction. The ROG team researched and designed the active noise cancellation to specifically cancel low frequency computer fan noise to high end human noise, to give gamers the enveloping sound they need.
Specification & Features
Driver
Driver Diameter : 40 mm
Frequency Response
Headphone : 10 ~ 20000 Hz
Impedance
32 Ohm
Noise Cancelling Performance
Active :
Maximum > 15 dB
85 % ambient noise cancellation
Passive :
Maximum > 30 dB
Operation Time
Listen Time (per charge): Up to 40 Hours
Dimensions
21 x 18 x 7 cm
Weight
325g
Accessories
Carrying case
User Guide
The World’s First ANC for Gamers
-85% active noise cancellation (for low frequency computer fan noise)
-30dB noise isolation (for high frequency human and environmental noise)
Long-lasting Comfort
-Lightweight at 325g
-Complete over-ear coverage
-Ultra-soft breathable cushions with memory foam
Immersive Audio
-40mm drivers deliver crystal-clear and directional audio details
-Fine-tuned chamber space provides a wide sound field
Rugged Carbon Shield
Scratch-resistant carbon shield keeps the Vulcan ANC looking sharp, even after heavy use
Gaming with Style
Stand out from other gamers with a stylish ROG product design
Rigid Touring Case
Solid construction for enhanced headset protection
Easy to Carry
Compact and foldable design
Durable & Detachable Cable
Strong cable durability with a diameter of 3.5mm.
Exclusive detachable design for cable placement and customization
In-line Volume Control
Easily adjust or mute the volume with a compact, clip-on volume control
Detachable noise-filtering microphone
-Built-in noise filtering technology so teammates hear clear conversations during games instead of ambient noise
-Stylish katana-shaped design
Packaging & Accessories
If you are unfamiliar with the ASUS ROG packaging, the print is on high quality black card which sets the tone. The information on the front is minimalistic with the product name, a mention of active noise cancelling, comfort and great audio… not forgetting that this item is of course aimed at gamers.
The reverse side is of a similar minimal affair with some information about the active noise cancelling and general features.
As always with ROG products you can open the cover to show off the contents through a window. On the inside there is a stylish drawn concept of the headset as well as an overview of the product.
Inside the box we have a multilingual quickstart guide, warranty card and the durable carry case in which the headset resides.
Closer Look
The headset can easily fold up for easy storage in the protective case.
Opened up we can see the sleek design, unless you don’t like red, the Vulcan makes a fairly stylish statement.
On the left hand side we can see the ports for the mic and the cable to be plugged into. Such a great idea to be modular, it means should the cable/mic break, they could be replaced fairly painlessly. We can also see the switch to turn on the active noise cancelling here too with a small red LED indicator.
Build quality is fairly impressive, at first it is easy to think that it may not be so durable due to the light weight and ‘wobbly’ ear cups, however, it soon becomes apparent that the joins are well made and the adjustable straps are made with metal to ensure good durability. The ear cups move by design to fit your ears/head.
The ear cups are deceivingly large and are surrounded by thick memory foam for comfort.
Simple in-line mic on/off and volume control.
The ‘katana’ shaped microphone, firm but flexible.
Performance Testing
Comfort
My ears are pretty average and fit perfectly well inside the ear cups with space to spare and the memory foam is very comfortable on the ears and head. The Vulcan has a perfect cuddle strength, in fact I was pleasantly surprised as at first it seemed that it may slip or fall off for not squeezing hard enough, but it turns out that the memory foam really does the trick and it stays on perfectly without being a vice grip. Over time my head never really started to heat up nor did my ears get sweaty which is always vital, though in fairness we are now in winter.
Durability
Overall the materials seem like they were well thought out and made to last, but there are a few things that seemed to have let slip. Primarily, the ANC switch, turning the switch on seemed to move it too far so that the switch felt like it went too far/ may eventually fall out. On trying to move the switch back, it cut out audio in one ear. Turning ANC off and on again solved the problem but seemed like a repeatable issue. On top of this, I also noticed that with ANC switched on, if I was to knock or tap the headset, the audio would cut out for a fraction of a second, again this was repeatable and these issues could lead to some frustration.
Active Noise Cancelling
ANC is a method to reduce ambient/background noise by feeding the ear with ‘anti-noise’ which effectively cancels out frequencies from outside the headset. Simply put, the headset fires white noise (hiss) to cut out noises around you. ANC needs a power source and it is a shame that the Vulcan headset is not USB powered instead of battery, though the ROG R&D team may have their reasons for this. On switching on the ANC, a dip in bass reproduction is immediately noticeable and it suddenly seemed like I was sat by the sea-side. At higher volumes the hiss isn’t too much of an issue, however, having tried to make up the bass in the equaliser, it can ‘sound better’ but does NOT sound the same as with ANC switched off, the difference is between sand and cream. To say that the ANC works is a little bit of an understatement, combined with a well enclosed ear cup that lets little sound sneak in anyway, it was difficult to hear myself talk on the mic which resulted in me speaking very loud to friends on DOTA 2. With ANC on and no other sound playing, I could barely hear my GPU fan at 100%, could barely hear myself typing and people talking to me in a normal manner sounded like they were speaking to me from the toilet.
Music
I setup the Vulcan ANC by plugging it into a dedicated headphone amp on a discrete sound card. I understand that not everyone will have this setup though it is one I would recommend. After careful consideration I decided that I absolutely prefer listening to music with the ANC off. Listening to Aesthetic Perfection – Inhuman was excellent, the synths were sharp, bass was powerful and vocals were clear. Pushing the volume to max resulted in perfect audio with no distortion, except in my eyes as the vibrations pelted my brain. Cracking up the headphone amp by +10dB to my surprise the sound was loud, distortion free and was awesome, I never tried the headphone amp on max for fear of damaging my hearing.
Listening to Sabrepulse’s Terra and Titan EP proved to be an impressive experience as the mash up of contemporary experimental music stretched the headsets capabilities by throwing a Swiss Army knife of instruments backed by electronic drum and bass tones, the Vulcan ANC delivered clear and precise audio in the mid range and produced some impressive bass.
Games
Battlefield 3 was immersive, chaotic and intense. Noticed some differences in sound with and without ANC, when turned on, there was ironically, a bassier punch to gunfire and explosions but jumping/footsteps and ricochets seemed quiet and muffled which is not great for multiplayer when people are sneaking around. When turned off, guns had a more balanced ‘CACK’ followed by echo, and footsteps were clearer.
In DOTA 2 the announcer was GODLIKE and the hero responses had more depth to them as I was able to pick out more subtle tones in the voices.
Microphone/Conversation
On the ‘katana’ mic, the receiver is mounted on the opposite side than ‘normal’ which serves as a way to cut out breathing noises. On SKYPE I was told that my voice sounded the same as usual, which suggests that the mic isn’t much better than my webcam built-in microphone, however, I was told that background noises were almost non existent which means the microphone does a good job of blocking background noise. This would suggest that the microphone does what it meant to do, give clear voice and doesn’t pick up on unwanted background noises.
Conclusion
Gamers are often targeted by companies as people willing to spend a lot of money on some whacky things, ROG on the other hand have a dedicated team that design in consideration to gamers real needs and the design of the Vulcan ANC reflects this. It is clear that they have done their research and delivered a great looking, quality headset which should serve well to the ROG reputation. Coming in at £74.99 – £79.99 the ROG Vulcan ANC is priced competitively against offerings from Razer and SteelSeries and has a lot to offer. Audio quality is up there with the best in regards to gaming headsets, comfort is nothing short of impressive and the modular cable and mic is the result of careful thinking and design.
The ANC seems to be a little bit of a gimmick in the way that it strikes a ‘WORLDS FIRST/ EXCLUSIVE/ ONLY/ BUY IT TODAY’ style marketing but what this leads me to believe is that the Vulcan was designed to be part of a hardcore gamers repertoire for use at noisy expos, LAN events and the like. The ANC works fairly well and would benefit people who are in a noisy environment, despite the gimmicky approach I think that active noise cancelling could easily become a standard in gaming headsets and ASUS did a great job implementing it now. There are some concerns about the ANC switch quality, though I get the impression that many may pick either on or off and leave it that way.
The ASUS ROG Vulcan ANC is a huge statement to the gaming audio market and rightly deserves recognition, it delivers something new while giving what is expected of a good headset, good bass and strong mid range audio reproduction and a decent noise cancelling mic in a package that is comfortable, well thought out at a competitive price. The ASUS ROG Vulcan ANC rightly deserves the Vortez Gold.
Pros.
+ Attractive, sleek modular design
+ Good bass and mid range audio reproduction
+ ANC works well
+ Very comfortable
+ Noise reducing microphone
+ Durable carry case
Cons.
– ANC requires a AAA battery
– ANC switch seemed a little frail
+ Attractive, sleek modular design
+ Good bass and mid range audio reproduction
+ ANC works well
+ Very comfortable
+ Noise reducing microphone
+ Durable carry case
Cons.
– ANC requires a AAA battery
– ANC switch seemed a little frail
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net. Thanks to ASUS for providing today’s review sample.
