Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless review – open-back gaming earbuds ideal for… sport?

The overall trend for gaming headsets and earbuds is mostly for them to offer as much opportunity as possible to shut out the wider world, thanks to closed-back designs and active noise canceling (ANC). Some over-ear headsets offer a sound-transparent open-back design, but these are generally big and bulky, meant for at-desk use only. Enter the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless. These intriguing new gaming earbuds take on the likes of the Beats Powerbeats and JBL Endurance by offering a secure fit that’s ideal for sport, while also providing an open-back sound so you can hear what’s going on around you.

As these are a contender for the best gaming headset, as well as the best sports earbud, the Asus ROG Cetra also includes a USB-C dongle with a low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection, as well as Bluetooth, so you can connect these to your PC for at-home listening, as well as take them down to your local ball court/bowling rink/skate park/curling arena… Read on below to find out just where the do and don’t hit the target.

Specs

Features

The main features of the Asus ROG Cetra are much like those of other gaming earbuds, such as the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. So, you get a pair of fully wireless earbuds that can deliver audio either on their own or as a pair. These then come in a carry case that also charges the earbuds, just like a set of fully wireless earbuds like the Apple AirPods.

Where gaming earbuds set themselves apart from non-gaming ones is that they include a wireless audio dongle that means you can connect them to your PC via a low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection. This ensures you’re not relying on the often higher-latency audio of Bluetooth, and means the buds’ Bluetooth can be used to connect to a phone or other Bluetooth device simultaneously. With mics onboard, these earbuds can also be used to take calls on your phone or for game comms and meetings on your computer.

Where the Cetra Open Wireless set themselves apart from other gaming earbuds we’ve seen before is in two areas. Firstly, there’s the fact that Asus is aiming these at sporty or active wearers, as well as gamers. Not only do the buds incorporate an ear hook for a more secure fit, but they also come with a neck strap that can be used to tie the two buds together, ensuring a bud won’t go missing even if it does come loose.

Also, the sonic design of these earbuds is very different. While the Arctis GameBuds and Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed are designed to fit into your ear canal to some extent, in order to block external noise, the ROG Cetra sit outside your ears. This creates a completely open path for external noise, ensuring you can remain fully aware of your surroundings.

Each bud has a little button on its top edge that can be used to play/pause/answer call/wake from sleep with a single tap as well as skip track/reject a call with a double tap, enable voice assistant/turn the microphone on and off with a triple tap, adjust volume with a quadruple tap, and enable Bluetooth pairing mode when held down.

Two mics are incorporated into each bud as well, and they combine to provide a beam-forming single microphone signal.

As these are Asus ROG buds, they also include RGB lighting, with the ROG logo backlit on each bud. The color of this can be changed in software, and of course, you can turn it off.

Included with the buds is a 2.4GHz wireless dongle that uses a USB-C connection, which is convenient for mobile devices, but might require you to get an adapter for use on PC. A neat addition is that the dongle incorporates a USB-C passthrough, so you can plug it into your Steam Deck, for instance, and still charge your handheld.

Also included is the neck band, which is a simple, stiff, fabric-covered wire with two rubber cups at the end. The cups just slide onto the stalks of each earbud. The cable then connects the two buds and has a reflective substance in it to help make you more visible when out running at night, for instance.

The included carry case houses the two buds and USB dongle, but not the neck strap. Tt can be charged via an included USB-C cable and will provide an extra 48 hours of use, in addition to the 16 hours each bud can last on its own.

Design, comfort, and build quality

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about the Asus ROG Cetra, upon taking them out of the box, is the size of the carry case. It’s more than double the size of an AirPods Pro case and about 50% larger than the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds case. Where those two can just about fit in the little inside pocket of a pair of jeans, this one won’t. It’s still a fairly compact and light case, though, measuring 61 × 48 × 25 mm and weighing just 110g with earbuds and dongle inside.

The buds themselves have the familiar ear hook design of many sports buds, but here there’s a chunky cylinder of plastic at the back. I’m guessing this contains the battery, as it has no benefit to the fit of the earbuds, other than it being where the neck strap attaches.

Crucially, the large cylinder doesn’t overly affect the fit of these buds. Once you’ve got the hang of the motion, they’re easy to slip on over your ears, and the cylinder mostly hangs off the back of the gap between your earlobe and head, rather than pressing against either body part.

That said, as someone who wears glasses and has long hair, the entire act of putting on any earbuds of this design is a bit awkward, with many an opportunity for snagging hair (unless my hair’s tightly tied back) or hooking the arms of my glasses. Crucially, though, they do still work and remain comfortable even while jostling for space with glasses arms.

They also stay secure. Sometimes they can feel like they’re looser than they are, because they don’t sit in your ears like other buds, but only the most extreme shaking around causes them to come loose. I’d certainly have no issues trusting these without the neck strap when going for a run or to the gym. For team sports, though, I’d want the reassurance of the neck strap.

As for comfort, it’s a mixed bag. If you’re not a fan of the feeling of earbuds poking into your ear canals, you’ll like that you don’t experience that at all here. The buds sit in the concha, on top of the antitragus, but don’t delve any deeper. This outer-ear fit and the support of the ear hooks meant there were occasions where I completely forgot I was wearing these earbuds, in an entirely good way.

However, there were also regular occasions where I suddenly noticed a painful spot from the slight pressure of the bud on the upper edge of the concha, or sometimes the helical crus. This will probably vary from person to person, as to where exactly the pressure points of the buds sit, and whether this ever causes pain, but I generally found a quick adjustment relieved the pressure. Every now and again, though, I felt like I just wanted a break from wearing them.

Build quality feels good, though the charge case is a bit plasticky, and lacks the satisfying snap shut of AirPods. The earbuds are splash-proof but not fully waterproof or rated for dust protection, so they’ll cope with a few splashes of rain and a bit of sweat, but not much else.

As for styling, the Asus ROG logo is seldom a subtle one, but here it just about stays unobtrusive enough not to feel too dorky.

Sound quality

I’ll admit, I was rather skeptical of how good a set of earbuds with such an open design could sound, and why you would want this style of listening for use with a PC. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the sound from the ROG Cetra and was generally won over by the listening experience they provide.

What’s most surprising is the strength of bass they can produce. You’re never going to get truly head-shaking sub bass from an earbud setup like this – they lack the power of a large speaker or the seal of a canalphone to allow for such a strong push of air – but upper bass is strong enough to give most music a warmth and power to make it satisfying and avoid a thin, weedy sound.

Rock, indie, vocal, country, and classical music all sound great, though EDM and hip hop definitely suffer from a lack of a big sub bass hit. Otherwise, detail levels are impressive, and the sound doesn’t feel overly colored by an aggressive amount of bass or overly strong treble. The stereo image is great too.

This same overall sense carries over into gaming as well, with games where you might want the ultimate in bombastic atmosphere losing a little bit of impact due to that lack of sub bass. However, for most games, they’re great, with a smooth overall sound that brings out plenty of in-game detail, allowing you to pinpoint your enemies.

The complete lack of isolation from external noise means that you will need a fairly quiet space to truly enjoy what you’re listening to and appreciate all its details, though. It’s fine if your household is quiet, but a noisier home could easily become distracting for some gaming sessions. Likewise, if you’re just playing ball and want some background tracks, these work well, just like other sports earbuds, but if you really want to listen, you’ll have to turn them up quite loud, which I wouldn’t recommend, for the sake of your hearing.

Still, this ability to have great sound from small, comfortable earbuds that you almost forget you’re wearing, and still be able to carry on a conversation completely as though they weren’t there, is a really compelling experience. They’re ideal for working from home, for instance, allowing you to listen to background music, take calls, pop to the kitchen to make a drink, or answer the door, all without ever needing to remove your earbuds or feel like you’re fumbling for an ANC pass-through mode to hear who’s at the door, assuming you don’t get the occasional sore spots I described above.

As for the mics, they also impress, with surprisingly clear and full sound that’s on a par with many other earbuds and easily outclass entry level gaming headsets.

Battery life

The Asus ROG Cetra battery life is essentially in line with Asus’ claims, of 16 hours per bud and 64 hours total. However, that’s only if you turn the mic and lighting off. With both turned on, you’re looking at less than half that. In my testing, these wouldn’t quite last a whole day of work. Still, that’s on par with most other earbuds, though, and far from a meaningful limitation to these buds.

Price

The Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless price is $199.99, making these compete with some of the most premium sports-focused wireless earbuds, all while lacking the pedigree of a brand such as Apple, Beats, JBL, or Sennheiser. They also don’t include ANC, so aren’t particularly good options for travel and use in other noisy environments.

They do include the USB-C dongle for use with a PC, as well as having the RGB lighting, and have the same MSRP as the Arctis GameBuds, but those SteelSeries buds have been available for $159.99 since I reviewed them nearly a year ago.

Alternatives

SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds

Still my favorite gaming earbuds, the Arctis GameBuds do everything the ROG Cetra can but in a more compact overall form and with a canalphone fit with ANC. This means they offer loads of bass and are great for use in noisy places. They’re also incredibly comfortable and cost only $159.99. However, they do rely a lot on the rubber tips fitting well in your ear canals. If they don’t fit securely, the buds won’t stay in properly and won’t seal well for good bass and ANC. You’ll only really know if you try them.

Verdict

Asus has tried something brave with the ROG Cetra Open Wireless. The market for gamers who want a sports-focused, secure-fitting set of earbuds who also want an open sound without ANC and need a dedicated PC connection for use at home feels like it’s quite niche, and for good reason.

If you’re purely looking for a set of earbuds that don’t seal off the sound of the world around you and are secure-fitting enough for sport, there are dedicated sports earbuds that are cheaper, more comfortable, and with a more compact case. They’d definitely be a better option as a second set of earbuds purely for sport/fitness/countryside walks.

Meanwhile, at home, larger headsets are easy to just slide off for a quick conversation when needed and provide a better overall sound in most cases. Not that many open-back wireless headsets exist, and it would be good to see a few more options that ditch ANC and pass-through for just an open-back design that inherently allows for conversation/hearing what’s going on around you while also offering wireless convenience. But I digress.

Overall, though, the approach of gaming earbuds like the Arctis GameBuds feels like a much more sensible one for most folks, if you’re looking to just buy a single headset for most purposes. They can provide great sound quality while at home with your PC, but then also work for blocking noise while travelling (or gaming on your Steam Deck while your partner watches TV next to you on the sofa). They won’t work for sports, but, again, a dedicated, cheaper sports earbud seems a more sensible choice for this scenario.

If the ROG Cetra does perfectly fit the niche you want to fill, though, they mostly deliver the goods. The lighting’s a waste of battery life, and the fit isn’t quite as universal and forgiving as some sports buds, but otherwise they get a lot right. It’s just that they don’t get quite enough absolutely spot on to be a super-convincing option at $200.