Asus ROG Cetra Open wireless gaming earbuds are as comfortable as they are flashy, but the audio sadly misses the mark

I've been excited to try out the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds ever since they were first unveiled at CES 2026 earlier this year. Combining the natural-sounding quality found in open-back headphones with an earbud felt like a no-brainer, but the end result didn't exactly match up to my expectations.

It's not all bad, as these are definitely up there with the best gaming earbuds as far as comfort goes. The hook design doesn't put too much pressure on your ears, and I was able to even fall asleep in these without so much as a tinge of discomfort - though I beg that you never do the same.

The earbuds themselves are also pretty flashy, and the glowing RGB logos (though you never see them once they're on your ears) are a nice touch, but the sound never reached similar heights. Dialogue in games was fine, but there's a permanent airy underlining to the bass and mid-range frequencies that didn't sound natural but simply deflated instead. Ensuring Gear Link is active definitely helped things, and I can see these being ideal for those after buds for gaming, music, and working out. But those after a gaming pair are best sticking to SteelSeries flagship buds.

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Key specs

Design

The look of the ROG Cetra Open earbuds feels pretty nostalgic. They aren't draped in a retro, translucent colorway or anything, but that ear hook design reminds me of the similar earbuds I would 'borrow' from my mum back in the early '00s. Back then, I wasn't actually a fan of the design, as it never felt secure enough. But the cylindrical ends to each of these buds keep them weighted down, and feel (and look) far more substantial than the earbuds of yore.

The fishhook shape isn't the first thing you'll notice when digging out these buds from their black case. Instead, it's likely to be the Asus ROG logos as they're RGB-powered and are pretty striking. If you've got the accompanying USB-C cable charging in the back of the case, or you're just plainly using the buds, these will be pulsating through a rainbow spectrum of colors. It's a nice spectacle as most RGB features are, but you won't really notice them once you've got them wrapped around your ear lobes.

Features

Talking of which, once you've got them on your ears, there's plenty to take advantage of. First, you've got 14.2mm Diamond-Like Carbon audio drivers in each earbud, alongside four built-in microphones with AI noise cancellation to help solo in on your voice.

Secondly, the buds are equipped with physical buttons, one on each. Pressing down once on the left or right bud will play or pause music and end phone calls, twice can skip tracks, three times can turn the microphone on and off, four times can turn the volume down, and holding will enter Bluetooth pairing mode.

These open buds include Bluetooth 6.0 support, or you can use the wireless dongle that's housed in the middle of the charging case to use the ROG SpeedNova powered 2.4GHz wireless instead. This was my connection of choice, namely as it was pretty simple to pop it in the USB-C port of the PS5, my PC, or that of the Nintendo Switch 2, without having to fiddle about with any settings. This 2.4GHz wireless dongle is what makes the ROG Cetra Open buds special, as they include USB-C one-way passthrough charging. It allows you to pop these in your smartphone (iOS or Android) alongside a charging cable so you can still listen to tunes and give your phone some juice - which is pretty handy.

If you're wondering about any ANC, that's where things get a little interesting. As these are open ear buds, they can't have any traditional active noise cancelling. Instead Asus ROG have conjured up "Immersion Mode", a dynamic frequency filter that minimizes unwanted exterior noises. As your ear canal isn't plugged up by the nature of the open design, it doesn't allow for total immersion as the name suggests, which is worth taking onboard if you need to have complete and total isolation from the outside world while gaming, or listening to music on the go.

Performance

Even with its large 14.2mm Diamond-Like Carbon audio drivers in tow, these Asus ROG Cetra Buds never reached the audio quality heights I hoped for. At first, I thought I wasn't wearing them properly, as no matter the platform, every game sounded a bit lackluster.

I first played Granblue Fantasy Relink on the PS5. The Granblue series is known for its fantastic music, and a grandious RPG felt fitting to see if the open sound I was used to in headsets like that of the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 could translate to a pair of buds. It was promising at first, as the piano melody that plays at startup sounded heavenly. So lovely and natural in fact that I thought I was listening to the audio straight from my TV, but no, the buds were in fact working just as intended.

When I got into the action is where the promise started to waver. It's not a bad sound, but not one I'd want to come out of a pair of $229.99 / £ 184.99-priced audio tech. The clashes of swords and rumbling bass of the score by Tsutomu Narita didn't have that oomph and sounded a bit airy. I regularly checked I was wearing the buds correctly, as I was initially worried they were hanging wrong, but no, this was just how they sounded right out of the box. Dialogue and higher-pitched parts of the game's soundstage sounded lovely, but mid to low sounds just felt forever insubstantial.

This continued in Marvel Rivals on the PS5, and when I switched over to compare it on the PC. The only benefit there is that I wasn't limited by the Sony console's weird volume issues, so I could get things much louder. But even then, that just made the middling bass even more apparent. This is definitely where Asus's Gear Link came in handy, and if you're going to invest in these gaming earbuds, then I highly recommend you get familiar with the software. There's an app and browser version, and there you can select from a range of EQ presets designed for both gaming and music, and tap on the 'Phantom Bass' to power up its soundstage a little more.

Using Gear Link didn't entirely solve all of my issues with the sound, but it does make things better. The rapid fire of my artillery in Counter-Strike 2 sounded far crunchier, which is what I prefer when it comes to any FPS. The pre-match music as I started each new match in Marvel Rivals also felt significantly boosted, and actually got me amped up instead of feeling a bit limp as it did on the PS5.

Sound quality aside, I do like these gaming earbuds. Its USB-C dongle made it ideal for playing with the Nintendo Switch 2 in particular, as I just slotted it in the top port and away I went. Its case is a bit bulky, so it didn't fit in the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases that I have in my possession, but earbud cases very rarely do. It also sadly does not have wireless charging capabilities, so I did have to drag out a cable and pop it in the back of the case when I needed to give the buds more juice, which didn't suit my lazy gaming ways, but it's not a huge deal breaker.

The best thing about these buds is definitely the comfort. I even accidentally fell asleep in these on a couple of occasions (damn you ASMR videos) and woke up without issue. I don't recommend you ever actually do that, but it was nice to wake up and not feel like my ears had been through it. The hook design is also plenty secure, which I appreciated. This may be oversharing, but I can't tell you the many times I've gone to the bathroom and feared that past buds would fall off and end up where they're not supposed to be. However, Asus ROG's versions have stayed in place throughout the entirety of my testing. As a nice touch, there's actually a cable included in the box that attaches them together for those worried about losing the pricey buds. Or for those who want that extra security when going on a jog, which is a really nice touch.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds?

There are plenty of gaming earbuds that do what the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds can do, but better, and for cheaper than $229.99 / £184.99.

So long as you don't have your heart set on an open form factor, I'd much sooner recommend the $159.99 / £159.99 SteelSeries Arctis Game Buds, as they're much more intuitive, compact, and ultimately sound a lot better. However, I completely get the preference for buds that wrap around your lobes and don't project sound directly into your ear canal, especially from an ear health point of view.

Games get loud. Real loud, and having the buds sit in proximity to your ear canal instead means you're less likely to subject your eardrums to a barrage of gunfire, explosions, or the loud screams of your friends over voice chat. Just unfortunately, the sound that the 14.2mm Diamond-Like Carbon audio drivers manage to muster up from that distance just isn't as substantial as I've experienced with the SteelSeries flagship alternative.

It's not bad, but no matter the platform I was playing on, I kept wishing it had more volume and more punch to the low and mid frequencies. I wouldn't entirely write them off, as they're comfortable, look great, the passthrough charging is super helpful. You can also use Gear Link to give the audio a little boost. I just expected a higher quality sound for buds over the $200 price mark.

How I tested the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds

I used the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds for a little over two weeks to fully put the little guys through their paces. In that time, I used them to play a packed lineup of games on the PS5, including Granblue Fantasy Relink, Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly Remake, and Marvel Rivals and Invincible Vs. on PC, I played through multiple hours of Counter Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, and Talisman, and on the Nintendo Switch 2, I dug out Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokemon Pokopia, and Tomodachi Life Living the Dream with the buds wrapped around my earlobes.

When not gaming, I was listening to a wealth of music, but most notably TWRP and NSP, Ninajirachi, and Head Noise on Spotify, and plenty of game soundtracks via the Nintendo Music app. To test how they dealt with dialogue, I also used the buds to catch up with the latest episodes of The Boys and Invincible on Amazon Prime, and a rewatch of Malcom and the Middle on Disney+.

If earbuds aren't your thing, our team has also tested, reviewed, and rounded up all the best PS5 headsets, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Xbox Series X headsets for you to check out.