What are the ASUS ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds like?
The ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds come in their own charging case, which is a pretty standard size when it comes to open-ear earbuds. The case itself is all black and unfortunately there are no colorways to choose from when it comes to the case or the earbuds themselves. The case itself will charge via USB-C as there is a port right on the back for easy charging.
The charging case itself has a battery inside so as soon as you put the earbuds back in the charging case they will starting charging. If you are wondering the earbuds will give you 16 hours of playback on a single charge, but factor in the charging case and you actually get a total of 64 hours of playback. Another great thing is that a simple 15 minute charge in the charging case will give you 3 hours of playback. When you open the charging case up inside you’ll find the earbuds themselves and the 2.4 GHz dongle. The dongle is quite small and is powered by your device’s USB-C connection, but it also has a 60W USB-C passthrough so you can still power your device at the same time. And if you are wondering you can use the dongle with a case on your phone.
Now actually taking a look at the earbuds themselves they feature an ear hook on the end that allows them to easily wrap over the top of your ear so they sit on, not in your ear canal. This of course is the whole idea behind open-ear earbuds is that they allow you to hear the surroundings around you as they do not fully block your ear canal. Each earbud does have an ROG logo on it which does light up nicely. The earbuds themselves do have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, meaning they can withstand sweat, light rain, and low-pressure water jets from different directions. This makes them suitable for workouts and everyday outdoor use, although they should not be submerged, worn while swimming, or rinsed directly under a faucet.
Powering each earbud is a 14.2 mm driver with a diamond-like carbon-coated diaphragm. The rigidity of the DLC coating allows the diaphragm to respond quickly while remaining stable, helping to reduce distortion and produce clear details across the 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency range. This is particularly useful when gaming, where accurately hearing directional cues such as footsteps and nearby movement can be important. Since the drivers sit outside the ear canal and transmit sound through the air, ASUS uses a directional design to focus the audio toward your ears while limiting sound leakage.
On the top-edge of each earbud is a physical function button. By default, a single press plays or pauses your media, answers or ends a call, or reconnects Bluetooth when the earbuds are in sleep mode. Double-pressing advances to the next track or rejects an incoming call, while a triple press activates your device’s voice assistant or mutes the microphone. Pressing four times lowers the volume from the left earbud or raises it from the right, and holding either button for three seconds activates Bluetooth pairing.
The ROG Cetra Open Wireless uses a four-microphone array for voice communication during gaming, phone calls, and online meetings. The omnidirectional microphones have a sensitivity of -38 dB and a frequency response of 100 Hz to 8 kHz. ASUS combines them with AI Noise Cancellation, which identifies and suppresses sounds such as nearby conversations, traffic, gym equipment, and gaming-system noise while attempting to preserve the natural tone of your voice. Because the microphones are built directly into the earbuds rather than positioned on a boom near your mouth, the AI processing plays an important role in keeping your voice separated from surrounding sounds.
