Review: ROG Fusion II 500 Wired Gaming Headset

The ROG Fusion II 500 is the latest gaming headset that ROG has to offer, and on paper it is has lots to offer such as virtual 7.1 surround sound with hi-fi ESS 9280 Quad DAC, and rocking 50 mm drivers. The retail price of this isn’t available yet, but I will update once I have it.

Unboxing

In the box, you will find the following items:

• ROG Fusion II 500 Wired Gaming Headset
• User guide
• ROG Hybrid ear cushion (on headset in picture above)
• 3.5 mm cable
• USB-C cable (1.4m)
• USB-C to USB-A adapter dongle

Tech specs

Build quality and design

The ROG Fusion II 500 features a rather minimal design, with the headset comprising mainly of matte grey plastic and small polished plastic around the headband. Personally, I like the way the ROG Fusion II 500 looks. It is clean, has subtle branding, and presents a nice curved design language linking the headband to the ear cups. If you want some flair, the RGB light strips along the ear cups will provide just that.

As for build quality, the ROG Fusion II 500 feels pretty well constructed. The plastics used is above average, and have a matte finish with a pleasant texture. You can fold the ROG Fusion II 500 flat for compact storage as well. The hinges and adjustment rails on the headband feels rather well built as well. There is a good amount of flex on the headband as well.

You can check out the video below to get a sense of how the headsets are like in real life:

The ear cups on the ROG Fusion II 500 houses all the controls. On the left ear cup you have the mic mute switch, volume rocker, and the ports for USB or 3.5mm use. The right ear cup features the chat-game mixer, and PC/Console switch. The switches can feel a tad rough to switch, but the rockers scroll well with defined steps.

The ROG Fusion II 500 is a wired gaming headset, and you have the choice of using USB connection or 3.5mm audio in. The USB cable are USB-C on both ends, but ROG also included a USB-C to USB-A adapter just in case. No matter which option of connection you choose, both wires are braided so it is easier to manage.

Armoury Crate Software

You can download ASUS Armoury Crate software to further customize the ROG Fusion II 500 such as adjusting the RGB lights and more fine tuning of the audio.

Comfort and fit

ROG included two types of ear cushions to choose from, namely (1) protein leather, and (2) hybrid which mainly comprises of fabric mesh.

Personally, I prefer the fabric mesh ear cushions as it helps to keep my ears cooler when I’m gaming for prolonged periods. The protein leather ear cups does a slight bit better at sealing. You can check out the video below for a quick sense of how both ear cushions are like:

The ROG Fusion II 500 weighs in at 310g, so it isn’t exactly in the lightweight category but it still offers a rather comfortable wear. Clamping pressure of the earcups is good and I do not feel any compression or squeezing around my ears. Ear cups are also roomy.

The headband is also fairy well cushioned so the top of my head do not feel heavy. One thing ROG could do in future iterations is to made the cushion thicker so the weight can be distributed even further for added comfort.

Sound quality

The ROG Fusion II has a warm sound signature, with the low end being the prominent frequency in the audio spectrum. Bass offers rumble and depth that fills the soundstage. It is not so much that it drowns out the mids, but it does linger and produce more warm sounding vocals. Mids do have its place in the mix will standout more when bass isn’t really in play. Highs are present and are well-balanced, though they are not as defined and clean as the ATH-G1 for comparison.

One thing that the ROG Fusion II excels at is its wide soundstage. This probably explains why the bloated bass is forgiving on the mids as it has room to spread itself out. When gaming in open world games, this wide soundstage does help with providing immersive-ness. You can also turn on the 7.1 virtual surround sound which cleans out a bit of that low end and bring up more highs for cleaner details to be revealed. As the Armoury Crate also allows you to adjust the EQ, you retain the flexibility of re-balancing the sound signature that are prefer.

Games like Valorant where audio cues are very important, the ROG Fusion II has no issues in pinpointing where footsteps and gunfire is coming from. The naturally wide soundstage means that discerning the distance of certain audio cues is easier.

Microphone quality

You might have noticed that the pictures so far did not show any boom microphone attached to the ROG Fusion II. That is because the ROG Fusion II does not come with a detachable boom mic. Instead, the microphone is built into the headset itself. As expected, the microphone quality isn’t as satisfying as using a headset with a dedicated mic, but nonetheless I’m still impressed with what the microphones on ROG Fusion II can do. My voice is more distant, but it still retains depth and clarity.

This is thanks to ROG’s ‘AI Noise Cancellation’ tech that they have added into this headset. It is turned on by default on the ‘low’ setting. If your surroundings is generally noisy with TV and chatter, ‘mid’ is probably the setting you should be on. Using ‘high’ can sometimes cause your voice to sound choppy as the the AI starts to cancel the first few milliseconds of your voice.

Conclusion

The ASUS ROG Fusion II 500 is a well-rounded pair of gaming headset, offering good build quality and reliable audio. Its wide connectivity options means you can use it with any device. The microphone can’t win over traditional gooseneck mics, but its does a great job. Comfort can also be customised with your choice of ear pads, which is a great touch by ROG.