TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
An intriguing take on wireless gaming earbuds that fit more for fitness fans than most folks.
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
I'll admit one thing to you right now: I don't like in-ear headphones. I never really have. They just don't feel right in my ears for longer than an hour or so. Maybe it's because I've never been keen on the idea of having a piece of silicon shoved in my ear to listen to things, or the whole form factor, although of course it is all down to taste.
After all, lots of people swear by wireless earbuds for day-to-day productivity loads, and even for gaming. The likes of the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds and Sony Inzone Buds are two bright sparks in this regard.
Enter the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless, a new $230/£185 set of 'open back' gaming buds that could be the answer to my problems. There isn't the need to shove any silicon tips in your ears with these buds, as they simply rest 'on' your ears, rather than in them.
For a quick refresher, open-back headphones refer to ones that don't have closed cups, thereby letting sound in and out for a wider and more expansive presentation at the expense of potentially annoying those around you.
Drivers: 14.2 mm DLC driversFrequency response: 20–20,000 HzWeight: 22 g (both)Connection: 2.4 GHz wireless | Bluetooth 5.3Battery life: 64 hr (16 hr earbuds + 48 hr charging case)Durability: IPX5 water resistantPrice: $230 / £185
In this instance, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless are designated as 'open' from more of a comfort perspective. It's a strange sensation having them resting on your ears for the first time, especially if you're used to more traditional earbuds and over-ear headphones. In my experience, it took just a few minutes for me to acclimatise to these ROG earbuds, although there was still an odd sensation when I put them back on after taking them off.
Moreover, the inclusion of an ear hook in their construction makes the fit secure and helps position these buds as more of a fitness/running choice, as well as for gaming. Asus also bundles a neck strap in the box to tie the two buds together, so they can't go walkabouts together, and also helps them remain in place if you're running and such. Also helping their fitness credentials is the presence of an IPX5 water resistance rating, meaning these should be alright for water splashes and such from rain or sweat.
One thing I certainly appreciate about these earbuds is that there aren't any finicky touch controls, as Asus has opted for proper buttons instead. Given how small the main frames of these are, the buttons are understandably quite small, requiring a certain degree of precision. Get it right, and you can control media playback and such with relative ease without having to swipe incoherently.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Owing to the larger nature of an open frame, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless' charging case is chunkier than you might be used to—it's more in length than in thickness. The case is still pocketable, just, and you'll need deeper pockets to accommodate. The case has a bit of a plastic feel to it, which is okay, and has some flair with ROG branding if that's your kind of thing.
Open the case up, and you'll find the earbuds sit flat down and magnetically attach for charging, complete with status LEDs so you know juice is going back into them. In the middle sits the USB-C receiver for a low-latency 2.4 GHz connection, complete with a USB-C port in itself for a passthrough so you can still charge your phone while using the buds, or so you don't lose out on the functionality of a front panel USB-C port on your PC, which can be quite hard to come by.
On the point of connectivity, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless connect via both the bundled 2.4 GHz receiver and Bluet...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
I'll admit one thing to you right now: I don't like in-ear headphones. I never really have. They just don't feel right in my ears for longer than an hour or so. Maybe it's because I've never been keen on the idea of having a piece of silicon shoved in my ear to listen to things, or the whole form factor, although of course it is all down to taste.
After all, lots of people swear by wireless earbuds for day-to-day productivity loads, and even for gaming. The likes of the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds and Sony Inzone Buds are two bright sparks in this regard.
Enter the Asus ROG Cetra Open Wireless, a new $230/£185 set of 'open back' gaming buds that could be the answer to my problems. There isn't the need to shove any silicon tips in your ears with these buds, as they simply rest 'on' your ears, rather than in them.
For a quick refresher, open-back headphones refer to ones that don't have closed cups, thereby letting sound in and out for a wider and more expansive presentation at the expense of potentially annoying those around you.
Drivers: 14.2 mm DLC driversFrequency response: 20–20,000 HzWeight: 22 g (both)Connection: 2.4 GHz wireless | Bluetooth 5.3Battery life: 64 hr (16 hr earbuds + 48 hr charging case)Durability: IPX5 water resistantPrice: $230 / £185
In this instance, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless are designated as 'open' from more of a comfort perspective. It's a strange sensation having them resting on your ears for the first time, especially if you're used to more traditional earbuds and over-ear headphones. In my experience, it took just a few minutes for me to acclimatise to these ROG earbuds, although there was still an odd sensation when I put them back on after taking them off.
Moreover, the inclusion of an ear hook in their construction makes the fit secure and helps position these buds as more of a fitness/running choice, as well as for gaming. Asus also bundles a neck strap in the box to tie the two buds together, so they can't go walkabouts together, and also helps them remain in place if you're running and such. Also helping their fitness credentials is the presence of an IPX5 water resistance rating, meaning these should be alright for water splashes and such from rain or sweat.
One thing I certainly appreciate about these earbuds is that there aren't any finicky touch controls, as Asus has opted for proper buttons instead. Given how small the main frames of these are, the buttons are understandably quite small, requiring a certain degree of precision. Get it right, and you can control media playback and such with relative ease without having to swipe incoherently.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Owing to the larger nature of an open frame, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless' charging case is chunkier than you might be used to—it's more in length than in thickness. The case is still pocketable, just, and you'll need deeper pockets to accommodate. The case has a bit of a plastic feel to it, which is okay, and has some flair with ROG branding if that's your kind of thing.
Open the case up, and you'll find the earbuds sit flat down and magnetically attach for charging, complete with status LEDs so you know juice is going back into them. In the middle sits the USB-C receiver for a low-latency 2.4 GHz connection, complete with a USB-C port in itself for a passthrough so you can still charge your phone while using the buds, or so you don't lose out on the functionality of a front panel USB-C port on your PC, which can be quite hard to come by.
On the point of connectivity, the ROG Cetra Open Wireless connect via both the bundled 2.4 GHz receiver and Bluet...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?