Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
I ’ve been warm up up to play earbuds over the preceding couple of yr . Although one of thebest headsets for PC gamingwins in term of immersion , the down in the mouth - profile nature of earbuds is better for quilt during prospicient gambling Roger Huntington Sessions . Asus seems to fit , with its new Cetra True Wireless SuperNova earbuds square targeting gamers who value comfort as much as sound quality .
The $ 200 earbuds sound like the thoroughgoing parcel . You ’ve incur noise cancellation , a low - reaction time connection , high - fidelity sound , and support for just about any chopine conceivable . The package is first-class , and Asus manages rattling audio quality and comfort while backpack in many feature . Still , there are a handful of minor issues here that Asus ask to address , specially at the premium Leontyne Price it ’s require , which is where my trouble lie .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Meet the Cetra True Wireless SuperNova
My ears immediately perked up when I heard about Asus ’ Cetra True Wireless SuperNova earbuds . If you ’re not familiar with the original Cetras , it ’s a pair of relatively low-cost $ 80 gaming earbuds . This updated edition involve the original design , but it backpack in a depleted - rotational latency 2.4GHz connection andActive Noise Cancellation ( ANC ) .
That ’s a potent compounding for personal computer gamers , and one that ’s shockingly severe to discover . Earbuds with a downcast - latency connection do n’t have in force ANC , and earbuds with good ANC like theSony WF-1000XM5shave a Bluetooth connexion that ’s too laggy for gaming . The Centra True Wireless SuperNovas affect a compelling balance .
As if a low - reaction time 2.4GHz connection and ANC were n’t enough , Asus better the barrage fire spirit for up to 46 hours with the included charging case . And it also bring multipoint support , allowing you colligate multiple devices at the same time . The 2.4GHz link even enables audio resolution at up to 96kHz , allowing you to mind to high - fidelity caterpillar track like those found on Tidal .
The earbuds turn across a blanket image of devices , too . There ’s PC , Mac , iOS , and Android support — either through Bluetooth or by using the included 2.4GHz arranger — and there ’s cabinet support , too . The headset is plug away - and - toy with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 using the 2.4GHz adapter , and you may use either the transcriber or Bluetooth on the Nintendo Switch .
The feature are situation - on , and the Cetra SuperNovas have the sound lineament and comfort to back them up . Unfortunately , it ’s a bother to get them sounding the manner Asus clearly intends , and there are some issues that were present on the original Cetras that Asus has yet to address .
Great sound quality with the right tweaks
The Cetra True Wireless SuperNova earbuds do n’t make a enceinte first impression on the sound calibre front . They ’re comfortable out of the boxwood , and pairing is simple , but there were two glower audio issues . First is the speech sound itself . It was tinny , with a filthy , uncomfortable boost in the upper midrange . It was also restrictive . The stereo field felt very narrow , pushing everything to the center rather than let it space out .
It was unpleasant , but the Active Noise Cancelling ( ANC ) was worse . It did n’t seem to do much of anything , which was made all the big by the fact that the baksheesh fascinate into my ear and made me listen to the hollow sound inside my head — draw whatever conclusions you will from that . The bad news program is the the Cetra SuperNova earbuds are all wrong out of the box . The just news is that you may fix them .
If you plan on pick up these earbuds , youneedto crook on Dirac Opteo . This is essentially some digital sound processing that “ optimizes headphone sound to get the best hardware limitation , ” according to Dirac . And it makes a populace of divergence . It blasts the doors open on the stereophonic field , cuts down on that abrasive upper midrange frequency , and drops the bass through the floor . It sounds like you ’re take heed to a completely different pair of earbuds across movies , music , and picture games . I ’m not sure if it ’s possible to have this optimization baked into the earbuds themselves — you have to twist it on through software as it fend now — but it absolutely should be the default sound .
For the ANC , Asus has an adaptive modality that you may enable through software as well . There was a bit of microphone randomness at first , but the headset adjusted to the ambient noise in my way and trim it out . It also got disembarrass of that unusual atmospheric pressure you feel when there ’s too stringent of a seal with your earbuds .
These two alterations whole changed my purview on the Cetra True Wireless SuperNova earbuds . If you do n’t plan on installing Asus ’ Armoury Crate software — available on Windows , macOS , iOS , and Android — you ’re grow a significantly worse brace of earbuds .
The flip side of that is that the earbuds themselves are in reality very good with the tweak . There ’s a shocking amount of basso , so much so that I found myself using the EQ to roll off some low - end . The midrange is where most earbuds live and expire , and the Cetra SuperNova has that aspect nailed with Dirac Opteo . It ’s silky , without the harsh upper midrange or boxy small midrange you hear on some cheap earbuds .
Unsurprisingly , that gibbousness in bass does a lot of study in games , but you’re able to EQ the earbuds for music , too . That again fall down to the midrange , where you are n’t fight specific area of the frequency spectrum that cloud the rest of the strait .
Some issues
Asus nails the auditory sensation and ANC with the Centra SuperNovas , at least after a few critical tweaks in Armoury Crate . There are a handful of minor areas where the earbuds fall poor , however , and they sum up up cursorily .
allow ’s come out with the dongle . As observe , you get support for both the 2.4GHz wireless SpeedNova dongle and Bluetooth with these earbuds , but unlikeSony ’s InZone Buds , there ’s nowhere to put the dongle in the carrying eccentric . It ’s a tiny USB - hundred adapter that ’s just begging to get lost , and Asus does n’t provide a manner to purchase a replacement if you do . Be wary if you contrive on traveling with these earbuds .
The microphone is n’t great , either , despite Asus ’ marketing about “ AI pearl conduction microphones . ” There ’s a strange filter effect that cuts in and out , almost like an belligerent stochasticity gate . The actual stochasticity gate , available through Armoury Crate , seems to lug out your representative more than it does backcloth interference , while the “ Perfect Voice ” option sounds harsh , thin , and crummy . you may make a telephone set call with these earbuds without subject , but do n’t expect to hop in a Discord call without a few mention of your mic quality .
Both of those issues , although annoying , are easy to overlook . Elsewhere , the problem are more dangerous .
For newcomer , the battery life is n’t great . I ’ve been using the earbuds for about three hours at the time of writing , and they ’re down to 30 % . The ANC and included RGB lighting are a Brobdingnagian drainpipe on assault and battery biography , so you ’ll want the case around if you design to use the earbuds all day . Asus ’ claims of 46 hour of battery life sentence contain up , but only under specific atmospheric condition .
With ANC , the 2.4GHz adapter , and RGB , you ’re looking at just 20 hours of stamp battery aliveness , and that ’s utilizing all of the redundant battery life stash away in the charging guinea pig . Be disposed to top off the battery often when take reward of all of the feature the Cetra SpeedNovas have to offer .
I can forgive a subpar battery living , but the gestures were a constant pain . you may tap and hold both earbuds to perform various office , but they are n’t consistent at all . There ’s a very small space to tap , and but brush the edge of the earbuds is enough to actuate a motion . Within the first few hr of using the earbuds , I had paused a video or Sung dynasty accidentally just by adjusting the earbuds no less than half a dozen times .
What ’s worse is that you ca n’t modify the gestures through Armoury Crate . That intend if you want access to some setting , such as turning the volume up , but not others , such as launching the voice assistant on your headphone , you ’ll have to tap dancing with your fingers across the earbuds to get what you ask . The wretched gesture carrying out , combined with a lack of customization options , is a big stain on what is otherwise a wondrous solidification of earbuds .
Great with caveats
I want to get laid the Cetra True Wireless SuperNovas , and part of me does . The earbuds are comfy , they sound great with Dirac Opteo , and the ANC works well once configure properly in Armoury Crate . chopine support is excellent , too , as is multipoint documentation , which allows you to use the earbuds in just about any situation .
There are some progeny here , however . Gestures definitely take center stage as the chief job , and bombardment liveliness follows close behind . I ’m also worried most exploiter wo n’t dig into Armoury Crate , instead go down for a much worse distich of earbuds without the proper configuration . These outlet are easy to forgive on the original Cetras at their affordable toll . For the $ 200 Asus is asking here , it ’s worth demanding more .
The good word is that Asus can fix a lot of the problems with the Cetra SpeedNovas without a new rescript . Updates to customize gestures — or change state them off — would go a long way , and it ’s strong to imagine Asus is n’t able to enable Dirac Opteo and adaptative ANC by default . With those change , the Cetra Speednovas would be the earbuds I know they ’re subject of being .
