Asus has tweaked the twangers out of Hifiman's planar magnetic drivers in its new audiophile-grade gaming headset, and it shows

Well, here's a product I didn't have on my CES bingo card. Asus has partnered with boutique headphone manufacturer Hifiman to bring planar magnetic drivers to its new gaming headset, the Asus ROG Kithara.

For those not in the know, planar magnetic drivers use a magnet-suspended diaphragm to deliver exceptionally crisp and accurate audio, which makes them highly-prized among audiophiles. Our best audiophile headphones pick, the Audeze Maxwell, uses a similar pair—but it looks like there's some new competition in town.

I got a chance to hear the ROG Kithara for myself at the Asus booth at CES 2026, and it certainly sounds supercharged. One of the downsides of planar magnetics is that they can struggle with low-end punch, but Asus has tweaked the Hifiman 100 mm versions to high heaven, and it shows.

Watching a clip of Counter-Strike 2 gameplay, the impact sounds were pretty jawbone-rumbling. The open-backed wired set was plugged in to a substantial DAC/amplifier combo, so they were obviously being pushed quite heavily, but boy did it make for some serious air movement. The soundstage seemed plenty wide, too, which should make for some great atmospheric audio.

Asus says the frequency response ranges from 8 Hz to 55 kHz, and that the set comes with a balanced 4.4 mm plug and two 3.5/6.3 mm single-ended plugs for compatibility with most DACs, amplifiers, PCs and gaming consoles. There's also an included USB-C to dual 3.5 mm adapter for laptop and mobile users, which is good to see.

The set has a 16 Ohm impedance rating, so I'll be interested to see if the Kithara can still deliver when powered by an ordinary headphone socket without extra amplification. The set has a distinct gaming flavour to it, and I can't imagine too many gamers will want to purchase extra gear to get a reasonable result out of their new cans.

The audiophile air, it is rarefied. Anyway, the Kithara isn't cheap, being a planar magnetic set, with what I'm told will likely be a $300-$350 MSRP. That puts it squarely in the sights of the newly-announced Audeze Maxwell 2. The Audeze is wireless, too, so the Asus set is going to have to work pretty dang hard to justify that price tag.

Tough competition, no doubt. Still, with tuned Hifiman drivers at its core, the Kithira makes for a compelling headset at first listen. I'll be very, very curious to hear it properly for myself quieter conditions, as the Asus booth was filled with noisy tech journos. Keep it down, would you? I'm listening intently over here.