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

The Asus ROG Kithara planar magnetic gaming headset at CES 2026 — (Image credit: Future)

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.

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.

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Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy spends his time jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC gaming hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

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