The Asus ROG Kithara brings Hifiman's planar-magnetic drivers and signature design to the Mac gaming world with aplomb that's sometimes undermined by unfortunate complexities. In a world full of mediocre gaming headsets, this Asus ROG and Hifiman collaboration is certainly different. Hifiman is known for its premium headphones aimed at audiophiles with plenty of money to spend. By contrast, gamers aren't known for their willingness to part with their hard-earned cash unless it warrants it. And in the case of the Asus ROG Kithara, their $300 would be money well spent indeed.

I've spent the last few months with this headset (or headphones, depending on how you look at it). I've used it to play some great games and listen to some not-so-great music. In all that testing, one thing has become clear: Asus and Hifiman have made a great pair of headphones. Whether they made a great gaming headset will depend on how you plan to use it.

The first thing you notice when unboxing the Kithara is its gargantuan size. It's easily the biggest headset I've ever used, but with good reason. The size is dictated by Hifiman's 100mm planar-magnetic drivers, something that dictates both the size and quality of the Kithara. Apple's AirPods Max 2 have custom 40mm drivers, just to put that into perspective. Hifiman's huge drivers are the reason for the Kithara's mammoth ear cups, and part of the reason for the headset's 420-gram (14.8-ounce) heft.

A lot of premium gaming headsets are wireless, and that's something many gamers have come to expect. The Kithara takes a different approach, using a wired connection that ensures it can be used with just about any device. But this wired approach is where some complexity first comes into play. The Kithara comes with not one, but two cables in the box, each designed for different use cases.