Closer Examination

Asus's implementation of two microphones on a single headset is rather smart. When the supplied boom microphone, the significantly better of the two, is plugged in, the in-line microphone simply deactivates and stops picking up your voice. All you have to do in order to use the in-line microphone is to pull the boom microphone out of the connector. No finesse is needed either - you literally grab it with your hand and yank it out.


Since the main 1.2 m cable terminates in a single 3.5-mm TRRS connector, the described implementation of the two microphones enables you to basically choose which of them you'll use when gaming on your console (or recording audio on your smartphone). In other words, absolutely nothing will force you to use the in-line microphone while chatting with your buddies. Nor should you as it falls way behind the boom microphone quality-wise.


The boom microphone's arm is made out of metal and is very flexible in all directions, making it very easy to put into an optimal position. Thanks to its construction, I can't think of a scenario where it would get damaged while being pulled out of its connector. In fact, I can confirm that it also has no trouble surviving a table-height fall on to a hardwood floor, which I didn't necessarily test on purpose; it sort of just happened.


The head of the boom microphone is protected by a nice windscreen meant to reduce the pickup of your (heavy) breathing and to prevent spit from coming into contact with the microphone. The windscreen is a nice addition and doesn't degrade the microphone's quality in any way, so it's best that you leave it on.


I'm not very fond of the way the boom microphone plugs into its connector. It's a standard 3.5-mm port, but since it's placed deep inside a D-shaped hole, you can't really use it to plug anything but the supplied boom microphone in. Boom microphones made by other manufacturers simply won't fit. That's not my main issue with it, though. What I dislike is the fact that it's quite easy to push in so that the plug and the hole aren't perfectly aligned. You'll feel the resistance and think that it successfully clicked into place when that's not the case at all. There's nothing more annoying than grabbing your virtual WW I rifle to then bark orders at your teammates only to realize that they can't hear you because you didn't plug in your microphone properly.

Since the microphone's plug can't be used for anything but the supplied boom microphone anyway, one possible solution would be to make the hole and plug shape aggressive enough so that it becomes impossible to start pushing the microphone in before it is fully aligned with the hole. Perhaps something to consider for the Cerberus V3, Asus?


The in-line microphone is placed 15 centimeters down the braided cable. Below it, you'll find a switch which mutes the microphone(s).


The bulky module with the in-line microphone also contains a volume dial with a wide volume range and a plastic clothes clip. I saw no point in using the clip as the in-line microphone naturally falls just below the chin. What part of my body am I even supposed to clip it to? Weird.

What you won't find anywhere on the in-line microphone's module is a button, or multiple buttons, that would let you play, pause, and skip between songs when pairing the headset with your smartphone, which is a shame.


When connecting the headset to a motherboard or any other device that uses a separate 3.5-mm, 3-pole (TRS) audio input and output instead of a combined one (4-pole, TRRS), you'll use the supplied splitter cable. It's braided and long enough (1.4 meters) to remain perfectly usable if your PC is placed under the desk. It would be nice if the connectors were color coded - you know, the good ol' pink for the microphone and green for the headphones - but their existing markings are clear enough, so there isn't much to complain about.