The Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II is a good headset that could have been great — here’s what I’d change

What do you do to relax and unwind after the working day is done? Me? I love spending the evening being silly with my partner or, when she isn’t around, playing video games on my PS5 Slim. But when she’s around and doing her own thing, I don’t want my console to disturb her, so I always have one of the best gaming headsets at hand.

I won’t lie, I love the freedom a wireless headset provides as I don’t have to contend with annoying cables, but wired sets of cans are great too, of course. I recently tested one such headset that I liked and, deep inside, wished I loved: the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II. It sounds fantastic, it’s comfortable, it’s got an awesome mic, so why don’t I love it?

If the H1 Gen II was a wireless headset, I wouldn’t have as many qualms. As it stands, its wired connectivity and in-line controls grinds my gears as does the anime-themed Hatsune Miku design which I just cannot stomach. To take it from good to great, here’s what I’d change about the H1 Gen II.

A longer cable

The Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II headset is fitted with a cable that’s 2 metres long — the same amount of distance they wanted us to maintain during the pandemic in the U.K. The distance between my PS5 Slim and my couch is 3 metres, so to test the headset, I had to pull a chair up to the halfway point.

What’s worse is that the headset needs to be plugged into a USB-A port which is located on the back of my PS5. Realistically, you can use the H1 Gen II only if your console (or PC) is on a desk or your couch is flush against your TV. This is why I would have loved a longer cable.

And speaking of, I wish the H1 Gen II’s buttons were located on the earcups and not included as an in-line remote that’s located halfway down the cable. Having to pull up the cable every time I wanted to adjust the volume or toggle 7.1 virtual surround sound proved frustrating and tedious. It did make me feel like I was a doctor adjusting a person’s IV drip flow, though, which was cool.

A less anime-oriented colorful design

I’m an emo kid at heart so if I was buying the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II headset, I’d go for the black model. But I also can’t deny the charm of a colorful headset, like the Cooler Master CH351. The H1 Gen II comes in a Hatsune Miku Edition, sporting near-identical colors as the CH351.

As I noted in my H1 Gen II review, prior to testing this headset, I did not know who Hatsune Miku was, but turns out she’s a ‘Vocaloid software voicebank’ represented by a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails… and I do not like it.

To each their own, of course, but anime has never been my thing and I really don’t like that her silhouette graces one of the earcups. Personally, I’m not comfortable with the portrayal of Hatsune Miku in this context, given the character is canonically a minor.

So yes, if the headset sported just the Asus TUF Gaming logo with the teal and pink colors, I would have liked it much, much more.

The ability to customize

One thing I love when using a gaming headset is customizing the equalizer and trying out different lows, mids and highs to achieve the best sound possible — and I wish I could do that with the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II. At the time of writing, there’s no app support for the headset, which is a shame because Asus’ other headsets (like the Asus ROG Pelta and the Asus ROG Delta II) allow for extensive customization.

I think Asus missed a trick here. Letting users customize a headset that doesn’t cost over $100 would have been brilliant and a game-changer in the budget market. I do hope this changes in the future because having a companion app would take this headset from being a 3.5-star product to a 4-star product.

Of course, the H1 Gen II absolutely rocks when it comes to sound quality in games, as I discussed in detail in my H1 Gen II review. All of the flaws I’ve listed are subjective, and what I don’t like, you may love, so take this with a grain of salt.

A personal opinion of mine, if it were up to me, I’d make the design more minimalist and without the 16-year-old girl on the earcups, extend the cable, and add companion software. Then we’d have a winner on our hands.

More from Tom’s Guide

• I really enjoyed testing the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II with my PS5 — but it has a few noteworthy flaws
• The best gaming headsets in 2025
• Pricier doesn’t always mean better — here’s why I’d pick a $129 gaming headset over a $229 one

Nikita is a Staff Writer on the Reviews team at Tom’s Guide. She’s a lifelong gaming and photography enthusiast, always on the lookout for the latest tech. Having worked as a Sub Editor and Writer for Canon EMEA, she has interviewed photographers from all over the world and working in different genres. When she’s not working, Nikita can usually be found sinking hours into RPGs on her PS5, flying a drone (she’s a licensed drone pilot), at a concert, or watching F1. Her work has appeared in several publications including Motor Sport Magazine, NME, Marriott Bonvoy, The Independent, and Metro.