Gamers don’t get much in the way of features but the onboard controls, boom mic, and 7.1 surround sound cover the necessities. The Razer Kraken X headset is made for gamers on a budget and works just as well for anyone who needs over-ears with an integrated boom mic. They’re not intended to leave your gaming station and include a dedicated audio/mic splitter cable for computers with separate inputs. If your desktop has separate audio and mic inputs, you’ll need to use the included splitter for full functionality.
The Razer Kraken X works with virtually any platform, making it a valuable contender within the gaming headset market. The headphones lack in-line controls but do feature a volume dial and mute button on the left ear cup. The 40mm dynamic drivers reproduce a natural representation of three-dimensional space, something gamers should require from any headset. This realistic perception of sound makes it easier to spatially understand where enemies are located. When playing Destiny, alien footsteps were easy to identify and I predicted which doorways potential threats emerged from. While the frequency response chart appears rather odd, the headphones sound good for their price point. The broad dip from 1-6.5kHz isn’t as dramatic as it looks, but does subject high-pitched frequencies, like harmonics, to auditory masking. The headset’s amplified bass response lends itself nicely to Brown’s folksy style, stressing the drum kicks.
Meanwhile, the light midrange emphasis highlights Brown’s voice even more than the mix intended, which works well for the genre. The microphone doesn’t do a great job at mitigating ambient noise, but if you’re in a quiet room it shouldn’t be too noticeable. The Razer Nari Ultimate is a more premium gaming headset that has a louder design with its LED lights. The Kraken X is a wired-only gaming headset, while the Nari Ultimate supports a wireless connection via the USB adapter.
While wireless support is nice, it also means that you have to be aware of battery life: the Nari Ultimate provides 8 hours, 22 minutes of playtime before you have to recharge them. If you’re able to splurge on a similarly sized gaming headset with a slightly more neutral sound signature, look into the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless.
Review: Razer Kraken X 7.1 surround headset voor €60
Goedkoop luisteren naar 7.1 surround sound tijdens het gamen en films? Razer levert de Kraken X in een typische zwart-groene doos af, met twee jaar garantie.
Al zijn er wel wat stappen gezet om de prijs van deze headset te kunnen drukken. Dit wil zeggen dat de oorschelp over het gehele oor valt.
De oorschelpen zijn voorzien van memory foam oorkussens met daarover een soort nepleder. De hoofdband zelf heeft ook een kussen dat groot en zacht genoeg is. Het buigen gaat wel extreem goed, zoals je in de review video kunt zien. Van geluiden om jouw mond heen krijgen luisteraard al snel nog maar weinig mee.
Een digitale bediening zou simpelweg het microfoon volume naar 0 zetten. Met de overname van THX heeft Razer duidelijk veel kennis over geluid opgedaan. Dat heb je nodig tijdens het gamen, maar ook om te genieten van muziek. Doordat een overdreven bass geen onnodige geluidsdruk oplevert, hoor je de voetstappen van jouw tegenstander veel eerder.
Zou je de Razer Kraken X ooit willen doorverkopen, is dat dus zonder 7.1 surround sound. Op andere platformen kun je hier geen gebruik van maken.
Hierdoor kun je toch redelijk goed bepalen waar een bepaald geluid vandaan komt. Zeker doordat de details in het geluid ook zeer goed hoorbaar zijn.
Ik denk niet dat het veel beter kan met deze technologie. Tijdens mijn werk kan ik me er nog meer aan ergeren. Wat Razer voor nog geen zes tientjes levert is echt heel bijzonder.
Razer Kraken X For Console Review: Built With Console DNA
It’s lightweight, it has crystal clear audio, apart from it not having wireless connectivity, it looks to be a pretty great package for a gaming headphone. The headphones has a oval shaped ear cushion, instead of the circular rounded ones found on the standard Razer Krakens.
Despite the earcups being in leatherette, it didn’t accumulate too much heat, and any excess sweat can easily be wiped off and sanitized. Once worn, it cuts out half the surrounding noise, and when your game audio is on with the right volume level, you can rid yourself of the outside world. Audio quality wise, the headphone provides punchy bass, along with great mids for amazing vocal performance. To sweeten the deal, Razer has also thrown in a code to enable 7.1 channel surround sound on the PC on a software level of course.
It works really well, paired with its innate audio performance, it’s easier to distinguish where enemies are, especially in a game of The Last of Us 2. The sound profile leans towards clarity and precision, and this works great if you’re using it with a PC on Windows 10.
On PC, the microphone works great and my voice can clearly be heard in online meetings and Discord, etc. But when I’m connected to the PS5, the quality drops quite a fair bit and my friends have a hard time hearing what I’m saying. It might be due to the secondhand connectivity since it’s converted from wired to wireless, but if you don’t use comms on your console, then this shouldn’t be an issue to you. I love how versatile the Razer Kraken X for Console is, being able to plug out and switch to virtually any gaming device I have.
It has all the basic features you’d need in a headphone – great audio, essential buttons, built-in mic, and flexible connectivity options.
Razer Kraken X Review: A Solid $50 Gaming Headset
While gaming headsets in the $100 range tend to marry good sound quality to attractive designs, those that cost between $50 and $60 always seem to sacrifice something. The Razer Kraken X is no exception to this rule, with subpar music performance and an inconvenient microphone. Furthermore, it’s extremely comfortable to wear for hours at a time and lightweight enough to make you forget how oversized Razer’s other headsets, like the Kraken Tournament Edition, tend to be. If you need a cheap gaming headset that sounds pretty good and works with everything you own, this is an easy recommendation, even though it’s not quite yet a definitive one.
You get an all-black plastic chassis with subtle honeycomb designs and Razer logos on the ear cups. I spent most of my time with the Kraken X trying it out with various PC games, including Overwatch, StarCraft: Remastered, World of Warcraft and Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition.
The headset excelled with voice work, such as the character quips in Baldur’s Gate, as well as music, like StarCraft’s driving background beats. Likewise, the Kraken X delivered high-quality sound on portable platforms, whether I was exploring the forests of Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition on the Switch or probing the dungeons of Dragon Quest III on Android.
The sound isn’t quite as deep or nuanced as what you’d get in a more expensive headset, but the Kraken X more than holds its own against competitors like the HyperX Cloud Stinger ($50) and the Roccat Renga Boost ($60). Purchasing a new Kraken X gives you access to Razer’s proprietary surround-sound software, which you can use to enable digital 7.1 surround sound.
However, a lot of background noise came through loud and clear as well, including my co-workers’ conversations a whole row of desks away. I tested the Kraken X with music from Old Crow Medicine Show, Flogging Molly, The Rolling Stones and G.F. Handel to see how well it tackled various genres, and it didn’t do all that well.
The Kraken X will work in a pinch — music doesn’t sound fuzzy or far away, like it does on a lot of comparable headsets — but it’s not great. But for $50, it’s an extremely solid headset, providing good in-game sound and a comfortable fit for hours on end.
Razer Kraken X Review
Unfortunately, its poor bass performance doesn’t bode well for action and shooter games, where loud and deep explosions are the norm. And now refreshed with a Mercury White colour option, the Razer Kraken remains one of the best gaming headsets at an affordable price.
The rest of the headset is made of plastic, but with a sturdy build and smooth finish, it certainly doesn’t feel cheap.
Razer has recently been expanding the colour options of its peripherals to appeal to a broader audience, and I’m a big fan. The white plastic complements the grey padding well here, and it’s a nice change to the blacks and silvers you usually find with peripherals, without going garish with flamboyant colours. The inspiring soundtrack of Civilization VI sounded great with the headset, as did Sean Bean’s purring monologues.
When playing Apex Legends though, I immediately noticed that explosions and gunfire lacked depth and sounded a little hollow compared to more expensive gaming headsets I’ve used recently. To enable the 7.1 surround sound, you must download software from Razer’s website and then punch in a code that comes bundled in the box – important to bear in mind if you’re buying second-hand.
This will then link to your Razer account, allowing you to use it with multiple computers but, unfortunately, not with consoles – the Kraken X still works with the PS4, Xbox and Switch, you just miss out on 7.1 surround sound. It’s a far better offering than most budget options, with a super-comfortable, robust design and useful features like 7.1 surround sound, while undercutting the cost of more premium headsets by a decent margin. It’s no problem for vocals and soundtracks but its low-quality bass means gunshots, grenades and bombastic set pieces lack the gravitas found with more expensive alternatives. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the Razer Kraken Lite is available at an even cheaper price, despite essentially being the same headset, just without the on-headset volume controls and microphone switch.
At its current price, the Kraken X is still a good option for those who don’t want to spend a fortune, while the introduction of the new Mercury White design has widened its appeal even further.
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