Razer’s Nari Essential gaming headset offers solid wireless performance at a budget-friendly price. The $99.99 headset works with PCs and PlayStation 4 consoles, and features a solid, comfortable build and surprisingly powerful sound.
It also provides 7.1-channel simulated surround sound and plenty of options for tweaking the audio balance, but only on PC; if you use it with a PS4 you’re limited to stereo and stock EQ. All connections and controls are on the bottom and back edge of the left earcup, and consist of a power button, a micro USB port for charging, an indicator LED, and a volume wheel.
The suspended head padding provides a secure, comfortable fit, and the fabric on the earpads allows for long listening sessions without your ears becoming too warm. If you connect the Nari Essential to your PC, you can use THX Spatial Audio through the Razer Synapse app to provide simulated 7.1-channel surround sound through the headset.
In addition, Razer Synapse offers a Sound Normalization feature that boosts the higher frequencies to level things out, a Voice Clarity feature that pumps up the high-mids and kills the bass to make dialogue and voice chat stand out, and even a Bass Boost mode that really isn’t necessary. When playing our bass test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headset doesn’t distort even at maximum (and unsafe) volume levels.
The backbeat of the kick drum stays at the center of the mix, leaving the guitar riffs and screaming vocals to sit farther back.
The rhythmic electronic soundtrack of Rez Infinite on the PlayStation 4 gets plenty of thump in the lower frequencies, with the more melodic tones settling slightly back but still coming through clearly. Unfortunately, the audio is limited to stereo on the PS4, which impacts the detail of the directional imaging compared with the simulated 7.1-channel surround allowed by the Razer app on Windows. The Razer Nari Essential is a strong pick for PC users and our Editors’ Choice for affordable wireless gaming headsets.
For the price it offers a solid, comfortable build, powerful audio with simulated surround sound, and an excellent microphone. The Bottom Line The Razer Nari Essential is a budget-friendly wireless gaming headset that will please PC gamers with its powerful audio performance.
Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless Review
It’s worth noting that their bass delivery varies noticeably across users and is sensitive to the quality of the fit, seal, and whether you wear glasses.
Razer Nari Ultimate review
Razer touts “supreme wireless immersion” thanks to specialized drivers in each earcup that provide haptic feedback to vibrate along with the bass. I don’t know too many other kinds of people that would want a pair of headphones that vibrate along with whatever they’re listening to, which definitely gets annoying with regular usage. As someone who spends most of my time working at my desk from home, I found the built-in retractable mic to be extremely useful during conference calls. This provides haptic feedback for the low end via specialized drivers in each ear cup.
It’s particularly annoying when watching movies or YouTube videos, as seemingly every sound sets off a small vibration that has nothing to do with what’s going on. That is one of the heavier pairs we’ve reviews which is weird considering that if you’re going to be wearing these for longer gaming sessions you’d want something light to avoid fatigue.
They’re super comfortable and even have hidden divets in the cushion for people who wear glasses which is a nice touch. The Razer logo on the side of each ear cup glows but isn’t super bright and is way more subtle than I expected it to be.
Luckily, this little USB adapter can be popped in and out of a storage spot on the bottom of the right ear cup which is super nifty—but it means that if you want to use these with your smartphone: you can’t. It’s only for devices with a standard USB, so unless you plug in the included 3.5mm audio cable (which requires the use of a dongle even if you use Razer’s own phone) you can’t use it.
In order to connect the Razer Nari Ultimate to your PS4, Xbox, or PC you’ll need the wireless adapter that comes with the headphones. This means that you can enjoy audio from across the room with minimal lag, and this worked perfectly in my experience.
If you tend to play games on mobile or even on the Nintendo Switch which doesn’t have any USB ports for the dongle to fit into, then you’re going to need to go wired. As far as battery life goes, we were able to get these to last us exactly 8 hours and 22 minutes when we put them through our standard test of streaming music constantly from our computer. As always, we had the headphones to output around 75dB which is the recommended listening level if you want to avoid noise-induced hearing loss.
The first thing we should probably discuss is the microphone quality, because the Razer Nari Ultimate have a retractable mic that you can use when you need it, and hide when you don’t. The Nari Ultimate’s mic doesn’t have too much trouble clearly reproducing the sounds of the human voice, but it struggles with the low end. I’m sure it’s fun while gaming, but when listening to music the overpowering haptics ruined it for most modern songs.
A good example was in the song Run by Vampire Weekend, where because of the rolling drums and bassline, it just felt like the headphones were constantly shaking. The lack of emphasis in the highs can distort the sounds of musical instruments like strings and cymbals.
It’s all pulled back to avoid harshness, which is good if you’re going to be playing games with the volume blasted (again, don’t do that). You shouldn’t have any trouble ignoring noisy roommates in another room or the occasional sound of traffic out a window.
If you choose to dive into the Razer Nari Ultimate headset, be sure to do a little research on any retailers you may have in mind. Make sure you read up on a headphone retailer’s warranty, customer service, and return policy before buying.
Razer Nari Wireless Gaming Headset Review
Don’t get me wrong there were some good elements and the audio is clear enough for gaming but I’m factoring in the price and competitor models and with those in mind, I can’t really see a place in the market for the Razer Nari headset. Out of the box, the first thing I tried was playing some electronic music and it was quite good, with the EQ in the software only enhancing my listening experience. I expected the lower end to perform well in games with distant grumbles and explosion thumps to follow suit but it was a bit underwhelming and if anything muddied out the other detailed sounds, ruining the immersion. Mid-range bass was good, but again, I couldn’t really hear the vocals in tracks as well as I’d like, and small instrumental breakdowns were cluttered at best, with everything sounding a bit weak.
I could accurately hear where the enemy was walking or shooting at all times, so if I received these for free I would happily use them for competitive play.
Razer Nari Wireless Gaming Headset Review — World Bolding
It has 50mm drivers, cooling gel ear pads, a suspension headband, rotating ear cups, THX Spatial Audio support on PC, a retractable microphone, wireless and wired connectivity, and Razer’s Chroma RGB lighting. The drivers are 40mm, the USB dongle is much larger and doesn’t hide in the ear cup, wired connectivity is removed, the ear cups don’t swivel flat, the microphone only flips up instead of retracting, and RGB lighting is removed. On the top end, the Ultimate is nigh-identical to the standard Nari, but it adds a gunmetal color scheme and audio-based directional vibration from a company called Lofelt. A few years ago, Razer bought THX out from under the Lucas/Disney merger, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting whatever the audio engineers there would do for the gaming brand.
It works well for games, but it’s got a diffuse quality to it that’s not unlike the feeling of sitting in a movie theater. Currently, you can only use THX audio with the Nari when you’re operating in wireless mode connected to a Windows 10 PC.
In order for you to feel the effects of the gel, the front part of the pads is made out of an athletic fabric, and the rest of the surfaces are leatherette. This headset looks gargantuan, and like it would be a real squeeze on the head, but the suspension headstrap perfectly holds the weight and the clamping force is just strong enough to keep them on without discomfort.
I’ve worn these for multiple 3 hour sessions without a single hint of discomfort and without needing to adjust them at all. The big ear pads provide exceptional passive isolation, making these perfect for the noise of an office or coffee shop.
Razer provides a ton of software mic options too, to turn active noise cancellation and volume normalization, among other things.
Customer Reviews: Razer Nari Essential Wireless THX Spatial Audio Gaming Headset for PC and PlayStation 4 Black RZ04-02690100-R3U1
This wireless headset is high quality, reliable, and has a long battery life. The mic is clear although it seems to be a little better the further away from your face it is so it only picks up your voice, because It’s very sensitive.
Razer Nari Review
The Razer Nari is a gaming headset priced at £149.99, establishing itself as a premium peripheral with all of the aesthetics you’d expect from the popular brand. Renowned for its striking pitch black and venom green colour combination, this is a headset that will take pride of place in any serious setup. And it isn’t all about visuals – the Razer Nari delivers on the fronts of audio and oodles of distinct customisation options that help cater to your specific preferences. While lacking the haptic vibration of the Nari Ultimate, this base model still stands up against the competition as a fiercely impressive headset.
These can be customised to your liking with Razer Synapse, a bespoke programme that will prompt an install once the Nari is linked to a PC or laptop. I did encounter a few issues where the microphone wouldn’t respond without Synapse being open in the background, or I was being received far too quietly during multiplayer sessions.
After popping it on the head of a colleague, they felt the same, indicating that the lack of a decent seal made for inconsistent noise cancellation. You can use the Razer Nari both wired and wireless, with a Bluetooth dongle securely stored in the headset itself if you fancy using it on consoles or with a laptop on the move.
General audio quality is solid, delivering a profile that’s worthy of the hefty price the Razer’s Nari headset demands. For example, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the groans of zombies and blasting of grenades felt natural, nailing both high and low ranges across the spectrum. There’s certainly a lot of bass here, which is indicative of Razer’s other range of headsets, although there’s enough dynamism across different audio settings to make it feel necessary and impactful.
Razer Nari
It engages your sense of hearing to determine the atmosphere and mood, creating a lifelike experience that lets you truly embody your game character.
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