Music and sound have always been very close to my life. Not so much in my early days, but as of my teen years I have always been accompanied by some tune one way or another. It should come to no surprise then that I have probably owned, in some form or another, around 20 sound- oriented devices. Headsets, earphones, speakers. You name it. Obviously, when the opportunity arose for one of our group to review the Razer Kraken, I was determined to be the one to get it.
Razer has always been synonymous with gaming performance, and I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Razer gear ever since I bought my first piece of hardware, the first edition of the Death Adder, which still works but the wire connecting the USB to the mouse is worn out so it doesn’t always work. Apart from the Death Adder I have collected over 10 pieces of Razer equipment, the majority of which are excellent value for money but with the occasional waste here and there, as with the Carcharias headset. Reviewing a new Razer headset will be a good test to see whether their work on headsets has improved or not, especially after the disappointment of the Carcharias, which stopped working within a couple of months from purchase.
And here we are, with this yellow beast around my head. After reviewing a couple of devices already, I have come to the conclusion that there are some aspects which the Kraken soundly (HA!) trumps other headsets, while there are others which while not as impressive still are very good for modern day standards. For starters, its appearance is probably one of the coolest among headsets, and that does not even include the fact that the Kraken is available in six colours, and neither of them is black or white. It is quite a bold decision to avoid the main colours while still having quite the range to choose from, but it probably paid off in the end since it will feature in a lot of variety in purchases, as opposed to other headsets produced in black white or red only. The headset also folds inwards where the ear cups stands, so it is easier for carrying around. This does not mean that the bulk of the headset is gone because it still will be a little big, but it becomes much more compact. The headset comes packaged in a slick Razer box, coupled with its wire which is natively compatible with iOS devices. We were also supplied with an android compatibility kit which makes it practically compatible with anything having the standard 3.5mm jack. Whether the kit is supplied with every headset is unknown, but if it is not, it is worth picking one up, especially for people interested in the headset but without any Apple devices, since its performance is top notch, as explained below.
Exterior apart, the main element of the headset is obviously its sound. Testing it with various types of music, such as electronic, trance, rock, pop and even Bloodborne’s haunting yet amazing soundtrack, yielded excellent results each time. The bass is so good you’ll feel every beat thumping in your ears, yet when the song is a slow one the beat is gentle and never ruins the mood. In games, sound effects hidden in the background become audible to the joy of the player, finding new life in areas explored thousands of times. The headset is also perfect for gaming because of its built in microphone in the cable connecting the headset to your desired device, and because of its small size it is never distracting. The mic is practically invisible, so much so that I had to read on the box to make sure it is there.
In terms of design and comfort, the headset does not come with the usual removable ear cushions but instead standard ones which cannot be replaced. The ear cushions are not adjustable as well so it’s one size fits all, which may not be the best for comfort, but as I discovered after a while using them, sliding the cushions until the back of your ears touch the end of the cushion will not make your ears tired of using the headset until a good three or four hours, whereas simply just putting them on will make you uncomfortable after one hour or a little more. I happen to quite like this design to be honest, because with adjustable pads you need to set them a certain way and with time they will either wear out more quickly or just lose their setting and make your ears uncomfortable again.
Basically, the Razer Kraken Mobile is probably the best headset I’ve had to date, and even though I have not owned anything from the top companies such as Bose or JBL, I believe that the sound coming out from this headset can compete at the top levels of music performance. The only thing left to judge is its longevity, since the previous Razer headset I had lasted a few weeks and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Compared to that experience, the Kraken is a solid bounce ahead, with every single aspect miles better. With that in mind, one should definitely make a thought about getting this headset, since although a little steep in price, it definitely is worth every single penny of its price.
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