Not to be confused with ‘Man O’ War’ – The Game, these headphones have nothing to do with it, these headphones are better than the game and a lot more expensive.
Straight from the selling point Razer sticks with its dark designs with hints of green, from the Razer Serpent logo to the green sides, you know straight away, without a doubt this is a Razer product. On the front, a side view of the headset, with the extendable microphone out to view, nothing but the basics on here, Razer logo, the name of the product and Razers new Chroma series logo. On the sides, there is nothing but, the Razer Name, on the back, also features minimal information
- Latency-free wireless performance audio
- Wireless 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound
- 7 days of wireless gaming on a single charge
WIRELESS FREEDOM, GAMING FIDELITY
Such a thing of beauty, with its little handle on top and a flip open cover held down by Velcro, to view the headset in all its glory, a clear panel, and there it is, does it look sweet? I think so.
Removing the clear cover, reveals even more, a well cushioned and attached headset, attached with rubber bands, a long and thin box on the side holding a quick start guide, 2 Razer stickers and the Razer Man O’ War Instruction Manual (Not used by me) – it’s common sense really how to use headphones right? Finally, within the box, a 1m USB charging cable. Now comes the Wireless USB Receiver, the main device that allows these headphones to work, well cushioned almost center of the box.
RAZER SYNAPSE IN ALL ITS GLORY
Everything this headset is capable of doing, is all controlled by Razer’s own software Razer Synapse (Current version 2.20), let’s take a look at each segment.
The first screen, this is where you calibrate your new Razer Man O’ War Headphones,
Audio Panel, controls the volume, Bass Boost, Sound Normalization (DO NOT USE), and Voice Clarity,
Bass Boost- Enhances the low-frequency response to improve ball output,
Sound Normalization – Monitors the audio and reduces the variation of loudness by adjusting the frequency levels,
Presence level – improves the clarity of incoming communication by means of audio filtering,
Volume Level – Increases/decreases the volume of incoming communication,
MIC Panel, controls the Microphone volume, sensitivity, Ambient noise reduction, Mic monitor and volume normalization,
Ambient Noise Reduction – Enhances voice clarity by reducing microphone and environmental noises,
Mic Monitor – Monitors your microphone through the headset,
Volume Normalization – Monitors microphone input and reduces the variation of loudness by adjusting frequency levels,
EQ,
Chroma lighting control,
OSD – On screen display,
So that was Razer Synapse and everything you are able to do and control via the software.
WHAT ABOUT SETTING UP
Setting up is easy, as long as you have the Razer Synapse already installed, all you need to do is connect either the Small USB Receiver that is hidden with the headset, directly into a USB Port, or connect the USB Extender to a USB Port and insert the USB Receiver into that, and Razer Synapse will automatically register the new headphones, most likely update its software and away you go, there is no messing around, it’s a simply pick up, plug in, turn on and use.
I said Power on, this is done with the headphones, there is a small power button, on the left earcup, you simply hold it down for approx 2 seconds, you will hear 2 low tone beeps, this signifies Power On, the same as turning off, 2 low tone beeps.
Microphone volume and headphone volume are also controlled via the earcups, on the left you control the microphone, on the right, you control the main headset volume. You can also mute either sound of the mic, just by pressing down the volume wheels.
A word of warning the Microphone is always on, even when tucked away, so if you do not wish people to hear you, mute it at all times.
DO THEY HOLD UP, AS AWESOME?
Before these arrived, I was using either the HyperX Cloud Revolver or my second Favorite headset the RIG 500E from Plantronics, I also have the Steelseries wireless 800 headset as well, in storage.
So how does the Razer Man O’ War stand up to these bad boys?
HyperX Cloud Revolver – Has the best quality sound, over all the headsets, hands down, but it is rather big and has a detachable microphone.
RIG 500E has the lowest sound volume, excellent 7.1 Surround Sound and fantastic portability options, thanks to its being light and fully deconstructable.
SteelSeries 800 – The highest End Gaming Headset I own, great sound, Dolby Digital, but it’s heavy, not portable and is a pure desktop headset.
Razer Man O’ War, where does this fit in? Well, it’s sound quality is much better than the RIG 500E with a much higher volume threshold, much better 7.1 Surround sound Audio as well. It’s better fitting than the Hyper X Cloud Revolver, but not as good as its sound quality, the Hyper X walks all over, every headset with its audio.
Portability is not as good as the RIG 500E, as it does not fold down totally flat, or deconstructs, so it can manage it better when traveling.
The headphone within the Man O’ War is better on par with the RIG 500E, beats the SteelSeries 800, but again the Hyper X Cloud does a better job again.
Wireless – It’s hands down the best Wireless headset I own, totally tramples all over the SteelSeries 800, and in all honesty, it is my main headset now for all gaming, and you might be asking, why? It’s simple really, the 800 is shit compared to these, the RIG 500E has a lower volume, and I now use them when on the move instead, eSports and stuff, and the Hyper X Cloud Revolver is simply too big, and I am not too fussed on the detachable microphone.
THE DESIGN, COME ON
Dark with minimal effects, with its rather large headband, with Razer logo, etched in, something went amiss, where is all the padding there is little to no padding here, about 5mm, but for some reason, it still feels nice to wear, how is this possible?
The earcups are very well padded, thanks to memory foam, not only that, the Razer Serpent logo lights, up thanks to Chroma Lighting.
The frame does feel a little creaky when you test the flexibility of these headphones, but nothing to worry about, they are well built, and will not break that easily.
The Microphone can be extended and flexed to almost any position suitable to talking within games, and you know when it’s muted or not, thanks to the RED Halo, No Halo ‘ON’, Red Halo ‘MUTED’.
GAMES, GLORIUS GAMES
So what have I played to test these new headphones? The Division Underground expansion, Witcher 3, Blood and Wine, Total War: Warhammer, I am Setsuna and Human: Fall Flat. The Surround sound feature with this headset shines, when playing The Division, you can easily pinpoint where the action is taking place, from a rogue agent’s footsteps to an enemy shooting you, get the added edge over other players.
Playing the Witcher immerses you totally into its open world adventure, hear everything from the wind to rain, from footsteps and arrows, everything you hear the game is enhanced using these headphones.
I am Setsuna and Human’ Fall Flat and simple games, but with some elements the 7.1 Surround sound does boost the environmental effects a little more, to give a little more depth and feel.
Total War: Warhammer though, is a new experience, as there is always something going on, and so much on screen at any one time, you can hear everything and everyone, zoom up close and hear the horses ride across the ground, next to them hear the foot soldier and their metal clanging against them, behind here more troops, depending on where you position the camera, you will be hear, each side and behind with great accuracy.
I can only fault these in three areas, Not being able to fold flat, lack of padding on head brace and not having superior sound quality as the HyperX, so the question is where does it stand as a score, a hard decision, to be honest, I love them, I use them now as my main headset, I cannot fault the volume, the Microphone or the Surround Sound, So its either a 9 or a 10. So lets take away the wired headphones that’re the HyperX and the RIG 500E and we only have the SteelSeries 800 which has been in storage for some time, and the Razer Man O’ War walks all over them, so going to wireless alone these headphones get a 10/10, basing it on the Wired version included I am giving the headphones a 9/10.
TECH SPECS
Headphones
- Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance: 32 Ω at 1 kHz
- Sensitivity (@1 kHz): 112 ± 3 dB
- Input power: 30 mW (Max)
- Drivers: 50 mm, with Neodymium magnets
- Inner ear cup diameter: 60 mm / 2.36 in
- Connection type: Wireless USB Transceiver
- Wireless range: 12 m / 40 ft
- Wireless frequency: 2.4 Ghz
- Battery life: Up to 14 hours with Razer Chroma lighting / 20 hours without Razer Chroma lighting
- Approximate weight: 375 g / 0.83 lbs
Microphone
- Frequency response: 100 – 10 kHz
- Signal-to-noise ratio: > 60 dB
- Sensitivity (@1 kHz): -38 ± 3 dB
- Pick-up pattern: Unidirectional
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- PC / Mac with USB port; PlayStation ® 4*
- Windows® 10 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 7 / Mac OS X (10.9 and higher)
- Internet connection for driver installation
- At least 100 MB of free hard disk space
* Only Spectrum cycling lighting effect and 2.0 stereo audio output is available
