The Razer Kraken are basic headphones for gaming. They aren’t as big as other Razer headsets we’ve tried and aren’t as heavy, but they are still pretty comfortable. Their boom microphone records well and can handle noise well, and the wired connection makes sure that there is no audio latency while gaming.
Unfortunately, they feel like they were made on the cheap, and their simple controls aren’t good enough for everyday use. They also have a sound that isn’t quite balanced. Still, if you like a louder, bassier sound, you might want to think about them for console or PC gaming.
The metal and plastic Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 is, in a word, straightforward. As far as gaming headsets go, especially ones made by Razer, it doesn’t look like much, and it doesn’t have a lot of the flashy design that most gaming accessories have.
There are no sharp edges or annoying streaks of colours that clash. Aside from the name, there’s not much about this product that makes it seem like it’s on the edge. The Razer logo is stamped on the top of the Kraken 7.1 V2’s padded band, but it’s only really noticeable when the light hits it just right.
The logos on the sides of the headset light up with coloured LEDs, but they aren’t too bright so they don’t stand out too much. You can always turn them off with the Razer software if it’s too much (more on that in a bit). The extendable mic has a low profile and goes almost all the way back into the left earphone when it’s not in use.
Starting with in-game sound effects, we really liked how easy it was to figure out where sounds like gunshots, footsteps, or car engines were coming from with the Razer Kraken. Our judge, who was blindfolded, could almost always tell where the sound was coming from.
Voices come through clearly and sound full, but they aren’t as clear as they are on some of the best headsets we’ve seen. We never had any trouble understanding other players, though. This headset has ear cups with closed backs, so it will cut down on some background noise. But loud sounds in the background will still get through.
In addition to our practical tests, we also did a series of audio tests side-by-side to compare how well they worked. In the driver matching test, this headset did pretty well and only had small amounts of parasitic buzz. But in the binaural test, it did about as well as average.
Most of the time, the microphone doesn’t pick up sounds like you typing or eating. However, we didn’t like that when we muted the mic, other players could still hear a tone. If you often mute and unmute the mic, it can definitely get annoying for other players.