Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Review: The Budget King

Razer Kraken Review

The Razer Kraken Tournament Edition exceeded what I thought was possible for a $70 dollar headset. Even better, if you buy the Razer Kraken without the THX audio cable, which only works for PC, you can save $20 dollars! This headset is packed with all types of features from bass that marks all enemies to a headband that keeps you comfortable and cool all day long. The Razer Kraken has included an integrated microphone that works surprisingly well. The headset is wired. With a braided cord, you’ll never have to worry about it getting tangled. This comes with an inline volume control and microphone mute switch. 

The Razer Kraken headset is held up by two metal brackets that go through the headband. A nice feature is that on the side of the two metal brackets there are tiny indentations showing you how high the headband is. The headset is an open-back headset allowing you to hear mostly your game with a little bit of what’s going on around you. Everywhere around this headset has a place where airflow can be possible. This was nice because it never got hot and I never had to worry about it overheating. The best part about the Razer Kraken is that it has multi-compatibility allowing everyone to be able to use it.

The Razer Kraken also comes in two different colors: black or green. I ordered all black and I think it looks sleek and modest.

What’s Included-

Included in your package is the Razer Kraken headset along with the THX volume controller, and headset manuals. The THX volume controller only works for PC players. The volume controller lets you adjust how you and the game sounds. The manual consists of what are the different parts of the headset and how to work those parts. Razer also gives you a complimentary sticker. I thought that there would be more things included with this headset. I don’t know what I expected but two things felt like not enough. However, I soon realized that what I got was good enough to have a good time while playing.

Comfort–

Out of all the headsets that I have reviewed, Razer has always seemed to be the most comfortable. Like many Razers headsets, this one also uses memory foam ear cups with an added cooling gel for the best cushioning and reduced heat build-up. An interesting thing that I noticed was that on the outside of the ear cup the material used is a leatherette while in the inner parts of the ear cup the material is a velvety cloth. I would like to think that Razer added this because they knew that the leatherette material can become uncomfortable over time. While cloth keeps the ear cushions cool and comfortable to wear over time.

 This also applies to the headband. Adding onto that the ear cushions are thick enough so that your ears can lay right next to the drivers creating that enclosed immersed feeling. I was surprised and still am about how much airflow goes through the headset even though it doesn’t seem that there are too many ways that air can go through.

 In terms of clamping force, there was enough to keep the headset on my head but not too much where I felt uncomfortable. The clamping force also felt perfect in the sense that I feel it made the sound come through better.

Durability-

 Again I will say I can’t believe how much I got out of this headset for $70! You can find two metal brackets one on each side of the headset which ultimately goes through the headband. You can also find a metal ring going around the outer edge of the ear cup allowing the ear cup to move inward and out. On the edge of the headband, you can find what appears to be a piece of chrome that tells you what way to wear the headphone and also helps adjust the headset to your preferred size. The rest of the headset is made from hard plastic.

Are The Razer Kraken Glasses Friendly-

Are the Razer Kraken glasses friendly? The answer is yes! Razer has created a hidden indented eyewear channel to eliminate pressure from glasses. As said in one of my other reviews I don’t personally wear glasses but I got my sisters, wore them for a while, and to my surprise it didn’t bug me. With the soft materials used to make the ear cushions, glasses are no problem. However, you may be able to feel it a little bit more than other headsets considering the medium clamping force

Mic check 1,2-

The Razer Kraken comes with an integrated microphone. I’m not a huge fan of integrated microphones because they usually don’t work the best and they’re not detachable. Although, my friends did say that it sounded “clearer” than the Steelseries Arctis 9X which is a $200 headset! 

The nice thing about this microphone is that it is very flexible and on the backside comes with little dashes so that airflow is also possible through the mic. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad mic but it’s not the best. I definitely would’ve liked it if it included a boom mic but for $70 this wasn’t bad.

However, an issue that I had with the microphone is that after playing for three hours I had to unplug and plug the headset back into my controller because the microphone overheated and started to glitch out. Thankfully this never occurred again.

Pros

Cons

How Does the Razer Kraken compare to other Headsets?-

I’ve seen that the Razer Kraken performs better than a lot of other headsets. For example, let’s take the Turtle Beach Elite Pro2. It has large 50 nanometer speakers that make it incredibly easy to get the most sound out of your game. It comes with two mics, one that you plug in for gaming, and the other one is an inline microphone for when you’re out of the house. And while the Razer Kraken doesn’t have two microphones it does have its own custom-tuned 50 mm drivers that too creates unbelievable sound.

The prices of the two is where everything changes. With the Razer Kraken sitting at 70 dollars it feels like a steal. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 is currently 130 dollars. Which in my opinion seems overpriced. I do admire Turtle Beach and their headsets but this felt like I was now being robbed.

Overall I would say that the Razer Kraken compares fairly better than other headsets. However, it all depends on which headset you are comparing it to. For example if I was comparing this headset to the Logitech G proX there would be different results. I would say from what I have tested any headset around the same price as the Razer Kraken usually falls short of what the Razer Kraken can do. 

Now I’m not saying that any headset under 70 dollars is horrible. I just think that the Razer Kraken is a phenomenal headset for its price. 

Overall-

Of course, I’m going to say that this headset was amazing because it was amazing. On top of that, unlike most headsets this one works as a whole there wasn’t one main thing that stood out the most. The microphone, sound, comfort, and durability all performed wonderfully.

The headset was also exceptionally affordable sitting at 70 dollars. ( or 50 if you buy the headset without the THX audio cable). With the headsets included multi-compatibility everyone can now play.

At first, I didn’t think that this was going to be a good headset. My mind quickly changed after using it for only an hour. One thing that is similar with all Razer headsets is that they all perform outstandingly. I enjoyed using the Razer Kraken so much that I put it in my top five list of best gaming headsets under $100.