Razer kraken 7

Pros

Sturdier aluminum chassisFinally ditches the streetpunk look of its predecessorsBetter audio than the old Kraken, especially after EQ adjustments

After the release of this year’s Man O’ War headset, I figured it was only a matter of time before Razer got around khổng lồ updating its more mass-market design—it came even faster than I expected.

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Just in time, too. The Kraken 7.1’s been an also-ran for years now, a chintzy headset backed by underwhelming audio. The 2016 Kraken V2—both the analog Pro variant andespecially the USB-powered 7.1 V2—changes that, arriving packed with most of the Man O’ War’s improvements: better audio, a sturdier design, and a more refined look. Sure, it’s just as bulky as ever, but this is the Kraken’s best showing in a long time.

This đánh giá is part of ourroundupof best gaming headsets.Go there for details on competing products và how we tested them.

Growing up

If Razer had only changed the Kraken V2’s aesthetic, it’d already be a huge improvement over last year. Some people might really love the Kraken’s old street-punk style, with its DayGlo colors and scratched-out logo, but I always thought it was a bit out of sync with the rest of Razer’s products, especially in the last three or four years.

The Kraken V2’s look is a total visual overhaul. It’s now black everywhere: on the ears and headband, plus an upgrade to black aluminum for the earcups và chassis. The branding’s also the same shade, with the new, subtler Razer hình ảnh embossed right into the headband.

Logos matter, and you can see it in the Kraken. The headband branding is the only kiến thiết difference between the Kraken V2 and its predecessor, but it has a positive effect. The Kraken previously felt lượt thích some bargain peripheral, something left on a shelf in a Best Buy five years ago. This latest iteration pivots towards a more refined adult look.

It’s a smart move. Not only have other manufacturers lượt thích Logitech & SteelSeries already made the same shift, but it brings the Kraken aesthetic in line with the rest of Razer’s products.

Not that the Kraken V2 is a perfect design. It’s still much bulkier than any headset I’ve reviewed recently, with the exception of Razer’s own Man O’ War. And just lượt thích the Man O’ War, the Kraken gives you that bizarre Princess Leia side-bun look.

Looks aside, though, I can’t pick at the silhouette too much. The V2’s not an especially heavy headset—most of its bulk comes from the inch-thick foam on each ear và a liberal amount on the headband too. That foam is so comfortable, too. I called the Man O’ War “pillowy” earlier this year, and the Kraken V2 warrants the same description. You can wear the Kraken V2 for hours without discomfort, aside from a bit of warmth around the ears. (That’s the price we pay for leatherette.)

A few differences separate the USB-enabled Kraken 7.1 V2 và its less-expensive analog cousin, the Kraken Pro V2. The Kraken 7.1 V2 features RGB lighting on each ear, with an illuminated Razer snake logo. It also has a red band around the over of the retractable mic to lớn indicate whether you’re muted—a function controlled by clicking the kết thúc of the microphone.

The Pro V2 has zero lighting. No decorative ears, which is fine, but sadly no mute indicator, either. However, the Pro V2 does have a control box located about a foot down the cable with a volume wheel & a mute toggle. I’m not a huge fan hâm mộ of in-line boxes, preferring controls on the headset itself, but the weird bit is that the USB-enabled 7.1 V2 lacks any sort of on-the-fly volume controls. This gives the Pro V2 a slight edge in my book, as I lượt thích to have volume controls handy.

Also worth noting: The Pro V2’s cable is way longer, at least if you connect the dual-terminus (mic/headphone) 3.5 mm cable. The USB version’s 6-foot cable can feel a bit limiting by comparison.

Moving lớn 50mm drivers

The biggest change khổng lồ the Kraken V2 can be found under the hood: năm nhâm thìn marks the first use of 50mm drivers inside. The Kraken’s one of the last gaming headsets khổng lồ move khổng lồ the larger size.

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Ostensibly, the switch lớn 50mm drivers over the past few years has been to facilitate bass unique and provide a “larger” sound, though it’s worth pointing out that a good 40mm driver will outperform a weak implementation of a 50mm driver. Still, it’s an important change for the Kraken, which has been plagued by middling audio for years. The Kraken now hews much closer to lớn the Man O’ War, a headset I found rather enjoyable.

Like the Man O’ War, the Kraken on its mặc định setting isn’t fantastic. It leans a bit heavy on the mids and treble range, without much of the bass punch you’d expect from the jump to 50mm drivers. Simple music lượt thích most of Julien Baker’s piano-and-voice songs or some of The Band’s ouvre sounds fine, but more complex mixes seem a bit lifeless. Everything blends together into one narrow band of sound.

But lượt thích the Man O’ War, the Kraken’s strength lies in its EQ headroom. Swapping between the various EQ presets included in Razer’s Synapse software can make a huge difference. When I changed to lớn the “Rock” setting và rolled off the bass a bit—the same settings I used with the Man O’ War a few months back—the sound opened up considerably. I got better bass, a more distinct treble range, & the same solid mids as the default setting.

A few things here: 1) Yes, it’s still weird that Synapse’s EQ settings are named after music presets instead of games. 2) Yes, I’d prefer if the Kraken 7.1 V2 was a better headset out of the box, as every headset can obviously benefit from EQ tweaks. The difference here though is the degree by which the Kraken changes. Also, it’s a $100 headset, so I’m a bit more forgiving than I am with, say, the $300 Astro A50.

If you’re considering the analog Kraken Pro V2, keep in mind that the default audio is more of an issue. Khổng lồ adjust how it sounds on your PC, you’ll need khổng lồ run your own separate EQ software. Và if you don’t bother, or if you hook the Kraken Pro V2 khổng lồ a different device like your phone, you’ll notice again that the Kraken’s mặc định sound just isn’t that great. It’s fine, but there are better options out there.

You’ll also miss out on the Kraken 7.1’s titular surround-sound support, though that’s less an issue. The Kraken 7.1 V2 doesn’t quite match the Man O’ War’s soundstage, but it’s still pretty wide output đầu ra compared lớn most sub-$100 headsets—with the exception of the HyperX Cloud.

That said, 7.1 isn’t much of an upgrade. I’ll repeat my old fallback phrase: “It’s good, for a headset.” You can calibrate the Kraken’s 7.1 audio through Synapse, & yeah, it definitely does a decent emulation of surround sound—about as good as Logitech’s similarly priced G633. But it’s a far cry from real surround setups, và I prefer to lớn run in stereo mode most of the time.

Props khổng lồ Razer for making that fairly foolproof, though. Like the Man O’ War, the Kraken 7.1 V2 lets you phối preferred output through Synapse, meaning you can set Spotify khổng lồ always mặc định to stereo while games run in 7.1. It’s a small but convenient quality-of-life upgrade.

As for the microphone, the Kraken 7.1 V2 is the clear winner between it and the Pro V2. It’s got a better-quality mic than the Kraken Pro and a bunch of optional tweaks built into Synapse, including active noise cancellation & noise gating. I miss the Man O’ War’s dedicated microphone volume wheel, but the Kraken 7.1’s still got the same features in software và does a good job reproducing voices. The Kraken Pro’s a bit worse off, with a noisier microphone & more nasally sound, but it does get the job done.

Bottom line

It’s a big year for Razer. Less than six months ago, I was ragging on the outclassed Kraken in my Man O’ War review. Now the Kraken’s folded in many of the Man O’ War’s improvements, but with a durable aluminum design and much more affordable $100 price tag. Not bad.

I’d love lớn see Razer slim the Kraken down a bit, and địa chỉ some sort of volume control (even in-line). But for the first time in a long time, the Kraken feels lượt thích a viable midrange headset choice. That’s good news for all the Cult of Razer folks.