The Rise of the Kraken! Razer Kraken X Review

Release The Kraken! & that is exactly what Razer has done!

The Razer Kraken X is the baby of the Kraken Family. But don’t let that fool you. This ultra-light and ultra-immersive headset is made to sit snug and comfortable and make for effortless gaming marathons. And I should know, I had a 9-hour World of Warcraft Marathon 2 nights ago.

The Razer Kraken X boasts an impressive 7.1 surround sound, custom-tuned 40mm drivers & a frequency response of 12hz – 28 Kkz for maximum clarity and balanced audio.

Design

The all-plastic design comes in at an ultra-light 250 grams, making the Razer Kraken X is one of the lightest gaming headsets on the market.

It keeps the classic Kraken design; its soft memory Foam band and ear cups covered in a leather rim to help with both comfort and sound isolation. Its sleek design holds the head beautifully and It fits even my giant head with a long flexible slider. The Razer Kraken X gooseneck microphone effortless adjusts to your perfect speaking position or folds up to the contours of the ear cup when not in use. The volume controls and microphone mute button are placed behind the left ear cup for ease of use and to allow the Kraken X to keep its smooth lines.

The Razer Kraken X is a multi-platform headset and can be used with almost any console or mobile device as it terminates at a 3.5mm headphone jack. Which is something I’m personally a huge fan of, as I currently have a pair of earphones for my phone, one for my PC and another for my Xbox. I know it seems simple, but having one headset that fits all my device &  having the 3.5 mm headphone jack that will fit is a massive selling point for me, as the versatility helps keep my small desk cleaner and less cluttered.

Microphone

The retractable gooseneck microphone boosts a cardioid pickup pattern that not only helps with clarity but limits background. I was going to explain how the cardioid pickup works, but this picture in the guide does it better than I could ever explain:

I must say I was extremely impressed with the cardioid pickup on the Razer Kraken X. I recently recorded a podcast with 2 friends (shameless plug link to podcast) and throughout the podcast I was looking up Magic the Gathering cards and chatting on discord using my mechanical keyboard. Which normally means the dreaded clicking sound throughout the recording. The Razer Kraken X almost completely muted the keyboard sound, because of this, I’ve readjusted my recording and my microphone settings.

Sound & Performance

The Kraken X has a great sound, it definitely leans to the tremble scale more, with overexaggerated mids and highs. It has O.K. bass but it is drowned out by the mids and highs.

The 7.1 surround sound is emulated surround sound using a free to download software from Razer. Which they supply a card with your activation code in the box. Normally, I would just copy and paste this line from my the previous headset reviews I’ve done, ‘just stick with the standard stereo sound, as emulated surround sound is quite bad.’ Yet I have to eat those words this time! Razer has actually done an incredible job with their emulated surround sound, it is noticeably better, louder & clearer using the software.

How noticeably better you ask? Well… I actually a bit of a blonde moment, I plugged it into my Xbox for the first time and thought, ‘What have I done? The sounds doesn’t sound as good?’ I spent 5 mins going through the settings of the Xbox before realising I don’t have the 7.1 Surround sound emulate on my Xbox. Oops!

Final Thoughts

Is the Razer Kraken X perfect? Not by any means, Though it is hard to be super critical of about this headset with an under $100 price tag (under $50 if you are a US Reader).

Here are some of the points you may want to consider before purchasing the Razer Kraken X. The all plastic design allows the headset to be super light & comfortable, yet means you are sacrificing on the build quality slightly & possible durability. The 7.1 surround sound is only available on PC or Macs, yet the sound of the studio sound is quite impressive and shows why at this price point, Razer are the company to bet.

With all that being said, I was very impressed with the Razer Kraken X. It is comfortable, light, and the sound quality is impressive especially for the $90 price point. I believe having the Razer name and everything that comes with that name, along with this price tag, it will make this a must-have for gamers!.

The Razer Kraken X is also perfect if you are new to gaming or streaming, buying for your kids or even just counting your pennies to spend elsewhere on your current PC build but want a quality headset then this headset would be my personal pick. As Razer has created another amazing headset for remarkable price.

If you want to pick up your own Razer Kraken X, head over to the Razer Website or your local stockists for prices and availability.