Well, here we are again. I guess it must be fate. This week, Razer has given MKAU the wonderful opportunity to test out their brand-new headset, the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset. Its sleek, dashing looks and vibrant RGB colours grabbed our attention. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it, so here are my thoughts on what I think is a good value-for-money headset.

The black box greets you with bright green sides and photos of the headset on the front and rear, also detailing some specs, such as the RGB accents and ways you can use to connect it. Opening the box, the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset sits nice and snug within a foam cutout, also holding the USB Type-C Razer Hyperspeed wireless dongle. Taking the headset out of its comfy-looking foam mattress, two compartments are seemingly hidden under each earcup, one containing a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, the other housing a USB Type-A to Type-C adapter cable.

Now, we’re onto the fun part. The Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset is predominantly made using a smooth, satin-finished black plastic, while the adjustable padded headset uses a breathable fabric and soft memory foam earpieces to keep you gaming in comfort. Looking around the headset, you will also notice the various buttons towards the rear of the earpieces. These are your game and chat balance button, mic mute button, volume control wheel, USB Type-C port, power button, a button to quickly switch between audio profiles, and most importantly, the retractable Razer HyperClear Super Wideband mic.

The Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset maintains a modern and sleek look, simultaneously keeping that iconic Kraken look that Razer is known for, and weighing in at only 350g, or 0.77lbs, the headset feels weightless.

Each swiveling earcup features Razer’s proprietary TriForce Titanium 40mm drivers. With a frequency response of 20Hz – 28kHz, and sensitivity of 8dBSPL/mW at 1kHz, it delivers sounds on a whole new level. You can hear your enemy’s footsteps from a mile away or pinpoint a sniper’s location from across the map. Admittedly, when I initially launched Discord or a game after first connecting it all up, it was as though the headset would seem to switch to another mode and the quality would drop.

This was before playing around with settings, and I tried the other connectivity modes to see if it changed anything, but it was to no avail. After some research and Google time, I resolved this, and to say the sound quality was superb is an understatement. The Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset shines brightly, with surround sound and crystal-clear sound quality.

The unidirectional microphone is also a notable mention with a frequency response of 100Hz- 10kHz, 32kHz sampling rate, and a sensitivity of 42 ± 3 dBV/Pa at 1kHz, and while my friends mentioned that I sounded different, this happens with any new mic/headset.

As an added bonus, the microphone is retractable, so when you’re done talking, the mic neatly retracts away back into the headset and sits flush with the earcup.

The issues I mentioned before were resolved by downloading the THX Spatial Audio Software, but it’s only available on Windows 10 64-bit or higher. You’re given a free 15-day trial to download and test it out, and trust me, you’ll be amazed, but I’d like to have seen a longer subscription, or for it to be included rather than something you have to purchase separately.

The first thing I did was add extra bass, but with this easy-to-use software, you can adjust the EQ audio settings to your preferred taste, customizing your audio experience with the Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF), as well as the Hearing Physics Calibration Tool, giving you complete control over the virtual speaker placement, volume, and distance, and combined with the 7.1 channel surround sound, they create some incredibly realistic positional audio, creating fully immersive soundscapes.

If you’re not big on adjusting the equalizer to your tastes, it even includes some pre-made audio EQ profiles, with options for games, music, and movies, which you can use as a starting point, and with how.

While I had fun playing around with the THX Spatial Audio Software, dialling it into what I liked, at the time of writing this, the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset wasn’t completely supported in Razer Chroma or Razer Synapse.

While they will give you some control over the sound, they also allow you to fully customize the earcup’s 9-Zone RGB lighting, giving options to change the brightness, set the colour, or sync it with other Razer devices you might own. The amount of things you can tailor to your specific needs is unbeatable and left me astounded by the amount of personalisation on offer.

With three methods to connect the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset to your chosen device, the possibilities are nearly endless, making for a very versatile headset across multiple platforms. You can connect to a PC wirelessly via the USB Type-C dongle, connect it through Bluetooth, or use the supplied USB cable that doubles as the charger.

Amazingly, while blasting my ears with tunes, shouting orders through Discord while gaming, and looking flashy with all the RGB accents glowing through the meshed earcups, the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset had an astounding 35 hours of battery life, but they advertise 70 hours with the RGB off. You won’t have to worry about your headset dying mid-fight – Razer has you covered.

I really like the Razer Kraken V4 Wireless Headset. While there was the initial issue of it switching audio quality when I was in the game, it didn’t take away from the elegance and comfort of the headset, nor did it affect its versatility. There’s a plethora of platforms you can use it on thanks to its multiple modes of connectivity, and the amount of things you can customize and tailor to suit your needs is astounding. It just goes to show how much Razer has catered to us gamers.

	Razer Kraken V4	Razer Kraken V4 X
DRIVERS	Razer™ TriForce Titanium 40 mm Drivers	Razer™ TriForce 40 mm Drivers
MICROPHONE	Retractable Razer™ HyperClear Super Wideband Mic	Retractable Razer™ HyperClear Cardioid Mic
SURROUND SOUND	THX Spatial Audio	7.1 Surround Sound
CONNECTIVITY	Wireless: Razer™ HyperSpeed Wireless Technology (2.4 GHz) + Bluetooth 5.2 Wired: USB Type-A	Wired: USB Type-C or Type-A (via included adapter)
BATTERY LIFE	Up to 70 hours (Lighting OFF, 2.4 GHz connection) Up to 35 hours (Lighting ON, 2.4 GHz connection)	–
WEIGHT	350g	300g

Written by: Larry