Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Review

9 reviews for Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Review

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Matt – October 12, 2023

   The Razer Kraken TE is only rated around 3.5 stars at the time that I am writing this review. Let me tell you right now that most of the reviews for this product that are under 4 stars complain about things that they just don’t know how to use. For instance, the headset comes with an audio controller that you can mount using its adhesive back. This controller has multiple buttons on it, and one of them controls the THX Spatial Audio. I believe that many of the users who have complained about this feature not working have not done their research. You should never buy a product before doing your research. I hate seeing the ratings for products such as these go down because people don’t know what they are doing. To get that THX Spatial Audio to work, you need to be using that audio controller, AND you need to have Razer Synapse 3 on your computer. You can still use the headphones without the audio controller, but you will NOT be able to use the THX Spatial Audio. Before you start complaining about how annoying that is, you should really consider what Razer is trying to accomplish here. It is obvious from both the marketing and device setup that they are using this THX Spatial Audio for an enhanced GAMING experience. This doesn’t mean that they don’t sound when listening to music or other uses, as I can assure you that they do, but it means that you won’t need that spatial audio unless you are using it for gaming. You should understand the ins and outs of a product at this price point before you buy it, and it is NOT difficult to figure that out. If the pictures and descriptions aren’t enough, then watch some reviews/unboxings on YouTube! Most, if not all of your questions will be answered, and you won’t feel like you aren’t getting what you paid for!

   The Razer Synapse 3 software is one of the many gems that makes this product stand out. Using this software, you can do all of the following with ease:
   – Fine tune specific audio settings to your liking. This includes enhancements such as Sound Normalization and Voice Clarity, and you can also use the EQ to adjust 10 individual frequencies.
   – Adjust/toggle microphone settings. This includes enhancements, sensitivity, volume, and even sidetone. Sidetone lets you listen to what your microphone is picking up with NO DELAY, so you can hear yourself and your real-life surroundings with the headset on.
   – Customize audio for specific applications using the Mixer. You can select if you would rather have Stereo or Surround Sound for each application specifically, and you can also calibrate and adjust the spatial audio if you hear things differently.
   – Manage/create multiple presets that contain all of the aforementioned settings to switch between on the fly. You can even assign these presets to applications, so your headset will automatically switch to them when a specific application is being used. It will switch right back to what you were on before when you stop using that application as well.

   The microphone sounds just as good as the other Razer Kraken headset microphones if not better, and as I have mentioned, can be customized using the Razer Synapse 3 software.

   The headset is extremely comfortable, and the cooling gel-infused ear cushions are amazing. They feel great and the headset is very light overall. For those wondering, the construction is made up plastic and what feels to be a lightweight aluminum. As advertised, the top cushion is definitely softer than previous Kraken iterations, and sometimes it almost feels as though I am not even wearing my headset! Good build quality and comfort.

   The audio controller takes the headphone input in the form of a 3.5 mm audio jack and outputs to your PC via USB. I know already wrote a bit about the audio controller earlier in the review, but here are its features as well:
   – Volume Up/Volume Down buttons
   – Toggle Microphone Mute button
   – Bass adjustment knob
   – Game/Chat balance knob
   – Toggle THX Spatial Audio button

   There is also a basic in-line audio controller on the cable of the headset, and it allows for the following:
   – Volume Adjustment knob
   – Toggle Microphone Mute switch

   The main thing that everyone wants to know is how do they sound? Well, I personally think that they sound great and are a clear upgrade from my previous Kraken 7.1 Chroma headset. I use the THX Spatial Audio for games, and it is actually crazy how easy it is to tell where things are in-game. It was one of the first things that I noticed when I used these for the first time when playing games.

   In conclusion, this headset is honestly insanely good, especially for the price. I felt that I needed to do it justice by writing such a lengthy review to go over most of the features and shed light on some misinformed/uninformed reviews. I’ve spent a decent amount of time writing this, and hopefully at least some of you found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a nice day/night.

   – Matt

   P.S. Please excuse any spelling/grammar errors. If I made a big mistake in my writing then please let me know, and I will fix it.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Marcos Ramirez – October 13, 2023

   Für mein Gaming PC. Habe alles in Grün.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Amazon Kunde – October 21, 2023

   If you have the Kraken Pro V2s and are just going to use these for console gaming then you won’t need these, but if you want to use these on PC then definitely get these as the USB sound and RAZER Software is amazing, especially for music. The cooling is good but not a must. The main upgrades from the V2s are the noise cancelling and a clearer mic. The ear cups are now oval and no longer removable but do have the cooling gel.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Marcos Ramirez – November 3, 2023

   Personalmente quería muchísimo estos audifonos gamer durante mucho tiempo, aproveché una promoción y puedo decir que fue la mejor desición que pude haber tomado.
   Anteriormente he usado otro tipo de marcas como Yeyian, GameFactor y HyperX, pero estos por su precio, comodidad y calidad salen ganando y por mucho.
   Soy una persona de cabeza grande y por eso he tenido muchos problemas al momento de buscar unos headset que sean comodos y se adapten a mi figura, estos cumplieron ampliamente con lo que quería, se adaptan y regresan a su forma original sin problema alguno.
   El audio 7.1 es buenísimo, juego frecuentemente Warzone y me ha servido muchísimo para poder localizar demás jugadores por medio del sonido sondround.
   Vivo en Yucatán, es un lugar muy muy caluroso, cosa que me ha causado problemas con otros headset que he usado, todo por sus almohadillas de vinipiel o plastico, estos cuentan con una tela y material termico que les puedo dar mi palabra que nunca he sudado con estos audifonos puestos.

   En definitiva una joyita y una chulada, como diria Oscar de La Capital 😎👍

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   David – November 9, 2023

   I bought this on impulse because I needed a new headset, I’m 14 at the time of buying this and have been looking at Razer stuff for months, and I already bought the Wolverine V2, (Great controller if you’re thinking of buying it) and decided to buy the Kraken TE while it was on sale because nobody in my family understands “don’t buy turtle beach headsets because they don’t last long” (and I’m right about that because every year they have to buy me a new headset every year because they always break for no reason) let me just say, I LOVE IT, it feels comfortable, cooling pads last long, it feels sturdy, and a fantastic microphone I haven’t used THX yet because it is NOT usable on Xbox and I see everyone saying thats a problem, and I bet that the people complaining about that don’t read the description OR they have no idea how software works on consoles and that they are locked down, anyways, you should definitely buy this if you want a good feeling headset, with a great mic, and fantastic audio quality.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   RC bashr – November 13, 2023

   This is a great headset so far. I cannot go much into longevity, but as long as you don’t step on them they should be fine for years. The build quality is super great, the green is an awesome color. It feels solid and the size adjustments are solid. Unlike other brands, These have a metal (spring?) band thing for adjustment, and so they should be a bit stronger based on how the mount can be designed. They are pretty lightweight too, super comfy. I have not had nice headsets before so I cannot comment on sound quality compared to other high end ones, however it sounds great listening to music, and the surround sound is great for gaming. The mic works fine and it is crisp and clear. Especially if you can pick them up for $55 on black Friday/prime day, these are excellent value.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Ken Kriner – November 25, 2023

   I am no stranger to gaming headsets. I have owned a few of varying quality. But when this one appeared under my tree this Christmas, I knew I had something interesting on my hands. I was gifted the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition headset. I could tell that this was unlike any headset I’d had before, much more complex and advanced. So I knew I could not be fast to review it. So I pushed it back a week and some days. I spent that time playing with the headphones, testing them, putting them through their paces, and seeing how they compare to other headsets I own.

   I am reviewing these, not just as a dedicated gaming headset, but also as regular, everyday headphones. Now yes, it does seem unlikely that someone would spend the money for a gaming headset for non gaming uses, but I guess it COULD happen. I have met people who use gaming equipment for non gaming purposes. But anyway, did Santa give me a blessing? Or a burden? Let’s find out.

   First off, let’s talk about comfort. I have said this before, but the first thing that headphones need to get right is comfort, as sound quality is null and void if they cannot be worn. And these? Well, they go above what other headsets have. The ear cups, for example, have cooling gel inside them, and hidden divots for glasses so they won’t put pressure on them. The headband is designed to not put too much pressure on your head. Clearly, these are meant to be worn for long periods of time. The one thing I noticed is that my ears tend to get hot when I wear these for a while, but I guess it can’t be helped.

   I can say with certainty that these are very comfortable. I am very particular about my headphones. I have big ears but prefer that my headphones totally encase them, and boy was I happy when I found out these do. I could easily wear these for hours, so that’s a win for Razer. I find myself adjusting them on occasion, but I’ll admit that’s more of a me thing than anything else.

   Next, sound quality, both for hearing and speaking. But before I mention that, I should talk about what is included in the box. There is a USB dongle in the box, and this has a headphone jack for the headphones. When plugged in, it will install some programs on your computer. These are to manage the headphones, and we’ll get back to that later. The dongle has buttons to do things such as mute the mic, increase or decrease the volume, turn on the surround sound (again, more on this later), set the volume between the chat and the game, and turn the bass up or down (I have no idea what this means, sorry).

   However, there is also a volume dial on the cord of the headphones. When I first got the headphones, I was noticing that the video I was watching was barely audible, and then I accidentally jostled the dial and blasted out my eardrums. Once I figured this out though, it was smooth sailing.

   I should also mention that these have a combined mic and headphones dongle, meaning that if a device you want to plug them into has the separate jacks, you will need to purchase a Y Splitter to be able to use both the mic and headphones. My capture card has these separate jacks and I used a splitter on it, and to my surprise both the sound and my voice came through, so nice work!

   Now, how’s the sound quality? Well, when watching Youtube videos with these on, it sounds like the person talking is in the room with me, very clear and crisp. I was using these on a voice chat, and was told that my voice sounded clear, so that’s also good. So, what can you use these on? I tried these on various devices. Alongside my computer, I also used them on my cell phone, my PS4, my Switch, my Xbox One, and various handheld game systems. All of them worked great, except for the Xbox one. When I plugged these into the Xbox One Controller, an icon on screen showed that the system knew a headset was hooked up, but no matter what I tried, I could not get the system to play the sound in the headset. It says on the front of the box that these will work for Xbox One, but to me that should mean that there will be no hassle in getting them to work. So sadly, that’s gonna cost it a star. If I somehow find a way to do that, I will put the star back.

   Now let’s talk about those programs I mentioned earlier. They allow you to modify the headphones and mic, such as how much background noise is allowed in. I tested this personally, my desktop computer is a bit noisy. So I set the background noise all the way to zero and did a recording of my voice. I could ONLY hear my voice, so good on Razer there. Another nifty feature is the surround sound, which you can toggle in the program. Surround sound is where you hear the sound from where it would be in the game.

   For example, if you’re playing a first person shooter and someone was walking behind and to the right of you. If you had the normal sound on, you would just hear the footsteps, but with surround sound, you hear their footsteps behind your right shoulder. Real quick, before we move on, if you have the dongle plugged in but no sound is coming from the computer, you will just hear static. That may be a problem to some but I personally found it relaxing, as I am the type who listens to white noise to help them sleep.

   Another area of review is sound blocking. You want your headphones to tune out the world around you so you can focus on your game. And with the mic off, they do well at that. I was using these and someone was trying to talk to me. It took several tries for me to realize they were trying to talk to me, so good job there too. Also, the mic itself can be retracted or pulled out, but either way it picks up my voice just fine.

   So that’s the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Headset. And I can now claim this as my favorite headset ever. They are very comfortable and work really well, they have become my main gaming headphones, and I could see myself using them for a while. While I can’t say you should buy them if you don’t plan on using them for things other than regular headset use, I could say if you are into online gaming and want a good headset, this is a good choice. The one flaw I find with them is the lack of Xbox One compatibility when it says that on the box, but aside from that, it works great. I’d recommend these, easily. Good on you, Razer, happy user right here!

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Fiona M – November 30, 2023

   Funciona muy bien gracias al controlador de audio THX, el sonido en juegos es muy bueno resalta más los pasos en shooters, el micrófono es bueno pero no de lo mejor es para jugar cortos periodos de tiempo ya que al ser de metal pesan un poco y cansa el cuello.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Michael Caine – December 9, 2023

   Feels amazing and sounds are epic quality