Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed True Wireless  Headphones Review

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed look a lot like the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro as they have a black stem design. They're mostly made of shiny black plastic but have Razer's RGB Chroma lighting on the face of the buds. You can customize the lighting to your liking via the companion app. The buds themselves only come in a 'Black' colorway, though.

These headphones are decently comfortable. They fit and feel similarly to other buds in the Hammerhead lineup. The tips don't have a deep in-ear fit and are comfortable once you have a proper seal. They also come in three differently sized pairs to help you get the best fit. The stem is long, which can get in the way, especially if you wear long, bulky earrings. The shape of the buds can also press up against your outer ear after some time. If you don't like stemmed buds and prefer a more comfortable fit, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are a worthwhile alternative.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed have a good touch-sensitive control scheme. By default, most of the controls can be done by either bud, but you can change them independently if you prefer a different layout. There are voice prompts to let you know when you've registered a command and beeps to let you know when you've reached min and max volume. Unfortunately, if you want voice assistant support, you must swap out one of the other commands. Registering certain commands, like volume control, is also tricky, as the touch-sensitive surface doesn't always recognize the input. Tapping the buds seems loud in your ears, too.

On the left bud:

• Double tap and hold: Lowers the volume.

On the right bud:

• Double tap and hold: Raises the volume.

On either bud:

• Single tap: Plays and pauses audio.
• Double tap: Skips the track forward. Also answers calls or switches to a different call.
• Triple tap: Switches between Bluetooth and the USB dongle.
• Triple tap and hold: Activates 'Game Mode', which is a low latency mode via Bluetooth.
• Hold for a few seconds: Activates ANC. Also rejects calls.

These buds are pretty portable. They're lightweight and can easily fit into most bags or pockets without an issue.

The carrying case is good. It's mostly made of plastic and is easy to open and close. It feels sturdy enough to survive accidental drops and falls.

These buds feel well-built. They're mostly made of plastic with silicone ear tips. They're also certified IPX4 for resistance against water splashes, making them feel durable enough for a jog in the park or walking in the rain. That said, the ear tips can rip over time.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed have a stable in-ear fit. It takes a bit of finessing to get a good seal, but once they're in, they're quite stable and won't fall out during a run in the park or exercise.

• Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed earbuds
• 3x silicone ear tips
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• USB extension cable
• USB-C dongle
• Razer stickers
• Manuals

These buds have a somewhat balanced sound profile using the THX EQ preset. They pack an even bass, but dialogue and instruments sound thin and hollow due to dips in the mid and treble range. Their sound is still versatile enough for various audio content, though. If you prefer a different sound, you can fine-tune them using their companion app's graphic EQ and presets.

We had problems getting a good fit into our test rig's ears. As a result, the right five passes show a lot more inconsistencies in audio delivery than the left. However, we don't expect you to have nearly the same issues as us in real-life use. It can take some time to get a good fit, but once they're in, you'll experience consistent sound delivery each time you use them.

These buds have outstanding bass accuracy. The response is very flat and neutral. Although they lack a bit of thump and rumble due to the underemphasized low-bass, they still deliver adequate punch and warmth to help emphasize sound effects like footsteps.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro Hyperspeed have great mid accuracy. The low to mid-mid are underemphasized, which results in a thinner sound with vocals and instruments pushed to the back of the mix. This isn't as noticeable with very dialogue-heavy games, like Disco Elysium, but if there's also a soundtrack and sound effects present in the mix, voices sound recessed. The high-mid is neutral, so vocals and instruments are still adequately bright.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed have good treble accuracy. The response is underemphasized, resulting in veiled vocals and instruments, while sibilants like cymbals are dull.

The peaks and dips performance of these buds is good. For the most part, the peaks and dips are minor, which means that the headphones can reproduce their sound profile fairly well. That said, a dip in the low-mid affects the right driver more prominently and thins the mix, while a peak in the high-mid makes vocals and instruments sound harsh. A following dip in the low-treble veils vocals and instruments while a peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.

Razer's products tend to have good imaging performances, although some over-ears we've tested, like the Razer Kraken V3, have had issues. Imaging varies across units and indicates a manufacturer's quality control and ergonomics. Our unit's L/R drivers are well-matched in group delay, ensuring tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. They're also matched regarding frequency and amplitude response, which helps ensure a stable stereo image. However, there is some phase mismatch present in the mid-range. This causes lower-range and deeper voices to sound recessed and further away from the center. Conversely, higher-pitched female voices and instruments with a higher frequency range, like pianos, are skewed to the right. The peak in the phase response's low-bass is less thumpy, too, but it's more difficult to spot with real-life content.

The passive soundstage performance of these buds is bad, but that's normal for in-ear headphones. Sound needs to interact with your outer ear to create a wide and immersive soundstage. By design, earbuds bypass your outer ear, so their soundstage seems closed-off and small.

These headphones have THX certification, which the manufacturer advertises to ensure users a balanced frequency response, low distortion, and solid seal for noise isolation. They also have a THX EQ preset found in their companion app. However, both features aren't true 7.1 or multi-channel virtual surround support.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed's weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. All frequencies fall within good levels, producing clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones; our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The noise isolation performance is very good. Like the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro, they have noise cancelling (ANC) but can block out more background noise. They can tackle the low rumble of bus engines, ambient chatter, and the high-pitched hum of an AC unit. It's less powerful than popular casual use buds like the Apple AirPods Pro 2. Alternatively, if you're looking for earbuds with ANC and a wireless USB dongle, the ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova offer similar functionality.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed's leakage performance is great. Audio bleed is mostly concentrated in the treble range, which sounds thin. That said, if you're listening to audio at very high volumes, it's unlikely that people around you will be bothered by it.

The integrated mic's recording quality is decent. Your voice is bright and clear but sounds unnatural. You won't have an issue being understood clearly, though.

The mic's noise handling performance is great. It can separate your voice from background noise. Even when there are very loud sounds, like a passing train, which can slightly muffle your voice, speech is still easy to follow.

The battery performance of these buds is alright. The manufacturer advertises three hours of playback time with the ANC and RGB Chroma lighting on, but if you're looking to reduce battery drain, turning ANC and RGB lighting off can give up to four hours of playback time. We tested the headphones with ANC on but RGB lighting off; we measured just over five hours. If you need gaming buds with a longer continuous battery life performance, it's worth checking out the Sony INZONE Buds Truly Wireless or the ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova. Battery life varies depending on use, including what active features you're using and what volume you're listening to.

These buds have an auto-pause feature once you take the buds out of your ears. They also turn off after a few minutes of sensing no activity. Their carrying case supplies an extra four charges if you need it too.

The Razer Audio app is decent, and you can see a video of it in action here. The app can be frustrating as it took us some tries to pair our headphones with it. Switching between Bluetooth and the wireless dongle was also finicky at best, and sometimes, it wouldn't even reconnect to our Android device, causing us to have to unpair and re-pair our device. Re-pairing to a new phone is also unreliable.

This app allows you to adjust the ANC, access a graphic EQ and presets, and customize the RGB chroma settings. You can also access the Earbud Fit Test, as well as a Game Mode, which helps to lower latency via Bluetooth.

These headphones have a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging the carrying case. They also come with an extension cable. Both cables are 23.6 in (or 60 cm) in length.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed have decent Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, you can't use the dongle and Bluetooth simultaneously, as the headphones will drop one connection in favor of the other. By default, their Bluetooth latency is quite high on PCs. They also have a Game Mode that helps lower latency within good values. Our Bluetooth SBC latency values reflect this mode. However, their line of sight range is very short when using this mode, so you'll need to be near your device to continue receiving audio. For even less latency while gaming, you'll want to use their wireless dongle instead. If you're looking for gaming earbuds that support multi-device pairing with their dongle and Bluetooth, you might prefer the Sony PULSE Explore Truly Wireless.

If lower latency is a bigger priority than a wireless connection, consider the Razer Moray instead. These in-ear monitors have a wired connection and thus negligible latency. However, this limits their range of motion since you're attached to your PC or game controller via an AUX cable.

These headphones come with a USB-C dongle, which ensures a fairly low-latency gaming experience.

The Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed can wirelessly connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full compatibility. You can also use their USB-C dongle for audio and mic compatibility.

These buds can connect to your PlayStation console when you're using the USB dongle. You'll have full audio and mic compatibility.

These buds come with a USB-C dongle for wireless compatibility. It doesn't have any inputs. They also come with a charging case that supports Qi wireless charging. It has a USB-C port for charging the case, which holds roughly four charges.