Razer Kraken X Headphones Review

The Razer Kraken X look quite similar to the manufacturer's other gaming headsets, especially the Razer Kraken USB. They have large, circular ear cups that feature Razer’s logo on each side and a wide headband. They have a slightly more casual look than the Razer Kraken Pro V2 or the Razer Pro Tournament Edition since they’re a bit less bulky, but they’re still large headphones. They’re available in an all-black design or with blue accents.

These are decently comfortable headphones. They’re a bit bulky and their headband feels tight, clamping down a bit on the head. Thankfully, they have thick ear cup padding that helps distribute pressure well around the ears. Their headband is also decently padded and they’re very lightweight, so they don’t feel uncomfortably heavy. They may not be ideal for your longest gaming marathons, but they’re comfortable enough for more casual gaming sessions. If you want a more comfortable pair of gaming headphones, check out the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2020.

The Razer Kraken X have a sub-par physical control scheme. It's easy to use but somewhat limited in overall functionality. There's a volume wheel and mic mute button on the left ear cup. The mic button feels clicky, but the volume wheel doesn’t provide much tactile feedback since there are no distinct notches while scrolling. It’s lacking some more gaming-specific controls like channel mixing or call management as well as music playback controls that would be helpful for more casual use.

Like most over-ear gaming headphones, the Razer Kraken X have mediocre breathability. Their closed-back ear cups and thick leather-like pads prevent a lot of airflow, which causes a noticeable temperature difference during extended listening or gaming sessions. They can start warming up your ears after a couple of hours of casual use, and so they're likely to make your ears sweat if you wear them while exercising.

Like most gaming headphones, the Razer Kraken X have poor portability. Since they have a rigid headband, they can’t fold into a more compact format. Their large ear cups don’t swivel to lay flat, which makes them a bit of a hassle to carry around.

These headphones don’t come with a carrying case or pouch.

These over-ears have passable build quality. They're very similar in design to the Razer Kraken V3 X. The plastic in their build feels cheap and weak and the headband is very rigid, as though it could snap if the headset is twisted too far. The cable also feels a bit fragile, and it isn’t detachable, so if it breaks you have to replace the entire headset.

The Razer Kraken X have a stable fit. Their lightweight design fits securely on the head and doesn’t move around much unless you shake your head very vigorously. That said, their cable isn’t detachable, so if it gets caught on something, the headphones could get yanked off your head.

• Razer Kraken X headset
• Y-splitter
• Instruction manuals
• Surround sound 7.1 download promotional code

The Razer Kraken X have a dark, imbalanced sound profile. The bump across the high-bass range through low-mid range adds a slightly boomy quality to some mixes and can slightly muddy vocals and lead instruments, and the dip in the low treble range can veil the finer details of some higher notes.

The Razer Kraken X have sub-par frequency consistency performance. They're prone to variances in bass and treble delivery across different re-seats, especially if you have long hair or wear glasses.

The Razer Kraken X's bass accuracy is okay. It's lacking a bit of low-bass, which can rob some sound effects, not to mention EDM and hip-hop tracks, of thump and rumble. The overemphasized high-bass response can add some extra warmth, but it also adds a boomy, muddy quality to some mixes. That said, their bass delivery can vary drastically depending on their fit, seal, and positioning, so your experience may vary.

Their mid-range performance is impressive. The overemphasis in bass continues into the low-mid range, which can slightly muddy and clutter dialogue as well as vocals and lead instruments. The rest of the response is fairly even and well-balanced though, so vocals and lead instruments should sound present and detailed.

The Razer Kraken X have bad treble performance. Low-treble is severely underemphasized, resulting in a loss of clarity, detail, and articulation in vocals and lead instruments. There’s also a spike in the mid-treble range, which can make sibilants sound sharp and piercing on certain tracks. However, treble varies noticeably across users, so your experience may vary in the real world.

These headphones have disappointing peaks and dips performance. The bump in the high-bass range generates boominess in some mixes while the following dip in the low-mids thins out vocals and lead instruments. The bump in the mid-mids can create a slightly forward, boxy quality while the drop in the low-treble range lessens the clarity of vocals and lead instrumentals. The peak in the mid-treble range can make sibilants overly bright and piercing.

These over-ears have decent stereo imaging performance. Their weighted group falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. Additionally, the L/R drivers are well-matched in regards to amplitude and frequency response but severe phase mismatch is present. This has a slightly negative impact on their ability to accurately place and localize objects in the stereo image. It should be noted that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

Like most closed-back headphones, the Razer Kraken X have a disappointing passive soundstage. It should be perceived as being out of the head and somewhat large, but also fairly unnatural.

The Razer Kraken X don't have any virtual soundstage features.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is very good. There's some slight distortion in the low treble range at moderate volumes, but the rest of the frequency spectrum falls within good limits. This should ensure mostly clean and pure audio reproduction.

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

The Razer Kraken X have poor noise isolation. They don’t really block out any ambient noise in the bass range, like the rumble of plane and bus engines. They do slightly better with mid-range background noise, but you're still likely to hear some background chatter. Higher-pitched treble range ambient noise, such as the hum of an A/C unit, is mostly blocked out.

The Razer Kraken X have alright audio leakage performance. If you listen to content at high volumes in a quiet room, you may disrupt people nearby, but the bulk of escaping audio should be drowned out by the ambient noise of an average office.

The Razer Kraken X have a boom microphone.

The microphone has an excellent recording quality. Recorded speech sounds full-bodied, clear, and natural, but also slightly lacking in terms of brightness. The JBL Quantum 100 is a comparably-priced alternative that delivers similarly impressive microphone recording quality, though it should be noted that the JBL's boom microphone is detachable.

The boom microphone has excellent noise handling. People on the other end of the line should be able to understand you clearly, even in very noisy environments.

The Razer Kraken X don’t have a battery.

These headphones aren't compatible with any companion software. If you want a wired gaming headset with a good app, then consider the very similar Razer Kraken USB or the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition.

These headphones are wired and don't have a Bluetooth connection. If you want a wired gaming headset that also supports Bluetooth for use with your mobile devices, then check out the HyperX Cloud Mix Wireless.

The Razer Kraken X are wired-only.

The Razer Kraken X have a 1/8” TRRS audio cable that provides audio and microphone support when plugged into an AUX port. They also come with a Y-splitter headset for mic and audio compatibility with desktop PCs.

The Razer Kraken X provide full audio and microphone compatibility with Xbox One consoles when they're plugged into a controller.

The Razer Kraken X don’t come with a dock. For a gaming headset that comes with a wireless transmitter, consider the Logitech G933 Wireless or the Astro A20 Wireless.