- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Razer Opus are very good over-ear ANC headphones that offer an excellent price-to-performance ratio. Unlike most of Razer's products that are designed with gaming in mind, these are casual ANC headphones meant for day-to-day use. They feel very comfortable and well-built and are even stable enough for light workouts. They last almost 33 hours off a single charge, which is great, and we tested low latency when watching YouTube videos on an Android device. Their sound profile is very accurate and well-balanced, making them versatile enough for most genres and content, and you can change their sound profile via a graphic EQ and presets within their companion app. Their ANC is outstanding, and they do a remarkable job of blocking out all background noises, including the low rumble of bus or plane engines.
Update 05/10/2021: Razer has released an updated variant of these headphones. There have been user discussions regarding the new changes, which include moving the physical controls to the right ear cup, upgrading Bluetooth from 4.2 to 5.0, and improving their continuous battery life performance. However, we haven't currently tested this variant and we don't know how it performs compared to our model.
Our Verdict
The Razer Opus are good headphones for neutral sound listening. They have a very well-balanced and accurate sound profile out-of-the-box that's versatile enough for all genres or content. You can also customize the way they sound via a graphic EQ or presets within their companion app. They're decently consistent among various users or reseats, though you may have to adjust them slightly to experience their treble the same every time you use them.
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Well-balanced and versatile sound profile.
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Dedicated companion app gives access to graphic EQ and presets.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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Slightly uneven treble range may be piercing to some listeners.
The Razer Opus are great headphones for commuting and travel. Their ANC works exceptionally well and does a remarkable job of blocking out the low rumble of bus or plane engines. They're very comfortable, last nearly 33 hours off a single charge, and have easy to use physical buttons to control your music.
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Outstanding ANC.
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Very comfortable and well-built design.
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Easy-to-use physical buttons.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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Can't be used while charging.
The Razer Opus are good headphones for sports. While they'll likely fall off during more intense workouts, they feel stable enough to use while jogging or running. They're comfortable to wear during long runs, though their over-ear design will cause your ears to get warm after a while.
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Very comfortable and well-built design.
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Easy-to-use physical buttons.
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Stable fit.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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Over-ear design may cause you to sweat more than usual.
The Razer Opus are good headphones for the office. They do an outstanding job at blocking out background chatter, and they don't leak very much audio. They last nearly 33 hours off a single charge, which should get you through almost an entire workweek, and they're comfortable enough to wear all day without causing fatigue.
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Outstanding ANC.
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Very comfortable and well-built design.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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No multi-device pairing.
The Razer Opus can only connect wirelessly via Bluetooth and therefore, aren't compatible with PS4 or Xbox One. They're compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs or mobile devices, but their latency is likely too high for competitive gaming.
The Razer Opus are good headphones for wired gaming. Thanks to their TRRS audio cable, their integrated microphone works while wired, making them compatible with both Xbox One and PS4. They're comfortable enough for long gaming sessions, and last a long time off a single charge. Unfortunately, their integrated microphone doesn't perform as well as most boom mics found on dedicated gaming headphones, though your voice still sounds decently full-bodied and clear.
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Very comfortable and well-built design.
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Integrated microphone can be used wired.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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Fully compatible with both PS4 and Xbox One.
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Mediocre microphone performance.
The Razer Opus are mediocre headphones for phone calls. Their integrated mic and good controls mean you can easily answer a phone call while on-the-go, but your voice only sounds decently full-bodied and clear. Your voice also gets drowned out in most noisy environments, like a subway station.
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Outstanding ANC.
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Easy-to-use physical buttons.
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Excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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Mediocre microphone performance.
- 8.0 Neutral Sound
- 8.2 Commute/Travel
- 7.4 Sports/Fitness
- 7.9 Office
- 6.1 Wireless Gaming
- 7.7 Wired Gaming
- 7.0 Phone Calls
- Updated Jun 29, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
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Test Results
The Razer Opus have a sleek and straightforward design that looks very similar to the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, but with oval-shaped ear cups. Unlike most Razer gaming products, they aren't too flashy and don't feature Razer's usual logo or any RGB lighting. We tested the Midnight Blue version which is a very dark and subtle blue color, but they're also available in black.
The Razer Opus are very comfortable headphones. They feel almost identical to the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, and while they clamp the head a bit tighter, it's not too noticeable.
The Razer Opus have a good control scheme with physical buttons that are easy to use. Unfortunately, there's no audio feedback for most controls, and you only hear beeps when pairing the headphones, turning them on/off, or turning ANC on/off. On the bright side, the physical buttons are clicky and it's easy to tell when you've pressed them.
The Razer Opus are similar in size to most popular over-ear headphones and are fairly bulky overall. On the bright side, the ear cups fold into a more compact shape, and they come with a hard carrying case so you can easily toss them into most larger bags.
The Razer Opus come with a good hard carrying case that should easily protect the headphones from scratches, water damage, and most minor drops or bumps. It's somewhat bulky but should fit into most larger bags or luggage.
The Razer Opus look and feel very durable and well-built. They feel slightly cheaper than the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, but it's a minimal difference that likely won't be noticeable to most people. Overall they feel like they should be able to withstand most drops and bumps without sustaining too much damage.
The Razer Opus feel quite stable on the head, and only move or fall off with larger head movements. Due to their tighter fit, they feel more secure and stable than the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. They're a good choice if you want a pair of over-ear headphones for jogs or runs.
- Razer Opus headphones
- 1/8" TRRS audio cable
- USB-C to USB-C cable
- USB-C to USB-A adapter
- Airline adapter
- Manuals
- Hard carrying case
- Small soft pouch for cables
The Razer Opus have a very well-balanced and accurate default sound profile that's versatile enough for all genres and content. However, fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM or hip-hop may find they lack a bit of bass compared to most popular headphones.
The frequency response consistency of these headphones is decent. Different people may experience their bass response slightly differently, but it likely won't be too noticeable. However, you'll likely have to adjust them on your head to hear their treble reproduction the same every time you wear them.
The bass accuracy of the Razer Opus is excellent. They lack a tiny bit of thump and kick which may bother fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM, but the entire range is quite even and consistent.
These headphones have a remarkably accurate and well-balanced mid-range. The entire range follows our target curve almost perfectly, resulting in clear and present vocals and instruments that don't sound muddy, harsh, or dull.
The treble accuracy of these headphones is good. While some vocals or lead instruments may be slightly dull, it isn't too noticeable, and most of the range is quite even and consistent. Some higher frequency sounds may be slightly piercing and painful, though it's in a high enough range that most people likely won't notice.
The peaks and dips performance of the Razer Opus is great. The only large peak is in the mid/high treble range and may cause some sounds to be painful and piercing in comparison to the well-balanced low-treble range. That being said, this is at a high-enough frequency that it likely won't be noticeable to most people.
The imaging performance of the Razer Opus is excellent. The entire group delay response is well within the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Our test unit's L/R drivers are also extremely well-matched, creating a stereo image with accurate placement and localization of objects (such as voices, instruments, and video game effects). However, these results are only valid for our unit, and they may not be the same for every pair.
Like with most closed-back, over-ear headphones, the soundstage of the Razer Opus is poor. Our tests show a good amount of pinna activation, suggesting a relatively large-sized soundstage. However, the low accuracy of the response also suggests that this soundstage is perceived as being located inside the head, resulting in a slightly unnatural feel.
The Razer Opus have a THX virtual surround feature, though we don't test the performance.
The weighted harmonic distortion performance of the Razer Opus is decent. Overall, most frequencies fall within good limits, resulting in fairly clear and pure audio reproduction.
These are the settings used to test these headphones, therefore our results are only valid when using these settings.
The noise isolation performance of the Razer Opus is outstanding. Their ANC (active noise cancelling) works extremely well and they do a remarkable job at blocking out the low rumble of bus or plane engines. They're also superb at blocking out background chatter, as well as the high-pitched sounds of an AC unit or fan. Overall, the ANC performs extremely well and is similar to the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018.
The leakage of these headphones is good. Even at higher volumes, the amount of audio leakage is below the noise floor of an average office. This means you can listen to music fairly loudly without bothering your coworkers or people sitting nearby.
The Razer Opus have an integrated microphone.
The recording quality of the microphone is alright. Your voice sounds natural and decently full-bodied, without being too muffled or distorted.
Since these Bluetooth headphones have an adaptive microphone, their noise handling score indicates lower performance that you’ll achieve in real-world usage. Despite scoring a 2.9, the mic does a mediocre job at separating your voice from background noise in moderately loud environments. When listening to the audio clips, speech can still somewhat be heard, though it gets fairly drowned out in very noisy situations. If you're looking for over-ears with a mic that performs better in noisy settings, check out the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless.
The battery performance of the Razer Opus is excellent. Despite advertising 25 hours of battery life, our unit lasts nearly 33 hours from a single charge with ANC turned on, which is longer than that of the Wyze Noise-Cancelling Headphones Wireless. They also feature an auto-off timer to help conserve even more battery life. Unfortunately, while they charge faster than advertised, they still take around 3.5 hours, which is a long time, and you can't use them while charging, which is a shame.
The dedicated companion app for the Razer Opus is good. While it doesn't give too many customization options, it does allow you to change the headphone's sound profile with a graphic EQ as well as presets. You can also turn the auto-off timer on/off. However, unlike the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless, you can't adjust the ANC as that can only be turned on or off manually via a physical button on the headphones themselves.
The Bluetooth connectivity of these headphones is okay. Their PC latency is fairly low, and you shouldn't notice too much lag while watching videos, though they likely won't be a good choice for competitive gaming. While watching YouTube videos on Android, they have very low latency and you shouldn't notice any sync issues, but unfortunately, their latency is much higher when watching YouTube videos on an iPhone. It's worth mentioning that apps and devices seem to compensate for latency differently, so your mileage may vary with real-life usage.
The Razer Opus don't support any wireless connection other than Bluetooth.
These headphones come with a 1/8" TRRS audio cable, but unfortunately, they can't transfer audio via USB.
Because these headphones can be used with the included 1/8" TRRS cable, these headphones are fully compatible with Xbox One while wired.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Razer Opus Wireless come in two color variants: 'Black' and 'Midnight Blue'. There's also a limited edition variant with Razer-green graphics designed by A Bathing Ape. We tested the 'Black' variant but we expect all color variants to perform similarly to our model. Razer has also released an updated variant with a few different changes. These headphones only have physical controls on their right ear cup and no longer have a dedicated ANC control button. They also support Bluetooth 5.0 and are advertised to have a longer continuous battery life. However, we don't know how this variant performs compared to our model.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the discussion section below, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Razer Opus offer an excellent price-to-performance ratio when compared to similar models from other brands. Unlike most Razer products, the Opus aren't designed with gaming in mind and are meant to be day-to-day casual use headphones. They perform very similarly to the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 and perform much better than most other ANC headphones in the same price range. Check out our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones, the best noise cancelling headphones under $200, and the best over-ear headphones.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better headphones for neutral sound than the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless. The Razer's default sound profile is more neutral than the Sony, though some listeners may prefer the Sony's more bass-heavy sound. The Razer have a more stable fit, and they leak less noise. On the other hand, the Sony have a somewhat better noise isolation performance, and their integrated mic performs better in noisier environments.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better for most uses than the Beats Solo Pro Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, have a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer, and their ANC does a significantly better job of blocking out ambient noise around you. They also have longer-lasting continuous battery life, and their companion app has a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound to your liking.
The Razer Opus Wireless are slightly better over-ear headphones than the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. The Razer feel a bit more stable on the head, despite being just as comfortable as the Sony. They also have longer battery life and a more accurate sound profile out-of-the-box, though they lack quite a bit of bass. While the ANC on the Opus is still outstanding, the Sony performs a bit better. You also get more customization options in Sony's companion app, but both apps feature a graphic EQ and presets. While some people may prefer the Sony's touch-sensitive controls, they don't work properly in the cold, so those who live in colder climates may prefer the Razer's physical buttons.
The Razer Opus Wireless and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 are both good over-ear headphones for most uses. The Bose are more comfortable, have a better microphone, and support multi-device pairing so you can easily switch between two devices. On the other hand, the Razer have a better ANC feature, a better-balanced default sound profile, a better companion app with EQ settings, and easier-to-use controls.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better headphones than the Anker Soundcore Life Q30. The Razer are more comfortable, feel better-built, and have a more neutral sound profile right out-of-the-box. They can also isolate more noise around you and have an auto-off timer to help conserve battery life when they're not in use. However, the Anker offer different settings for their ANC and can be paired with up to two devices at a time.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better headphones for mixed usage than the Bose 700 Headphones Wireless. Both headphones are equally comfortable, but the physical controls on the Razer are easier to use than the touch-sensitive controls found on the Bose 700. The Razer's battery also lasts significantly longer at over 32 hours. On the other hand, the ANC of the Bose 700 works quite a bit better, especially against very low engine rumbles. The Bose also have a significantly better microphone, which can be important if you take a lot of phone calls.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better over-ear headphones than the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, stable, and are better-built. The Razer have a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box and have a significantly better ANC performance. However, the Anker have a better overall microphone performance and a longer continuous battery life. They also can be paired with up to two devices at a time.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better over-ear headphones than the Jabra Elite 85h Wireless. Both headphones have a well-balanced sound profile, but the Razer are more stable on the head and look and feel more durable. They also have a significantly better ANC feature and are fully compatible with both PS4 and Xbox One when used wired. On the other hand, the Jabra have a better microphone, have a slightly longer battery life, support multi-device pairing, and have a better companion app with more customization options.
The Razer Opus Wireless and the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless are two different kinds of headphones designed for different uses. While the Opus are ANC headphones designed for casual day-to-day use, the Arctis Pro are wireless gaming headphones with a wireless base station that plugs into your TV or gaming console. The Razer Opus have an excellent ANC feature that helps block out background noise during your daily commute or while in the office, and their well-balanced sound profile is versatile enough for most genres and content. On the other hand, the boom microphone of the Arctis Pro performs significantly better, and they can be used wirelessly for gaming. Overall, the Arctis are a better choice if you want gaming headphones, but the Opus are the way to go if you want casual daily-use headphones.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better for mixed usage than the Sony WH-H910N/h.ear on 3 Wireless. The Razer reduce the volume of ambient noise with greater effectiveness, feel more comfortable and better-built, and offer a more consistent and balanced listening experience. They're also more versatile on a wired connection, as they have 1/8” TRRS audio cable with microphone compatibility, so they can be used to chat with teammates online or to answer phone calls while wired. On the other hand, the Sony have a better integrated mic and a marginally easier-to-use control scheme, not to mention a slightly longer battery life, though that comes at the cost of a longer charging time.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better over-ear headphones than the Drop + THX Panda Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, better-built, and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also have an active noise cancelling system that does an outstanding job of blocking out background noise, and you can customize their sound profile using their companion app's graphic EQ and presets. However, the Drop can connect with up to two devices at once, and you can still receive audio while they're charging.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better over-ear headphones than the Sony WH-H900N/h.ear on 2 Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, have better controls, and feel more durable and stable. They also have a longer-lasting battery that charges much quicker, have a slightly better-balanced sound profile, and a significantly better ANC feature. That said, the Sony have a better companion app that offers more customization options.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better over-ear headphones than the JBL Live 660NC Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, better-built, and have a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer. They also have a better-performing ANC, which does an outstanding job of cutting down ambient noise around you. However, the JBL's companion app offers a parametric EQ, which some users may prefer, and you can pair them with up to two devices at a time.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better than the Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless. The Razer are more comfortable, better-built, and more stable. They have a hard case, more customization features, and better noise isolation and leakage performances. Their sound profile is more neutral than the Skullcandy's bass-heavy sound. However, the Skullcandy have a haptic bass slider, which may be preferred if you like a bass-heavy sound.
The Razer Opus Wireless are better headphones than the Skullcandy Hesh ANC Wireless. The Razer are significantly more comfortable, better-built, and their sound profile is more neutral. If you prefer a different sound, their companion app also has a graphic EQ and presets to help tweak their sound. Their active noise cancelling feature significantly reduces ambient noise around you too and they have longer continuous battery life.