Razer’s Barracuda X headphones (the OG) were released last year to great success; they solved quite a simple problem but an important one, letting gamers quickly and easily switch between consoles or PC inputs while gaming.
Razer has chosen to follow up the ‘OG’ with a new Razer Barracuda Pro branded model, which aims to top last year’s headset with the same ease of use and better sound quality.
That said, it’s not cheap. US$250 can buy you quite a lot of audio oomph these days, and these premium cans from Razer will have to face off against the likes of Sony and Bose at that price.
Fortunately, Razer isn’t playing games… (Geddit? Because they do gaming peripherals?)
Razer Barracuda Pro: How do they sound?
Razer has upgraded the Barracuda Pro with 50mm drivers (that’s 20% more drive for your buck than the OG pair).
There’s also a beamforming microphone that offers noise cancellation – minus the silly microphone sticking out the side (although, if you do fancy a boom mic then you can always slot one into the side).
The headphones do sound rather good; obviously they are tuned for gaming – which is very when different to listening to your favourite gaming soundtrack – but that’s easily solved using Razer’s hand configuration app.
A bit more about those drivers, they are made from bio-cellulose. Impressed yet? Wait, you don’t know what that even means? Neither do we, but apparently that helps reduce harmonic distortion for sweeter sounds.
Razer Barracuda Pro: X factor
The key feature here is Razer’s SmartSwitch Dual Wireless technology. That lets these cans connect to up to two devices simultaneously that can be switched between by double-tapping the dedicated button.
That makes going from one console to your PC or your phone a bit of a doddle. And a key feature for the multitasking gamer.
Razer Barracuda Pro: Verdict
Razer is known to be a great gaming peripheral maker and does good headphones to boot. However, this marks the first time that that Razer has chosen to take on the big boys of Beats, Bose and Sony (at least with this pricepoint).
Fortunately, it holds its own; they look good and sound good, and pack a killer feature that not many others have: that switcheroo technology.