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  • EzioAs - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    I really don't see myself buying any Razer peripherals for the foreseeable future. I think their main target is the people who buys things mostly on brand names and looks (like a lot of the people I know who never consider other brands (Logitech, Corsair, Sennheiser, Ducky, etc) ). To me, Razer is just like Beats (by Dre), they look fancy, but pricey and not-so impressive performance.
  • Yorgos - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    I agree with most of the things you stated but not about the looks.
    They are trying to make gamers like the guys in USA with the big rims, neon lights and fluorescent paint jobs on their cars.
    If you can't afford that kind of car, then get a razer product.
    All of the products from razer that my roommate used (deathadder and 2 keyboards - the last one with back-light). Each of those cost him 70$ each, he was struggling with the driver, every product was made out of regular plastic and when we wanted to open the mouse because the left click started to mull-function there was no screw to open it. We started praying that we won't break any plastic pin will we were trying to open it.

    I want to quote this from the article: "The Hammerhead is an in-ear-monitor (IEM) with 9mm Neodymium magnet dynamic drivers priced at $49.95, while the Pro adds an inline microphone for an extra $20"
    best way to market your products. \end of sarcasm
  • Arkive - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    To be fair, quote a few gamers (myself included) have tried a vast arsenal of mice/keyboards/keypads/headsets from Logitech to Steelseries. Razer products compete and continue to find a home on my desk for functional reasons - not aesthetic resons. I see what you're saying about their over-emphasis on stylized design, but the bottom line is that a lot of gamers like a consistent look across their devices. Also, having a single piece of software to configure all of your devices is attractive. And while the older Razer software was semi-flaky, the Synapse software has worked without a hitch for me (though I could live without the "cloud" functionality).
  • Xyfaz87 - Thursday, July 18, 2013 - link

    I like their keyboard and mouse. But headphone / headset / iem from Razer... I ditched the orca after I get myself a pair of T50P from beyerdynamic.
  • OrionAntares - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link

    Synapse is still extremely flaky. We bought a BlackWidow recently. Needed to make absolutely certain Synapse was in offline mode and didn't turn its online mode back on (which is did sometimes) to prevent the keyboard from lagging to "update" its settings. And the keyboard itself had issues were if someone just walked past it without tip-toeing it would brown out and reset itself.

    After a month of trying to deal with it we got rid of it can got a Logitech G710+. Have had zero issues with that or the related software for programming it.
  • tracysmalls - Monday, July 20, 2015 - link

    While I do agree that some of the bigger names like Logitech, Sennheiser, and Audio Technica don't receive the attention they deserve, in my opinion Razer is a decent brand with some decent products of their own. I own the Razer Hammerheads myself, and happen to love them. My previous earbuds were made by Sony, but they kept breaking - after a few sets I decided to make the switch on my last purchase. The Razer's are also highly rated here http://www.pricenfees.com/best-earbuds-under-50.ht... (up until finding this article I didn't even know Razer existed), and other online sources. For only $50, the Hammerheads deliver more than one should expect in terms of sound quality and durability. I've been holding out on buying anything new for a couple years now, I'm just waiting for them to develop something new and improved within the same price range as these.
  • pseudo7 - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    No graphs and charts makes me sad.

    I like anandtech's quantitative analysis as well as qualitative.
  • popej - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    I agree, this is not a technical review at all. Just personal impressions.
    Audio quality is measurable, not subjective like suggested here. I would expect rational and scientific approach form Anandtech.
  • karasaj - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    There is a reason it's listed as "impressions" and not "review."
  • popej - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    It ends with recommendation, doesn't it? Like a real test, which is not.
  • VivekGowri - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    I modeled this after the IEM reviews you find on Head-Fi, which is my go-to source for anything relating to headphones. There's only so much you can test with IEMs unless you're willing to basically deconstruct them for the sake of instrumentation. I just figured giving actual impressions would be more interesting than just "Razer made new headphones, they cost this much, the end." I didn't really make a recommendation, just that it's worth a look in addition to the generally popular/highest quality IEMs at the same pricepoint.
  • popej - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    If you strip anecdotes, subjective opinions and "worth a look" part, we are left with title, picture and price. There is not even basic technical specs, like impedance, bandwidth, distortion. If manufacturer doesn't provide them, then it is worth noting too, then we would know that it is not a serious product.
  • VivekGowri - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    Admittedly true, I definitely should have included those. That was without question a major oversight. Subjective opinions do matter though, the same way the subjective analysis of a notebook or smartphone's design matters tremendously, or the way a car subjectively feels to drive can often times matter far more than the outright performance numbers.

    Example: the Nissan GT-R performs better than a Ferrari 458, that doesn't make it better to drive and that's why the Ferrari is worth three times as much. Right? I get that we're all about objective numbers (and yes, as someone with a research-based graduate engineering degree, believe me I understand the value of data), but dismissing subjective analysis is just as bad.
  • popej - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    Subjective analysis can be dismissed without any regret. What you could do is objective analysis based on subjective assessments. And in case of audio this is very difficult problem, because perception is not a trivial process. Anyway this can be done and there are usable procedures, see for example ITU recommendation BS.1116.
  • evonitzer - Saturday, July 20, 2013 - link

    Wow. The chart fundamentalists came out in full force for this one. It's a single page overview, clearly, so I accept it as it is. Good stuff. Sometimes we need a brief, but reliable review saying a product is not crap. Thanks.
  • skykat989 - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    Shouldn't some part of these impressions address the use of these for gaming? How wide is the sound stage? How easy is it pick out which direction a sound is coming from?
  • Aegrum - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    You didn't mention what the connector looked like. One of the prime reasons it's been difficult to find a decent pair of in-ear portable gaming headphones was b/c almost every set with an in-line mic connects via the small in-line mic connector that also provides sound. For a gaming laptop, I have independent inputs for mic/sound, so I need a connector that services both. Do these connect the way most (larger) gaming headsets do via stereo+mic?
  • evonitzer - Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - link

    They come with an adapter to convert the usual smartphone 3.5mm headset into a PC style headset. I was going to suggest picking one up separately for ~$5, but it's cool Razer includes it.
  • Azethoth - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    Some questions: are they supported by http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/mobile-ph... and if so does the audyssey app compensate for the reproduction errors you encountered?

    Also, if you are not currently using the audyssey app, give it a shot and tell us if it improves things for you. I know it makes a large, actually discernable improvement, for AV receivers that use their software + mic. I am interested in how they fare with presets for mobile gear. I am unfortunately too old to test this myself (The screech Lite app tells me I am basically old and deaf, lucky to hear 16kHz, unable to be an audiophile).
  • Azethoth - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    PS: those guys may actually be able to point you in the direction of software and tests to run for headphones.
  • AncientWisdom - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    I want to point out that the Razer Carcharias are also very good for their street price, especially when considering this is a headset which you usually get rubbish sound quality from compared to headphone. Their looks aren't too bad either - we purchased two for the office for use in Skype and watching the occasional video tutorial etc.

    I also like this review despite lack of objective information, please do keep posting interesting audio products like this.
  • Bobs_Your_Uncle - Thursday, July 18, 2013 - link

    I appreciated your overview Vivek, & "I am unanimous in that". While reading I was given over to the thought that your descriptive styling would mesh very comfortably with many such user reviews to be found on Head-Fi (which you of course referenced later in comments).

    Numeric specs indeed do have a place but, as you rightly note, audio is experiential and just simply resides in a realm that is unavoidably & unambiguously subjective. Numbers provide a great referential context for SSD performance, but by themselves numbers just don't sound "warm" or "sibilant" or....

    Regarding numerical specs, charts & graphs, the most credible & authoritative reviewers (e.g. Tyll Hertsens @ InnerFidelity) always generate independent spec reports using calibrated bench equipment; a rather cumbersome process (I'm presuming) for a brief Pipeline post. Sure, you could have listed Razer's numbers, but, well...I'll just say that I used to work in marketing.

    FWIW, I'd *really* like to see more audio-centric coverage along these lines. With the advent of Haswell, all of the various board mfgs. appear to be highlighting an increased emphasis on high quality audo/audiophile grade sound reproduction, each with their own approach. Any step is progress if it serves to educate away from the "Dre Beats Mindset" & promotes a Sennheiser/Stax/Grado kind of grove.
  • popej - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link

    You think measurements are cumbersome? No, they are easy, fast and quickly reveal quality of device. Really cumbersome are properly done listening tests. This is one of reasons we don't see many of them. Other is that results are boring. Proper tests simply show that human hearing is not as good as human imagination, which is basis of subjective impressions, when senses don't deliver meaningful data. Actually nothing wrong with that, this is how human perception works. There is good article about perception on Wikipedia, read for example chapter about effect of motivation and expectation.

    Well, I don't expect to find listening test here, but I can't imagine technically oriented site without measurements ;)
  • James001 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link

    Hello Vivek Gowri,
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  • tbhatia4 - Sunday, October 12, 2014 - link

    Got these earphones yesterday, Awesome sound quality, I got a Y spillter with these that let's me use them on my PC as well.
    Ali i can say that good quality (But 6 Months India warranty was a let down)
    Anyways got a good deal from an indian website offered me Cash On Delivery and they charged me Rs 1000/- lesser than all big players Hats OFF!!!!
    check yourself here
    http://www.martnext.com/razer-hammerhead-pro-analo...

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