Razer Kraken Pro Gaming Headset Review

Usage and Testing
My buddy Linus, from ‘Linus Tech Tips’ said, “If a headset is a good sounding headset for games it’s going to be a good headset for music. Good is good and bad is bad. There is no in between”

Now, how is that statement relative to the Kraken Pro? First, the Kraken Pro is a headset. I think we’ve established that already. Secondly, when testing a headset you can use things like long bass notes or treble hits but when I test speakers of any kind I prefer a more practical method. Specific songs are, in my opinion, the best way to find out how a speaker is truly going to perform.

As a reviewer you compile a list of songs you use for testing. The songs in the list below have a reason for each one being there and if you’d like an explanation why I use a particular song comment below and I’ll try to answer:

  • Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
  • Hotel California (Live) – The Eagles
  • William Tell Overture – Gioachino Rossini
  • Axel F – Harold Faltermeyer
  • Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
  • Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
  • Caribbean Blue – Enya
  • Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
  • Sussudio – Phil Collins

I’m not going to give you a breakdown of how the drivers performed with each song because the Kraken Pro sounds amazing. This is one of the loudest headsets I’ve ever used. Loudness is commonly overruled by distortion and with the Kraken Pro this isn’t the case. At no point in testing did I turn the volume up loud enough that the drivers cracked or distorted. Regardless I don’t think my eardrums would have allowed me to reach that level. The Kraken Pro has superior base response. The basest of songs never fell flat and the vocals on the more vocal tracks stood out when it called for it.

When testing with headsets, gaming or not, sound is sound. If you have solid response and sound quality from music you’ll have the same audio quality in any game you’re playing. In the games I do play, which aren’t as varied as they used to be, the Kraken Pro performed exceptionally. I need had cutout and even though the headset is just stereo the positional awareness that the sound isolation provides was something I really enjoyed.

On to the big issue: Originally I made it clear that Razer advertised the Kraken Pro to be the most comfortable headset ever.  In testing I discovered this to be false.

Let me explain: I have a rather large head. For the nerds out there that also own a motorcycle you’ll understand even more when I say that I wear a large to XL helmet. That’s big. Because of this I don’t fall into the standard “head diameter” Razer was calculating for when designing the Kraken Pro. Also, because of this, I find the comfort of the Kraken Pro fleeting after around 20 minutes of use. The earpieces on the headset are designed so your ears are completely enclosed by the padding. Because of the size of my head, and in turn, the size of my ears, the earpiece sits incorrectly on my head and cause pressure where pressure isn’t desired. I had to constantly reposition the headset just to relieve the pressure. This is not something you want to do when you’re supposed to be using the “most comfortable headset ever”.