Razer Kraken Tournament Edition THX 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset: Retractable Noise Cancelling Mic – USB DAC – for PC, PS4, PS5 Nintendo…

The surround sound does not work on ps4 even though the box and the ad says works on ps4. The usb controller is completely useless unless you are using them on a pc. Do not buy if your looking for a headset to use on console. Get a cheaper stereo only version.

First off, let me write here for those who are confused because I had to do a lot of research on this subject – the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition is basically exactly the same as the new Razer Kraken 2019 Edition. This version, however, comes with a THX USB sound card, which enables THX spatial audio in games and comes with a couple other features as well. This only works as intended for PC, I believe. Otherwise, you are probably better off grabbing the new Razer Kraken 2019 Edition.

The first point I want to make about this headset is how good it looks. Of course this is subjective, but I just love the look of it. Other people might find the green tacky, but I am very fond of it. The whole design and look of it makes it look tough and sturdy, which belies how comfortable and light they are. When these are on my head, they basically feel like nothing is on my head at all. I wear glasses and usually headsets press against my head very uncomfortably, but these feel like clouds on my head. So, I will say on build quality, comfort, and appearance, this headset gets full marks from me. 5/5.

On sound, however, is where some issues pop up. I’ve heard from a lot of reviews mention these are heavy on volume and bass, but I had some problems with this. The bass doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as my old headset – it feels pretty light and when you boost it up (with the knob on the THX control) it makes music sound pretty awful. The volume doesn’t get that loud to me either, by my standards. For this, I will say make sure you turn up the volume knob on the cord, then turn the volume to max on the THQ control, then make sure the game chat balance is turned off. The rest of the audio quality is passable, but could be better and clearer there as well. It’s annoying that I have to fiddle around with an equalizer, rather than having some good settings already set up.

The mic on this headset is fantastic – by far the best mic on a headset I’ve ever experienced. It sounds so clear – almost like a professional grade microphone. It’s one of the reasons I got this headset after hearing it, because I use Discord almost all day, and the sound of these will definitely make your peers happy. For these, I’d advise going into the Razer Synapse settings (the software supplied when you plug the headset in) and setting Mic Volume to 100, Mic Sensitivity to 75, Sidetone to 50, and turn off the enhancements. In whatever voice chat program you have, you’ll want to the sensitivity of the program to be as low as possible.

I’d like to mention some other great features of this headset that probably aren’t mentioned too often: it comes with two bands that allow you to adjust the length of the wires from both the USB sound card and the wire connecting it to the headset itself. I really appreciated having two of these, and it allows me to make the cord the exact length I want it without getting any unseemly kinks in the wire. It looks very neat. I also love the fact that the THQ sound controller has a adhesive back to it which allows you to – once you’ve peeled off the back part – stick the controller anywhere you want. This is very helpful and looks great.

I hope this review answers questions and issues other people might have had. I’d definitely recommend this headset for anyone looking for a really comfortable, reliable headset with a sturdy build quality and a great microphone. I would *not* recommend this headset for audiophiles. On sound, I’ve had Logitechs and HyperX headsets that sounded better, but these are completely passable for probably the vast majority of the population.

EDIT: UPDATE: I have actually grown to rather dislike this headset because of several annoying issues. Whenever I restart my computer and put my headset on, all of my sound sounds distorted like something from a horror movie. Really irritating problem. It is fixed by unplugging and then plugging back in the USB, but it is not something I should have to deal with. This combined with problems with Razer Synapse 3 where it was resetting all of my microphone settings every single time I restarted my PC made me stuff this headset back in the box and slap it on my shelf to keep as a backup headset in case my Logitech dies.

The Razer Kraken TE is only rated around 3.5 stars at the time that I am writing this review. Let me tell you right now that most of the reviews for this product that are under 4 stars complain about things that they just don’t know how to use. For instance, the headset comes with an audio controller that you can mount using its adhesive back. This controller has multiple buttons on it, and one of them controls the THX Spatial Audio. I believe that many of the users who have complained about this feature not working have not done their research. You should never buy a product before doing your research. I hate seeing the ratings for products such as these go down because people don’t know what they are doing. To get that THX Spatial Audio to work, you need to be using that audio controller, AND you need to have Razer Synapse 3 on your computer. You can still use the headphones without the audio controller, but you will NOT be able to use the THX Spatial Audio. Before you start complaining about how annoying that is, you should really consider what Razer is trying to accomplish here. It is obvious from both the marketing and device setup that they are using this THX Spatial Audio for an enhanced GAMING experience. This doesn’t mean that they don’t sound when listening to music or other uses, as I can assure you that they do, but it means that you won’t need that spatial audio unless you are using it for gaming. You should understand the ins and outs of a product at this price point before you buy it, and it is NOT difficult to figure that out. If the pictures and descriptions aren’t enough, then watch some reviews/unboxings on YouTube! Most, if not all of your questions will be answered, and you won’t feel like you aren’t getting what you paid for!

The Razer Synapse 3 software is one of the many gems that makes this product stand out. Using this software, you can do all of the following with ease:
– Fine tune specific audio settings to your liking. This includes enhancements such as Sound Normalization and Voice Clarity, and you can also use the EQ to adjust 10 individual frequencies.
– Adjust/toggle microphone settings. This includes enhancements, sensitivity, volume, and even sidetone. Sidetone lets you listen to what your microphone is picking up with NO DELAY, so you can hear yourself and your real-life surroundings with the headset on.
– Customize audio for specific applications using the Mixer. You can select if you would rather have Stereo or Surround Sound for each application specifically, and you can also calibrate and adjust the spatial audio if you hear things differently.
– Manage/create multiple presets that contain all of the aforementioned settings to switch between on the fly. You can even assign these presets to applications, so your headset will automatically switch to them when a specific application is being used. It will switch right back to what you were on before when you stop using that application as well.

The microphone sounds just as good as the other Razer Kraken headset microphones if not better, and as I have mentioned, can be customized using the Razer Synapse 3 software.

The headset is extremely comfortable, and the cooling gel-infused ear cushions are amazing. They feel great and the headset is very light overall. For those wondering, the construction is made up plastic and what feels to be a lightweight aluminum. As advertised, the top cushion is definitely softer than previous Kraken iterations, and sometimes it almost feels as though I am not even wearing my headset! Good build quality and comfort.

The audio controller takes the headphone input in the form of a 3.5 mm audio jack and outputs to your PC via USB. I know already wrote a bit about the audio controller earlier in the review, but here are its features as well:
– Volume Up/Volume Down buttons
– Toggle Microphone Mute button
– Bass adjustment knob
– Game/Chat balance knob
– Toggle THX Spatial Audio button

There is also a basic in-line audio controller on the cable of the headset, and it allows for the following:
– Volume Adjustment knob
– Toggle Microphone Mute switch

The main thing that everyone wants to know is how do they sound? Well, I personally think that they sound great and are a clear upgrade from my previous Kraken 7.1 Chroma headset. I use the THX Spatial Audio for games, and it is actually crazy how easy it is to tell where things are in-game. It was one of the first things that I noticed when I used these for the first time when playing games.

In conclusion, this headset is honestly insanely good, especially for the price. I felt that I needed to do it justice by writing such a lengthy review to go over most of the features and shed light on some misinformed/uninformed reviews. I’ve spent a decent amount of time writing this, and hopefully at least some of you found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a nice day/night.

– Matt

P.S. Please excuse any spelling/grammar errors. If I made a big mistake in my writing then please let me know, and I will fix it.

The best present for your child that loves to play games or to listen to music! They are more affordable than other gaming headsets that are on the market.

It is a great headset the volume aspect is amazing and all the adjustments are there The only thing is you need to be aware in order to use the thx volume box (which is the reason you want this headset) you are going to have to take up a USB port being I have a PlayStation there are 2 ports for me one to charge controller and one for external hard drive so now I just can’t charge controller and use headset at same time unless I don’t use the thx converter. Overall this headset is amazing and I would recommend just be aware you may need a usb splitter in order to have enough ports to use the thx box which you are going to want to use.