Tag Archives: gaming headphones

Razer Launches the Kaira X Gaming Headphones for Console Gaming

Console gaming is undoubtedly the most popular form of gaming in the video games industry. To be fair, console gaming has made AAA video games experience a lot more accessible to the masses. At prices below MYR 3,000, you are getting a highly advanced hardware that could play you the most graphically demanding titles at up to 4K and at up to 120fps at that. For a PC to do that, you might want to spend way north MYR 5,000 at this point.

Razer, being the one most recognized gaming peripherals brand in the world cannot call themselves a gaming brand if they do not cover or cater to a large majority of the gaming industry that is the console gaming crowd. Of course, the three-headed snake company makes peripherals specific to the PlayStation and Xbox. You have specific tournament and high-end controllers from Razer. Now, Razer also makes gaming headphones specifically for the latest next-generation gaming consoles.

Welcome to the Razer Kaira X, the essential gaming headphone for both the Xbox and PlayStation platform. As per the naming scheme of the peripherals, the Razer Kaira X is a budget version of the Razer Kaira. That does not mean that it is less featured and less powerful than the Kaira though.

The Razer Kaira X is still a powerful headphone with 50mm TriForce drivers delivering high-power audio directly into your ears. The new TriForce drivers are supposed to deliver improved frequency separation delivering crisp highs, clear mids, and deep bass. For in-game chats, there is the boom-mounted Razer HyperClear Cardioid Microphone that has a specific pick-up pattern to exclude unwanted background noise.

  • 18 Kaira Environment F v5
  • 04 Kaira Product Shot D v4
  • Kaira X 2021 PS Render 4 1
  • Kaira X 2021 PS Render 1
  • Kaira X 2021 PS Render 2
  • Kaira X 2021 PS Render 3

At the same time, the Kaira X features on-headset controls for quick adjustments on-the-fly. The Flowknit Memory Foam cushions on the earcups and headband are made for ultimate comfort and should keep you going in long gaming sessions. Instead of the Kaira’s wireless nature, the Kaira X features a 3.5mm connection. That also means that it is compatible not only with the PlayStation and Xbox, but your PC as well.

The Kaira X for Xbox and Kaira X for PlayStation is now available in Malaysia. You can get your hands on one via authorised dealers across the country or from Razer.com. The Kaira X is available in classic black and white, Shock Blue, Pulse Red, and Electric Volt colour options. The new headphones for the next-generation consoles retails at MYR 299.90. More information on the Kaira X can be found on their website.

Razer Barracuda X is Everything the Modern Gamer Needs

Wires are a pain to deal with. While the world of electronics has given us amazing things like the television, video games, smartphones, and even the computer, cable management has always been the bane of electronics. You need electronics to be tethered to a wall socket at least though, for power obviously.

The advancements that made the electrical battery the technology it is today though has led to the very rapid development that is wireless technology. Things like your smartphones and laptops, and even Nintendo Switch will not happen unless there is the magical block of stuff inside your devices that is called the battery. Wireless technology has also given us wireless headphones like the new Razer Barracuda X.

While wireless technology does have its limitations in terms of certain sound qualities, battery life, and even latency, most of them has been solved and improved tremendously over the years. All that culminates in the Barracuda X that can be used in any way you can imagine, without the hassle plugging cables in and dragging your devices across the room when you need to go take a leak.

Barracuda X 024 R2
Source: Razer

The Barracuda X is truly a versatile piece of kit. You can connect it to your PlayStation console, your PC, your smartphone, and even a Nintendo Switch at the same time. Of course, the Nintendo Switch requires a special HyperSpeed Wireless dongle that comes in the Barracuda X’s packaging.

Of course, there are a slew of cables, including USB-Type C extensions and cables for charging. Because nothing beats a wired connection in terms of sound quality and fidelity, there is a 3.5mm AUX cable included in the set too. For gaming, you get a detachable Razer HyperClear Cardioid microphone. There is a good reason why it is a detachable mic.

Barracuda X 165 R1
Source: Razer

The Razer Barracuda X is made with not just gaming in mind. It is made for gamers to use everywhere. You can tell, because it does not feature the regular outrageous or striking look of the regular gaming headset from Razer. Gone are the green, or white, or red, or yellow accents; you do not even have RGB on the Barracuda X. It looks and feels like the more subtle OPUS headphones. It does not have the Noise Cancelling technology, but it does share the same stealth design so that you can blend in when you use it outside of home.

Hardware wise, it packs Razer’s immensely powerful TriForce drivers which measures in at 40mm. That large driver should deliver rich, clear, and detailed audio that is mostly tuned for gaming. That does not mean you cannot enjoy music with it too though. Anything designed with gaming in mind should sound good in other conditions as well, especially when the headphone is capable of producing 7.1 surround sound. The high-power delivery also ensures immersive experience with a lot of volume. That should also alleviate the lack of noise cancellation technology.

  • Barracuda X 024 R2
  • TriForce Drivers
  • RAZER BARRACUDA X V05b
  • RAZER BARRACUDA X V03b
  • RAZER BARRACUDA X V02
  • RAZER BARRACUDA X DONGLE V02
  • Key Visual
  • Barracuda X 280 R1
  • Barracuda X 165 R1

At 250g, the wireless headphone is made with comfort in mind too. The lack of weight will allow you to be a lot more comfortable with the headphone in long gaming sessions and you are going to be gaming long and hard with the Barracuda X’s 20 hours of battery life. The memory foam ear cushion is designed so that it sits flush on the side of your heads and create a tight noise seal while remaining breathable. The overhead cushion is of course important in not just spreading the weight of the headphone properly, but to relief the pressure on top of your head.

The Razer Barracuda X is available now from Razer.com and authorised dealers across the nation. You can also get them from Razer’s Official Store on Shopee and Lazada. Unlike the Opus X, the Razer Barracuda X only comes in one colour option: black. At MYR 549 though, the headphone could be one of the best value for money gaming headsets from Razer. More information on the Razer Barracuda X can be found on from their website.

Razer Launches the Opus X – The More Affordable and Colourful Opus

Razer’s Opus that was launched last year drew some resemblance with a certain wireless over-ear headphones from a different brand. Nothing wrong with that, there are not many ways to design a sleek and stealth looking headphone set without falling back into similar design structures. At the same time, we would like to see more colours from Razer’s stables. It is Razer after all.

They did come up with an answer a year later in 2021 with a new range of Opus lifestyle-centric headphones. Except, they are not the high-end type of headphones the Opus is. They are called the Opus X.

  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 01
  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 06
  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 05
  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 04
  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 03
  • RZR OPUS X Green Edition 2021 Render 02

The Razer Opus X has very similar design cues with the higher end THX certified Opus. They share the same general shapes and curves in all the right places to make it look less gamer, more general use. The only difference you might find on the outlook is probably the colour choices you get with the Razer Opus X, which incidentally gave away the “gamer” look.

The Opus X comes in three colour choices. You get to choose between the white ‘Mercury’, pink ‘Quartz’, and Green (Razer.com exclusive). The more expensive Opus only gets the Black colour option. While the Green and Quartz might stand out in the crowd, we think the Mercury colour option could be more subtle.

  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 01
  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 06
  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 05
  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 04
  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 03
  • RZR OPUS X Mercury Edition 2021 Render 02

Inside the headphones are still two beefy 40mm dynamic drivers to deliver super low frequencies from 20Hz to super high frequencies at 20kHz. Obviously, there is no microphone stems here because Razer understands that you have a life outside of your house and a microphone stem outside your home looks odd. It does have the same noise cancelling microphones built into the sleek chassis for both voice chat and phone calls.

It is wireless like the Opus, obviously. You connect your PC or smartphone to it via Bluetooth 5.0 for stable connection and high-quality audio transmissions. You also get 30 hours of battery life with it, which matches the best the market has to offer in terms of wireless headphones. When the battery runs out though, there is always a trusty 3.5mm jack with included cables when you buy the product.

  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 01
  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 06
  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 05
  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 04
  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 03
  • RZR OPUS X Quartz Edition 2021 Render 02

While this Razer Opus X does not feature THX’s touch like its more premium brother, it does offer Active Noise Cancelling (ANC). In that sense, this is one of the more affordable products that feature ANC in the market currently. With 60ms low latency connection, this should also be one of the more affordable Bluetooth enabled gaming headphones with ANC capabilities. We prefer over-ear solutions for gaming too, we think this would be perfect if you are trying to lose the cables on your desk.

Price and Availability

We kept saying that it is a more affordable product, but we have not actually mentioned its price. The Opus X is already available in Malaysia and you can buy it from Razer.com online store, or Razer’s dealers and official stores across the nation. It is also about half the price of the THX Certified Opus at MYR 549 (US$ 99.99*). If we are honest, you can hardly find decent ANC enabled headphones at that price currently.

*Official Razer pricing