Prize - Razer Electra Headset, Glowing Green Headsets of awesome! Options

[xyzzy frobozz]

Hey all,

As some of you are aware, I was lucky enough to win post of the month last month. Hey, what can I say, it was a slow month in the forums last month.

Anyhoo.

I was lucky enough to be sent a Razer Elextra headset as a reward for my awesome efforts. My wife cracked up when she heard that I'd won a headset, due to the fact that she calls me the "Imelda Marcos of headphones". I admit it, I'm picky when it comes to sound!

I have a Sennheiser PC360 G4ME headset that I love, but it certainly didn't come cheap - $300 at the time.

In the past couple of years I've had a few dedicated gaming headsets, Logitech G35, Razer Carcharias, and, of course, my Sennheiser PC360. I had very fond memories of the Razer Carcharias, so I was keen to see how the Electra headset stood up to those memories, and also to the PC 360.

Wow!

I have to say, for the RRP ($99) this is a freaking sweet set of cans! In fact, when I tested them back to back with the Sennheisers, they came as near as you please to to a headset three times the price. Bass response is excellent, and they seemed pretty well at home with either music or the bass heavy thump-thump of Battlefield 3. Given that the PC360 is an open ear design, I have to say that the bass in the Electra was actually warmer to my ear and really pleasing. As I said, I'm really picky when it comes to sound and, if I had to make a criticism of these cans it would be that occasionally the mid-range gets a bit "busy". It never distorts and different mid-range tracks are always distinct, but it is like different tracks all get pushed to the same volume. But, to be honest, you'd be very, very picky to pick it, and that is coming from someone who has a very expensive pair of Audio Technicas in the living room. Treble was bright but well rounded and never had that piercing quality that I've heard with some other headsets that causes ear fatigue after a short to moderate listening session. I have to say, these lived up to the happy memories I have of the Carcharias and, I reckon if you want to get the best out of them, you'd be wanting a dedicated sound card. I have a SB X-Fi Fatal1ty, and it sounded superb.

To be honest, these cans really hammered home the law of diminishing returns in headset prices. I used the provided connectible in-line mic and, once I had adjusted all of the mic input volumes, my gamer friends reported being able to hear me well, and they certainly didn't pick that I had switched headsets.

The headset itself is light yet has a durable feel to it, the headband is flexible to the point that it'll probably resist the inevitable "Oh shit, I sat on the headset" moment. It's comfortable due to it's lightness and didn't squeeze my oversized melon. The seal on the side of my head was excellent and the closed ear design made for excellent sound isolation. At a pinch, you could plug these into your iPod or phone and get far better sound quality than those crappy ear-bud you're using. Don't think I can't see them!

I didn't keep the headset, I gave it to my brother who previously had a cheaper, but not significantly cheaper headset that was a couple of years old. He's absolutely loving them and reckons they're an order of magnitude superior to what he had. From my side of the internet he's right, there's a definite improvement in VoIP quality.

If you're looking for a great set of ear blasters at a reasonable price, look no further. To be honest, I can't imagine getting a much better quality headset for the price.

Highly recommended!

This post has been edited by xyzzy frobozz: Jun 25 2012, 06:44 PM

[Moph]

Nice review ... thanks =)

[ninjacatfish]

Thanks for the review! I'm in the market for a new gaming headset. I have some Audio Technicas for music, but I want a set of cans with a built in mic for games.
Currently using some Turtle Beach EarForce Bravos I picked up on the cheap, and they're great when they work. Problem is that the mic doesn't seem to actually work half the time. I will connect the headset, but sometimes I have to disconnect/reconnect 4 or 5 times before the mic actually works D:

Electras are on my shortlist after this review! I'm eagerly awaiting reviews of the 2.1 Tiamats as well, they look promising.

[xyzzy frobozz]

Thanks for the review! I'm in the market for a new gaming headset. I have some Audio Technicas for music, but I want a set of cans with a built in mic for games.
Currently using some Turtle Beach EarForce Bravos I picked up on the cheap, and they're great when they work. Problem is that the mic doesn't seem to actually work half the time. I will connect the headset, but sometimes I have to disconnect/reconnect 4 or 5 times before the mic actually works D:

Electras are on my shortlist after this review! I'm eagerly awaiting reviews of the 2.1 Tiamats as well, they look promising.

Yeah, as you can tell I was pretty impressed.

I'm not above taking headsets back to the shop that don't cut it. I took a headset back to the shop from an unnamed *cough - Steel Series - cough* brand because they sounded "thin" and tinny. They were also more expensive than the Electras, at about $120. The Electras left them for dead. Although the Logitech G35 that I had was a USB headset, the Electras had superior sound quality to those as well. I would say that I didn't love the green colour scheme, but that's subjective and others may well love it. I believe that you can get them in all black if you prefer.

Really good headphones, especially for the money.

This post has been edited by xyzzy frobozz: Jun 25 2012, 11:45 PM

[ninjacatfish]

Wow, better sound than the G35s? I've heard some glowing reviews for the G35s from friends, surprising that the cheaper Electras are better in your opinion.

I wonder if there's anywhere that will let me try them out for myself...

[xyzzy frobozz]

Wow, better sound than the G35s? I've heard some glowing reviews for the G35s from friends, surprising that the cheaper Electras are better in your opinion.

I wonder if there's anywhere that will let me try them out for myself...

I should point out that, given that the G35 are a USB headset, I was using them with on-board sound from my motherboard. Since then I've upgraded to a sound card and now run all sound through that. But, yeah, I'd have no hesitation in saying that the sound quality on the Electras used in combination with the sound card was superior to the G35 setup.

It would be nice to be able to test headsets but, I'm unsure as to how useful it would actually be. Some headphones that are superior actually sound worse until you fiddle about with equaliser settings to get it right. The reverse is true on inferior sets as well. Spending more generally delivers better sound but, like I said, for the money the Razers were pretty impressive.

My best advice would be to round it down to a few that you like based on features and price, and then hunt down three or four reviews online for each one. That should give you a pretty good handle on which to choose.

[Hlass]

Are they big enough to go around the ears? Do they rest on top at all?

[xyzzy frobozz]

Are they big enough to go around the ears? Do they rest on top at all?

They fit around mine OK. Although I probably have "average" sized ears. I think they should fit around most other than the "wingnut" types.

;-)

[Mr.Twinkie]

I still don't get how anybody would want to wear that thing in public as Razer designed it to be. You look ridiculous.

I gave my Electra to my stepdad and he's dumbfounded by how superb the sound quality is coming from such a mystical device.

My Audio Technica ATH-AD700 and Corsair Vengeance 1500 is still better than Electra though.

Are they big enough to go around the ears? Do they rest on top at all?

They fit around mine OK. Although I probably have "average" sized ears. I think they should fit around most other than the "wingnut" types.

;-)

They don't fit mine very well and I have 'slightly bigger than average' ears and head.