Buds for the best listening experience

A new in-ear headset designed for multi-player games as well as to enjoy music, the Razer Hammerhead Pro sports an omni-directional microphone with an in-line remote for phone-call control and for convenient voice communication.

The headset uses a pair of 9mm neodymium drivers to deliver clear sounds as well as deep bass for in-ear type earphones.

The headset is machined out of aircraft-grade aluminium, meaning it’s both durable and lightweight, weighing in at just 12.5g. It looks sleek too with a black matte, brushed surface finish that contrasts well with the neon lime green cable.

The package comes with interchangeable ear-tips in three sizes as the right size ear tips will also serve as passive noise isolation for you to enjoy the music.

The package provides a compact carrying case and an audio/microphone splitter for connecting to a PC soundcard’s stereo jack and mic jack for playing games.

Razer, a well-known gaming device manufacturer, says it achieved powerful bass sounds while maintaining crystal clear mids and highs by using an optimised inner acoustics chamber in each shell of the earphones.

The earphones have high sensitivity of 106 dB and support frequency response of 20Hz to 20 kHz. Its microphone has a good sensitivity of 42dB and Signal to Noise Ratio of 55 dB.

I tested Hammerhead Pro with my Motorola RAZR MAXX smart phone, using its music player with extreme bass equaliser option.

I found that the earphones reproduced music with good clarity and booming bass. For example, the bass guitar in tracks of the “Best of Sting” sounded powerful. I also enjoyed listening to AC/DC’s “Black Ice” album and was impressed by the bass sounds of the drums and bass guitar.

Hammerhead Pro is also good for listening to vocal songs, such as the “Best Audiophile Voices V”. Tuning in to the female singer of “You’ve Got a Friend”. I could hear good details of the musical instruments and the strong bass sounds of cello.

When I tested Hammerhead Pro with iPad, I find the in-line remote could be used for stopping and playing the songs as well. But when using with iPad without the extreme bass EQ, the bass sound was a less powerful than with the Android-4.0 Motorola.

When I tested it with Asus Xonar Essence STU DAC/headphone amp, the Hammerhead Pro delivered both clarity and powerful bass.

Razer Hammerhead Pro retails for Bt2,390 If you don’t need a microphone, you may opt for Razer Hammerhead for Bt1,790.

 

 

Key specs

_ Headphones

_ Drivers: 9mm Neodymium Magnets with CCAW

_ Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz

_ Impedance: 16 Ù

_ Sensitivity @1kHz: 106 dB

_ Input Power: 1mW @ 126 mV

_ Cable Length: 1.3 m

_ Approximate Weight: 12.5 g

_ Connector: Analog 3.5 mm 

_ Combined Jack: (Headphone and Mic)

 

Microphone

_ Frequency response: 50Hz-10kHz

_ Signal to Noise Ratio: 55 dB

_ Sensitivity (@1kHz): -42dB +/-3 dB

_ Pick Up pattern: Omni-Directional