Mobile thunder for gamers
Made for Apple gadgets, Razer's latest headphones juice up the bass
FOR PLAYING games on the go on Apple iOS phones or tablets and never losing any of the explosive aural effects, Razer Kraken Mobile over-ear headphones are a huge leap forward.
The drivers have been enhanced to deliver heavy bass that resonates with the explosions going off in the game.
Razer’s Kraken headphones have been primarily made for desktop and notebook computers, the traditional platforms for gamers. Now that we’re all carrying smartphones, though, you’ve got the Kraken Mobile headset to take along with you.
Designed especially for iOS devices, the Mobile version has its own detachable audio cable with an in-line microphone and a remote. Razer says it will soon release a cable for Android phones as well.
The remote has two button controls for volume and a third between them that you press once to stop or resume the music when you have an incoming call. Press and hold to reject an incoming call.
During the call, you can press twice to hold the current call and accept another. While playing music, you can press twice to skip a track or three times to return to the previous track.
I tested the Kraken Mobile with Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus and all of these functions worked effectively.
This is pretty eye-catching gear, coming in your choice of neon hues – blue, green, yellow, orange, red or pink.
It’s lightweight, with soft cushions in the ear-pads adding to the long-lasting comfort. The extra-large “circum-aural” ear cushions get you fully immersed in the audio experience.
The bass is super-deep thanks to hefty, neodymium-magnet 40mm drivers. The headphones have a frequency response of 20 to 20,000Hz and impedance of 32 ohms. Sensitivity is a decent 110dB.
In my test I thoroughly enjoyed the heavy bass. For listening to music seriously, it might in fact be too punchy against the middle and high tones, but it’s a good configuration for playing games.
Having said that, once I’d “burned” the headphones for awhile with some decent music of my own, the mids and highs stood out far better.
The Mobile turned to be darned good for listening to rock. I plugged in AC/DC’s “Rock or Bust” album and fell right into the bass guitar and bass drum.
The Razer Kraken Mobile retails for Bt3,390.
Key Specs
HEADPHONES
- Frequency response: 20 to 20,000Hz
- Impedance: 32 ohms at 1kHz
- Sensitivity @1kHz, 1V/Pa: 110 to 4dB at 1kHz maximum
- Input power: 50mW
- Drivers: 40mm with neodymium magnets
- Inner ear-cup diameter: 50mm
- Connector: Analog 3.5mm headphone jack
- Cable length: 1.3m
- Approximate weight: 315g
MICROPHONE
- Frequency response: 100 to 10,000Hz
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 55dB
- Sensitivity: -42 to 3dB
- Pick-up pattern: Omnidirectional
