Razer Hammerhead Duo

Razerthink – Razer is a significant player in the gaming market. However, you may not know that the Californian manufacturer is also increasing its authority in the lifestyle sector. Razer is one of the most famous gaming brands in the world. Known for its green and black aesthetic and famous snake logo, nothing says I’m serious about gaming other than using Razer gear.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Razer branch out into a consumer market that’s bigger than just the gaming market, and Razer is paying attention to the fact that sound isn’t something reserved for music playback alone. Demonstrating a fundamental understanding that the right in-ear headphones can change the way you consume movies, games, and television, Razer is adding the Hammerhead Duo to its ever-expanding product line.

Razer also has several in-ear headphones — perfect for portable gaming with systems like the Switch and your smartphone. The Razer Hammerhead Duo headphones aren’t exactly like Razer’s previous headphone offerings but rather represent a new mobile addition to the company’s lineup. These wired earphones are great for mobile gamers looking for a great set of wired headphones, but they boast an excellent, accurate sound profile that might win over gamers.

Design

The Razer Hammerhead Duo comes in jet black; a lot of attention is paid to the design. The three-headed snake logo is the only color mark on the headphones, green splashes peeking out from each earphone. The build quality is far superior to any budget pair; the earphones themselves are set in an aluminum frame, aren’t much bigger than a set of earbuds, and look like they’re pretty durable. The matte black finish matches the rest of the Duo’s mostly colored look and provides a bit of polish.

The Razer Hammerhead Duo also comes with a lovely braided cable that’s strong and helps fight tangling. The line is braided, adding a layer of durability you won’t find in most earphones. The most exciting design is Razer’s dual-driver technology, giving the headphones their namesake. Dynamic drivers sit in an aluminum frame, while balanced armature drivers sit at the end of each earphone to provide a more authentic experience.

Active drivers have been headphones’ bread and butter for a long time. However, the balanced armature driver usually drives the hearing aid and thus allows further tuning of the frequency range, which provides more detailed audio. The earphones are also very comfortable to wear, no matter how long. The angled nozzle fits easily in your ear, and the soft silicone sleeve never becomes itchy or uncomfortable. The earphones look great, too, with all the signature Razer aesthetics other than the RGB lighting. The logo can be found on the sides of the earphones, with finishes such as matte black and green accents.

Sound

Unlike most gaming headsets, these earphones avoid the tendency to feature heavy bass and stick to a more natural sound profile. These headphones provide a complete listening experience for the wearer—full sound and very comfortable, at least enough for everyday listening applications. What’s more, the powerful sound output of these headphones makes them an ideal choice for use with smartphones and game consoles, as well as a significant bit of technology for home cinema needs.

The Hammerhead Duo delivers loud noise when needed but luckily won’t disturb the person sitting next to you, whether you’re on the couch or public transport. With Razer’s dual-driver technology, you can genuinely hear the bass and kick drums apart from the rest. Of the mix. Dual-driver means two drivers in each earbud, one for bass and another for mid and high frequencies. It makes for an enjoyable experience, with Dan Auerbach’s vocals up front and center and lively drums hitting the back without any distractions.

The dual-driver technology sets it apart from most other earphones for such a small driver. But you have to these are still just earphones, which means the drivers can only be as big as the case allows. This does create a shallow soundstage, the guitar, and piano all fighting for their place in the mix, which causes it to sound a bit messy. At least the bass and drums are still excellent.

Microphone

The inline microphone isn’t that great. Since it’s pretty tiny, there’s not much Razer can do to make it sound great. Receiving phone calls while using these earphones didn’t seem to have any issues, and the microphone sounds suitable for everyday conversation but is not highly recommended for streaming. As long as you’re not outside in the wind or the microphone touching your clothes. Apart from that, the microphone sounds good with no echo, and the voice recognition is good.

Game Performance

The Razer Hammerhead duo fulfilled their main objective very well. I plugged it into various consoles to see how it handled the game sound, and it performed amazingly on all counts when playing Kenshin impact on PC was audible. God Of War’s music and sound effects come in all their atrocities. Sound nuanced and balanced, especially the voicework and orchestral scores.

It’s worth noting that Razer is planning a special Switch edition of Hammerhead, which will be out in June. The device has a silver Razer logo on the earbuds instead of a green one, comes with a carrying case, and has a mic-mute button instead of volume and play/pause on the inline control panel. However, those features are the only difference. If you need a pair of earbuds for your Switch right now, there’s no reason to wait – unless you play a lot of online multiplayer games.

Feature

The Razer Hammerhead Duo comes with a set of the signature features one would expect with high-quality in-ear buds: The tips allow the use of 3 different sizes of interchangeable silicone earbuds so you can customize them to your liking. Razer’s dual-driver technology delivers loud sound when needed and is equipped with an inline microphone and controls consisting of three buttons: volume up, play/pause, and volume down. They work as intended and are an excellent addition for those looking to use this set while playing, watching, or listening on their phone.

Music performance

The bottom line is that the Razer Hammerhead Duo Music still sounds decent, no matter the genre. The music quality is in line with what you’d expect from a tiny $60 gaming device. Everything sounds clear and distant, so even if the audio is excellent for listening to songs on the go.

PROS

• Neutral sound.
• Premium material.
• Comfortable.

CONS

• No cable management.
• Mild stress reliever.
• Poor noise insulation.

Price

The Razer Hammerhead Duo  is now available on the Razer website for US$59.99

Overall

The Razer Hammerhead Duo delivers solid sound, but some flaws hold it back from gaming greatness. If you’re digging into Razer gear and need a set of earbuds, these are as good as any. Designed with these headphones in mind, they are well built, comfortable enough, and sound great

bottom line. The in-ear headphones are a quality pair for anyone looking for a detailed and broadly balanced listening experience. At $59.99 (£59, AU$109), this may not be the cheapest set of earbuds out there, but it far outweighs the purchase price.