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[DS] Razer Kraken Forged Edition Headphones Review.

9K views 36 replies 30 participants last post by  valerious 
#1 ·
s1rx5Em.jpg


http://www.destructoid.com/review-razer-kraken-forged-edition-headphones-267058.phtml
Quote:
Niiiiice. That's what you'd expect to say trying out a premium set of audiophile-quality headphones, especially when they're priced at $299.00. Razer's Kraken Forged Edition music and gaming headphones are certainly nice in both form and function.

But are they $299 nice? Do they have a look and sound so good that you'd be okay eating ramen for the next month?
The results were surprising.

It's true though, they are the sexiest looking headphones on the market. Freaking gorgeous..
drool.gif
 
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#2 ·
if were talking about looks, although it is subjective, at 100usd less than the kraken, you can get something like this:

 
#10 ·
$300? That puts you smack in the range of the likes of AKG K702 and the 65th Annie version, as well as a whole host of other nice cans. Heck, even on the "gamer" scene you can buy the Astro A40 with external Amp for $250, which are actually pretty solid cans.....

Although I will give credit to Razer and say their $70 Carcharias were worth the money, they put the boot to most anything sub $100.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PostalTwinkie View Post

$300? That puts you smack in the range of the likes of AKG K702 and the 65th Annie version, as well as a whole host of other nice cans. Heck, even on the "gamer" scene you can buy the Astro A40 with external Amp for $250, which are actually pretty solid cans.....

Although I will give credit to Razer and say their $70 Carcharias were worth the money, they put the boot to most anything sub $100.
Is that amp actually any good?
 
#12 ·
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH no

I'm ordering something far more superior in quality and engineering Thursday than this piece of junk. It's called the Sennheiser 598.



Just like anything Razer, it'll die within a year, it'll fall apart. I bet the coating on those headphones is going to come off. One speaker is going to go out. Razer can go out of business for all I care. I used to be a fanboy of them when they first came out until I realized how cheap they started making their products. The diamondback and original Deathadder were amazing, then I got the Barracuda headphones and the damn things died within a year and everything I ordered after that kept breaking. I'll be damned if I ever buy 300 dollar headphones from a bunch of halfasses
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by frickfrock999 View Post

Is that amp actually any good?
I haven't used it myself, but have heard from some people that it isn't that bad. Obviously not the greatest thing on the planet, but still functional and seems to have a decent following.

In the scope of its market, it is a plus at the minimum. Although you can buy the A40s without the Amp and purchase a proper sound card or other external Amp that would be better for the same money. Though people looking at the A40 with Amp are looking for a "package" and "ease' of plug and play.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpykeZ View Post

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH no

I'm ordering something far more superior in quality and engineering Thursday than this piece of junk. It's called the Sennheiser 598.

Just like anything Razer, it'll die within a year, it'll fall apart. I bet the coating on those headphones is going to come off. One speaker is going to go out. Razer can go out of business for all I care. I used to be a fanboy of them when they first came out until I realized how cheap they started making their products. The diamondback and original Deathadder were amazing, then I got the Barracuda headphones and the damn things died within a year and everything I ordered after that kept breaking. I'll be damned if I ever buy 300 dollar headphones from a bunch of halfasses
I have owned several Razer products, only one that died on me so far was a Naga, at 13 months. The others are going on a couple of years now. Being fair, I would put their quality on par with others in the industry, maybe into the slightly better category.
 
#14 ·
The Audio-Technica ATH-ADG1 look better, are $20 cheaper, and are based upon a proven platform, same with the Sennheiser PC360 headsets. That and those two companies have a proven track record of building reliable products that sound good to your ears, and come with a decent microphone.
 
#15 ·
my ears are so big that these would be "on ear" instead of over ear.

While not audiophile, my G930s are big enough to fully enclose my ear.
 
#16 ·
Please allow me to offer a dissenting opinion.....

HD 598 are good, but not great, comfy but not the best. Personally I feel they are only worth $150 if that

Sony MA900 are $200 and best the HD 598 in every possible way. light, metal construction better base, more open, full sound stage

But the WINNER BY FAR



Phillips Fidelio X1 !!!

I own all three of the above headphones.

X1 wins in comfort and sound quality over HD598 easily, and by a wide margin in build quality. I rotate between MA900 and my X1's depending on mood if its music.....gaming is X1 every time without fail

WANT TO SPEND $300 wisely? Buy the X1 or wait for X2 model coming at some point. Wont be sorry!

If you are curious about what others say or more detailed things I've had to say about all three sets of cans, go over to head-fi and search the same user name I have on here and read some of my posts in the thread I frequent.

HD598 used to be king maybe.......Phillips gave it a Spartan kick down a dark hole
thumb.gif
 
#17 ·
Former OCN Audio editor time:

* Horrible quality review with marketing statements left, right and centre (yes, '-re' Americans
wink.gif
)

Examples:
Quote:
The Kraken Forged Edition headphones are purely analog, which will be music to the ears of any audiophile. Their tuned 40mm neodymium drivers are putting out pure, high-quality audio, with none of the digital blues to bring them down.
honestly...what!? All headphones are 'analog' as well, your ears are 'analog'. Driver size has nothing to do with sound quality. Also you're listening to digital files on a computer thus why there's with all sound chips and sound sources there are a thing called a DAC IC...y'know, a digital to analog converter integrated circuit.
Quote:
Razer says that the drivers are custom tuned, and I expect that they're geared to meet the needs of both gamers and music lovers, so a big low end makes sense. Explosions boom and ring out, and kick drums resound cleanly in the ear.
All headphones are 'custom tuned' frequency response wise to suit the targeted demographic so that statement means nothing.....
Also since when did all music lovers and gamers like bass emphasised headphones?
'resound cleanly in the ear' - fluffy statement that means nothing and vague.
Quote:
The 250-300Hz range -- where everything from bass guitars to car motor sounds resides -- is a bit thick for my tastes, though. While this tuning is perfect for cinematic action, situations where both music and sound effects overlap might have this range sounding a bit muddy.
1) Bass is 200Hz and below.
2) Imaging issues such as 'overlap' has very little to do with the frequency response unless it's one frequency is massively overemphasised (see auditory masking)
3) You do realise how small of a range 50Hz is right?
Quote:
The very high end of the frequency range (these are rated 20 - 20,000 Hz) is clean, which is nice to hear as a lot of gaming headsets can be fatiguing in this range. I suspect that some of the mid-highs are scooped out a bit, which is why some voices and dialogue sat back in the mix a bit.
Listed frequency response like that means nothing as even $2 headphone drivers can achieve that. The only reason companies list it is for marketing reasons . Guess who fell for it once again?

The dude got paid to do this article? People on Head-fi do better reviews. For free. I can do a better review while stashing away the 'audiophile terms'. Frickfrock, you owe 2 minutes of my life back reading that marketing statement masquerading as a 'review'. I've read poor reviews but yeah, as least they have some vague idea of what they are talking about unlike this. I've read bad, this is horribad. Worse than horribad. Cringeworthy. Even the Krakens don't deserve this bad of a 'review'.

TL;DR: Dude doesn't know what he is talking about and tries to mask it with vague meaningless statements and tries to pass off a marketing statement as a 'review'.
 
#18 ·
I have to agree with Kiwi tbh. I can write a better review without ever touching those headphones. On the other hand, the Kraken Forged really don't seem that bad. They certainly raise the standard for the "mainstream" industry. Personally, I'd take the HE-400s anyday over the Kraken Forged.
 
#20 ·
i just want a GOOD microphone/headset that is wireless. if it has a cord, it shall be destroyed, at my house. but i haven't found a wireless mic/headset that sounds even bearable, let alone somewhat decent. so i buy 5 of those HP usb microphone headsets at a time from walmart. i go through one every 6-8 weeks.
 
#21 ·
No idea why anyone likes anything between the HD212 and HD600 from senns. Horrific bass response and reproduction comes from their drivers, along side horrific spikes in their highs. The impedance load was not even market correctly on the 555 and 598s, they were 150 ohm headphones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chinesekiwi View Post

Former OCN Audio editor time:

* Horrible quality review with marketing statements left, right and centre (yes, '-re' Americans
wink.gif
)

Examples:
Quote:
The Kraken Forged Edition headphones are purely analog, which will be music to the ears of any audiophile. Their tuned 40mm neodymium drivers are putting out pure, high-quality audio, with none of the digital blues to bring them down.
honestly...what!? All headphones are 'analog' as well, your ears are 'analog'. Driver size has nothing to do with sound quality. Also you're listening to digital files on a computer thus why there's with all sound chips and sound sources there are a thing called a DAC IC...y'know, a digital to analog converter integrated circuit.
Quote:
Razer says that the drivers are custom tuned, and I expect that they're geared to meet the needs of both gamers and music lovers, so a big low end makes sense. Explosions boom and ring out, and kick drums resound cleanly in the ear.
All headphones are 'custom tuned' frequency response wise to suit the targeted demographic so that statement means nothing.....
Also since when did all music lovers and gamers like bass emphasised headphones?
'resound cleanly in the ear' - fluffy statement that means nothing and vague.
Quote:
The 250-300Hz range -- where everything from bass guitars to car motor sounds resides -- is a bit thick for my tastes, though. While this tuning is perfect for cinematic action, situations where both music and sound effects overlap might have this range sounding a bit muddy.
1) Bass is 200Hz and below.
2) Imaging issues such as 'overlap' has very little to do with the frequency response unless it's one frequency is massively overemphasised (see auditory masking)
3) You do realise how small of a range 50Hz is right?
Quote:
The very high end of the frequency range (these are rated 20 - 20,000 Hz) is clean, which is nice to hear as a lot of gaming headsets can be fatiguing in this range. I suspect that some of the mid-highs are scooped out a bit, which is why some voices and dialogue sat back in the mix a bit.
Listed frequency response like that means nothing as even $2 headphone drivers can achieve that. The only reason companies list it is for marketing reasons . Guess who fell for it once again?

The dude got paid to do this article? People on Head-fi do better reviews. For free. I can do a better review while stashing away the 'audiophile terms'. Frickfrock, you owe 2 minutes of my life back reading that marketing statement masquerading as a 'review'. I've read poor reviews but yeah, as least they have some vague idea of what they are talking about unlike this. I've read bad, this is horribad. Worse than horribad. Cringeworthy. Even the Krakens don't deserve this bad of a 'review'.

TL;DR: Dude doesn't know what he is talking about and tries to mask it with vague meaningless statements and tries to pass off a marketing statement as a 'review'.
wubsmiley.gif
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Domino View Post

No idea why anyone likes anything between the HD212 and HD600 from senns. Horrific bass response and reproduction comes from their drivers, along side horrific spikes in their highs. The impedance load was not even market correctly on the 555 and 598s, they were 150 ohm headphones.
wubsmiley.gif
Finally some sense. I do agree, and I do own several Sennheiser cans including some of those you mentioned.

---

Regarding the kraken. Why are people even talking about something they haven't even tried? Lets try to keep the game honest here. Razer is a marketing monster, no doubt about it... but maybe they used some decent OEM and the product is actually good. Anybody know about the Aurvana Live? Yes? Well, it might be something similar... or not, but lets not bash a company simply for being a company.

Heck, I got to try the Takstar 2050, and they sound delicious for what they cost. Chinese yada yada, inspired on DT880, yada yada... sure, but they sound good which is the only thing that matters today.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by chinesekiwi View Post

Former OCN Audio editor time:

* Horrible quality review with marketing statements left, right and centre (yes, '-re' Americans
wink.gif
)

Examples:
honestly...what!? All headphones are 'analog' as well, your ears are 'analog'. Driver size has nothing to do with sound quality. Also you're listening to digital files on a computer thus why there's with all sound chips and sound sources there are a thing called a DAC IC...y'know, a digital to analog converter integrated circuit.
All headphones are 'custom tuned' frequency response wise to suit the targeted demographic so that statement means nothing.....
Also since when did all music lovers and gamers like bass emphasised headphones?
'resound cleanly in the ear' - fluffy statement that means nothing and vague.
1) Bass is 200Hz and below.
2) Imaging issues such as 'overlap' has very little to do with the frequency response unless it's one frequency is massively overemphasised (see auditory masking)
3) You do realise how small of a range 50Hz is right?
Listed frequency response like that means nothing as even $2 headphone drivers can achieve that. The only reason companies list it is for marketing reasons . Guess who fell for it once again?

The dude got paid to do this article? People on Head-fi do better reviews. For free. I can do a better review while stashing away the 'audiophile terms'. Frickfrock, you owe 2 minutes of my life back reading that marketing statement masquerading as a 'review'. I've read poor reviews but yeah, as least they have some vague idea of what they are talking about unlike this. I've read bad, this is horribad. Worse than horribad. Cringeworthy. Even the Krakens don't deserve this bad of a 'review'.

TL;DR: Dude doesn't know what he is talking about and tries to mask it with vague meaningless statements and tries to pass off a marketing statement as a 'review'.
im in the process of buying some cans solely for gaming ive been looking at the dt990 pro was literally gonna buy them off amazon tonight, are they the best option for sub £150 headphones?
 
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