At first we would like to thank Razer for offering us their Barracuda X Multi-Platform Wireless Headset for testing and reviewing.

 

About Razer:

"Razer is more than just the world's leading brand in gaming.

We were founded in 1998 in San Diego, California by our CEO Min-Liang Tan and our President Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff in a tiny shared office with a couple other gamers. We have grown today to hundreds of employees worldwide with offices in seven cities, including San Francisco, Hamburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.

Our vision from the very beginning was to be the world's greatest gaming brand and we've set out to achieve that by designing the best gaming products that any gamer has ever seen.

We believe that truly great products are based on technology, designed with extensive human factors and user ergonomic studies and then tested by the top professional gamers. In simpler terms, our own world class scientists and engineers develop cutting edge technology in-house or with partners, design phenomenal products around core technologies – and test the hell out of them in the field with our pro-gamers before we launch them.

We are the only gaming hardware company in the world with dedicated gaming user interface research and development labs, and our technology and designs are incubated in three dedicated design centers located in facilities in California, Singapore and Shenzhen. No other company boasts of technology like we do – because we're the only guys who have what it takes under the hood.

We tell it like it is: some can pretend to co-develop products with professional gamers, but gamers don't develop technology: scientists and engineers do (and ours just happen to be gamers as well).

We develop and design our products in our own labs and then put them to the test with top professional gamers who use them in pro-level tournaments and then provide us with feedback. Then we iterate on the product, refining it with the feedback – over and over and over again. That's how it's done, that's how a Razer product is built from ground up. No marketing BS and no hype.

We pioneered the eSports movement with the world's first $100K tournament back in 2000 and we have continued to give back to the community by sponsoring top eSports athletes who give back to Razer by beta-testing our products. We remain one of the largest sponsors of eSports community sponsoring top global eSports teams worldwide.

The people that work here at Razer are gamers just like you – some amateur, some ex-professional gamers, some just play for fun, just ask our CEO who will lay the smack down on you in Quake Live or our President, who has over ten level 80's on his local server. Hell, he will even take you on a raid in the middle of the work day.

We are the same gamers who are told by the suits that we need adult supervision and we need a professional CEO or management team – and we're the same gamers who tell the suits exactly where to shove it because we like doing what we do – and we do it on our own terms.

We hope our passion for gaming speaks to you like it does to us, through our products and we hope you enjoy the competitive edge we bring to your game."

Hybrid audio freedom

One headset to play them all—the Razer Barracuda X is a versatile, lightweight wireless gaming headset designed for seamless use across PC, PlayStation*, Nintendo Switch, and Android.

Effortless plug-and-play

No extra pairing steps, no additional software downloads, no trouble. Simply plug in the USB-C wireless transceiver to your desired platform and our 4-in-1 wireless headset is immediately paired for play. A 3.5mm analog cable is available to turn the headset wired when needed.

Comfort for days

Ultra-light at just 250g, our multi-platform wireless headset has been designed for long-lasting comfort and all-day use.

Flowknit memory foam ear cushions

Thick, plush headband cushion

Swiveling, pivoting earcups

Detachable microphone

Fine-tuned for full fidelity

The patented design enables our acoustic engineers to custom tune each audio driver as though there are three, allowing for the individual replications of high, mid and low audio frequencies. This not only delivers richer trebles, brighter midrange, and powerful bass, but results in clear sound that doesn’t muddy.

Clarity without question

By suppressing sounds from the back and sides, the mic offers greater speech pickup and noise cancellation, ensuring improved clarity and a natural representation of your voice.

Pushing the right button

As the power button on the Razer Barracuda X doubles up as an audio playback button, it provides easily accessible control that doesn’t require fussing with your phone.

 

Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz

Impedance: 32 ? (1 kHz)

Sensitivity: 96dBSPL / mW@1KHz by HATS

Driver Size - Diameters (mm): 40 mm

Driver Type: Razer™ TriForce

Inner Earcup Diameter: 60 mm x 40 mm

Noise Cancelling: Passive noise cancellation

Connection Type: USB-C Wireless (2.4GHz), 3.5mm Analog

Cable Length: 1.5 m / 4.92 ft

Weight: 250 g / 0.55 lbs

Microphone Style: Detachable HyperClear Cardioid

Pick-up Pattern: Unidirectional

Microphone Frequency Response: 100 Hz - 10 kHz

Microphone Sensitivity (@1kHz): -42 ± 3 dB

Virtual Surround Encoding: 7.1 Surround sound: Only available on Windows 10 64-bit

Volume Control: Volume up and down

Other Controls: Mic mute on / off toggle

Play / pause track, accept incoming call or end current call, skip track, previous track

Battery Life: 20 hrs

 

Razer has been recently on a spree in terms of new headset releases, one of the last ones being the Barracuda X. This headset borrows the name from one of Razer’s first gaming headsets, Barracuda HP1, which was a very interesting model at the time, with an in-line remote. The new model is wireless and aims to be compatible with as many platforms as possible, such as PC, Playstation, Nintendo Switch and Android; we can include here analog sources as well, since the product can also function in wired mode via the 3.5mm audio interface.

 

The Barracuda X is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure with the signature Razer colors; the frontal area shows the main product highlights, but also the compatibility throughout multiple systems:

 

 

 

Some product details can be seen on the side as well:

 

 

 

On the back we have even more information regarding the main headset components, in multiple languages:

 

 

 

The bottom area has information regarding the inside contents, the requirements, technical specifications, microphone details but also usage instructions:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will note inside a separate cardboard box, with the documentation on top:

 

 

 

The documentation is quite through and explains how to proceed with installation, depending on the chosen platform:

 

 

 

A nice set of Razer stickers is also present:

 

 

 

The box contains the main product in a dark grey foam protective packaging, while the lower compartment includes the bundle:

 

 

 

The hardware bundle is individually packaged in four separate dark grey foam envelopes:

 

 

 

The USB cable for charging purposes sports a non-tangle design; the USB connector which goes to the PC/charger is USB-A, while the connector going to the headset is USB-C:

 

 

 

The supplied microphone is detachable and includes a cardioid capsule; the windscreen is made of foam material, while the flexible part of the body is covered in black rubber:

 

 

 

Here is how the microphone body does look like with the windscreen removed:

 

 

 

 

We are also getting an extender USB cable for the wireless dongle, sporting the same non-tangle design:

 

 

 

 

The adapter is very compact and allows easy dongle connection; this type of connection really helps, because you will be allowed to place the dongle farther away from the computer:

 

 

 

The wireless dongle looks identical to the one we have seen along with the SteelSeries Arctis 7P and can crowd nearby ports when connected straight to the PC/laptop. It is very light and offers a working range in the whole apartment:

 

 

 

Here is how the assembly does look, when the dongle is connected to the supplied adapter:

 

 

 

On the back of the adapter, we will note the product code name, the serial number but also a list of supported standards:

 

 

 

For connecting to a large range of analog devices, a Stereo cable is supplied as well:

 

 

 

The headset weight is low at about 250g, thanks to the almost all-plastic construction; it comes with a black color scheme and a matte texture on the outside:

 

 

 

The earcups can swivel, pivot to adapt with all head shapes, while the flowknit memory foam air cushions improve the overall comfort:

 

 

 

 

On the outside of each cup we will find a subtle Razer logo:

 

 

 

The inside of the frame also includes the naming of the Stereo channels:

 

 

 

On the left cup we have plenty of interfaces! We will begin with the microphone mute button:

 

 

 

Next, we do have the Volume wheel:

 

 

 

The On/Off button does come with other functions as well, such as Play/Pause, Accept/End incoming call, Skip track or Previous track:

 

 

 

The USB charging port is next to the 3.5mm jack port:

 

 

 

Lastly, we do have the microphone jack port:

 

 

 

The headband can be extended as needed:

 

 

 

 

On the interior of the headband we do have a thick, plush cushion covered in leatherette:

 

 

 

The top area comes with a large Razer logo:

 

 

 

The microphone can be easily attached/detached as needed:

 

 

 

The headset does also feature a battery charging indicator, which also shows the current connection status:

 

 

 

The Barracuda X headset does not have compatibility with Razer Synapse, so there were no software options we could choose from. Right after connecting the headset to our test machine, we listened to a few YouTube music videos, podcasts, watched a couple of movies on HBO Go but also ran some games. The EQ setting of the headset is balanced, with a good bass delivery for most applications; additionally, the headset is fully compatible with technologies such as Dolby Atmos, Pulse 3D (PlayStation), THX Spatial Audio and more.

 

Razer have their own software for audio spatialization named THX Spatial Audio but must be purchased separately; a promo code is offered in order to get this app at about 50% off, which is great!

 

In terms of microphone quality, this one sounded great in conferences while gaming but will not filter all nearby noises; if you do a lot of calls, thanks to the 20+ hour battery life, Barracuda X has you covered!

 

The Barracuda X is priced competitively at just about 99 Euros. Considering the battery life, the output quality of the 40mm custom-tuned drivers, the Wi-Fi range and microphone quality, we can consider this particular headset quite a good deal!

Razer Barracuda X Multi-Platform Wireless Headset is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Razer for making this review possible!