Verdict

Pros

• Comfortable to wear
• Punchy bass response
• Attractive design
• Strong build quality
• Excellent microphone

Cons

• Mid tones can get a touch muddy
• Relatively weak head grip

What is the Razer Kraken Pro V2?

The Kraken Pro is Razer’s stereo headset for those gamers who want an easy-to-use solution for gaming audio and voice chat. It’s a wired device that sounds great for all types of gaming, and delivers a respectable performance for music too. T

Note: There’s also a 7.1 “surround sound” USB Kraken Pro model; this review only focuses on the 3.5mm jack model.

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Razer Kraken Pro V2 – Design, Build and Features

The Kraken Pro V2 feels great in the hand, and has been built with perhaps the perfect blend of materials at this price point.

The top of the headset is layered with leather-like material and has “Razer” etched into the headband. The underside comes with a relatively shallow sheet of foam, with this portion coated in cloth.

It’s comfortable to wear, and the 322g weight never felt particularly heavy on my head. The upper section of the Kraken is also height adjustable, offering plenty of modification for various sizes of head.

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The degree of grip around the head is somewhat weak however, and while many people will thank Razer for this, I’d personally have preferred a tighter grip for less slippage when moving my head.

Move down to the lower sections of the headset and the Kraken Pro feels better. The sides are held together with a metal frame, and the earcups are constructed from a mixture of metallic mesh and textured plastic.

The earcups offer a decent amount of physical adjustment, and you’ll find the Razer logo is etched on each side of the unit. The circular cutout on the inside is fairly large, and fit my ears nicely. The foam is much thicker than found on the headband, but while the faux leather has a premium feel to it, I did find myself venting my ears quite often. This is to be expected with this sort of material, however.

The microphone on board the Kraken is retractable, and neatly tucks away into the left side of the headset. When extended it’s completely flexible, and allows the user to adjust to their preference.

The braided cable also attaches to the left side of the headset, although this isn’t user-replaceable in the event of cord failure, and does carry some external vibrations into the left earcup when moved.

The stereo nature of the Kraken makes it compatible with newer Xbox One and PS4 consoles, in addition to PCs – pretty much any device with a 3.5mm headphone jack will work. You’ll need an adapter to use this with PCs that use separate 3.5mm out and in ports however, which Razer helpfully provides in the package.

Razer Kraken Pro V2 – Audio Quality

Audio quality is yet another area of strength for the Kraken Pro V2; the headset offers an enjoyable listening experience across a wide spectrum of applications.

It’s definitely tuned for gaming, though, as I did find music listening to be a little bit of an Achilles heel. On the whole, it’s good, with a great level of bass that many are sure to love. Playing an “Electronic Pop” playlist revealed an engaging high-end, without many traces of sharpness, and a low end that delivers plenty of punch.

Where things became a little tricky is in the mid-tones; although many songs sound great, vocals sometimes came across a touch muddy and lacking in detail.

For the asking price, however, I have few complaints – but I do feel that they could be a little bit better for music listening. Stepping up to such a device as the Astro A40 TR would provide a better musical performance.

Gaming performance should be the real strength of the Kraken Pro, and they certainly deliver. Battlefield 1 sounded excellent through the Kraken, with an authentic thud to explosions that accurately convey the panic of firefights.

Gaming is all about immersion, and the Kraken certainly helps to immerse you in the game. Titanfall 2 sounded great, with subtle detail in player footsteps, and plenty of boom from the chaotic destruction.

It isn’t only the bass that impresses, though. The sound stage feels relatively wide for a closed back headset, although the lack of any surround sound does inhibit the device’s potential for pinpoint audio tracking.

The microphone is also stellar, with clear vocals that far outshine many of the headsets I’ve tested. As an analogue headset, quality will of course vary from device to device, but recordings captured via my Galaxy Note 4 were clean, crisp and clear.

For £80, I was very impressed, with performance that’s more than sufficient for voice applications and gaming.

Should I buy the Razer Kraken Pro V2?

The Kraken Pro V2 is a top-notch headset. It’s built remarkably well, looks great, and delivers an outstanding performance in games – all while remaining very comfortable over long gaming sessions.

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While it doesn’t sound quite as good as the Astro A40 TR, it’s significantly cheaper and offers pretty much everything you could ask for from a headset costing £80.

Unless you need surround sound or demand the highest quality headset for music, this is one of the best options on the market today.

Verdict

A superb stereo headset for gamers that excels in almost every area.

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