Razer Barracuda review

Our Verdict

80%

A well-designed crossover wireless gaming headset for home and away use, but the internal mics don’t sound great.

The Razer Barracuda wireless gaming headset misses out on the active noise cancellation (ANC) and THX AAA amplifier of the Razer Barracuda Pro, but still has Bluetooth and internal microphones, plus it adds an extra feature in the form of an analog 3.5mm input. It’s aimed squarely at the emerging market for premium, multi-purpose headsets, with a tagline of ‘home gaming, street living’.

It’s only available in black, and there’s not even a hint of coloured highlights – unlike the Logitech G735, you can’t even accessorise the Barracuda with colourful extras.

It’s not outlandish, but it looks great. The clean lines of the earcups’ outer surfaces – adorned only by a shiny black Razer logo hidden among the otherwise matt black finish – and the simple headband look effortlessly cool, and the lack of sticky-out mic arms makes the Barracuda practical for travel too.

The headset’s fit is secure, thanks to a reasonably strong clamping force and a grippy pleather surface to the headband. The notched arm adjustment works about as well as usual too, and allows for heads small and large to be accommodated.

Comfort is middling, with the headband not as cushioning as headsets with elasticated bands, and the foam not quite as squishy as that of the EPOS H3Pro Hybrid. It’s about on par with the Logitech G735 and ahead of the Corsair HS80 and Roccat Syn Pro Air in this respect. Meanwhile, the earcups have sufficiently deep and soft padding, with a fabric cover that provides breathability without the slightly scratchy feel of the Roccat headset.

Two holes on the front edges of the earcups show where the internal mics pick up their sound, while further back on the left earcup is the USB Type-C charging port, 3.5mm analogue input, power button, volume wheel and mic mute button. On the back of the right earcup is the Bluetooth button that will play/pause music and connect to devices. The headset supports connecting to two devices at once but can’t mix the two audio sources.

Sadly, audio from the internal microphones is, like that of the Asus Delta S Wireless, poor quality, with a tinny, inconsistent sound – there’s only so much that the headset can make up for the microphones being so far from your voice. It’s sufficient for voice comms, and there’s noise-cancelling that works well for drowning out background annoyances, such as keyboard taps, but there’s an inherent compromise of convenience over sound quality.

Thankfully the headphones sound better. Overall clarity is very good with a strong but not overblown bass response, pleasingly warm mid-tones and plenty of top-end sparkle. The EPOS H3Pro Hybrid beats it for detail and stereo image, but the Barracuda easily justifies its premium over the likes of the Corsair HS80.

The Barracuda also supports THX Spatial Audio for virtual surround sound, and it works well. We particularly like how you can assign the software to automatically enable or disable the spatial audio on a per-game or per-app basis. Razer’s software also supports ample tweaking of the EQ and spatial audio calibration. Thanks in part to its lack of RGB lighting, battery life is also decent, with a 40-hour rating.

Razer Barracuda pros and cons

Pros

• Stylish design
• Practical, compact design
• Lots of features for its price
• Good headphone sound quality
• Decent battery life

Cons

• Poor microphone sound quality
• Lack of ANC limits use on noisy transport

Razer Barracuda specs

The Razer Barracuda specs list is:

Razer Barracuda price

The Razer Barracuda price is $110 (£125), making it a mid-range wireless gaming headset, and it has enough features to mostly justify its price.

Price:  Expect to pay $110 (£125)

Razer Barracuda review conclusion

With its compact, stylish design and internal microphones, the Razer Barracuda does an excellent job of bridging the gap between home gaming headset and portable ‘street’ headset, though its lack of ANC dents its appeal for use on planes and trains. Sound quality is solid, the feature list is strong, and battery life is decent though microphone quality is poor compared to headsets with mic arms. If the Razer Barracuda isn’t quite the headset you were looking for, check out our best gaming headset list for more options.