Razer - Kraken V4 Pro Wireless Gaming Headset with 9 Zone Chroma RGB - For PC, Mac, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, Smartphone - Black

The Kraken V4 Pro comes with the mixer, a USB-A to USB-C, USB-C to USB-C, and a 3.5mm to USB-C cable. It uses Synapse 4 to operate and change its settings. The headset sounds great out of the box when it comes to music. I feel the haptics really enhances a lot of songs that aren't technically bass heavy, such as old classics from the 30s-60s. Anything with a distinct instrument, you'll be able to feel them as if it was being played next to you. The best way for me to explain this this would be with the song "It's Not Unusual", it feels like there's clapping behind you. It was a lot of fun listening to music while I had the headset and giving a listen to my large library of songs, getting a new experience from them. The headset itself is very comfortable, I could easily wear it for hours at a time. No complaints there. What I found to be a real issue was the absolutely poor mic quality. The V4 Pro uses the same poorly received mic as the base V4 Kraken, and there's a lack of actual tuning as there's only 3 pre-set modes for the mic to use (broadcast, micboost, and live conference) and they all sound terrible. This is an absurd move by Razer when they're charging $400 for a headset. At this price range, everything should be at least above average, if not premium. Especially when they have the capability of making a good gaming microphone headset (seen in the Blackshark V2), but they've opted to cheap out on a $400 headset. As for the main focus of the headset, the haptics in gaming. I found that if its not on the small list of games that are pre-tuned by Razer, it can be a huge nuisance to tune the haptic settings per game yourself as it's unlikely you'll get good haptic settings ranges carrying between game genres. My personal experience is tweaking my haptic settings for 30min while playing GoW:R, then trying to play Deadlock later that night and spending another 30min tweaking it since every bullet fired sounded atrocious with absurd haptics. My personal opinion on the product is that if you play with groups of friends often on multiplayer or many genres of games, it's not worth it. I've had multiple scenarios where it was difficult for my friends to make out what I was saying at times with this microphone. Unless you get a separate microphone (which is crazy since you're already spending $400 on the product) and have a small library of games that's your focus (like FPS mains), the headset will be a huge hassle working tweaking settings every single time you try a new game.

As a gamer and computer enthusiast, I’m always excited to get my hands on a new headset – especially one from Razer. The Razer Kraken Pro 4 has some cool features and might just be what you need. It’s a high quality build, focusing on comfort, quality, and some pretty nifty features that make it stand out. The build quality of the Kraken Pro 4 is great. Razer has had a mixed history for me. However, this time they really stepped up their game. The LED’s are as expected and the desktop controller is awesome. The retractable microphone is great. The headband and ear cups are mostly made of metal, giving it a sturdy and premium feel. The ear cups look sleek and provide a comfortable fit. Comfort is key when you are in a long session, and the Kraken Pro 4 delivers on that pretty well. The ear cushions are made of memory foam and have soft leatherette material. The head pressure is nice, a little on the strong side. I would say strong enough to hold them around your head through hard head turns, while not hurting your ears in the process. I found that I could wear them for extended periods without any discomfort, which is a huge plus. The standout feature we’re all here for is obviously the Haptic feedback. It does add a new dimension to your gaming experience by providing physical feedback that attempts to mimic in game actions. A little bit of a gimmick but to be honest, I do like it. Is it necessary? Probably not – but I’m not complaining. The RGB lighting is another highlight. Using Razer's Chroma RGB, you can adjust colors and effects to fit with your setup. Lastly, the OLED Control Hub is a nice addition. It lets you control audio settings, volume, and haptics all in one location. It's neat and just adds convenience while also keeping the desk clean. I wish it could also control the rest of your audio devices volume, but that aside, it’s well made and cool looking. In general, the Razer Kraken Pro 4 is great for gamers seeking a quality, comfortable headset with some less common advanced features. It is not cheap, but given the quality of construction, comfort, and nice array of features, it's a solid buy.

The new Razer Kraken V4 is a solid multi device capable headset. It works with several platforms. I’m using it with my Windows gaming PCs. I also own an older wired Kraken Pro headset with haptic feedback, and have been happy with it. However, this particular V4 model is wireless and includes an external control hub. Two nice improvements. Setup is straightforward, despite the instructional foldout being a bit convoluted. I first charged the headset before setup. After it fully charged, I connected the control unit to my Windows PC. A window popped up offering to install Razer Synapse. I installed the Synapse and Chroma RGB apps. I powered on the headset which was detected by the control hub automatically, and I was good to go. The headset is well crafted and the plastic and metal frame feels solidly constructed. The ear cups and head band are soft and comfortable. The headset fits me comfortably without any bothersome weight or pressure on my ears or head. It has a retractable flexible boom mic with an inline hardware mute button. The ear cups are easy to adjust, extending and retracting with a ratcheting action for more precise stops. The ear cup covers are removable, which is a plus because they can be replaced if needed, rather than trashing the headset. Both ear cups have controls. Volume, power, and mic mute on the left, haptics and sound profiles on the right. RGB lighting is just the right amount. It’s only on the cups and the patterns are tolerable. They’re neither underwhelming nor over the top. Lighting can be customized in the Razer Chroma app. The portably sized companion control center is easy to use and a welcomed improvement over my last Kraken Pro headset. The monochrome OLED display is crisp, vivid and has great visibilty. There are several screen saver options for the OLED screen that can be customized to an extent. The single knob and button design is well crafted, being simple and intuitive to use. I can quickly tweak settings without launching Synapse, or even without exiting an active game. The knob and button allow me to quickly cycle through sound and haptic settings. There are also additional controls on the headset cups for volume, adjusting haptics intensity, and selecting sound profiles. They’re well placed and easy to memorize. Sound through the headset is loud, clean, and realistic. The 40mm drivers deliver beautiful sound in either stereo or THX spatial audio. The latter is excellent for gaming. I can hear the quietest to loudest sounds with great clarity and isolation for environmental noises in game. Positional sounds are effective and accurate. Music sounds good through the headset as well. The Kraken won’t rival a good set of audiophile quality headphones, but is more than good enough for general everyday listening. The boom mic has adjustable sound profiles as well as an adjustable graphic equalizer. It fully retracts into the headset when not in use. Sound quality is great. My voice is clear with no noticeable clipping or background noise. The voice isolation is great and I am told I sound crystal clear in chat. The control unit has three sound profile presets: game, movie, and music. It also has a 10-band graphic equalizer for creating more customized sound profiles. The EQ is selectable as a preset on the control center but the actual settings are managed through Synapse. The haptic feedback adds an increased level of realism to gaming immersion. Loud explosions and boomy bass sounds really pop. I was playing a racing game and drove into a tunnel. The sound of the car’s v12 engine reverberating off the tunnel walls was outstanding and I could actually feel the tunnel vibrations thanks to the haptic feedback. It really helps make me feel like I’m part of the game. Vibration intensity can be adjusted from low to high, or disabled altogether. On the flip side, haptic feedback misses the mark when it comes to enhancing music. It doesn’t add any oomph to the bass and vibrations are frequently out of sync with the beat in most songs. I did run into one minor yet annoying issue that I hope was an isolated incident. The headset powered off automatically after a period of inactivity while gaming. That was no big deal, but it wouldn’t reconnect after being powered back on. Despite multiple PC reboots, the headset wouldn’t connect and both Synapse and Chroma kept indicating it was powered off despite being powered on. I finally stumbled onto the correct troubleshooting sequence to restore functionality. Don’t know whether it was a one-time glitch, but I disabled the power saving auto-off feature in Synapse as a precaution. That one isolated issue aside, this headset has been wholly enjoyable. It sounds excellent, has good build quality, fits me comfortably, and the hardware is user friendly and well designed. Despite utilizing a separate control center, I can easily move the setup between multiple machines.