The next step in gaming immersion will come at a price Updated: Sep 28, 2024 6:55 pm WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more Table of Contents Table of Contents Razer has officially unveiled a number of new products at this year’s Razercon, including the Razer Kraken V4 Pro headset – the brand’s next step towards audio immersion. RazerCon has showcased some impressive new technologies today, none more so than the brand’s latest HD haptics products that include the Razer Kraken V4 Pro headset and Razer Freyja HD Haptics gaming cushion. The brand’s latest immersion-increasing headset brings all the latest HD Haptics technology to the table, allowing you to feel every explosion, footstep, and gunshot. It comes with a bunch of exciting features that are all custom designed to improve your overall gaming experience, including the brand’s Sense HD Haptics technology. In this first look review, we sit down with the Razer Kraken V4 Pro to see how it stacks up in gaming, entertainment consumption, and general everyday usage. We consider build quality, aesthetics, usability, and overall value for money, concluding with our thoughts on whether this headset is worth its steep $399 price tag. At a glance Launches on September 28th, 2024 Retails for $399 Built for immersion Equipped with Razer’s Sensa HD Haptics technology Comes with OLED Control hub Offers 4 modes of connectivity Features retractable HyperCler super wideband mic Equipped with Bio-Cellulose 40 mm Drivers THX spatial Audio Previous Next Feature rich design Like any of Razer’s high-end products, the Razer Kraken V4 Pro is a feature-rich headset that offers everything a gamer could want. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Razer’s Kraken V4 Pro to see how its features impact gaming and everyday usage. Razer Sensa HD Haptics At the heart of the Kraken V4 Pro headset lies Razer’s Sensa HD Haptics, the brand’s next pursuit to gaming immersion. The technology is custom-designed to deliver realistic haptic sensations that mimic in-game audio cues such as explosions, gunfire, or footsteps. Sensa HD Haptics has the ability to output wideband HD haptics via built-in precision motors in the earcups, allowing gamers to feel their virtual world. It not only works independently when listening to movies or music, but also offers game developers the opportunity to add code to their games for a more fine-tuned gaming experience. OLED Control hub The Kraken V4 Pro headset comes with a stylish OLED Control hub that – when it isn’t displaying a cool animation – offers up quick controls for tweaking your device. Users will have access to 20 customization options for the audible experience through the control hub, including volume and haptics intensity. The controller features 3 separate inputs that allow users to use the Kraken V4 Pro headset with your PC, Console, or handheld gaming device. You can connect all three devices at the same time and easily toggle between each using the audio input source button. 4 modes of connectivity In search for ultimate versatility, the Kraken V4 Pro headset offers up 4 unique modes of connectivity, allowing users to sync the headset to a PC, Switch, PlayStation, Steam Deck, or Mobile device – via HyperSpeed wireless, Bluetooth, USB, or 3.5 connection. Synapse 4 profiles Alongside the latest HD Haptic products, Razer also launched the latest Synapse software suite at RazerCon – the latest peripheral syncing tool in their arsenal. Like the Razer Freyja (the brand’s latest gaming cushion), the Kraken V4 Pro can be customized through the brand’s latest Synapse 4 software suites, where users can set a custom profile or use one of the various presets. Using the custom preset, as we’ll touch upon shortly, is the best way to enjoy the headset to its fullest – as it allows you to finetune the process to your exact requirements. It also allows you to enable game developers custom profiles that are uniquely designed for the highest levels of immersion. HyperClear Super Wideband Mic The Kraken V4 Pro headset comes with the brand’s HyperClear Super Wideband microphone which offers incredibly clear audio when gaming. The microphone operates on a 32KHz sampling rate (double that found in more general headsets) which offers up superior audio quality overall. You can set various microphone EQ presets within Synapse 4 for a more tailored audio experience. Stylish Razer aesthetics As you can imagine, the Razer Kraken V4 Pro offers up all the usual flare of a high-end Razer Product – and you guessed it, that means RGB. The Kraken V4 Pro does feel and look like an incredibly premium product, utilizing high-end protein leatherette and memory foam cushioning for the earcups. The brand has also tailored the form-factor of the earcups to improve the overall ambient noise cancellation. The headset also features earcup swivel mechanics for a better resting feel. As you’d expect, Razer has equipped the headset with plenty of RGB – specifically 9-zones that are all customizable through the brand’s Razer Chroma software suite. A Flushed retractable mic can be found on the left earcup that is near-invisible when not in use. Hands on experience I was lucky enough to use the Kraken V4 Pro headset for around 3 days before writing this review, and overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. Whether I was listening to music, watching clips from movies, or enjoying games, the Kraken V4 Pro sounded fantastic. The main reason for the excellent sound performance of the Kraken V4 Pro headset is due to the Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose 40mm drivers. They not only provide a realistic sound profile in games and other entertainment scenarios, but also provide enough depth to provide a truly immersive experience. I was pleasantly happy with the overall audio experience in music, so quickly ran the headset through a few games and audio cues were very easy to pick up on – albeit a little on the bassy sides for my personal taste. This was quickly resolved by jumping into the Synapse and tweaking the EQ of the headset. Audio aside, let’s talk about the HD Haptics experience of this headset. Very much like the Razer Freyja cushion, the Kraken V4 Pro headset sprung into life once we enabled it. The initial intensity was pretty impressive right out of the box, but that feeling soon wore off as I got used to the headset. Sadly, I felt like the overall Haptic experience was a little unrefined during long music sessions, with a decent amount of fine-tuning required to get it where I wanted. The presets out of the box did work for the headset, but they weren’t universal over different types of content. When I was gaming, the presets felt OK, however, listening to music resulted in some tweaking for it to not constantly vibrate. That being said, after some experimentation, you could get the Kraken V4 Pro to feel very immersive. Sadly, the headset did leak quite a bit of audio once you cranked the volume up past around 70%, which was commented on several times by colleagues in the office. Additionally, my ears did get a little sweaty after fairly extensive usage, but that may just be me getting old and not used to long gaming sessions anymore. Initial verdict Overall, I really enjoyed using the Kraken V4 Pro headset – whether that be in gaming scenarios or just relaxing watching a live concert or sporting event. However, the elephant in the room here has to be the pricing – it comes in at a whopping $399 – which puts it slap bang into the higher end of the price spectrum. While the audio experience was decent, as was the overall feel of the headset, you’d expect the overall user experience to be pretty spot on right out of the box for that price. Additionally, a fair bit of fine-tuning was required to make the headset feel perfect, which again, is something that I feel can’t be overlooked. That being said, once you dial everything in and your happy, the Kraken V4 Pro is a fantastic sounding and looking headset. I just wish it was a little bit more plug-n-play and offers slightly more customization for the HD Haptics functionality.
