Razer Barracuda X Review – A step up in audio quality

Gaming headphones are everywhere. So, this review of Razer‘s newest offering, Razer Barracuda X, will help you decide if they are worth it.

It boasts 4-in-1 wireless compatibility on top of a light 250g body. All this aside, does the audio quality actually justifies its price?

Let us dive into this review of the Razer Barracuda X to find out!

Specs

Simple and Clean

Design-wise, the Razer Barracuda X looks simplistic, with its fully matte black exterior. Unfortunately, for those RGB super fans, you will not be getting fancy lighting effects from the headphones. On the plus side, that also means no static or other annoying issues like leaving fingerprints, which I personally prefer.

All the ports and controls are located on the left ear cup. The mic jack, audio jack and charging port are all there. You can also access the status indicator, power button, volume control wheel and the mute button for the mic on the left side. 

The gaming headset’s adjustable headband is pretty comfortable on the head thanks to its inner cushioning. The headband itself should fit into basically all heads and is pretty easy to adjust.

In addition, the Barracuda X boasts breathable memory foam ear cushions. Not only are the cushions great at stopping external sound from coming in, they really do a good job of maintaining a snuggly fit around the ears, even for those with smaller ears.

Personally, my ears were slightly uncomfortable after using it for a few hours. Since it covers my ears just tight (not too tight), it feels as if my ears needed a little bit more room to breathe. I thought that my ears were sweating, but they actually were not.

Despite this shortcoming, they are still a lot more comfortable than the majority of other gaming headsets that I have used. As someone who gets migraines due to the gaps in the ear cups, the Barracuda X’s memory foam cushions solve this issue for me completely.

In addition, the Barracuda X is also a lot lighter than other Razer headsets. While most of them typically weigh over 300g, the Barracuda X weighs in at 250g. Honestly, I cannot really tell the difference (probably due to my big head), but those with smaller heads should find it more preferable.

Compatibility, Convenience and Charging

The Razer Barracuda X lets you connect with pretty much anything The Wireless USB-C Dongle fits right into the latest smartphones, Nintendo Switch and anything with a USB-C port these days. Even if the device you are using only supports USB-A, you can also connect to it via the USB-A to USB-C extender. You can also use the wireless transceiver by plugging in the USB-A to USB-C extender. Lastly, there is also the option of connecting to old school audio jacks with the 3.5mm combo cable.

Charging the headset is done via its USB-A to USB-C charging cable. Fully charging takes about 3 hours. To review its battery performance, I left the Razer Barracuda X on to play songs for 8 hours straight, and its status indicator still displayed a healthy blue light. Needless to say, it will last a good while without charging.

I also really like how convenient it is to access several functions via the left side of the headset. Pressing the power button once also acts as a pause and play button. It also doubles up as the button to accept and end class. Double pressing lets you skip a track, while triple pressing lets you go back to the previous track. It is really handy.

Finally, the microphone is also detachable. Gone are the days of being forced to have a stick in front of your mouth.

Sounds Great!

I am happy to report that the Razer Barracuda X passed the most important element for this review! Initially, using it as it does cause the sound to be quite lacking While I was playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the game’s background sound was louder than the sound of my shooting. For PUBG Mobile, enemy footsteps are not really clear. This is because the headset balances audio with the surroundings by default.

After tweaking around with Razer’s THX Spatial Audio app, I was able to achieve the sound quality that I was looking for. You will need to customise the headset’s settings to reach its optimum performance. I was able to resolve all the issues I mentioned previously while getting even clearer audio quality. For gamers, the Barracuda X is exactly what you need.

For watching videos and listening to music, the surround sound is excellent. Nice highs, mids and lows. The bass is also really good. I could feel its shakiness without it being overwhelming.

Also, I ran a few more tests on it and there is no buzzing noise. The left and right stereo sound test proves that it is balanced nicely. When using it via wireless connection, there is no delay in the audio.

Finally, the detachable mic also works really well. I tested it out with friends in-game, and they can tell the difference in audio quality when I talked to them with and without the headset.

THX Spatial Audio

The software that I used in this review to get the best sound with the Razer Barracuda X is THX Spatial Audio, it lets you manipulate the equaliser so that you can pick up certain sounds better. You can save these customised settings for various purposes, such as for gaming or for watching movies.

Here are my settings:

Closing Thoughts

The Razer Barracuda X works like a charm. It may need a little tweaking around with its settings first, but once you do, the sound it produces is top-notch.

Design-wise, it is also pretty solid overall. It may look simple, but it is a lot lighter and more comfortable than a lot of other headsets. In addition, it works with pretty much any audio device, which is very classy of Razer.

I really recommend the Razer Barracuda X to gamers. Razer is setting a retail price of RM459 for the Barracuda X, with authorised resellers to sell the product Malaysia starting on 15 July onwards.

Visit Razer’s website to learn more.