There’s also the slightly older Logitech G433 which remains a personal favourite, but Razer’s offering is more comfortable for long gaming sessions. It’s got tough competition though, and it’s worth considering Roccat’s Khan Aimo or Pro, which just have the edge on audio performance, but lose out on versatility.
It’s not a dealbreaker by any stretch but worth bearing in mind since there’s no inline clip to help minimise cable rubbing.Īt the £90 mark the Kraken TE makes a bold stake for the mid-range wired headset crown, and it’s a worthy contender. While I was playing on console I didn’t find it so noticeable because of the way I was sat, but it was something that raised its head a few times while on PC. The main downside I found during my time with the Kraken TE was that you can hear cable noise if you move around while the top half of the cable is resting against you. It’s not going to blow anyone away – you’ll want something a bit more high-end if you’re looking to record voice chat or podcasts – but for those who’re just shouting at your teammates it performs admirably.
Flying around the world of Anthem, the Kraken TE kept me fully immersed, helping to bring Bioware’s somewhat maligned looter shooter to life.įor those playing similar multiplayer-heavy games, there’s a retractable mic arm that unwinds from within the left earcup, and it does exactly what is asked of it. There’s more than enough bass for those that want it – with even more possible on PC – while I was still able to pick out the more detailed elements of music and speech. This is a headset that’s capable of pumping out some seriously loud sounds without distorting, and across a range of different entertainment I enjoyed every moment.
Again, you’re not going to have access to these niceties if you’re just using the basic 3.5mm connection, but luckily the Kraken TE’s 50mm drivers have been tuned to give you a great-sounding response from the off. While there’s a bunch of presets for music and gaming, I found I was able to get things just right using a custom setup.
The software also gives you access to sound normalisation and voice clarity sliders so that you can tweak things to your heart’s content, as well as a fully adjustable EQ. That’s great for those people who hop from one type of media to another. THX Spatial Audio taking pride of place as the headline feature and the USB breakout box helpfully has a dedicated button so that you can directly turn the effect on or off without diving into the software.
If, on the other hand, you’re playing on PC, the Razer Synapse software opens up a huge array of options that will allow you to get the best out of the Kraken TE.
You might be better off just going for the cheaper Kraken Pro V2 if you are. The attached headset cable itself boasts an in-line controller with a volume wheel and a button to mute your mic, but that’s all your getting if you’re just going to play on console. You might as well just plug straight into your controller rather than have a long cable laying across the floor. You can connect the Kraken TE to your PS4 by USB if you so wish, but the box won’t actually do anything beyond provide basic audio and chat.