Razer has emerged as one of the most recognisable gaming brands for peripherals. I've been using its line of headsets for a long time, for a variety of uses, from chatting on Discord to listening to music, to even using them during DJ sets. As such, I was eager to test out the latest offering, the Razer Kraken V4.
The headset arrived in Razer's customary black and green packaging. Unlike several of its predecessors, the Kraken V4 is fully wireless, and comes with a USB-C dongle for 2.4 GHz connectivity. It also comes with a braided USB-C to USB-A cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adaptor for the dongle to enable connection to legacy.
In terms of the design, the V4 strongly resembled its brethren, with nice big ear cups that come equipped with deep foam padding. Instead of the leatherette found on many headsets, the ear pads are instead covered in a mesh fabric that is more breathable, making it comfortable for long gaming sessions.
Unlike some previous models, the V4 is all plastic. This does make it lighter to wear, but it does feel a bit less substantial as a result. This is not to say that the plastic is cheap or brittle, far from it. However, I'd be a little less cavalier about stuffing the V4 into my bag with my DJ kit.
Connectivity: Wireless via 2.4 GHz, Type-C Dongle or Bluetooth; Wired via USB Type-C cable
Drivers: Razer TriForce Titanium 40 mm
Microphone: Retractable unidirectional Razer HyperClear Super Wideband
Battery Life: Up to 35 hours with RGB enabled
Weight: 350 g
Features: Razer Chroma nine-zone RGB lighting, THX Spatial Audio, on-board audio profiles
Price: $180/£180
The fit and feel are pleasant. More lightweight than my faithful Kraken Kitty V1, but just as comfortable and solid. Since I have a tiny head, I would prefer the adjustment to go smaller by one more notch, but this is a minor gripe. The clamping force is not too strong, but enough to keep it slipping off if you turn your head sharply.
The customary RGB lighting is confined to the side of the ear cups and is controlled as usual by Razer's Synapse software. Here we come to my biggest issue. Razer Synapse is an overly bloated piece of software. It gobbles far too many resources, and I've had stability problems with it before.
For example, if I want to use my Virtual DJ software, I need to completely uninstall and reinstall Synapse before it will work at all.
When Synapse does deign to function, then the nine-zone Chroma lighting can be customised to your heart's content. In fairness, when it is functioning properly, this can provide some really awesome effects or some pleasantly subtle ones.
As with my older Kraken headset, the microphone is on a flexible stalk that slides away neatly into the body of the headset. This makes it more practical for travel, but the way that the mic is recessed makes it hard to grab sometimes. The mute button is now sat on the headset body on the earcup chassis. This probably makes it more reliable, but I miss the action of pressing the microphone tip to mute.
The microphone is a feature I've always liked about my previous Razer Kraken, and that continues here. It provides solid sound quality and the internal pop filter is likewise doing a lot of heavy lifting. It also manages to filter out any extraneous noise. My friends in Final Fantasy XIV never have to worry about being bombarded with sounds from the washing machine, or my husband's wails when he gets offed in Dead by Daylight.
Despite the generally positive experience of using the Kraken V4, there is one aspect that confuses and frustrates me. The V4 comes up in audio devices as two separate devices. One is labeled as Kraken V4 (Game), and the other as Kraken V4 (Chat). I understand this is likely to serve streamers and Vtubers.
✅ You want customisable RGB lighting: It's not for everyone, but if you want your headset to glow in any colour, this is good for that.
✅ You want high-quality THX spatial audio: The Kraken V4 does well with THX spatial audio enabled.
❌ You want a budget headset: There are plenty of cheaper headsets out there.
❌ You want a light headset: At 350 grams, this is quite a heavy headset.
However, if I want to have a good quality audio experience I need to ensure that the 'Chat' version is set to default in all my software. Otherwise, I get inexplicable crackles and drop-outs. Likewise, when I plug the headset in via a USB cable so I can use it as it is charging, I get another two devices detected. In effect, my PC recognises no less than four devices that are all a single headset.
I'm not sure what this is actually for, considering the 'Game' option seems to give bizarrely terrible sound quality.
In general, as long as I had the 'Chat' device selected, the audio quality was superb. The 40mm TriForce titanium drivers really do the job. If you are using the headset on a Windows PC, you can enable THX Spatial Audio for a really immersive experience. Watching something like John Carpenter's The Thing in the dark with this headset and THX Spatial Audio enabled is enough to scare the pants off you.
The Kraken V4 is an excellent gaming headset. Despite some issues with software that is a bit too clever for its own good, it is a great choice for the upper-tier of the mid-range.
