The Razer Nari Ultimate Headset for Xbox One is hands down the best accessory for Microsoft’s console I have ever used to date. It’s only recently I have delved into headset comparisons and after holding an official Microsoft Headset for the longest time, it was finally time to put Razer’s Xbox specific console to the test and I am glad I did. The haptic vibration, the truly wireless sound with surround sound boasts an impressive range from the console and doesn’t need any USB dongle’s or any added accessory to work with the console. Comfy gel pads help keep your ear cushioned during long play sessions and a retractable microphone make for a great game and video separate mode.
The unboxing is impressive. Everything in a cool black and green mould, if you want to see the contents of the box, you can watch my unboxing video from last week here. What surprised me the most was the pairing, it was just like a controller. No cables, no dongle attachments (looking at you PS4!) just a press of a button on the headset and on the console, assign a profile and it was ready to go. There is a very long USB type C charging cord also in green and black which has been incredibly useful to identify the right one to recharge the headset when needed.
When I first fired it up I charged it to capacity and spent quite a few long gaming sessions trying to see just how much I could get of it. The results are incredibly impressive, depending on the settings of course. I found I could get about 6 and half to 7 hours with the vibration sensors on and close to 24 hours with it turned off. There is a slider where you can control just how sensitive the vibrations are, while I found it advantageous and fun in games, when I was watching movies it was a bit irritating. Fortunately the dial helps with that and also includes the battery life as well.
The earcups are incredible comfortable, they are big enough to cover even the biggest of ears (like mine!) and the gel pads make it easy to game for long amounts of time. The only criticism I have of these is the cooling technology used. There is a cooling gel inside that is meant to keep the outside of your ears cool, unfortunately mine didn’t work too well and I had to keep removing them to give my ears some relief. Fortunately to counter-act this the over head design and flexibility of the band and the cans themselves allow for adjustments to suit your head and make an easy solution to get you through long play sessions.
Sound wise this is unlike anything I have used on a console before. For general audio connected to my phone and music I use Sony WH1000XM3, a very high end and quality headset. To put it in perspective Razer Nari Ultimate sound quality is crisper, clearer and delivers a heavier bass than the Sony’s setting the bar ridiculously high. There were times in Sea Of Thieves, waves are crashing up on my ship and the smack, thud and spray exploded in my ears. The deep bass of the music thrusting through helped immerse me in the game further.
Speaking of Sea Of Thieves, extending the mic and using the headset in multiplayer mode is another way for the headset to show off just how great it is. My shipmates confirmed that the quality was crisp and clear with my voice not delivering any lag or significant delays. The headset is also great at keeping out background noise. In my hectic household there are often people coming and going, doors being slammed and songs being sung, the Nari’s seemed to isolate my voice and push it to the front of the sound delivered on the online game. This is something I haven’t seen or head done so well in a headset before.
The headset is incredibly beautiful. There are Razer logos on both left and right cans that light up and flash when syncing and stay on if you want while in use. The added green to the lower inside of the headband fits in with the black and green colour scheme, yet is also a great nod to Xbox green intentional or not. The power button is responsive and provides a satisfying click when turning on and off. This also turns triggers the haptics to confirm if on or off and in sync with your console. The volume control for the headset and for audio and microphone party noise are through a manual scroll wheel that also let the headset down. This process of rolling them back and forth with your finger doesn’t feel as futuristic as the rest of the headset and the limitations put on the volume when not gaming is a little disappointing. Charging the headset through the USB-C cable is lightning fast and can be used on any other USB-C charger, so if you have an android phone charged with type C you can get a fast charge direct through your wall charger.
Razer have delivered the goods for the ultimate Xbox One headset. While the cooling pad gel technology is not as fantastic as I was led to believe, the other features of the headset and overall the pure comfort while gaming or watching a movie counter-act this one niggle. If you are looking for your next headset, this really should be your only choice with Xbox One. There are no USB dongles taking up space, no messy and frustrating steps to sync and best of all you can use it on specific profiles, so if you share your console it will be much easier. The Razer Nari Ultimate Xbox One Headset is now available.
