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Razer Barracuda X 2022 Edition Gaming Headset Review
I spent most of my review of last year’s Barracuda X whining about how it was too much like the SteelSeries Arctis 1, and then a few weeks later I came back to say that my headband pad had started to peel off.
Razer has so impressed me with this year’s update of their affordable wireless headset that I’m ready to put all of that complaining firmly in the past. The 2022 Razer Barracuda X adds Bluetooth 5.2, a bigger headband design, and an expanded battery life to the HyperSpeed wireless connection and wired backup connections of the original, all without raising the price. Not only that, it has an improved and more customizable sound in wireless mode, and a better microphone than the most expensive headset in this same family.
This is a real winner, and it should be at the top of your list if you’re looking at wireless headsets — unless you’re mainly an Xbox gamer.
I bought this headset at retail with my own money. I was neither asked by nor compensated by Razer to write this. I don’t use affiliate links in any of my stories, so you can click away knowing I won’t get any sort of kickback if you buy this.
OVERVIEW
The Razer Barracuda X (official site here) replaces the similarly named model from last year and is now the cheapest option in a whole family of Barracuda headsets. The two upgraded models cost $159 and $249 respectively — but after spending some time with the Pro I think you should consider this lower priced model instead.
In the box, you get the headset itself, a USB-C dongle with the plug off to one side so it’ll fit better into a PS5, and several rubberized cables. You get a 3.5mm cable for analog connections, a USB-C charging cable, and a USB-A to USB-C extender for minimizing wireless interference by moving the dongle closer to your listening position.
Thanks to its plethora of connection options, this headset is compatible with basically any device you can think to throw at it — though you’ll want to use either the USB-C…
