Razer Messed Up Their Most Iconic Gaming Headset
There was a time, around a decade ago, when “Razer Kraken” was synonymous with “mainstream gaming headset.”
The original Kraken did a ton of work to popularize the idea of a pair of headphones with a mic strapped to it for gaming. Its bulbous bright design, huge soft cushions, and bass-heavy sound connected with a big audience looking for that sort of fun style and long-term wearing comfort. Some of the later revisions of the original model even brought in folding hinges, detachable cables, and aluminum reinforcement — features that ten years ago were normally only found on audiophile products.
Sure, the Kraken also did a lot of damage to the notion that gaming headsets could sound natural (which the HyperX Cloud then repaired) but for a lot of people it didn’t matter. Bass heavy signatures can be fun for gaming sometimes, as long as they’re not totally ruinous.
2016 saw the release of the Kraken V2, an upgrade that was better in pretty much every way. It took the gamer edge off the design just a little bit, and added better sound performance, a better aluminum frame, and huge incredibly amazing ear pads. Later revisions would add cooling gel to the pads, making the Kraken V2 one of the most comfortable headsets you could buy even to this…
