Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset Review

• Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ω at 1kHz
• Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): 102 dB ± 4dB at 1 kHzMax
• Input Power: 200 mW
• Drivers: 40 mm, with neodymium Magnets

• Frequency Response: 50 – 16,000 Hz
• Sensitivity( @1kHz, 1V/Pa): -37 dB ± 4dB
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 50 dB
• Pick-up pattern: Unidirectional
• Cable: 3 meters, Braided Fiber Sheath
• Connector: 3.5 mm jack (headphone and mic)

Hardware Requirements
Any PC with 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks

PACKAGING

The Carcharias comes packed in half-clear box with one half of the box showing the left earcup of the headset. Good marketing choice so people who have some kind of thing for checking stuff out before they get, they can actually get a glimpse of what’s inside.

Flipping the box around, we get a message from RazerGuy about the history of the Carcharias. Not gonna go much into details into this one. Also, for some reason I’ve seem to have lost my shot of the back of the box and I deeply apologize for that. To give you an idea what’s on the back of the box, its got the Carcharias’ features translated into 14 languages or something… yes, ‘m serious.

Opening up the box, we pull out the inner cardboard frame supporting the headset. The top part of the frame is removed to release the Carcharias from its cardboard confines. The cord are tucked inside the central part and the paper documents are cleverly tucked away behind the box which I weirdly like.

Pulling out the papers behind the packaging we have a couple of documentation which includes a Quick Start guide, a product catalog, certificate of authenticity and a Razer logo sticker sheet so you can brand whatever surface you might want to stick it on.

PRODUCT PHOTOS

And here we have the star of our review, the Razer Carcharias. And yes, in case you were asking, it looks awfully similar to the Razer Orca (which we’ve also previously reviewed.) They are physically the same, structure-wise aside from the color. Also specs-wise the Orca has a wider frequency range but the Carcharias has a microphone. Also the Orca is for the audiophile, the Carcharias is for the gaming enthusiast. Go read the Orca review if you suddenly thought that was cool.

This headset, like its stylish brother, features circular earcups dubbed circumaural and promises to deliver clear sounds with utmost comfort. The cushions are very soft and has a nice texture to them. The external side of the earcups have glossy trimmings with a wire mesh dome and similar to the PC360, allows passing through of sounds when minimal or no audio is being played. The earcups are connected to the headband via aluminum rods which slide up to 2 inch off the headbands to fit large heads. Although people with big ears might have a problem with the earcups.

The headband is emblazoned with the Razer fragged logo, though not apparent at quick glances is there, glistening at the right angle. It would’ve been a bit better if Razer did the logo in grey like the they’re triple snake logo on the earcup. I would’ve initially suggested green but I’m particularly banking that they we’re on a monochromatic theme. The headband main body has matte black finish with circular ends holding the metal rods in place. The inner part of headband is lined with soft cushion similar to that of the earcups.

The Carcharias’ mic boom is quite discrete. Its connected to the left earcup and can rotate 270 degrees from top then downwards to the back. Its middle part is in rubber allowing it to bend for close range action between your mouth and the mic sensor.

The Carcharias is very flexible in terms of give on the headband all the while still being light. I’ve also just recently found out that you can remove those cushions via twisting them and Razer is offering replacement leatherette cushions which offer far better comfort and sound isolation.

Moving on the cable, the Carcharias features an in-line volume control with a clip for management. I must admit I am now biased to the PC360’s volume knob which is on the right earcup and its non-tangle cabling and I wish more companies integrate that design or at least consider it. Admit it, it is easier to just spin that volume wheel when its on your earcup rather than fumble with wires.

Razer’s signature fiber sheath cabling is still in action here and so as their standard gold plating on the connectors which guarantees clean, audio signals from the source.

PERFORMANCE, COMFORT, FUNCTIONALITY

• SNSD’s new hot track featuring a catchy tune and upbeat vocals, its intro features solid synths which the Carcharias renders beautifully with the panning effect perfectly captured. Solid bass through and through the entire song. Vocals were clear and again I really love the positional audio and panning effects. One thing though, the bass synths and kicks during the chorus sounded muddy or dirty and lowering the gain didn’t solve that.

Jay Chou – HipHop Stewardess [FLAC 1147kbps 44hz]

• My man Jay Chou with his smooth club banger track. Nice synths with Jay’s smooth vocalson this one. This track is mixed down highlighting the vocals and not much audio effects going on. Jay’s voice was smooth all throughout the song and the Carcharias does it justice with its quality highs.

Smile.Dk – Golden Sky [MP3 192kbps 44hz]

• A Dance Dance Revolution track, this one is one of my faves and I’m already subconsciously in-tune with this song by heart that I just groove when its playing. Music-wise, this track has Smile.dk’s signature high-pitched vocals but smooth delivery and upbeat tempo. Our test headset jives perfectly with the chimesand beat of this song. Dammit now I wanna play DDR. I’m getting that muddy sound again this time in the chimes and snare during the chorus. I’m starting to see a pattern here.

Gackt – Last Song (The Seventh Night Unplugged Version) [MP3 192kbps 44hz]

• One of the best piano ballad performances I have ever heard. Gackt’s heart-wrenching vocals subtly yet still powerfully accompanied by his exceptional piano performance makes for the perfect tragic song. The Carcharias easily captures this and turns it into a great listening experience with the subtle pauses and emotive high notes well delivered.

• Really gotta hand it to Capcom and Mr. Horiyama putting together a nice collection of ear candy with the Rockman X4 OST. This particular track is an upbeat rock track with high note keys to give it that early 2000’s techno theme. The Carcharias breezed this one and did well.

Pretty good performance by the Carcharias on this round, easily on par with the superb Sennheiser PC360. One thing I noticed though is that the Carcharias has that dirty or muddy sound when it comes to the mid to high frequency mixed with low kicks drums. We’ve also tested the Carcharias in fixed frequency tests and I’m kind of disappointed that it failed to deliver smoothly on the 20hz range. It had that hum to it but the bass was simply too weak and was around the unit’s lowest range. Still, this is pretty technical stuff already and is nearly oblivious to people who don’t care actually.

Movie and Video

Second round and take your seat ladies and gentlemen, we have a gundam battle in our midst. For this category we have the latest episode of Gundam Unicorn in BD. We jump right to 16:40, where the Kshatriya is taking on the Unicorn Gundam in more than a gundam battle, but a war of words and principles. And Unicorn is going into NT-D Destroy Mode.

Right then and there you got the Kshatriya spewing out her funnel bits at the Unicorn and this accompanied by some really nice sound effects and realistic audio. The entire show features a great score as expected from a high-value production from Bandai. As for the Carcharias, good performance overall. Positional audio and rendering of audio effects were nicely done. I expected some muddiness one the orchestraic BGMs basing on what I experience previously but fortunately there were none.

Gaming

Call of Duty: Black Ops – Mission: Numbers

Eat glass shards, yo. This mission takes Hudson and co. to Shanghai to interrogate Dr. Clark. Things get bad from there as they get into a fight for their lives against the Spetsnaz. This level is a rainy level and demonstrates the games ability to deliver multiple layers of audio with enough clarity and depth for each. The Carcharias does well delivering the game audio and in-game dialogs are very clear. Details like rain and ricochets were rendered well with sufficient distance to them to base in-game decisions on. Pretty sweet performance and in this round, well on par with the PC360.

Dead Space 2

Its been a while since I’ve played this game and apparently I’m still in the same place I was back in March when I started this game. Someone screwed with my saved game. Moving on to serious matters, Dead Space 2 skillfully uses ambient noise and random sounds that seems to come out of nowhere and for no reason at all aside from just scaring the pants off the unsuspecting player. The Carcharias chomps its way through the game’s audio like the shark that it is, taking a piece of the game and delivery it nicely to the ears. In-game dialogs were also beautifully rendered by the headset with enough depth and distortion to them to fool the mind that sense of false realism.

All in all, the Carcharias performs well in this category which is also its main arena.

CONCLUSION

Closing things up, we really got to point out that the Carcharias really feels solid and tough compared to its weight. Deceptive and nice. The choice of using metal rods for the adjusters really gave me peace of mind since I’ve practically encountered countless headphones and headsets snapping of at the adjusters and mind you that these are from some name-brands that I will not mention. Razer’s signature cabling ensures that the wire will last. Do note that this kind of wire is preferably neatly tied in a circular fashion rather than ringed around and then tied down in a bundle. This creates tangles on the cabling making them hard to manage. Little details like the bendable mic boom and gold plating on the audio jacks are nice to see and are always a welcoming sight.

Design-wise, the overall look is okay by me. Not that aggressive but still has a bit of statement to it. The choice of color and the lack of variety would’ve been a nice addition and would really make it easier for potential buyer’s weighing their decisions based on looks.

Value-wise, the Carcharias main competitors locally are from Logitech, A4Tech, and Tt eSports. We’ve yet to publish official reviews from those companies so I’ll just base this part on personal experience. I would’ve added the PC360 but its price and availability locally make it a non-competitor in this realm. Its main rival in the local scene would be the Tt eSports Shock Spin, something I’ve yet to test out. Price-wise, the Carcharias retails for US$80, close to the Shock Spin, and is pretty much alone in this price-range. Taking its price-to-performance ratio, the Carcharias is a good choice and a better value than the higher-priced models.

Now for the negative stuff. First the color scheme, particularly the fragged logo. It could’ve been more defined but knowing Razer, they really like going for this kinds of theme. The Mamba being another example. Still, it would’ve been more visually appealing if it was grayed as mentioned before to coincide with tri-snake logo on the earcups. A minor gripe but for a company that prides itself on its swag material and cult following, more brand exposure would’ve been a nice reward. Secondly, the cushions though comfortable are itchy when they get hot. Long sessions or a hot room will warm those cushions up fast along with your skin and they really did a number on my cheek. Since Razer is offering leatherette replacement cushions, I would suggest getting those if you find the earcups irritating after some time. Another issue would be the placement of the volume control. At around a foot into the cable, it was intended to clip on a pocket or collar, but not all of us wear collars. I wear tees to work and topless at home, I have no way of clipping this myself. Now maybe not everyone goes topless in front of the PC, but I’m pretty sure everyone will wear tees once in a while. Take a page out of the Sennheiser book headset makers, use on-cup volume controls. Its easier.

Overall performance, and this is still the most important, of the Carcharias is nearly on par with the pricey PC360 which delivered supreme performance. That said, being in the same analog headset market as the PC360, the Carcharias is easily the top choice for those who want comfortable, long-session headsets with pro-quality sounds but at a reasonable price. Many would scoff at the idea of a US$80 headset, but the guys playing in this league are way above that and if you were asking do I need a gaming headset? If you’re reading this article, then you most likely do. And you my good reader, will like the Carcharias if you are looking for a gaming headset right now. Money put on a decent sound-card and the Carcharias is money well spent rather than having a flashy analog headset and built-in audio.