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Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro review
Razer introduced its first true wireless earbuds last fall. The Hammerhead True Wireless are affordable at $100, offering audio latency as low as 60ms. However, the key issue was battery life. In late 2019, four hours on a charge was quite disappointing, and a year later, it’s near the bottom of the bin. With the new Pro version of these earbuds, Razer has updated the design and added a host of new features that almost make the pricer version a worthy AirPods alternative.
Pros
- Great sound quality
- Customizable options
- Comfy fit
- Great assortment of ear tips
Cons
- Limited battery life
- Polarizing design
- Gaming mode can be hit or miss
- No on-board volume controls
- No wireless charging
Summary
Razer’s first noise-cancelling earbuds also pack in THX-certified immersive audio and a gaming-specific low-latency mode. The stick-bud design isn’t for everyone, but the company has included comfy Comply foam tips on top of the usual collection of silicone. A few annoyances keep these from being a compelling, and complete, package.
Tastefully, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro are like the Hammerhead earbuds that appeared in 2019. Razer kept the AirPod-like stickbud plan, alongside the organization's unique dark and-green shading plan. The greatest distinction is that the Hammerhead Pro utilizes an assortment of silicone ear tips where the first model was simply plastic, similar to AirPods. There are three sizes of "SmoothComfort" dark tips with a "milder, smoother complete the process of," as per the organization, in addition to three sizes of "SecureSeal" tips that have a "more inflexible, grippier" outside. Ultimately, Razer tossed in one bunch of "Go along" froth ear tips that grow in your ear trench for better latent clamor disconnection.
Another new component you'll see is an amplifier grille outwardly of each earbud. Those "feedforward" mics screen ecological commotion as a component of the Hammerhead Pro's ANC arrangement. Razer additionally migrated the charging pins from within each earbud "stick" to the base edge. Along these lines, the Pro buds sit upstanding in their charging situation where the primary variant laid level. The case is still smaller, however — very little bigger than a case of Tic Tacs.
Inside, Razer settled on more modest 10mm drivers on the Hammerhead Pro. The first Hammerhead earbuds stuffed in 13mm units, however the organization guarantees a similar 20Hz-20KHz recurrence reaction as the past model. There's additionally an input receiver inside each earbud to get any undesirable clamor that may sneak past the outer ANC mics. A roundabout board on each side handles contact controls, and they're both enhanced with Razer's snake logo. Ultimately, the Hammerhead Pro is IPX4 appraised against sprinkles, so they ought to effectively withstand sweat during an exercise.
Setup and use
When it comes to the initial pairing process, Razer made things easy. All you have to do is flip open the case and the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro will appear in your Bluetooth menu. You don’t have to mess around with putting the earbuds in pairing mode first. The next time you flip open the charging case to remove to the buds, they’ll pair with your device automatically. By the time you get them into your ears, you’re ready to play music or a podcast. The company has already released a firmware update for the earbuds, and the companion app alerted me to install it from the jump. In less than 10 minutes, the process was complete and I was ready to go.
Speaking of apps, Razer has different software for the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro than for the Opus. That’s not really a problem unless you own both. If you do, things could get a bit cumbersome; it’s one more thing to juggle on your phone when most companies have one app that works with all their models. Inside you’ll find battery percentages for each earbud, custom EQ and the ability to remap the on-board controls. To tweak the sound profile, you can select from Razer’s collection of presets: THX (default), Amplified (increased low and mid frequencies), Vocal, Enhanced Bass and Enhanced Clarity (more emphasis on mid and high frequencies). There’s also a custom option that gives you total control of the EQ curve. The app saves your work there, and if you ever need to start over, there’s a handy “Set to flat” button.
For the touch controls, Razer permits you to reconfigure each motion the earbuds will acknowledge. As such, you can absolutely remap single press, twofold tap, triple tap, long press and a triple tap and hold. That last, more elaborate alternative is set to enact the low-inactivity gaming mode of course. Different activities incorporate play/delay, skipping tracks, stop, voice associate and ANC/straightforwardness mode. Razer likewise permits you to set a signal to "nothing" on the off chance that you see fit, and it will likewise let you rejigger the controls for calls. The default alternatives are reflected on the two sides, however they don't need to remain that way. The one key thing that the organization doesn't offer is ready volume control, so you'll have to go after your telephone or trust your voice associate to roll out that improvement for you. These earbuds do stop naturally when you eliminate in any event one of them, so that is one thing you won't need to stress over.
Talking about programmed stopping, the Hammerhead Pro will kill following a couple of moments of inertia. Furthermore, what's much handier is that the earbuds consequently turn on again when you lift them up off your work area and set them back in your ears. You don't need to dock them for the situation first, or press and hang on both earbuds. It's snappy and simple, and it's excessively helpful.
Being used, the touch controls are generally solid. The something bizarre I needed to reinvent my cerebrum for was the single press, which is set to play/delay as a matter of course. Where a great deal of earbuds are earphones make this a solitary tap, it's a more drawn out press here. The Hammerhead Pro won't do a thing on the off chance that you attempt to pull off a snappy tap; you need to leave your finger on the board marginally more. It's baffling from the outset, however I at last got the hang of it. It actually feels peculiar, however, particularly since the twofold and triple tap signals are the snappy kind of thing I'm utilized to.
Because of the variety of ear tips, and the way that the Hammerhead Pro earbuds don't go too far into your ear trenches, I had no issue wearing these for quite a long time at a time. I begin to see a trace of uneasiness after around 45 minutes with most earbuds, however I never experienced a similar weight here, regardless of whether I was utilizing the silicone tips or the Comply froth choice. Razer's partner application likewise incorporates a fit test, so you can hear a second point of view after you've made your determination
Sound quality
Gaming mode
For mobile gaming, even the slightest lag can be a real buzzkill. To help with this, Razer included a low-latency mode on the original Hammerhead earbuds, and the feature returns on the Pro model. To be clear, I don’t have the proper tools to definitively check the company’s claims of 60ms, but I did use a few online options and the typical use case of lots of streaming video with people talking and live concert footage. And, of course, games.
With videos, I found things got out of sync with gaming mode on. The mouths of singing musicians and the constant swings of drummers were spot on in live footage. Ditto for any audio/video sync tests I tried. When I turned on Razer’s feature, though, things were obviously off. For games, it does actually help. Even with less intense titles like Sneaky Sasquatch, you can tell the difference when gaming mode is off. The sounds of footsteps don’t exactly stop when your character does, for example. With games like Sonic Racing, I couldn’t tell much of a difference, so your mileage may vary. Razer’s sync tool won’t fix all of your problems when it comes to latency, but it might help with some games.
Battery life
The promised battery life wasn’t great on the first-generation Hammerhead earbuds, and it’s not much better here. Razer says you can expect up to five hours of listening time on the buds themselves which is just an hour more than the previous model. I was only able to manage 4.5 hours with ANC on, half an hour less than advertised. The included case offers three extra charges for up to 20 hours of total use. Razer doesn’t mention any quick-charge features (also absent on the Opus headphones) and the case doesn’t support wireless charging. When the time comes, you’ll need to reach for a USB-C cable to fuel up.
The competition
Due to the design, the AirPods Pro are the first — and perhaps most obvious — comparison that comes to mind. Apple’s premium earbuds also offer ANC and spatial audio, plus hands-free access to Siri and quick pairing with iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices through iCloud. Now that they’ve been around for a year, you can find them for less than the original $249 asking price. We’ve seen them as low as $190 in the last month.
Another option that also has some age on it is Sony’s WF-1000XM3. Still the leader in the clubhouse as far as I’m concerned, these earbuds are big and bulky but they pack an incredible punch. The combination of sound quality and noise cancelling abilities is still the best, even after a year and a half. There’s also a ton of customization, especially when it comes to ANC, and you can even choose to let the 1000XM3s adjust to movement and location automatically. These earbuds were $230 when they debuted in the summer of 2019, but the going ratee is around $170 these days.
If you’re in the mood for something more recent, Jabra’s Elite 85t are worth a look. These earbuds check all the boxes, including adjustable ANC, wireless charging and a comfy fit. There were some noise issues at launch, but Jabra has already fixed those with a firmware update. And while they debuted at $229, they’re currently down to $200.
Wrap-up
Razer has understandably given the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro some gaming chops, but the earbuds are versatile enough for general use. Like it did with the Opus headphones, the company has created a great-sounding audio accessory that offers well-tuned and customizable sound. The on-board controls cover nearly all of the bases and the convenience of automatic pausing and power on/off makes this Pro model a joy to use. Of course, the stick-bud design won’t appeal to everyone. If you’re looking for an AirPods alternative, these aren’t superior, per se, but they do have some redeeming qualities. I just wish they were slightly cheaper than $200, which would make them much easier to recommend
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