Thursday, December 17, 2020
Razer's Bluetooth Xbox combo headset is a decent option for those looking to combine their audio.
As more of us shift our gaming habits to mobile devices, more headset manufacturers are looking to slide Bluetooth options into their headset lineup. This latest one from Razer, the Kaira Pro, looks to balance a rich feature set with an affordable price point. Will they succeed and end up on our best Xbox One headset or best Xbox Series X, Series S headsets lists? Let's take a look (and listen).
Bluetooth Xbox combo
Razer Kaira Pro
Bottom line: The Kaira Pro is a decent all-rounder that offers a wealth of features with solid construction and quality. However, it has some close competitors in the same price bracket that edge it out.
Pros:
- Decent audio quality
- Bluetooth and Xbox wireless combo signals work well
- Great app experience with lots of features
- Decent construction quality
Cons:
- Mic monitoring only available via exploit (???)
- Bass distortion at higher volumes
Razer Kaira Pro review: What I loved
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Frequency Response | 20 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Drivers | 50mm "Razer Triforce Titanium" |
| Connectivity | Xbox Wireless, Bluetooth |
| Weight | 330g |
| Battery | 20 hours (without lighting), 15 hours (with lighting) |
The Razer Kaira Pro enters a growing range of $150 Bluetooth Xbox combo headsets, with some of that unique Razer flair. Perhaps the best thing about Razer products, generally, is that you can depend on good software and configuration options. The Kaira Pro is no exception. With an app on your Xbox, you can configure the headset's EQ balance, lighting array, mic volume, and more, complete with the ability to set up bespoke profiles. While I'm typically a fan of Razer Chroma, flashing Razer logos don't really add anything unless you're a streamer who wants to give Razer some free advertising, and they shave five hours off the battery life according to Razer's documentation. Thankfully, you can turn this off.
The headset itself is well-constructed, with decent materials and controls that have good action. It's often the case that the mechanical parts in dials and switches end up deprioritized with these "affordable" wireless headsets, but the Kaira Pro delivers.
With dials on both sides for master volume and chat mix, alongside separate buttons for power, Bluetooth pairing, and Xbox pairing, navigating the different functions on-ear is easy and convenient. The device also has audio cues for when you're hitting the dial's limits or when you're using one of its pairing features.
The headset itself is lightweight and comfortable to wear, even across long sessions. The foam and cushioning aren't the highest quality out there, but it's more than passable, especially given how light the headset is. The headset uses metal on its connectors and inner headband, which should give it some strength and longevity.
When it comes to sound, the Kaira Pro has mixed results. The soundstage is broad, and compliments surround algorithms like Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos well. Playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Overwatch is an immersive experience with this headset, giving you a good sense of positional awareness without feeling overly unnatural. You can tweak and tune the soundscape to your preferences using the EQ app, and I found it performs adequately well across highs, mids, and most bass scenarios.
Razer Kaira Pro review: What I disliked
While the Kaira Pro performs adequately enough when it comes to audio, I did find that at higher volumes, even on the basic EQ preset, it struggled a bit with bass. Bass often came through distorted, lacking the clarity I would expect paying $150 for a headset. That's ultimately the problem with this feature set, baking Bluetooth seems to be quite costly, meaning savings end up getting made in other areas. Some bass-heavy games like Battlefield, with its explosions, or even Cyberpunk 2077 with its thundering electropunk soundtrack suffer a bit with this headset, which is uncharacteristic of Razer headsets in general. It's not awful by any means, but certainly noticeable if you're, like me, looking for it.
Razer's page for the Kaira Pro says that mic monitoring is present in this headset, but there's no option to tune it in the app or enable it on the headset itself. There's a strange workaround you can perform to enable it, by using the app's listening feature while tuning the EQ on the microphone. So, you can enable it at least while you're running the Razer app on Xbox in the background, but there doesn't seem to be a way to enable it at a firmware level, especially if you're using the headset on a PC or mobile via Bluetooth. Clearly, the functionality is there within the headset, but it's almost like Razer forgot to enable it.
Should you buy the Razer Kaira Pro?
Overall, the Kaira Pro is a solid headset that doesn't necessarily break any cardinal sins. The implementation (or lack thereof) of sidetone mic monitoring is odd, and the bass quality suffers in some scenarios. However, this is one of the few headsets I've used where the wireless signals for Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless don't impede each other, which is a big plus if that's specifically what you're buying it for.
I'm not a fan of the neon green gamer accents, particularly in a headset that can be used out and about, and there are better headsets in this price range if you don't need that Bluetooth functionality. But if you're a fan of the Razer ecosystem, and specifically want Bluetooth and Xbox audio combo capabilities, this is a great product to check out.
Bluetooth Xbox combo
Razer Kaira Pro
Kaira Professional.
The Kaira Pro is an ideal Bluetooth Xbox combo headset for those who want to stay in the Razer ecosystem.
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