Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless Hybrid Headset Hands-on

Razer recently brought in the Philippines its new Barracuda family of headphones for gaming and casual entertainment, and leading the pack is the Razer Barracuda Pro, sporting Hybrid ANC, Razer SmartSwitch Dual Wireless connection, Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose 50mm Drivers, and THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier. Read our hands-on below.

The Razer Barracuda Pro is a sleek-looking, over-ear type headphones, meaning it has a thick band and large ear cups. It’s mostly plastic but of high quality with a matte paint job.

The adjustable headband uses stainless steel. The headband cushion, on the other hand, is made of plush leatherette. For the ear cups, it uses memory foam cushions. It’s comfortable on the head and on the ears. Since the ear cups also swivel, it snugs the ears perfectly.

Even with the Active Noise Cancelling turned off, the ear cups can already block out plenty of external noise. The only downside is that it will also keep your ears warm so there’s the possibility of making them sweaty when the weather is hot.

Looking at the exterior of the ear cups, we can see the microphones for noise cancellation at the top. Placed on the front side are the integrated beamforming noise-canceling mics.

Found on the left ear cup are the mute button, volume adjuster, power button, LED indicator, and the USB-C port for charging.

On the right ear cup, we have the ANC/SmartSwitch button for toggling between ANC modes (single press for ANC on/ANC off/Ambient) and for switching between devices (double press) in Bluetooth or 2.4GHz Hyperspeed Wireless.

Connecting to the device is easy. Just press the power button and hold until a voice prompt says it’s ready to pair. From there, just go to your smartphone’s or laptop’s Bluetooth settings and pair.

As mentioned earlier, you can also connect via 2.4GHz using the USB-C dongle. In our case, we connected the dongle to your laptop while Bluetooth is on our smartphone. So when we’re playing and we need to switch to smartphone audio, we just need to double-press. The range is quite good as we didn’t encounter any interruption when we move from the living room to the kitchen with a wall in between.

If you want to further tweak the settings of the Barracuda Pro, the Razer Audio app for Android or iOS. From here you can toggle ANC modes, activate Do Not Disturb, adjust the Equalizer, activate Game Mode (for increased responsiveness with a smaller effective range), adjust Mic Noise Cancellation, and select devices for Quick Connect.

When it comes to ANC effectivity, we can say that it’s good. The cups already provide decent isolation, so when you turn on ANC mode, it provides an additional layer of background noise filtering. It won’t totally eliminate the high-pitched barking of your neighbor’s dogs or the voice of the delivery rider calling out your name, but it can remove noise from a fan or AC unit, which in turn improves the listening experience.

The Razer Barracuda Pro is equipped with Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose 50mm Drivers with THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA) to deliver high fidelity audio with low levels of noise, distortion, and power consumption. It also supports THX Spatial Audio to expand the sound stage when using the Razer Synapse software.

Audio quality is great with crisp and clear mids and highs and powerful lows. When playing racing games, you can feel the deep rumbling of the engines, In shooting games, you can get the fullness of the explosions and the powerful yet clean puffiness of suppressed shots, all of that without overpowering the rest of the spectrum so you can still clearly hear the noise of enemy fire or bullet casings clattering on the floor. When used for casually listening to music or watching videos, the Barracuda Pro can provide the same level of quality. It’s rich and can properly deliver the vocals and instruments.

When it comes to microphone quality during calls, the Barracuda Pro’s Integrated Beamforming Noise-Cancelling mics can easily pick up our voice. However, don’t expect a quality similar to condenser mics. It’s audible but sounds veiled. It’s okay for casual calls but don’t use it for voice-overs.

If you’re asking if you can use the Barracuda Pro via wired means, that option is not possible. Razer says that it’s because the headset’s features require power from a specially optimized battery. The good news is, the Barracuda Pro has a battery life of 40 hours.

Razer calls the Barracuda Pro a hybrid headset, meaning it’s designed for both gaming and mobile entertainment, and it sounds great regardless of the task. It has the capability to simultaneously connect to two devices and the convenience to quickly shift between the two, making it an easy pick for both work and play.

The Razer Barracuda Pro is priced at  PHP 15,495USD 264INR 22,384EUR 251CNY 1,923 and is available through Razer’s Official Website, Shopee, and Lazada, or through its authorized resellers.