Razer is back at it again with another Razer Hammerhead earbuds in the market. This time, they’re introducing the duo drivers technology to the Hammerhead series. The Razer Hammerhead Duo is the jack-based edition to the series. Let’s take a closer look at how it holds its own at $60 in this Razer Hammerhead Duo Review.
Unboxing Razer Hammerhead Duo
The Razer Hammerhead Duo sits in a simple flip box. In fact, this is probably the simplest packaging I’ve seen from Razer. On the cover of the box, it’s a clear image of the product with a focus on the Dual Driver Technology on the bottom right of the flap. Turning it around immediately shows the 2-year warranty badge.
Flipping open the box reveals the Hammerhead Duo, the usual manual plus Razer decal. There’s also a bag containing two additional silicone tips. They come in varying size (S and L) so don’t worry if the default one doesn’t feel right in your ear, swap out the ear tips to a desirable size.
Build and design
This version of the Hammerhead comes in a stealthy all black with the Razer logo on the back of each ear pod. As always, black cables are my absolute favorite since they blend in well. By the way, the drivers aren’t the only thing duo about this in-ear headset.
The cable is made up of both braided and silicon. The part before it splits is braided whereas the split left and right side are silicons. My guess is it’s made that way to reduce reverb when the top part comes in contact/rub against your outfit. Despite the bottom half being the only ones braided, I didn’t have any tangle issue. Oh, do note that this rendition of the Hammerhead doesn’t come with a carrying pouch so keep that in mind when you’re packing it. The end of the headset is an angled audio jack. I definitely prefer this over those straight ones as it doesn’t get in the way when you’re mobile gaming on landscape mode.
There is currently two variations of the Hammerhead Duo with the other one made compatible for Switch. You can identify them easily via the Razer logo in each earbud with the latter being grey. Oh and unlike the Hammerhead ANC, these Razer logos doesn’t glow when plugged in. You can still see them close up but not so much from far away.
Next, they have a perfect weight to them that it feels premium holding it. I was a little concern about how it’d fit in the ear but turns out they the weight were just nice that it didn’t feel like it was pulling down on my ear.
In terms of build and design, the only qualm I personally have been with the ear tips. Though I want to preface this by saying I’m not a fan of in-ear headset because earbud just hurts my ear canal (yes, no matter the size). I wore these for a long period of time on multiple occasions and my ear just hurts. But hopefully, if you’re a frequent in-ear headset user – this wouldn’t be a problem.
Features
It has pretty decent noise cancellation. If you read my last review on the Hammerhead USB-C ANC, you would know that I’m a frequent traveler by bus. The loud rumbling of the engine is typically the main cause of annoyance but anytime I get the chance to travel with a Hammerhead, it’s always a good time. Though if you’re looking for the ultimate noise canceling headset, I would recommend getting the Hammerhead ANC.
However, the main feature of the Hammerhead Duo is obviously the duo driver technology. So let’s talk a bit about that and how it makes this a good headset to get. Typically, most headsets come with a single driver. This means that one little tiny driver is doing all the work – bass, mids and highs (frequencies). Ultimately, the output would sound muddled. With duo driver, the headset is capable of separating deep bass from mid and high frequencies. This makes it capable of delivering a rich and full range audio for superior clarity. Basically, great immersive sound when it comes to entertainment and gaming.
Next, along with the cables, you’ll find the inline control and mic. This worked perfectly fine with my phone. However, the volume control doesn’t work with PC or any of my consoles. The mic does on both mobile phone and PC but not on consoles. I was really surprised at how good the mic was. The Hammerhead Duo came in handy when in the three-hour long WhatsApp call a few days ago. When asked about how I was sounding, they said it was loud and clear! I didn’t have to lift it up to my mouth or anything. Just letting it hang by my chest via the cable was good enough to pick up my voice clearly.
User experience and review
Let me just say that watching movies on my phone via this headset was amazing. Watched some Game of Thrones and winter definitely arrived in my ears thanks to the Hammerhead Duo. As for music listening on the phone, the treble can be quite sharp if you listen on high volume. Lowering it fixes this for me. I listened to my usual servings of BTS, chill step mixes on YouTube and occasionally some Lauv and Khalid. Regardless of genre, the audio output is the same. The bass is fine and the trebles are clean.
Finally, let’s summarize how it did in gaming. One of the pros of this headset is how compatible it is with everything since it’s an audio-jack version. I tested it on my PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and both of my phones (Samsung Galaxy S9 and iPhone 6s)
PC
On PC, I hooked it via my Logitech Z333 volume control hub. Played some Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and I must say; the sound of the waves crashing against the Andrestia as I sailed across Ancient Greek was enough for me to give this headset a thumbs up.
PlayStation 4
As for PlayStation 4, plugged it in via the controller and boot up some Kingdom Hearts 3 and ironically I’m currently in the Pirate of the Caribbean world so the water sounds were just as crisp and clear as it was on PC.
Nintendo Switch
I played some Super Smash Bros on the Switch. This version of the Hammerhead Duo works just fine on the Switch but I suggest getting the Switch version if you want to use it for console gaming (i.e PS4, Xbox). The audio retained the same quality as it did with the previous devices. But here, take a look at how they are different in the picture below.
I didn’t use it much for gaming on my phone since I’m currently only playing Epic 7. But entertainment wise (movies and music) the sound definitely delivered, as I stated above.
Verdict
Setting out to be a pair of an affordable headset at $59.99, the Hammerhead Duo definitely accomplished its goal. If you’re Razer fan and is looking for a starter headset specifically for gaming, this is a good pick to start. With is a wide range of compatibility, you can for sure get the full use out of across your devices.
Oh and if it wasn’t obvious, this doesn’t work with the Razer Phone by the way (or any other phone without an audio-jack slot for that matter). If you want a Hammerhead for your Razer Phone, check out the Razer Hammerhead USB-C ANC. Otherwise, I suggest checking out the HyperX Cloud Earbuds.
Thanks for reading my Razer Hammerhead Duo Review!
