Razer has been well known in the gaming space for making high end and relatively pricey peripherals. While their sweet spot has definitely been input devices (mouse and keyboard, primarily), they’ve launched their fair share of gaming audio products as well, mostly centered around over-ear headphones that typically look really cool. Between the in-your-face neon green of the Orca and Kraken, the aviator style of the Blackshark, and the futuristic Tiamat, all of Razer’s recent headsets have made a design statement. Unfortunately, none of them have sounded very good. And I really mean none of them, excepting the ambitious and expensive Tiamat 7.1. No matter which Razer headset you look at, you can get substantially better audio quality for the money elsewhere. 

So when Razer told me they had come up with a pair of earbuds that emphasized audio quality, I scoffed. A couple of days later, a set of Hammerhead Pros showed up on my doorstep and I got to test them for myself. The Hammerhead is an in-ear-monitor (IEM) with 9mm Neodymium magnet dynamic drivers priced at $49.95, while the Pro adds an inline microphone for an extra $20. Design and build quality are pretty stellar, with all of the connected pieces being machined from aluminum. There’s some great detailing throughout the design, including knurled aluminum accents and the Razer motto “For gamers, by gamers” stamped into the back of each earbud. Between the black brushed finish of the aluminum and the neon green of the cable, you’re left with a pretty eye-catching set of IEMs. 

Given Razer’s recent efforts in the mobile computing space, their motivation in creating a more portable audio solution is pretty clear. It’s a pretty interesting price point, at the intersection of the low end of the audiophile-grade IEMs and the “fashion” earbuds, popularized by the House That Dre Built amongst others. The Hammerheads are certainly styled well enough to compete with the latter, but my interest was looking at them relative to the best budget IEMs. This includes the Klipsch S4, the Etymotic MC5, and my personal pick for best $50 IEM at the moment, the Logitech Ultimate Ears 600, of which I just so happen to own a set. 

The Hammerhead sound signature is definitely bass-heavy and tonally warm, though the mids are a bit muddled and instruments aren’t particularly well detailed at the top end. This isn’t really an issue if you’re listening to pop, as the bass-heavy nature of the tracks tends to suit the response of the dynamic driver, but for instrumentally-heavy songs, it certainly isn’t ideal. When compared to the UE 600, a very detailed and responsive set of IEMs, the mids and highs really lack a lot of clarity. The UE 600 is interesting because it’s one of the only balanced armature IEMs you can get at this price point, a feature typically reserved for premium IEMs. Balanced armature drivers tend to respond faster and thus have more accurate, if less bassy, sound profiles. In comparison, the Hammerhead’s overall sound signature ends up feeling not particularly refined, though the bass response is quite nice. It’s neither as crisp nor as balanced, though depending on your music selection it can certainly sound better than the at-times mid-heavy UE 600. Run through a Jay-Z/Kanye West playlist, and the UE 600 just sounds thin, while the warmth of the Hammerhead really shines through. Of course, it should go without saying that audio quality is very subjective, and personal preferences may vary when it comes to sound signature.

Comparing against the UE 600 is probably a bit unfair, because that’s legitimately one of the single best in-ear audio experiences you can get for a street price of $50, with an original MSRP of double that. It’s a legitimately premium set of monitors that’s available on the cheap. Relative to urBeats and most other fashion earbuds, the Hammerheads are a distinct step up, and of course, like any set of half-decent headphones, they’re a huge improvement from OEM-bundled headsets like Apple’s EarPod and the HTC One’s surprisingly not-awful earbuds. I come away pleasantly surprised, because I certainly wasn’t expecting Razer to deliver a competitive audio experience at this price point. For anyone whose primary usage will be music, I would still recommend a set of audio-centric IEMs in this price range, primarily the UE 600s or possibly Klipsch S4s, but the Hammerheads are worth a look. They’re visually impactful and well put together, sound decent (if a bit bass-heavy), and aren’t badly priced, either. For the style conscious, it’s an IEM that could certainly strike the right balance. 

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  • AncientWisdom - Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - link

    I want to point out that the Razer Carcharias are also very good for their street price, especially when considering this is a headset which you usually get rubbish sound quality from compared to headphone. Their looks aren't too bad either - we purchased two for the office for use in Skype and watching the occasional video tutorial etc.

    I also like this review despite lack of objective information, please do keep posting interesting audio products like this.
  • Bobs_Your_Uncle - Thursday, July 18, 2013 - link

    I appreciated your overview Vivek, & "I am unanimous in that". While reading I was given over to the thought that your descriptive styling would mesh very comfortably with many such user reviews to be found on Head-Fi (which you of course referenced later in comments).

    Numeric specs indeed do have a place but, as you rightly note, audio is experiential and just simply resides in a realm that is unavoidably & unambiguously subjective. Numbers provide a great referential context for SSD performance, but by themselves numbers just don't sound "warm" or "sibilant" or....

    Regarding numerical specs, charts & graphs, the most credible & authoritative reviewers (e.g. Tyll Hertsens @ InnerFidelity) always generate independent spec reports using calibrated bench equipment; a rather cumbersome process (I'm presuming) for a brief Pipeline post. Sure, you could have listed Razer's numbers, but, well...I'll just say that I used to work in marketing.

    FWIW, I'd *really* like to see more audio-centric coverage along these lines. With the advent of Haswell, all of the various board mfgs. appear to be highlighting an increased emphasis on high quality audo/audiophile grade sound reproduction, each with their own approach. Any step is progress if it serves to educate away from the "Dre Beats Mindset" & promotes a Sennheiser/Stax/Grado kind of grove.
  • popej - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link

    You think measurements are cumbersome? No, they are easy, fast and quickly reveal quality of device. Really cumbersome are properly done listening tests. This is one of reasons we don't see many of them. Other is that results are boring. Proper tests simply show that human hearing is not as good as human imagination, which is basis of subjective impressions, when senses don't deliver meaningful data. Actually nothing wrong with that, this is how human perception works. There is good article about perception on Wikipedia, read for example chapter about effect of motivation and expectation.

    Well, I don't expect to find listening test here, but I can't imagine technically oriented site without measurements ;)
  • James001 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link

    Hello Vivek Gowri,
    I read your Razer Hammerhead pro audio impressions article it is very interesting.Spanish Transcription convert all Audio files into text format.I think it is useful to you.If you want more information see this site
  • tbhatia4 - Sunday, October 12, 2014 - link

    Got these earphones yesterday, Awesome sound quality, I got a Y spillter with these that let's me use them on my PC as well.
    Ali i can say that good quality (But 6 Months India warranty was a let down)
    Anyways got a good deal from an indian website offered me Cash On Delivery and they charged me Rs 1000/- lesser than all big players Hats OFF!!!!
    check yourself here
    http://www.martnext.com/razer-hammerhead-pro-analo...

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