Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones
Manufacturer: Razer Inc. Part number: RZ04-00130100-R2M1
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones are great for gameplay, but there are better options for music and movies.
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CNET editors' review
Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones price range: $82.50 - $91.21
- Reviewed by: David Rudden
- Edited by: John P. Falcone
- Reviewed on: 10/16/2006
The good: The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones provide excellent 5.1 surround sound for games. The removable microphone is great for online multiplayer and VoIP applications. The built-in amp is powered by a USB connection, rather than the AC power found on some competing models.
The bad: The headphones don't sound as good with movies and music as they do with games. You must buy Razer's sound card to truly optimize audio.
The bottom line: The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones are great for gameplay, but there are better options for music and movies.
The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones are a full-size set with extremely comfortable soft fabric, padded ear cups and headband. The HP-1s come in one color--black--with illuminated Razer logos on the outside of the earcups. The headphones' six-foot cable terminates with a proprietary 20-pin connector that's designed to plug directly into Razer's AC-1 Gaming Sound Card. Otherwise, you can use the included adapter, which has side, front, rear and microphone minijack plugs--which should interface with any standard 5.1 PC sound card--as well as a USB connection, which is necessary to power the headphones when using a standard sound card. An in-line remote is located about two feet from the earphones and is form fitting to the hand, with master and channel volume dials.
When we tested the HP-1s, the headphones lost a little lustre. We compared the HP-1s it to the similarly featured and priced Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA headphones. The HP-1s performed quite well when we played Doom 3--we were able to keep track of the frantic action, and the bass was strong for headphones, allowing us to accurately feel the character's heart thumping. When we moved on to movies, though, we were less impressed. It took a lot of tweaking to accurately portray the action in the "Riker Maneuver" scene of Star Trek: Insurrection , without missing out on the pertinent dialogue. Finally, we tried The Darkness's album Permission to Land and were dismayed by the flatness of the vocals. Conversely, the Turtle Beach headphones couldn't quite match the gaming acoustics, but were an all-star when we played music and movies. More importantly, it didn't require us to toggle with the separate channel volume nearly as much. In the Barracuda's defense, however, it was much easier to connect, since it was powered by USB and not an AC adaptor. The removable microphone, meanwhile, works great. It's so small that we sometimes forgot it was there--probably fine for most people, but a bit disconcerting if you prefer larger, headset-style boom mics.
If you're a hardcore gamer, we give the duke to the Barracuda--it's much more portable than the Turtle Beach, and its sound in games is unmatched. It also has the Turtle Beach beat in design and comfort. But if you're looking for something to satiate all of your PC media needs, there are better options for music and movies.
User reviews
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Really good heaphones, just need some tweaking!
by thatoneaznboi10 on November 19, 2007
Pros: Excellent Mic, Sound quality is good for music and movies, even better for games
Cons: Cord is kind of long (not really a con)
Summary: Don't believe the bad reviews. These headphones are really good. Im running these headphones with a Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit Card (Its around 5 years old), and they sound ...
Summary: Don't believe the bad reviews. These headphones are really good. Im running these headphones with a Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit Card (Its around 5 years old), and they sound really good after a little tweaking. I love these headphones, they sound really good when I tested them with music (Rock,Rap,R&B)and they sound so good that I actually heard noises that I never heard before. I could hear the background noises better and I could also hear the induvidual guitar stumming on accustic songs. Not only are the Barracuda's good for music they are also good for games (CS, WC3, BF2). I was able to hear induvidual footsteps that I couldn't recognize before in regular headphones. The microphone is so small sometimes I forget that it even has one. The mic is also good with VoIP programs like Ventrilo. I cant imagine what it would sound like if I upgraded to a higher quality sound card (X-Fi series, AC-1). These headphones sound great on my 5 year old sound card after tweaking!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Unit Breaks easy
by emaylim on December 28, 2008
Pros: Good sound for gaming.
Cons: Breaks very easily. This is my second pair of Barracuda Headphone.
The first just fell apart. The second pair I really took care. In a month, the sound on the right earpiece would come in and out. Switch related failureSummary: Do not buy this product. There are other products out there that have batter integrity than this. This is a waste of money.
Summary: Do not buy this product. There are other products out there that have batter integrity than this. This is a waste of money.
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What?! review? What?!
by Electrocus on November 22, 2008
Pros: LOUD!, Clear, Comfy, pretty blue lights!
Cons: No lines on volume knob, slight buzzing when no audio is playing, price a little steep.
Summary: Like other reviews, they needed some tweaking to get the full effect of the headphones. I have a Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer sound card. Just redirect the bass using the ...
Summary: Like other reviews, they needed some tweaking to get the full effect of the headphones. I have a Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer sound card. Just redirect the bass using the crossover and enable subwoofer gain, and the bass will rattle you skull.
These really are great headphones for gaming, music is pretty good too. -
You won't buy a cheap headset ever again
by Hlusak on March 3, 2008
Pros: Cozy, amazing quality, love the bass!
Cons: Requires some toying with, price a little steep
Summary: I was previously using an awkward over-ear logitech headset with a mediocre microphone. Thankfully, I tripped on the cord, ripping it straight out. That night, and $130 later, I had ...
Summary: I was previously using an awkward over-ear logitech headset with a mediocre microphone. Thankfully, I tripped on the cord, ripping it straight out. That night, and $130 later, I had these beauties.
Upon pulling them out of the box, and plugging them into my Dynex 5.1 card, I was less than impressed initially. The headphones were insanely comfortable, but the microphone seemed awkward off to the side, and the audio seemed like nothing spectacular. After reading reviews of the great bass and surround sound out of these, I had high hopes but heard nothing but an average headset.
After taking a moment and tweaking my sound settings to lower other speakers relative to the subwoofer and center, and enabling Stereo Expander with the Envy24 drivers, my jaw absolutely dropped. I am presently in envy just listening to prodigy, while the sound quality from the mic is insanely clear considering it's position.
Gaming? Beautiful. Granted, I play MMORPGs now not requiring positional audio as much as FPS games, it completes the immersion.
I don't want to take them off. -
What a Dissapointment
by Jtspectra2 on January 31, 2009
Pros: Comfortable, Long Cord, its Razer, Loud Bass, Looks cool
Cons: No Mute, Sound Quality is not great, Mic is bad, When using on Razer sound card its either headphones or Speakers due to the HDDAI connection
Summary: Out of all the gaming headsets that iv owned this is by far the worst pair . My 80 dollar Turtle Beach x3's for my Xbox sound better then these. ...
Summary: Out of all the gaming headsets that iv owned this is by far the worst pair . My 80 dollar Turtle Beach x3's for my Xbox sound better then these. I returned them to BestBuy 2 days after i bought them. I do not reccomend these to anybody. Razer Fails at this one. Stick to mice and keyboards guys !
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sounds Good / Mic is Sub Par
by chastom2 on November 12, 2006
Pros: The Sound is Good. Surround Sound Works Well.
Cons: Everyone I am trying to talk to complains that they can barely hear me.
Summary: If I were to do it again, I would look for a different headset. The sound is good, but regardless of how I set it, everyone that I am talking ...
Summary: If I were to do it again, I would look for a different headset. The sound is good, but regardless of how I set it, everyone that I am talking to is always complaining that my Mic volume is very low. They say that they can barely hear me when everyone else is coming through loud and clear.
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The Barracudas will bite your wallet, but are they worth it?
by wrightmh on February 5, 2007
Pros: Good game sound and 3D imagry; Digital operation (with matching proprietary soundcard).
Cons: Buggy, ill-placed microphone; Matching soundcard forces Sophie's Choice with any other sound peripherals.
Summary: I recently spent $300 on this promising sound system and frankly wish I hadn't. It's my own fault: I read the reviews, both glowing and just semi-glowing. The ...
Summary: I recently spent $300 on this promising sound system and frankly wish I hadn't. It's my own fault: I read the reviews, both glowing and just semi-glowing. The problems I have with this pair were not mentioned in the reviews and I did not miss them enough to get suspicious.
1.) The Mic: Everybody liked it. It is sensitive IF you boost the power. Nobody I read reported on how it actually worked during in-game play - Warning flag! I find I have two choices: without boost - inauduble, With boost - my friends own voices echo back though the system with enought annoying strength to give them an unpleasant sensation of yodeling down the Alps. Bad.
2) The matching card: The only way to take advantage of the Headset's digital capability is to by the matching $200 soundcard. but the only way to achieve this is to hook up the 'phones using the digital plug, effectivel shutting down any analogue sound peripherals you may have: You have a TV tuner? Forget it. Standard PC speakers? Garage sale time. The Razer guys were thoughtful enough to include optical in and out ports, just in case you like your gaming rig in the living room, next to the stereo. Personally, I don't.
If it's analogue surround headphones you want, there are cheaper ones out there. If you really want to go digital with this headset, use your PC most largely for gaming but don't use VOIP or in-game chat and if you don't own a set of speakers you can't part with, buy these $100+ headphones - then throw in the additional $200 for the matching sound card. Just remember. it's either Digital Headphones or Analogue Headphones and speakers and video editing and TV decoder..All analogue or All digital. It's one or the other - not both - at least until someboby figures a way to tweak an additional sound card to work with the Razer equipment. But for over $300, why should you have to jump over hurdles to be happy? IMHO, Razer needs to either come out with HP-1 v.2 or stick with mice - which, unreservedly I say, they do beautifully.1 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Razer Inc.
- Part number: RZ04-00130100-R2M1
- Description: The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones feature eight discrete audio drivers to enable pinpoint positional accuracy essential for gaming. It features advanced noise cancellation capabilities and a built-in microphone designed specifically for in-game communications - ideal for frenzied in-game communication.
General
- Product Type Headset - 5.1 channel
- Recommended Use PC multimedia
Headphones
- Headphones Type Headphones - Binaural
- Headphones Form Factor Ear-cup
- Connectivity Technology Wired
- Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
- Response Bandwidth 50 - 20000 Hz
Microphone
- Type Detachable - Boom
- Sensitivity -58 dB
- Impedance 2.2 KOhm
- Response Bandwidth 50 - 16000 Hz
- Audio Input Details Uni-directional - 50 - 16000 Hz - Output Impedance 2.2 KOhm
Manufacturer info
- Razer Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Razer Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.razerzone.com/
- Address:
900 Fort Street Mall, Honolulu, HI 96813
