PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

WIRED

OR

WIRELESS?

Now this mayseemanobvious

decision tosomebuttheprice

differencebetweena greatwired

set and a cheaperwirelessmodel

can still beprettygreat.That

means youmaywanttoconsider

stripping backtowiredand

getting analtogetherhigher

quality headsetforyourcash,

rather thanstretchtoa wireless

model withslimmerbatterylife

that’ll onlybecomean

annoyancelaterinlife.

That’s reallythecruxofthe

issue with wirelessheadsets.I

heartily recommendditchingthe

cables purelyforthefreedomof

getting up fora cupofcoffee

while chattinginDiscord,butI

must admitthatI’veonlyreally

fallen headoverheelsforwireless

headsets withswappable

batteries, suchastheSteelseries

Arctis Pro Wireless.Perhapsthe

more organisedgamerdoesn’t

mind the oddcharge,butI’m

anything butthat.

Kraken X

RAZER £50

Zero-fuss gaming audio

The Razer Kraken X has

been our pick for the

best budget headset

fora good while now, and the

best bit is they keep getting

cheaper with myriad sales and

discounts nowadays. This

headset’s official price is $50,

but you can find them for as little

as $35 in the bargain bin.

Now there have been some

necessary and expected

sacrifices to hit that cheap and

cheerful price. The big one is

audio clarity, where the Kraken X

loses out to other headsets in this

roundup – the Kraken’s extended

frequency range not doing much.

Similarly,it’snotthemost

convenientforanythingbut

gaming, asthemicrophonesticks

out like a sorethumbandcannot

be retractedorremoved.

Yet for apuregamingheadset,

it does thejobexceptionallywell

at this price.Itslargememory

foam ear padsarecomfortable

over long stintsandthemiccuts

through thefuzz.The3.5mm

analogue connectorisn’tanything

fancy, but atleastit offerswide

compatibilityfora rangeofPCs

and consoles.

SPECS WIRELESS: NO / DRIVERS: 40MM / CONNECTIVITY:3.5MM/FREQUENCYRESPONSE:12HZ-28,000HZ/

FEATURES: WHITE/BLACK COLOURS AVAILABLE / WEIGHT: 250G

6

Certifiedbargain

Comfy

Lacks audioclarity

VERDICT

Cloud II Wireless

HYPERX £120

A wireless remaster

Bearing the fruits of
HyperX’s long legacy of
gaming audio
excellence, the Cloud II present
excellent sound and build quality
with the essential features done
well. Plus there’s no feature-flab
inflating the price. This closed-
back design’s stereo soundscape
is punchier in the low end than
we’d usually go for. Still, the extra
bass doesn’t interfere with overall
clarity, and frankly, in games and
music environments, it sounds
great. The 53mm with
neodymium magnet drivers are
intended to give low, medium and
high frequencies space to
resonatewithoutinterferingwith

each other, and you do get a

sense of that while listening to

them. Elsewhere it’s the usual

impressive build quality, generous

padding, clear mic and high

comfort levels over longer play

sessions that the Cloud II design

has always offered. Except

nowadays it’s also trimmed the

cable off and gone completely

wireless for total freedom to

move about from your desktop

and that connection is as steady

as you’d hope.

SPECS WIRELESS: YES / DRIVERS: 53MM / CONNECTIVITY:WIRELESS,USBDONGLE/ FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
15HZ-20,000HZ / FEATURES: 30HR BATTERY LIFE / WEIGHT: 309G

5

Clearsound

Exceptionalquality

Great mic

VERDICT

4 5

Group Test

HARDWARE

6