Feeling a little like we, as Early Axes, were going back to our roots – starting off as an esports host for Xbox, we were excited to get our hand on another Razer product that has been designed for the console that holds such a dear place in our hearts.
Now the Kaira headsets from Razer are no stranger to us at Early Axes either, as we tested the Kaira for PlayStation last year. This time we got to get down and dirty with the Kaira X for Xbox – and boy, did we enjoy it?
Let’s break it down.
DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE
Razer has released the Kaira X in FIVE COLOURS! These colours are the standard Xbox black with green, white, shock blue, pulse red, and electric volt (yellow).
The colours all match official xbox controller colours and Razer also has matching Universal Quick Charging stands (review coming soon) in the same colours. So you can really get matchy matchy with your setup, or go crazy and mix and match. We were offered a choice between the red and blue, and we chose blue. Because, you know, reasons…
Apart from the colour options, Razer has really done a solid job in the overall design of the Kaira X for Xbox, making a sturdy, yet lightweight and comfortable headset that can be worn for hours at a time with no discomfort or noticeable fatigue.
Razer has used their own-ultra soft flowknit memory foam design to ensure a snug fit on the end that literally conforms to the contours of your head (great for those with odd head shapes), while the weave design makes the cushioning more breathable and so reduces sweat and heat build-up.
Over all, in any colour, the Razer X is a decent looking and feeling headset that will last, comfortably, for many years.
Staying true to Razer, being a company that doesn’t just look good but does good too (thanks, Derek Zoolander). The Kaira X has a few tricks up it’s sleeve.
Boasting Razer’s own Triforce 50mm drivers, the Kaira X delivers great quality sounds thanks to the Triforce driver’s ability to tune high, mids, and lows seperately.This gives sounds that are crisp and clear, allowing you to make better, more informed decisions in game situations.
Comms through the Kaira X couldn’t be clearer, thanks to the use of the Hyperclear Cardoiod microphone. This mic is attached to a bendable boom to ensure you can get the mic in the right place, and hopefully eliminate the chance of breath being an annoyance to your team. The mic has good noise suppression from the back and sides, ensuring that your voice and comms are the only things it’s capturing. The Kaira X mic is not detachable, nor does it roll up or flick up but the flexi boom that it is attached to does allow you to bend it away and out of your face if you are not needing it.
Volume and mute function are conventiently located on the back of the left ear cup (the one with the mic) for ease of access and use, allowing you to quickly mute the mic to chew (please?) or to adjust the volume to the ideal level needed for your current use.
The Kaira X for Xbox can be used on other platforms as well as it is connected via a 3.5mm audio jack attached to a 1.3m long cable. This gives you enough room to attach it to a laptop or PC as well, and not just into handheld devices like a phone or controller. Because of this, the Kaira X works with Xbox, PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, and Mobile devices. So it’s more like the Kaira X for anything but PlayStation…
Cheesy, I know.
The X is not the only Kaira for Xbox, below is the table comparing the three available models; the Kaira X, Kaira, and Kaira Pro.
MY EXPERIENCE
As mentioned earlier on, I received the Shock Blue Razer Kaira X for Xbox for reasons…
Now those reasons are nothing more than that’s the one my 5 year old son said I should get and so I did. Blue is after all my favourite colour.
I personally found the Kaira X to be very easy on the eyes, and just as easy to use.
With it not being wireless, there were no setups, charges or settings to fiddle with. It really was as easy as plug-and-play. I found the sound quality to always be crisp and elected to leave my system volume at 100% and use the volume wheel on the headset itself to adjust the volume as I needed. Even with this setting choice, the sound was crisp at all audible levels and mic monitoring was clear.
Friends and teammates never once complained that they could not hear me or of an echo or other distortion on my voice. In recordings of my voice, I can hear that my voice is coming through naturally and normally with no “tin” or “underwater” sound to it. This mic means business.
The headband of the Kaira X is comfortable but does have very little flex. This is actually a bonus in my eyes as it means the headset is more durable. Even though there is little flex, the Kaira X still fits very comfortably and the earcups can be precisely pulled out from the headband to increase its size thanks to the “clicks” and the small ruler on the headbands allowing you to make sure the headset is sitting evenly on your head. I even let my son wear it a few times during some of our Minecraft sessions and even he said, rather loudly due to its incredible passive noise cancellation, that it fits snugly and felt comfortable.
I even tried to move it a bit while he was wearing it and got him to swing his head a bit and the headset sat well on his head, even through those motions. So it would appear that it’s a good choice of headset for all (most?) head sizes.
FINAL VERDICT
While there are better headsets on the market, even within the Kaira for Xbox range, the Kaira X is by no means a pushover by any means and will perform the tasks it needs to do
With it’s five colours to choose from as well, the Kaira X can compliment any set up, especially when teamed up with Xbox accessories of matching colour. Not only that, but the colours can also represent your personality whether you choose to go for the traditional Xbox black and green, the clean white, crazy with the yellow, or make a statement with the blue or red. The Kaira X for Xbox will feel good, look good and do good (thanks again, Derek Zoolander) too.
For it’s price of around R1200 at the time of writing, the Razer Kaira X for Xbox may be the best pound for pound headset compared to any other headsets around it’s price tag (both lower and higher). Comparing it to some other brands in this bracket and the Kaira X is both more robust and sturdy, as well as more comfortable and better performing than anything else that I have seen, tried, or owned.
A big thanks to our friends at Apex Interactive for letting us spend some time with this headset.
