Razer Electra vs. Razer Carcharias

[Moonlily]

Hey all!

I've finally decided to buy a headset, as the quality of my laptop built-in mic is really horrible, people say I sound like a robot on TS!

I've been looking around and I've narrowed it down to 2, Razer Carcharias or the Electra. I've been watching some reviews and they both seem to be quite good, I can't really decide which one I like the most! So I hope you'll help me decide

I'm only going to use it couple of hours max, when raiding, what I'm asking you guys is how you would rate:

-Mic Quality
-Sound Quality
-Comfort
-Durability

Thanks in advance!

P.S. There probably are better headsets out there, but I like these two, I'm not interested in other options as that would make it even more difficult to decide! (and yes, you could call me a Razer fangirl, but I don't care :P)

Actually if you wanna give your opinion on the Razer Kraken Pro too, it'd be great! (I thought the mic was too bad, but I've watched another test and it seems to be better!)

[Starbrand]

carharias - good overall. adaptable for xbox 360 if u play that too.
electra - seems more superior when comes to isolation, bass, longer sessions.
kraken - retractable mic. can be used as normal headphones. bright GREEN

[BicycleMafioso]

what I'm asking you guys is how you would rate:
-Mic Quality 3
-Sound Quality 1
-Comfort 6
-Durability 3

Ratings above in bold for the Razer Charizard, 1-10, where 10 is great and 1 is really poor.

[Deleted]

I have just briefly tried on a pair of Electra, but based on that here's my rundown:

-Mic Quality n/a
-Sound Quality 2
-Comfort 4
-Durability n/a

I was honestly not impressed. They are bulky, a bit heavy and the sound is just garbage.

[Masark]

Carcharias

-Mic Quality - 2 - Mic is extremely quiet and requires maximum volume and some boost to work well on vent (especially on vox) and the boost does unfortunate things to sound quality.
-Sound Quality - 2 - Ok for voice, but don't bother for music. They've got half-decent bass, but basically nothing else.
-Comfort - 8 with the leatherette earpads, 5 with the stock cloth ones. Headband is a little too loose for really good noise isolation, but is comfy enough to wear all day.
-Durability - 1 - Microphone failed (massive amounts of static) after less than a year and a half, indicating shoddy internal wiring.

Replaced them with my shiny new Sennheiser PC 350s.

-Mic Quality - 9 - sensitive, clear, and the noise canceling works excellently for vent vox.
-Sound Quality - 9 - Sound is excellent, but if your soundcard isn't up to the task of driving this much impedance (Carcharias - 32 ohms. These - 150 ohms), you'll get lousy sound without an amp.
-Comfort - 8 - Is a bit tighter than I'd like, but the cushy earpads still make it comfortable for all-day use and it isolates quite well.
-Durability n/a - I've only had them for barely 2 weeks. Longer warranty than Razer though, which is a hopeful sign.

Ratings above in bold for the Razer Charizard, 1-10, where 10 is great and 1 is really poor.

Was that intentional or did you get autocompleted?

[Moonlily]

Hmm mixed reviews then! Any more opinions?D:

[vesseblah]

Hmm mixed reviews then! Any more opinions?D:

You can't really fairly compare Razer's plastic toys with Sennheiser PC350's or 360's. One of those companies has been manufacturing audio gear for 5 years, other 50.

[Moonlily]

You can't really fairly compare Razer's plastic toys with Sennheiser PC350's or 360's. One of those companies has been manufacturing audio gear for 5 years, other 50.

I'm not comparing them, there is a fair difference in price too, I'm asking people to compare 3 Razer products, Carcharias, Electra and Kraken Pro

[Asphyxiate9]

I actually have both

Firstly the Electra

-The mic is crap
-sound isolation is great
-Extremely comfortable ear pads, feels like golden pillows on my ears after wearing thinner ones
-Really good for music and gaming, though VOIP is lacking and its mostly made for phone's I'd say
-im no audiophile but apparently the sound quality is quite good for pricing too.

As for the Carcharias

-Mic seems excellent though I think you could get much clearer if you were willing to dish out an extra $100
-bad sound isolation, good enough for VOIP but you would be kicking yourself in the balls if you wanted to listen to music with them. Music quality is fine but the difference when comparing to something made for music is huge.
-Very light, although the electra's are really comfortable they are quite heavy, putting this thing on after wearing the elctra's all day and I feel like i have a feather on my head.


Ones good for music, the other is good for VOIP, if you want something that does both really well I'd look elsewhere.

EDIT:

As to answer the dot points:

Electra:

-Mic Quality Low
-Sound Quality High
-Comfort High
-Durability High (dropped mine a tone though nothing more than one meter)

Carcharias

-Mic Quality High (though if you wanted something extreme you would need to pay more)
-Sound Quality Medium
-Comfort High
-Durability ? (unsure, never dropped them, seems very breakable though)

[googz]

Hmm mixed reviews then! Any more opinions?D:

They don't seem mixed to me. Looks like everybody so far has had the same basic conclusion. While they may be comfortable to wear, their build and sound quality are crap.

My recommendation is go with a company that produces sound equipment and not one that produces things that look and feel good.

[Moonlily]

My recommendation is go with a company that produces sound equipment and not one that produces things that look and feel good.

Well tbh I'm not looking for something extreme, I know they aren't high end headsets, and I'm not looking for amazing sound quality, as I'm really only going to use them to hear people over TS, not for music (I'm used to my crappy laptop audio, and I'm fine with it, not an audiophile here :P). So, look, comfort and mic are my main priorities really

[noteworthynerd]

Was that intentional or did you get autocompleted?

I shouldn't speak for him, but I'm going to anyway: It was intentional, "Charizard" is a well known nickname for the Carcharias.

[Imbasawrus]

-Mic Quality 6. Not the best, not the worst. As someone said above it is kinda quiet.
-Sound Quality 9. No problems with the sound quality at all, although these are the only headphones I have ever owned.
-Comfort 10. They are insanely comfortable, I can wear them for hours on end without any discomfort.
-Durability 6. Owned 2 pairs in 4 years, the 1st microphone stopped working after about 9 months, but the current ones have stood up to some punishment.

Honestly, the only real problem I have with my Carcharias is that the cord is so long that I keep muting my mic/turning down sound with my knees even though the mic is plugged in the back and cord dragged over the table. First world problems. :P

[noteworthynerd]

Honestly, the only real problem I have with my Carcharias is that the cord is so long that I keep muting my mic/turning down sound with my knees even though the mic is plugged in the back and cord dragged over the table. First world problems. :P

9 for Sound Quality is very (i.e. way too) generous, but I suppose Sound Quality is comparative. If you haven't listened through a better headset/headphones I suppose you'd have nothing to compare them to.

[Static]

One of my friends is using the Razer Kraken Pro Headset. We're constantly talking to each other by using Skype for work purposes, and his voice is crystal clear. I went to his house yesterday and tried the headset. It's extremely comfortable, and the microphone quality is really good. He's not even using a sound card, just the on board sound from his ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard.

Quite a nice headset, if you ask me.

[Deleted]

Well tbh I'm not looking for something extreme, I know they aren't high end headsets, and I'm not looking for amazing sound quality, as I'm really only going to use them to hear people over TS, not for music (I'm used to my crappy laptop audio, and I'm fine with it, not an audiophile here :P). So, look, comfort and mic are my main priorities really :)

Then, here's the rundown:
- If audio quality is of little importance, you can almost pick whatever. Interest and weight in price:performance is where most people would put their focus.
- Comfort is in many aspects personal. For highest possible comfort, things like a stretching/adjustable headband, earpads of a soft material and light weight is of importance no matter how you twist and turn things. AKGs headphones are considered by many to be the most comfortable on the market.
- For VOIP a medium-quality microphone is probably better than anything high-end. In reality, anything will do. More important is background noise, hardware and network/software.

Reliability is not something Razer is famous for. Some last years, others fail within months. It's a gamble. Bottom line: why not get stuff from people who have been in business for well over 40 years versus people who have done it for less than 5? Experience, product quality, reliability and customer care is to many more important than green plastic and LEDs.

In essence, it's your pick. We have given applicable advice.

[solvexx]

I know that this isn't an option for you, but I really suggest Logitech G930.
I use Razer for everything but headphones. Razer really lacks in that department.

[Killora]

I currently have used my Razer Carcharias for a year now...

-Mic Quality 7
-Sound Quality 5
-Comfort 10
-Durability 4

The mic quality is great. Everyone has told me i'm crystal clear and perfectly loud. But i gave it a 7 to make way for professional studio grade mics.

Sound quality is, to me, great, but i haven't heard anything better to compare it to, so i gave it a 5 as i'm sure theres plenty of headsets with better sound quality

Comfort is unquestionably a 10. I frequently have them on for 12+ hours (16-18 hours a lot of times) and at the end, i still don't notice they're on my head.

durability gets a 4 because while although the coils and speakers themselves are fairly durable, they cant tolerate high volume (max in windows and much higher than 75% on headset boost) and the overall construction of the headset themselves seems a little flimsy, but if you pamper them they'll last fine.