Closer Examination

From the front the headset looks pretty ordinary. No special design features are noticeable and the shape of the headband is quite normal too. The design is pretty conventional with the headband going over the head. That the Razer headset is big came as a big surprise to me, being a big guy I thought that I had to extend the size adjusters, but that did not turn out to be the case with this headset. It is actually so big so that it might cause a problem for people with average sized heads.


The ear cups themselves are mounted on an articulated joint which allows the cups to align with the ear in a more natural way. The ear cushions are made of a soft fabric which is easy on the ears and allows some air to pass through. One problem associated with the style of ear cups is the lack of vents which means that your ear will heat up gradually. Another problem I noticed during the course of my testing is that the cups press hard against your ears compared to other headphones of similar design. Whether this is intentional to make them stay in place or just an error of judgment is hard to say for sure. I think that it is too much at least with a head the size of mine because the headset is unbearable to use for an extended period of time.


The closed back design of the Piranha is good from a noise attenuation point of view, but dampens the sound performance somewhat. The dynamics of the headset sound wise are not all that good compared to normal headphones in the same price tier.


The cable is fixed to one of the ear cups and then fed through the headband to the other cup. The cable assembly seems quite study and is definitely strong enough to withstand a fair amount of abuse like dropping the headset with the cord stopping it from hitting the floor, etc..


The headband is quite oddly designed with a big hole in the middle, probably to reduce weight. The padding is soft and is similar to that on the ear cups.


The volume control also features a microphone on/off switch which is located on the side of the controller. The volume control is a little bit flimsy. The variable resistance on volume control began developing some static right from the start - nothing horrible just a little disappointing.


Lights on! This is the sort of things that Razer has made their reputation by doing. It looks cool in blue, but is a bit over the edge, but will probably be enjoyed by some die-hard modders.