Razer’s line of Star Wars: The Old Republic themed peripherals is now out on for public consumption (save for their keyboard with built-in LCD display). We got to play around with the headset portion of that line and have finally assembled our thoughts for your perusal. The headset features Dolby 7.1 virtual surround sound, braided cabling, 50mm sound drivers, and a sturdy boom microphone.
The overall design of the Razer Star Wars: The Old Republic headset is pretty darn slick, with lots of cool angles and even red and blue lighting effects (and millions of other color combinations) depending on what side of the force you wish to represent. Unlike the gaming mouse end of the Star Wars: The Old Republic-themed Razer products, the headset seems to be an entirely-new product design. I can’t seem to find a base design they tweaked out. Also included are two detachable ear cup plates with Republic and Sith Empire insignia to further represent your faction. Even the inside of the ear cups resemble the outer-wing bracing of a TiE Starfighter. In terms of paying homage to the source material while also proving a practical design, Razer has done well. The headset was quite comfortable during our testing period with it and it should serve you well – whether just playing Star Wars: The Old Republic for fun or doing some tournament gaming in other titles.
Part of that comfort stems from the fact that the entire unit weighs only 0.70 lbs! I have used several headset designs, and there is nothing worse than an overly-heavy design that sinks the headband deep into your “do”. Not only does it mess up the suave hairstyle you have going for you – potentially damaging your social life! But, also, it hurts!
Included in the package is a redeemable code for a crystal which colors your blaster bolts or lightsaber blade to a Razer-inspired black and green. It is pretty much a cosmetic-only effect, and will probably not stay in your weapon for very long as its stats are weak. Still, a nice little extra for gamers.
In terms of setting up / installing the headset – it was a snap! I should also note that the headset is compatible with Razer’s cloud-based Synapse 2.0 configuration utility. It is nice to see the Synapse program taking off like this in all their new products. This is the future of device configuration. It is nice to be able to take your peripheral from one machine to another and not have to set everything up again.
The thing that would have driven the headset over the edge to being a “must-have” item would have been wireless capabilities. I hope that they eventually put out a new version of this headset with that option.
Overall, the Razer Star Wars: The Old Republic headset has some excellent virtual 7.1 surround sound in a reasonably-priced, $129 dollar package. It is not a game-changer, but a solid performer that would more than serve your gaming needs.
