Razer Moray+ Review

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdKjzhLQLdc (still processing)

Hey everybody! I have another headset review. In my Megalodon thread I had posted about the shipping issue I had and Lang from Razer told me to contact him about it. They decided to send me their new Moray+ headset and a couple of other items to go with it: a Razer splatter logo military cap, a Razer beanie, Razer wristband, and a tattoo and black sticker. Cool stuff!









The Razer Moray was released last year to provide noise isolation and extra bass for mobile gamers. Gizmodo gave them a pretty favorable review and said they were worth the $40: http://gizmodo.com/5069334/razer-moray-in+ear-headphones-lightning-review-great-for-40

The new Moray+ now has as included microphone and a number of adapters to make the headset even more versatile.



The earbuds themselves are standard size, lightweight, and have those familiar mushroom shaped ear pieces we've all come to love. The cord is long enough to be able to put your iPhone or other mp3 player in your pocket without feeling the weight tugging on your ears, a major plus for those that like to walk around listening to music, without becoming cumbersome and flopping around while you jog. The back of the earbuds has the Razer logo etched in silver on top of their soft-touch coating that they use on their mice. This makes it a bit easier to grip the small earbuds when your putting them in or removing them.


The cord itself feels a tad bit thicker than normal to me, definitely thicker than my B&O A8's that I usually use, but they have a very nice rubber coating on them. This makes the cable feel pretty springy and has kept it from getting tangled up at all, definitely a nice touch if you like to throw your headphones in a big or your pocket and go. For everyone else that likes to play it safe and stay organized, they've included a soft, padded carrying case with the Razer logo embroidered on it. Inside you have four labelled compartments, one for the headset and extra earbud sleeves, and three for each of the included adapters (PC, DS, and PSP). The last two adapters each have that soft coating as well which makes them easy to grip when unplugging them.






Having used them for about a week, I can definitely say that I like them and will continue to use them. The audio quality with music is respectable with good bass response, but with muddled highs. Listening to Muse's "Starlight", I could easily tell that Matt's voice was being blended in slightly with the instruments in the background. My A8's (I know they aren't in-ear, but theyare what I use the most) sound brighter with a clear separation between his voice and the music. On the low end everything sounded great! After having listened to classical, big bad, rap, pop, rock, and even country, the same thing can be noticed across the board. By no means is the sound bad, far from it, but it could be a bit of a step down depending on what you are currently using.

Since the headset uses those rubber mushroom tips, the earbuds have a nice snug fit and passive noise cancellation. While jogging, the earbuds didn't budge once and I thankfully couldn't hear the traffic nearby. Even just sitting in a public place like a coffee shop, metro train, or a mall, I could easily drown out what was going on around me and relax.

As far as gaming goes, I mainly used the headset with the iPhone. The audio really shined here considering the headset was released with gaming in mind. My personal favorite was playing Doom with these on. I could hear the enemies spawning and could easily tell where they were in relation to my character. The bass on these headphones provided some nice "oomph" to the barrel explosions and the shotgun sounds too! Switching over to the movie aspect, I watched some of "Watchmen" yesterday and the audio there was great as well. The prison scene (no spoilers) sounded clear and it was nice to be able to pcik out the voices of other prisoners shouting from their cells in the background.

I haven't had any complaints with the microphone. It's small, unobtrusive, and quite frankly, a lot of people miss it when I show it to them. I haven't had to repeat myself when using the voice command feature on the phone and people that I've called haven't had any issues hearing me. Thanks to the fact that I now hear their voices in stereo I have a much easier time conversing in a noisy environment. if you want, I'll do a short youtube video with my webcam so you guys can hear the microphone in use.


So, overall I would recommend these for anyone that's looking for a mobile headset or that travels alot. The value in the Moray+ certainly comes from Razer's one-headset-for-everything approach. Rather than carry a bluetooth headset, headphones, and maybe even something bigger for your computer, you could pack this one headset and use it with all your devices. Got a call on your phone while listening to music or playing a game? You don't have to pull your earbud out of your ear... just hit answer. Then plug into your computer and play a game or make a skype call. Then plug into your DS or PSP and play a game.

The cons would be the downstep in audio quality, but worth it for the mic in my opinion. The plug on the headset feels slightly smaller than usual. I'd assume this is to cut down on how far it sticks out when used in conjuction with one of the adapter, but it can make it a little harder to remove when used with a large iPhone case. I don't like to pull on the cable to unplug my headphones but I almost feel like I have to with these. I'll post a pic to show what I mean.

B&O A8, Apple headset, Moray+


Razer has a made a great headset with the mobile/iPhone set in mind. Certainly worth the asking price if you are in the market for a mobile headset.

 

I also have a pair of Razer Moray+, and they've been great so far. Use them with my computer and my iPhone. The mic works well and everyone hears me fine.

 

nice package, nice accessories(adapter), but i just can't convince myself to get one of those inplace of my sweet little ie7