Razer Kraken Tournament Edition | $55 | Best Buy
Razer Kraken Tournament Edition | $55 | Amazon
These days, gaming is serious business. For those who play competitively, a decent pair of headphones can be the difference between chicken dinner and soul-crushing loss. Designed with esports athletes—or ethletes as I’ll call them from here on out because it’s hilarious to say—in mind, the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition (Amazon, Best Buy) is a budget-friendly PC gaming headset with most of the frills you’d get from something higher-end like the SteelSeries Arctis Pro. While it may not have the “wow” factor when it comes to sound quality, it is nevertheless impressive for the price, thanks to its 7.1 surround sound made possible by Razer’s acquisition of THX a few years back.
Beyond that, the Razer Tournament Edition comes with a retractable “noise-canceling” mic, gel cushions, and a volume control wheel as well as a mic mute switch by way of a USB audio enhancement DAC, letting you change settings on the fly without interrupting your gaming sesh. 50mm drivers in each can means the soundstage is pretty damn sizable, depriving you not of explosive effects during big action set pieces and all-out combat warfare. For a limited time, the Razer Kraken Tournament Edition is on sale on Amazon and at Best Buy for $55 in both black and lime green colorways. Because Amazon estimates a ship date no earlier than January 17, I’d go with Best Buy personally since that’ll get it to you as soon as tomorrow.
In addition to PC, the Razer Kraken Tournament is also compatible with PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, mobile, and virtually any other platform that supports USB or 3.5mm accessories.