After announcing the Razer Opus headphones a few months ago, the snake brand launched the Razer Opus X, which stand out from the previous model by simplified electronics and a more affordable price. This does not mean, we say it right away, that we are dealing with a low quality product or lacking in functions. Indeed this model defends itself very well in the comparison from which it inherits all that is positive by adding some more features.
We therefore decided to tell you what it was like to use these headphones during your free time, for work and for play, presenting for clarity of who should go to buy the differences with the Opus model.
Essential packaging
The packaging of the Razer Opus X appears immediately essential, but well cared for, with captivating and “youthful” graphics, an audience to which these headphones wink in a not too hidden way.
Inside, in addition to the headphones, we find a small booklet (with the opaque acetate sheet typical of Razer) with the classic welcome phrase and the USB-A / USB-C charging cable. For those who do not have a USB-A port available on their devices, on Amazon you will find many USB-C / USB-C cables for a few Euros.
The packaging of the Razer Opus X is essential, but well cared for with the written RAZER in chrome relief
The need to keep costs to a minimum have prompted the renunciation of a hard case for transport and the logical connection (Razer Opus X can be used exclusively wirelessly), which instead we find in the Opus X package.
The plastic structure, however, seems quite ready to face the classic adolescent excesses: the porous coating is not afraid of dirt and the leather-like fabric looks equally promising (although obviously we can only hypothesize on the duration) on the duration.
The shape is clearly inherited from the Razer Opus model, with some differences given by the market proposal and the availability of hardware functions.
Razer Opus X is in fact available in three very youthful colors (Mercury, subject of this test, Quartz and Green) and as we will see also with an additional exclusive function. The weight is not indifferent, 270 g which are much more than several similar models on the market even if it must be said that the excellent design reduces the effort of wearing them by decreasing the “perceived” weight in the headband.
Construction
As we have said, the Razer Opus X are made of porous plastic, offered in three versions that differ only in the external color. No touch controls; the controls are all on the right pavilion, where the controls for almost total control of the functionality of the headphones and playback are located.
The keys, especially in terms of thickness, are a bit minimalist but they work: once you have learned the various functions they are easily found even blindly.
Two microphones are located above the pavilions; they are used for the noise reduction circuit, of which we speak a little below, while the USB-C charging connector is positioned just next to the power button.
We reiterate that this model is designed for wireless use only: even if connected via USB-C, the headphones respond only to the Bluetooth signal, unlike the Razer BlackShark V2 model which instead has a USB interface. That said, the USB-C cable also carries data, so when needed you can use it to connect an external drive to your computer.
An important silence
There are basically three particularities that characterize this model: the first is obviously the support for active noise cancellation (also called ANC, Active Noise Control, active noise control). The technology was previously the prerogative of models of a much higher market range, now this possibility has become more popular and is found, as in this case, also on models around the 100 Euro range.
Dimensions are important, but are balanced with excellent sonic response
The Razer Opus X work for noise reduction in two ways, active and passive. The passive mode is given by the seal of the pavilions which partially isolate the ears from the lowest external frequencies.
The active mode is available in three modes, which can be selected via the support App or with a quick click on the power button.
Disabling the ANC control essentially remains the passive mode, which makes noises muffled without affecting battery life. By activating the ANC control, on the other hand, the feeling of silence is very good, comparable to that of much more expensive models: all the low frequencies turn off and where it fails (such as a nearby bus, it attenuates them), only the noises pass. higher or some mids, such as the clicking of the keyboard or the voices, but these at a lower volume.
There is also an Ambient mode, which thanks to the external microphones opens to all noises, trying to remove the effect given by the passive mode, useful when we walk down the street for safety reasons. In practice, it is very similar to transparency.
Although the quality of the ANC circuit as we have said is very good, perhaps it lacks a greater control over the discriminant of the frequency cut, obviously typical of much higher-end models. But if you are outdoors and activate the ANC circuit, the headphones guarantee you excellent isolation.
Convenient for those who play, without wires there are generally fewer problems, and even taking them off is a snap
Gaming Mode
The second peculiarity is called Low Latency Mode: by activating it, the headphones drastically decrease the delay in communication between the device and the headphones, reaching 60 milliseconds, compared to an average that varies from 150 to 210ms in the other models.
It is not known how Razer has arrived at such an interesting result, which among other things is exclusive to this model because in the Razer Opus it is absent, but the lowering of the latency time allows a much better performance when playing, where response time is particularly important because there is a need for alignment between what we see and what we hear, especially in highly adrenaline-fueled games where a particular audio can make the difference between a win and a defeat.
However, it is good to remember that once the mode is activated, Bluetooth 5.0 is probably pushed to its maximum capacity, affecting battery life.
We tried the low latency mode with Diablo III for no more than a couple of hours, so we can't know how much battery life actually is in this mode but it is Razer who warns that this decreases the autonomy. . It should be emphasized that this mode is probably only useful in games, for those who listen to music it makes no sense and for those who watch a film, however, it is not perceptible.
An autonomy that otherwise easily exceeds 30 hours of listening, even if in our case it never reached the declared 40 hours, but the ANC circuit also affects this.
In the part that concerns the autonomy we can point out what is the only thing that raises some perplexity in these headphones: the period of inactivity after which the headphones turn off by themselves is really too short, it would be necessary to at least double it, otherwise it becomes more of a nuisance what a protection.
What music guys!
But despite the particularities given by the ANC or the Low Latency Mode, it is the musical part that has brought the biggest surprises: it is clear, despite the fact that Razer is a brand known above all for gamer peripherals, such as mice, keyboards or chairs, the brand is committed to excelling even with more horizontal products (think of glasses and RGB masks), not least the attention to the world of music, on which it has repeatedly proven quality, from Nommo Pro speakers to Razer BlackShark V2 headphones to finish with the recent Razer Opus.
From this point of view we can undoubtedly say that these headphones sound very good: they do so both considering them as a product in the 100 Euro range, and in general, because the response we had was more than good even if they lack both the Certification. THX and AptX, which are instead present in the Razer Opus. As for AptX, for those who have an iPhone or an iPad the factor is useless because on iOS AptX still does not work.
We tried several tracks, from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (remastered 2011 version) to Guns n 'Roses' Welcome To The Jungle via Enya's Orinoco Flow, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Sinead O's Nothing compares 2U. 'Connors, Tears For Fears' Shout to something lighter like Taylor Swift's Welcome To New York.
The Support App allows various things, such as the activation of the Gaming mode, the activation of the ANC circuit and the equalization. Note that the App is only for mobile, but it works even if the headphones are paired with a Mac or PC
The tones ultimately sound good: we did not have the Razer Opus on hand for direct comparison, so we compared them with the Bose ANC 700, a mostly arduous challenge because the Bose cost, in the list, three times as much and are in fact one superior category.
Yet the Razer Opus X defended themselves well: the support App allows you to obtain 5 types of predefined equalization, in practice four plus the standard one, which appeared a bit flat to us, much better the Amplified preset, with which all frequencies have improved even if, compared to the Bose, in fact there is less definition, especially in the mid and high tones.
With the Amplified preset, the headphones have proven to be able to reproduce all the songs with extreme satisfaction, excelling in some, such as Nothing compares 2U by Sinead O'Connors, Shout and Tears For Fears, songs where the Spotify algorithm has worked better.
The other presets are designed in our opinion for specific uses: Improved bass should only be used for pop songs in which the user loves the low frequencies, even at the expense of the medium ones that often arrive muffled, Improved Clarity works exactly the opposite by enhancing the medium and high tones and annihilating the bass, useful in our opinion in some films or TV series or to listen to very, very particular songs and finally Voice , for chat online or for movies where the actors' jokes are very important (for example, if you like to see series like “Downton Abbey” in the original language, this set will make you appreciate the strong classic British tone).
The Voice set is convenient even if, during an online game, you want to chat with your fellow adventurers and maybe the game audio is not so particularly important in addition of course to phone calls, via mobile phone or via Microsoft Teams or Zoom, where also the microphone performed very well.
In managing the games, since there is no audio preset on purpose, we opted for the standard preset, from time to time the Preamplified one, it mainly depended on the title.
Among the downsides we can say that from time to time we noticed a creak of the external plastic, especially when there were moments of silence, which is not so serious.
The buttons are embossed and easily available even blindly, and all in one hall
Considerations
The Razer Opus X are very probably the best wireless headphones model on the market today in the 100 Euro sector both from the point of view of the built-in functions (ANC, Low Latency, Bluetooth 5, Support App and Preset) both in terms of audio quality.
From our point of view we can say that if you buy this model for music, the satisfaction will not be lacking and probably there will not be better models in the same price range, perhaps without features such as the Low Latency Mode, very convenient when playing seriously. .
Of course, the Over ear shape (Circumaural) is not a trivial matter, especially when it is hot and the size of the pavilions (40mm) is felt (the headphones are still important in terms of size) but in general, if you want a solid model , with many features available and a quality that is comparable (in the good sense of the word) to that of more expensive models, then these are for you.
Some things are missing, choices probably dictated by the market range, such as an analogue output and a sensor for automatic pause when you remove them, as well as the touch (and the THX Certification that instead there is in the more expensive Razer Opus) but otherwise they will make you happy owners of a young, gritty model that makes Razer today an important brand even in the (very difficult) quality audio sector.
The superior model, Razer Opus, is very similar from a design point of view, but has a few more features, such as THX certification and something less, such as Gaming mode
Pros:
• Young look, in three colors • Musically very good, but pay attention to the preset • Perfect for mobile or PC gaming • Active noise cancellation
Cons:
• No AptX • Not suitable for use in high temperatures • No analog jack
Price:
• 109.99 Euro (Razer Opus X) • 209.99 Euro (Razer Opus)
Razer Opus X is available in the official Razer store or even on Amazon in three different colors. The Razer Opus model in Black only remains available on Amazon.
