Razer Opus Wireless Headphones Review: A Budget ANC Champion
"Outstanding sound quality and an effective $ 200 ANC make Razer & # 39; s Opus great value for money."
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Comfortable design
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First class appearance
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Awesome ANC
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Great sound quality
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Standard battery life
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Outdated Bluetooth technology
Razer has become a household name in the gaming world. Headphones and other products complement this experience. However, it has not ventured into the area of lifestyle audio.
This is now changing with the release of the Razer Opus wireless headphones by the company. At $ 200, the Opus offers a surprisingly wide range of features for its price, including active noise cancellation and THX-certified audio quality. To see if the Razer Opus did justice to its technical sheet, I looked over the page and brought these new headphones to the right level.
Out of the box
It may not seem like the most important part of a headphone, but the packaging is your first experience with a new product. In other words, it is important to dress appropriately for the occasion.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
The Razer Opus doesn't wear a three-piece suit, but it's adorned with a sharp shirt with a collar, and that's more than fine for me. Under the lid of the box there is a rounded carrying case with headphones, USB-C charging cable, 3.5 mm analog cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter and airline headphone adapter.
The Razer Opus setup follows the regular pairing protocol. Turn on the headphones and they will respond by automatically switching to Bluetooth pairing mode. Then you have to find the sockets in the Bluetooth settings of your device and establish the connection.
I will anticipate this criticism by saying the following: I have had no specific problems with my connection to the Razer Opus, and the range of these headphones is reasonable. Unfortunately, unlike the more advanced Bluetooth 5 technology, the Opus only supports Bluetooth 4.2. I know that some cost-saving measures may have to be taken to make these headphones what they are, but the latest Bluetooth technology seems to be a priority.
design
The Razer Opus may be positioned closer to the budget side of headphones, but its design exudes a premium presence. They are an elegant midnight blue – a black version will follow later – with Razer logos on each side of the headband and a THX logo on each ear cup. Razer is excited about this THX certification if you haven't noticed it yet.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
Both the ear cups and the headband are covered with a soft synthetic leather foam, which creates a comfort that I thought would be held fairly well over long listening times. The headphones have a circumaural design, ie the ear cups fit around the ear and weigh 265 grams. They are neither excessively heavy nor incredibly light, but they distribute the weight of the product well.
The opus doesn't have a large selection of buttons, and that's a good thing. There is an on / off switch and a button for operating the active noise reduction functions on the left auricle and volume controls / action buttons on the right auricle. Basically, it has the buttons you need to effectively control your listening experience, not just one button.
The included carrying case feels robust and can protect the headphones when not in use. I can't help feeling that they resemble an old (classic?) CD case, although this says more about my age than the design quality of this case.
properties
Most of the main functions of the Razer Opus are geared towards audio. So later in this review, I'll go into things like THX certification and active noise cancellation. But that doesn't mean that we don't have a few things to discuss in the meantime.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
For example, battery life is an interesting area. A month or two ago, I might have been thrilled with the battery life the Opus offers for its price – up to 25 hours of playback with the ANC on. It's a better battery than the recently released Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 for $ 50 less.
However, the fact is that it is an ever-changing ecosystem of wireless audio products. In terms of battery life, Sony Razer struck with the recent release of the WH-CH710N. These headphones, whose price is almost identical to that of the Opus, offer 35 hours of playback with noise reduction turned on and 45 hours without.
In my experience, Razer's estimated battery performance was as expected. For most people, 25 hours of playback at the same time is more than enough, but there are better values for the price.
The Opus has an auto pause / play feature that pauses and resumes audio when the headphones are removed or replaced. This is always a subtle but appreciated feature. However, if this isn't a preferred feature, you can disable it in the associated Razer Opus app (available for iOS and Android). You can also customize the headphone's auto power off feature and access an equalizer to customize the sound to your liking.
Audio quality
There is a reason why Razer employees are proud of the Opus' THX certification, and this is justified. The Razer design team told me that if they wanted to make lifestyle headphones, they wanted to do it right, which meant doing everything they could to create a comfortable listening experience – and that started with THX.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
The Opus has passed the three-stage THX certification process using 40mm drivers, a frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz and support for audio codecs like AAC and aptX. This is all well and good, although specifications are not always translated well. How do these headphones sound?
Strikingly precise in two words. Razer has created a Spotify playlist to test the audio quality of the opus, which consists of a diverse mix of music. Tracy Chapman's Fast Car showed the vocal clarity of the cans, while the opus drivers never missed a beat with a tight bass track like Billie Eilish's Bad Guy. And if you fancy a real adventure for your ears, try Alma Brasileira from Heitor-Villa-Lobos and Yo-Yo Ma. No need to thank me.
For the cost, I think these headphones produce excellent sound quality for most people. You won't beat the Sony WH-1000XM3 and Sennheiser Momentum 3 in the world, but they come impressively close to this upper level.
Active noise cancellation
The Razer Opus have a lot to do when it comes to noise cancellation. First, they offer passive noise isolation with these soft foam ear cups, which commendably even excludes noise.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
Then there is the Opus' active noise cancellation, which uses a hybrid design that consists of two external and two internal microphones on each ear cup. This is about fighting a wider frequency range of unwanted noise on multiple fronts, with the external microphones picking up external frequencies such as human speech or traffic, and the internal microphones analyzing and optimizing the sound that gets into your ears.
As I found in my last reviews – and probably for my next ones too – testing ANC with public travel was not an option. Razer offers a YouTube video that goes through these types of sounds. However, it does contain instructions on how to play the sounds through a 5.1 system and to switch between the different ANC modes to assess the cancellation.
My review is in and I'm in awe. These aren't the best noise canceling headphones – the Sony WH-1000XM3 is still the best choice in this category. However, the Opus has remarkably effective active noise cancellation at a price that makes it an enticing value.
If I had a complaint with the opus' ANC functions, this is the headphone's ambient awareness function. It is not the actual function that is effective in introducing outside noise, but rather that Razer's method of turning the function on involves pressing and holding the ANC button for the duration of its use. This can be cumbersome the longer you have to hear outside noise.
Our opinion
The Razer Opus are not without shortcomings – but they are minor, and the affordable audio quality and active noise cancellation in these headphones far outweigh these problems.
Are there any better alternatives?
The Sony WH-CH710N is priced at $ 199, better battery life, and more advanced Bluetooth technology. However, I would choose the opus when it comes to sound quality and ANC. The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 are another option with great sound and solid ANC, but have a shorter battery life of $ 250.
How long will they last?
With a two-year warranty, Razer appears to be ready to stand by its new product. Bluetooth support is a concern, but expect the headphones to last a long time.
Should you buy it
Yes. Razer has made affordable headphones with great sound and excellent active noise cancellation while limiting its shortcomings. Overall, the wireless Opus headphones are a value that won't disappoint.
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