Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds review

If you’re in the market for the best gaming headset, the chances are you’re restricted to over-ear cans. Not on Razer’s watch! The Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed wireless earbuds offer low-latency 2.4GHz connectivity alongside versatile Bluetooth. So even though you’re forced to pick between an Xbox or PlayStation model, you’ll still have the option to use the Hammerhead HyperSpeed with a PC, Nintendo Switch or mobile devices.

Compared to everyday wireless earbuds, the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed has reasonable pricing. At $289.95 RRP (for PlayStation or Xbox versions), it’s not the cheapest price (sub-$200) but nor is it the most expensive (over $400). The thing is, the Hammerhead HyperSpeed has a 2.4GHz low-latency dongle up its sleeve to offer better gamer-focused versatility than its peers.

In terms of low-latency competition, you’re really only looking at the JBL Quantum TWS, which is admittedly cheaper at a $229 RRP. Other so-called gaming earbuds like the Asus ROG Cetra True Wireless don’t include a 2.4GHz dongle, which may cause audio delays, particularly for competitive gamers.

Out of the box, the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed wireless earbuds have flat sound. What you want to do is download the Razer Audio app for Android or iOS and dig into the equaliser settings. Admittedly, this was a painful process for me, and because these wireless earbuds don’t support multipoint, you first want to connect via Bluetooth to a mobile device to get configuring.

Hopefully the app doesn’t crash while connecting (that happened to me), so you can dig into an impressive range of options. Equaliser should be your first port of call, and I highly recommend choosing either Amplified or Enhanced Bass. There’s a gamer-centric setting for boosted footsteps or you can fully customise your EQ settings to taste.

In my music-playback comparisons, the Hammerhead HyperSpeed mostly held its own against the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. While the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds have the edge, Razer’s wireless earbuds have slightly more distinct sound layering for Portishead’s “Humming” and a wee bit better clarity for Deftones’ “Swerve City”.

That said, even with the Enhanced Bass equaliser setting, the Hammerhead HyperSpeed doesn’t offer particularly beefy bass, and I was also flat on the overall depth and directionality in The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” playback test. While it can’t compete with a dedicated near-mouth headset microphone, the Hammerhead HyperSpeed provided somewhat tinny but clear voice communication, too. A decent mic is a great inclusion given they’re aimed at competitive gamers.

Razer is a flashy RGB-loving brand. It’s no surprise, then, that the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed wireless earbuds not only have lighting, but that lighting is enabled by default. In terms of base performance, Razer says users can expect four hours of battery life with lightning and active noise cancelling (ANC) enabled and 50% volume. That’s for the PlayStation version, by the way; Xbox is noticeably shorter at 2.25 hours.

It’s also important to note that these numbers reflect Bluetooth connectivity, which has better battery life than 2.4GHz low-latency wireless. With ANC and lights on, plus a 2.4GHz connection, I got around two hours and 45 minutes of juice before the low-battery warnings kicked in. Three minutes later I received another warning, and then three minutes after that the earbuds died. Well, one of them at least.

This was an ongoing catch with these Razer wireless earbuds, and it’s one you’ll only notice if you use the Razer Audio app. For example, while my Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphone had battery life listed as 80%, the app had 81% charge for the left earbud and 86% for the right. I was still able to hear audio out of the earbud that still had some juice left, but it effectively means overall battery life is at the mercy of whichever earbud conks out first.

It’s particularly confusing because the slightly bulky magnetised earbuds case is supposedly charging both of these bad boys at the same time. Despite the comparative bulk of the case, there’s nowhere to slot the 2.4GHz adaptor—an angled design, which may not play nice with all phone cases—so be careful not to misplace the dongle.

Razer sent me the PlayStation version of the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed for this review. What I love about console headsets these days is how they’re built to plug and play, and the Hammerhead HyperSpeed is no exception here. Just plug it into the USB-C port on the front of your PlayStation 5, and you’re off to the races: no extra configuration is required.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get the 2.4GHz dongle to work with the Nintendo Switch, even though the console seemingly detected it as an audio device. In fairness, that’s not an advertised feature, but the Bluetooth connection works great with the Switch, Steam Deck and mobile devices. As someone whose main gaming platform is PC, I was impressed that the 2.4GHz dongle worked with minimal fuss on my desktop computer.

My battery longevity test was done on PC (revisiting BioShock Infinite) and I didn’t have any issues with dropouts or audio delays, plus it was a comfortable in-ear audio experience for those two hours and 45 minutes. The main gripe I have for PC compatibility, though, is the lack of Razer Synapse integration. Because there’s no PlayStation app either, you’re effectively forced to bounce between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz to configure settings via the mobile app, then tap your way back to 2.4GHz.

In fairness, the triple-tap control for switching between connectivity options worked pretty much every time. The same can’t be said for other tap controls. Single taps in particular were a pain to consistently execute. If this is an issue for you, I highly recommend changing the touch controls via the Razer Audio app, or leaning on the app controls instead.

If you’re the kind of gamer who favours in-ear audio instead of over-ear headsets, the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed wireless earbuds are well worth considering. You’ll have to make some lighting/ANC concessions to get the best battery life. Outside of that, you’ve got a pair of wireless earbuds that offer decent sound and plenty of platform versatility.