It’s gaming season and the all-new Razer Barracuda Pro is the company’s mid-tier gaming headphone but without the gaming, shenanigans found on others on the market. But if anything at all, I love the fact that there is a carry case for this device which out of the box drew my attention to it compared to the AirPods Max which doesn’t have one unless you want to opt for a third-party option.

But apart from my sentimental admiration for the device, it comes with some high-end specifications and cool features including active noise cancellation, of course. The approach to the Razer Barracuda Pro is more of versatility rather than designing it mainly for gamers.

Part of the interesting features baked into this device includes the Easy-Switch feature that allows you to easily switch between devices since the TWS headphone can be connected to multiple devices at once.

While that is a great thing, I don’t like the fact that you may have to switch between devices in order to use them. Take the Edifier W800BT Bluetooth headphone as an example, it automatically switches between several devices it’s connected to so you don’t have to do so much on your end.

However, Razer is a reputable brand in the gaming gadget market and the company is well known for making amazing products that are reliable which is one of the main reasons I’d recommend the Barracuda Pro especially considering its affordable price point.

Using the device with popular game console PS5, and my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the Razer Barracuda Pro certainly performs great with loud and punchy audio quality and fast network connection. The latency between playbacks is extremely low and gaming with this device is very smooth and everything about it just screams “Quality.”

But I didn’t just arrive at this conclusion by myself. It took me a couple of days of continuous testing to finally get to the point where I agreed to the fact that the Razer Barracuda Pro is premium and is worth the attention. But let’s first talk about the great things about the device in order to better understand how well the device is compared to similar Bluetooth-enabled headsets on the market today.

Design of the Razer Barracuda Pro

• Plastic materials
• Sturdy carry case
• Integrated microphone

As mentioned earlier, the design of the Razer Barracuda Pro is pretty simple and designed for everyday usage. There isn’t anything too lousy about the design aesthetics and just as normal as it is, it’s also great for gaming. Remember, Razer is one of the leading gaming technology manufacturers on the market.

Rather than the RGB lights, you get on traditional gaming headphones, Razer opted for bold colors which match up with the black matte color of the headphone to give them a more mature look.

It’s the type of headphones that you can use anywhere you are be it at the office, at the gym, or even for practical gaming. Apart from those, the ear cups are made of synthetic leather which is very soft and comfortable.

The head cushion is also very soft and while it will surely form a pattern on your hair if you wear it too long, the plastic materials aren’t heavy despite the sturdiness of the device in general.

One thing that might be a turn-off for some users is the lack of multiple color options to pick from. Compared to a similar Bluetooth headphone from the brand, Barracuda X which is available in Mercury and Quartz.

Although, the black color option is universal and most people would love it that way (including me), some users might just prefer other color options like Pink, Red, and White.

Away from my complaint about the lack of multiple color options, the Razer Barracuda Pro came surprisingly with a carry case that seems pretty premium. With this, you can easily haul your headphone around with ease and reduce damaging.

Slide open the zip of the carry case and you’ll see a USB-C dongle and two USB-C cables that can be used to connect the Razer Barracuda Pro with other devices. So whether you are so conservative and are worried about latency to the point that you’d rather prefer to connect to your computer via USB cable or just take the chance with the Bluetooth 5.2 technology, your options with the Razer Barracuda Pro is just unlimited and that’s what I certainly love about the device.

Still on the design aesthetics, the placement of the control buttons with a rugged surface in order to tell them apart from the headphone makes for a better user experience. I also love the fact that they opted for a volume roller which can just be rolled rather than a button than needs to be pressed multiple times to get your designed volume.

On the left side of the headphone, you’ll find the device’s power button, mic-mute button, and of course, the aforementioned volume roller. However, in terms of functionalities, the power button also has multiple features apart from just turning off and on the device.

It might take you some times to master the usage of the button as you might find yourself accidentally turning off the device while trying to change tasks or ignoring a call that you wanted to accept. I think if there were dedicated buttons for skipping tracks while the power button is dedicated only for “Power on/off” as well as “pause/play”, things might be a bit understandable.

Overall, I think the design aesthetics of the Razer Barracuda Pro isn’t bad at all considering all the aforementioned quirks and features of the device and also, the fact that it can be used in every day situation makes it a totally universal headphone. But there are other interesting things about the Razer Barracuda Pro.

Features of the Razer Barracuda Pro

• Active noise cancellation
• Great battery life
• Easy-Switch feature

The Razer Barracuda Pro is quite pricey at about US$250 and it’s loaded with a ton of features that I’d expect from such a device at that price. That said, Razer forgot or just decided to exclude the 3.5mm audio jack on this headphone which I find really disturbing and so will some users as well. Although the inclusion of the USB-C dongle is meant to compensate for this.

But in terms of the wireless connection, there is really no lag in any way, shape, or form as everything worked very smoothly and the connection was very fast. Even staying farther away from the connection source, you can still expect up to 100M distance away without any connectivity issue.

I also love the auto-conenction whereby I don’t have to manually reconnect with my smartphone or computer each time I turn the headphone on. Then there is the Easy-Switch feature which allows you to switch between two devices that have been connected with the headphone.

Like I said earlier, I love Edifier’s approach with its W800BT wireless headphone which does this automatically despite being way cheaper than the Razer Barracuda Pro in price comparison.

In terms of switching, the caveat is that one device needs to be connected via Bluetooth while the other be connected via its USB-C dongle. However, some users said they had issues toggling between the Bluetooth connected devices and Dongle-connected devices. I didn’t experience this issue in my own test so my opinion on this might be biased. Also, it depends on the devices you’re using to make the toggling.

The other interesting thing about the device is presence of Active Noise Cancellation which seems to be an overused label on many Bluetooth powered devices these days. There is also an Ambient Mode that will let in background sound so you can hear your environment without having to pull off the headphone.

Away from the ANC and Ambient Mode, I also love the battery life as it offers an unending 40 hours of music playback. While that is an amazing battery life for someone coming from TWS earbuds, this is a pretty standard battery life for most Bluetooth enabled headphones. There can be an insignificant battery life reduction when you turn on the ANC mode though.

The Razer Barracuda Pro isn’t what I’d call “ridden with features” but it has a lot of usable features to get you through the day and enhance your lifestyle in any giving situation.

Audio output and Microphone Quality

• Great gaming audio
• Integrated microphone worked well

Another interesting and powerful thing about the Razer Barracuda Pro are the audio output as well as the microphone quality both of which are just interestingly great. Normally, most overhead headphones are great for making calls thanks to their big microphones and their audio output are fantastic due to their bigger audio drivers but the Razer Barracuda Pro took it to a step further in these departments.

The audio output is well-balanced on both ears and sound separation is very spectacular. I love how the treble, bass, and vocals are all split from the front, middle, and back.

While playing Call fo Duty Mobile with the Razer Barracuda Pro on my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, hearing enemy’s footstep or location of gunshots is very easy and precise. There is also low latency in the audio delay all of which gets me aware of my surroundings.

When I tried out the USB-C dongle on the other hand, the latency was completely off with immediate response thanks to the USB-C cable connectivity. Even with Bluetooth, the range is still pretty fantastic and good.

I and other members of the team communicate via Microsoft Teams since we all work remotely and the microphone is very clear. One thing I noticed though is that whenever I record a video using the headphone, the audio output is often one-sided unless I correct the sound using a video editing software.

I’d advise purchasing a dedicated microphone if you want to podcast or record audio rather than relying on the built-in microphone for that.

As for music playback, there is a natural sound that fits every music genres that you may try it with. Personally, I’m into Hip-hop and R&B both of which gets beautifully played on this device. Listening to All That by Thalia Falcon on this device felt like heaven.

Should you buy The Razer Barracuda Pro

Yes! If you want a device to listen to music while you work or exercise, the Razer Barracuda Pro can be a great companion. Thanks to its ANC feature, you can literally block out a loud chunk of noise in your area and just focus on whatever it is you are doing.

As mentioned earlier, the audio output is really great and the microphone while not the best on the market still performs very efficiently for normal calls over the internet.

I’d also recommend the headphone for gamers who want a device they can rely on. The presence of a USB-C dongle can help take away the hurdle of dealing with latency that often come with Bluetooth connections.

With the Easy-Switch feature that let oyo toggle between devices, the Razer Barracuda Pro is certainly a “pro” device and for a US$250 price tag, many users would certainly expect all of the goodies offered by the device.

While there are some questionable design decisions made by Razer as far as this device is concerned, I would say it’s premium-looking and would recommend it for anyone but extreme gamers who needs a device that’s dedicated solely for gaming with external microphones, RGB lights and other shenanigans that comes with traditional gaming hardware on the market.

But if the price tag seems too much for you, you can opt for other alternatives on the market with the Edifier W800BT being one of my most recommended alternatives. There’s also a plethora of cool yet affordable Bluetooth-enabled headphones by BlitzWolf here. But if you’re looking for a fancy-looking Gaming headphone at an affordable price point, then check them here.

Final Thoughts on the Razer Barracuda Pro

The Razer Barracuda Pro is a powerful Bluetooth-enabled headphone and it can provide an immersive gaming experience for anyone. From blocking your environment’s noise to using the Ambient Mode to amplify your environment’s sound, there’s really no limit to what you can get from this device.

I also like the hardware features such as the volume roller rather than a button that are often hard to press sometimes. Although that is a great thing, the fact that there are so many functionalities of the device’s power button might not be a good one for potential buyers.

The Razer Barracuda Pro comes with a carry case which is another plus for potential buyers so you wouldn’t need to buyer one from a third-party manufacturer.