Razer just announced its new wireless gaming headset, called the Razer ManO’War. It goes on sale in the US on April 17th, 2016, and worldwide later in May 2016, with an asking price of USD 169.99 (~MYR 665.43) or EUR 199.99 (~MYR 886.95). In the US, besides being available at the Official Razer Store, limited units will also be sold over at BestBuy.
Being a gaming headset, it has to meet the requirements of a fastidious bunch, and Razer is confident that the ManO’War has surpassed that. For starters, it promises to deliver high-fidelity, gaming-grade audio, through multiple embedded 2.4 GHz wireless antennas. Since 2.4 GHz is shared by other wireless protocols including WiFi, cordless phones, and even microwave ovens, ManO’War comes with frequency channel scanning to determine and pick the clearest channel. According to Razer, it also comes with an “advanced coding algorithm” to ensure a high-quality-yet-lag-free audio. All of these technologies mean that Razer can’t use a regular Bluetooth connection, but instead, the wireless signal is transmitted and received from the PC side using Razer’s proprietary USB adapter. The ultra-compact adapter offers a plug-and-play connectivity up to 12 meters, but the package comes with an extension dock to extend it by another 2 meters, making its total range around 14 meters. Put all of these together, Razer claims that ManO’War is able to deliver a far superior range and audio performance compared to other wireless headsets. A final cool feature about it is that the USB adapter can be stashed into the bottom of the right ear cup.
Razer ManO’War supports 7.1 channel virtual surround sound through the Razer Surround software engine. This is fantastic for gamers, if the game title supports it, since it offers positional audio to tell gamers where their opponent positions are, instead of only left or right auditory cues. Gamers could also customize/personalize the positional audio to their hearts’ content. The 7.1 audio is delivered by the custom-tuned 50 mm Neodymium magnet drivers. From the sides, it also looks like a semi-open-back pair of headphones.
Semi-concealed on the left ear cup is its unidirectional digital microphone boom. It is retractable, flexible, and can be pulled out only when needed, unlike other headsets where the stiff mic boom has to be folded up when not in use. Razer said the digital mic surpasses analog any day by way of its “optimized algorithm” to make voice reproduction crystal clear and natural sounding. The unidirectional nature of the mic also ensures that it only takes in the voice of the gamer and reduces ambient noise.
There are two Quick Action Control jog wheels, one at the bottom of each ear cup, to control the microphone and volume levels respectively. There are even two mute buttons (for both mic and headphones). Interestingly, the indicator light on the mic boom only turns on when the mute is active, which is opposite of how others implement it. Traditionally, the indicator light only turns on when the webcam or microphone is recording, but in ManO’War’s case, it is the other way round.
Razer calls the ManO’War a closed-style headset, but we’d prefer calling it an over-ear. The over-ear design comes with raised “leatherette” cushion cups, which not only enhance passive noise isolation, but also offer comfort for long hours of use.
What are the comfortable ear cushions for if the battery is dead after a few hours? Perhaps making use of its relatively-large size to stuff more battery capacity (exact mAh not revealed though), ManO’War is said to be able to operate up to 14 hours on a single charge, with the fancy Chroma lights enabled. Supporting up to 16.8 million colors, gamers can use the Razer Synapse software to program custom color schemes, not to mention existing game titles that already do in-game Chroma integration. If you’re not into distracting lights during gaming, turn Chroma off and the battery can go even longer — up to 20 hours.
We already know Razer ManO’War is made for the PC gaming master race. But as a bonus, it also works with the Sony PlayStation 4, microphone and all, except two of major features — the 7.1 channel virtual surround sound, and custom Chroma lighting effects. On the PS4, audio output will only be in 2.0 stereo, and it can only display one fixed Chroma style — a Spectrum cycling of all available colors.
Razer ManO’War specifications
Headphones:
- Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance: 32 Ω at 1 kHz
- Sensitivity (@1 kHz): 112 ± 3 dB
- Input power: 30 mW (Max)
- Drivers: 50 mm, with Neodymium magnets
- Inner ear cup diameter: 60 mm / 2.36 in.
- Connection type: Wireless USB Transceiver
- Wireless range: 12 m / 40 ft.
- Wireless frequency: 2.4 GHz
- Battery life: Up to 14 hours with Chroma lighting / 20 hours without Chroma lighting
- Approximate weight: 375 g / 0.83 lbs.
Microphone:
- Frequency response: 100 Hz – 10 kHz
- Signal-to-noise ratio: > 60 dB
- Sensitivity (@1 kHz): -38 ± 3 dB
- Pick-up pattern: Unidirectional
System requirements:
- PC / Mac with USB port; PlayStation 4*
- Windows 10 / Windows 8 / Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Mac OS X (10.9 and higher)
- Internet connection for driver installation
- At least 100 MB of free hard disk space
* Only Spectrum cycling lighting effect and 2.0 stereo audio output are available
Package contents:
- Razer ManO’War Wireless Gaming Headset
- USB charging cable
- Wireless USB Transceiver
- Extension dock
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