Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed Earbuds Review

Apr 16, 2024

The Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds are unlike anything I’ve ever used for gaming – a completely wireless set of earbuds that sound great, fit well, and can be used on the go for listening to music, podcasts, and more. With the rise in popularity of Apple’s AirPods and other true-wireless earbuds over the past few years, it was only a matter of time before gaming headphones followed suit. And now, Razer has created a great pair of gaming headphones that can fit in your pocket.

The Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds are a completely wireless pair of gaming headphones that are officially licensed by PlayStation and work across PS5, PC, and Mac, as well as any Bluetooth-enabled devices like smartphones, tablets, and more.

The AirPods-like design of the earbuds and case don’t deviate too much from the status quo. Inside of the slightly rounded, oblong flip-top case you’ll find both earbuds neatly tucked away, charging wirelessly through the magnetic nodes at the bottom of each stem.

The case itself is fairly nondescript, with a small gray PlayStation logo in the center, and Razer etched into the top. It also has a small indicator light on the outside that illuminates when opened, as well as when it’s plugged in to charge via the USB-C port on the bottom. It’s also very lightweight, weighing just 56g in total – or 44g without the earbuds.

The Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds contain 10mm audio drivers that deliver a full range of audio, while also offering optional active noise cancellation and ambient sound modes. At the base of each stem is a microphone that can be used for in-game chat, as well as audio input for phone calls over Bluetooth.

While there are no physical buttons on the earbuds, the outside of each one features a haptic sensor behind the Chroma RGB-illuminated Razer logo. By default, you can control the volume, switch audio modes, enable ANC, and more, by combining haptic taps and holds. Remembering all of these haptic commands can be a bit annoying, but you can customize them to make it a bit easier in the Razer Audio app, if you choose.

The earbuds will give you about 4-6 hours of battery life on a single charge, depending on whether or not you have ANC and the Chroma RGB lighting enabled, and can be quickly recharged by returning the buds to the case. The case should give you about four additional charges for the earbuds, placing your total expected battery life between about 20 and 30 hours.

When using the Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds with PS5, PC, or Mac, you simply need to plug in the USB-C adapter and the headphones automatically connect over a 2.4GHz wireless signal – no pairing required – allowing you to quickly and easily jump into your games.

Additionally, you can pair the earbuds to your smartphone via Bluetooth 5.2 to enjoy music, podcasts, videos, and more, while you’re on the go. And, swapping between the HyperSpeed Wireless and Bluetooth modes is simple – a quick triple tap on the outside of either earbud will automatically swap connections.

Oddly enough, your music doesn’t automatically pause when one (or both) of the earbuds are removed. Instead, you have to place them both back in the case and close the lid for the audio to automatically stop, or pause the music manually. Additionally, there’s quite a bit of audio bleed from the headphones at high volume.

This brings me to the haptics. While I appreciate the simplicity in the design, and understand there’s not a ton of room to add physical buttons, I did find the haptics control experience to be a bit frustrating. For instance, adjusting the volume up or down requires a ‘double tap and hold’, which takes just long enough for it to be annoying. It’s much quicker to adjust the volume on-device, which sort of defeats the point of haptic controls.

I also occasionally experienced the haptics simply not working, or performing a completely different command from what I intended as it tried to decipher the difference between a ‘double tap’, a ‘triple tap’, or a ‘triple tap and hold’, for instance.

Downloading the Razer Audio app on iOS or Android will let you customize the earbuds when using them in Bluetooth mode. Once paired, you can check the individual battery life of each earbud, manually enable ANC or the Ambient audio modes, as well as turn on Do Not Disturb to block calls when gaming in the 2.4GHz mode.

Additionally, you can customize the Chroma RGB lighting on the exterior of both earbuds. There are only a few modes you can select though, such as a static lighting option, breathing mode, a spectrum mode that cycles through all 16.8 million colors, and an “Audio Meter” mode that tries to sync the lighting with your music but ends up being a sporadic pulsing and flashing of random colors that looks terrible.

There are a few EQ modes that you can swap between in the app, as well, including enhanced bass or an FPS preset that helps you pick up subtle audio cues like enemy footsteps. You can also fully customize your own EQ, if you desire.

Arguably the most important section in the app, though, is the ability to remap the haptic controls. Here, you can remap the ‘single press’, ‘double tap’, ‘hold for 2 seconds’, and ‘triple tap and hold’ haptic actions independently for both the left and right earbuds. However, the only haptics that can’t be adjusted are the ‘triple tap’ to swap between the 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth modes, and the annoying ‘double tap and hold’ volume controls.

I desperately wish I could remap the volume controls as that’s probably the most commonly used control for me, and since the earbuds don't auto-pause when removed from your ear, this is an even more frustrating issue.

The ease of use and setup of the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds can’t be understated. They immediately paired to the USB adapter when plugged into both my PS5 and PC, and pairing them via Bluetooth to my smartphone was a breeze, too.

I was pleasantly surprised at just how great the audio was for such small earbuds. While you’re not going to get the deep bass that you’d expect from a larger pair of headphones, the range of audio was fantastic as I ventured through Hogwarts Legacy on PS5. I could hear my footsteps echoing off the walls of the hallways throughout Hogwarts Castle, and the directional audio was fantastic, allowing me to easily locate enemies while frantically running around casting spells in battle.

Swapping over to the Bluetooth audio mode I found the Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds performed extremely well across a range of different music genres, with just the right amount of bass. I also spent some time with various podcasts, and vocal audio came through loud and clear.

During my testing, I was regularly getting about 3-4 hours of audio on a single charge (with both ANC and Chroma RGB enabled), and when the headphones got low, I simply popped them in the case for a bit and I was ready to keep playing. The earbuds seem to charge quickly, too, as I was getting about 50% charge in roughly 15 minutes of charge time.

The built-in microphone is definitely serviceable, as well. It’s what you’d expect from a truly wireless earbud. My teammates had no problems hearing any of my callouts in Destiny 2, and making and receiving calls over Bluetooth worked without a hitch. This is largely in part to the built-in environmental noise canceling that intelligently limits external audio and focuses on your voice when speaking.

I found both the Active Noise Cancelation and Ambient audio modes to be pretty average. There’s definitely better noise canceling headphones available, but these earbuds do an okay job at reducing external audio. The Ambient audio mode allows you to hear some of your environment, which is great when you’re on the go and need to be somewhat aware of your surroundings.

As far as comfort goes, these might be some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever used. Not only are they lightweight, but they feel extremely secure in my ears. While walking around, I never felt like they were going to fall out. They even stayed put while violently shaking my head around – something that many other earbuds can’t do. There are a few different earbud tip sizes to ensure you can get that optimal fit, too.

One of the only issues I had while using the Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds was the audio becoming distorted in the 2.4GHz mode seemingly out of nowhere. This happened multiple times across both PS5 and PC, and the only solution I found was placing both earbuds back in the case for a moment to disconnect them before trying again. It’s possible that this is something that gets fixed in a future firmware update, but for now it’s worth noting my experience.

The Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed wireless earbuds can be purchased directly from Razer for an MSRP of $149.99.

The Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed earbuds are a very capable pair of truly wireless earbuds that can comfortably be used for both gaming on PS5, PC, and Mac, and listening to music and podcasts on your Bluetooth-enabled devices. They sound great for the size, providing great directional audio in games that require it, and you can comfortably get up to about 30 hours of listening time with the included charging case. Aside from some frustrating haptic controls, I wouldn’t be surprised if wireless earbuds are the next big trend in gaming headphones.