Players have been heard but not answered for Razer’s Hammerhead Hyperspeed headphones. The truly wireless earbuds are a nice presence for ears looking for wonderful PS5-optimised sound. But a few connectivity issues and missing basic features turn users off from picking up the buds after putting down the controller.
This doesn’t mean Razer doesn’t hit hard with its hammerhead and stream audio at hyperspeeds. The earbuds are wonderfully designed with gaming in mind. Razer again excels at building each headphone with enough deep punches to give every blast a purpose. Players will get near-identical feedback thanks to some thoughtful PS5 tuning. With the PS5’s adaptive 3D sound mimicked it’s enough to gain the brand’s official seal of approval.
The Hammerhead Hyperspeed also happens to be very light. Razer sticks to its magical design by packing hard-hitting specs in durable plastic. But each earbud feels incredibly nonexistent in the canals, while listeners can comfortably keep their Hammerhead Hyperspeeds on without any pressure across their sessions. This comes with a tried-and-true rubber earbud tip that comes with different sizes.
Once each bud is in, setup becomes a surprisingly easy pick-up-and-go experience. Anyone who has used a true wireless bud can expect the same seamless routine. The Hammerhead Hyperspeeds automatically go into pairing mode once users open the charging case. It’s a near-instant connection after users complete their first pairing. I expected nothing less out of Razer for nailing this ease of use. One satisfying case snap later, I was off to gaming, exercising and brooding over my personal soundtracks.
“Just as PlayStation intended with 3D audio, gamers can outright feel the Hammerhead Hyperspeed’s crisp details.”
Razer tried hard to keep its Hammerhead Hyperspeeds closely shaped like older models, but this tantalizing gamer-like design makes each bud incredibly slippery to take out of the case. But once they’re on, each Hammerhead Hyperspeed feels as much of an accessory without gaming. These are elegantly glossy buds that are accentuated with Razer’s iconic logo. In true gaming fashion, it features customizable RGB that can stand out from other competitors with premium flair.
Listen closely, and you might hear the Sackboy’s fuzzy feet hit the ground, wood shattering as Nathan Drake tackles a goon or Spider-Man’s mechanical web-shooters whirring. The Hammerhead Hyperspeeds — once they’re on — are finely tuned essentials that work for gaming. Razer excels at using its percussive drivers to propel gunshots, punches and explosions forward. Just as PlayStation intended with 3D audio, gamers can outright feel the Hammerhead Hyperspeed’s crisp details. With maximum wireless comfort, it’s impressive to imagine gamers adopting the Razer buds over larger traditional headphones. Better yet, players can also use the serviceable “smart” microphones to communicate with party members.
Synapses will fire from the amount of feedback I got from PlayStation’s exclusive PS5 titles. The aforementioned Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection were wonderfully tuned to fit Razer’s hardware. The Hammerhead Hyperspeeds were a great pairing for its nearly replicated 3D audio enhancements and DualSense haptic feedback. I couldn’t feel anything less of premium immersion with sensations from my ears, eyes and palms.
Razer adds a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle that gives the Hammerhead Hyperspeeds more than one way to connect. It’s the same technology found in Razer’s other wireless headsets. Over the PS5, it’s as simple as plugging and seamlessly playing. I appreciate Razer letting gamers switch instantly from their phones to PS5. But the USB-C dongle can’t exactly stay plugged into the console, while I had to unplug and plug the dongle in each time as an added step. It seems easy until players might forget to unplug the dongle for next time. Or get up from their seats in case of connectivity issues.
In fact, the dongle doesn’t just work for PS5 consoles. I went as far as plugging the 2.4 GHz dongle over a Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch without fail. It’s as seamless and low-latency as the PS5.
On a great session, players won’t have problems enjoying the audio over its dongle, but the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeeds are prone to random interruptions. Sadly, listeners could expect cutouts and stutters in the worst moments. This can be remedied by replugging the dongle or quickly charging the buds. But they’re interruptions that kill what should be a worry-free listening session.
I have little to no problems running Razer’s buds over traditional Bluetooth. The buds can safely be used as regular ones for music, multimedia and anything users put their resourcefulness to. These can be comfortable enough for daily use outside the gaming dens.
“Razer has carefully made the Hammerhead Hyperspeed as formidable away from the consoles.”
On paper, the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed buds are capable of 20 Hz – 20KHz. This is far from the Hi-Res Audio certification (24-bit – 96+ KHz). But users forking over $200 USD will spend more time noticing Razer’s surprisingly impressive customization for its drivers. At 16 Ω (impedance), this gives each bud the capability to push past its limits.
Listeners with a habit of using touch controls will have a frustrating time with the Hammerhead Hyperspeed. It packs enough customization for users to assign commands. But the buds can’t even respond to quick touches. Users have to hold the button once to pause and play. Double-tapping feels finicky to execute, and songs can fast-forward with some delays. Holding the headphones takes tediously long when repairing with other devices. Razer falls short of responsiveness as users face a learning curve.
I highly recommend users try the Razer Audio app to make the most out of their buds. RGB settings aside, listeners can fine-tune the buds with an equalizer. Razer goes a step further by making a custom setting that lets users tweak bass, treble, vocals and percussion. After some tweaking, I found the best balance of club-like echoes and max bass. Timbaland’s The Way I Are can sound like it blared in a dance hall. Timberlake’s Pusher Love Girl can sound like classical music revived with a live orchestra. Razer has carefully made the Hammerhead Hyperspeed as formidable away from the consoles.
Battery life is disappointingly short over premium gaming headphones packing tons of listening heft. It’s sad to hear low battery indicators after three hours of use. It’s underwhelming as competitors have found efficient power consumption, low latency and longevity. But Razer — RGB, overclocked drivers and all — struggles to keep listening sessions going. This restricts listening to shorter playtime, commutes and workouts. While staff lucky enough to have music at work might be in trouble from low battery.
Razer tries to make up for this with a case that can charge the buds ten times over at 30 hours of capacity. Users will likely use it as they’re storing the Hammerhead Hyperspeeds. But they shouldn’t have to rely on lightning-fast charge times more frequently than necessary. Worse yet, there’s no real-time battery indicator. Razer misses an opportunity to make it more obvious without forcing users to open the audio app each time.
No amount of premium finish or gaming-first perks can mask the Hammerhead Hyperspeed’s hardware flaws. It manages to dazzle when it works over consoles and music. But Razer stumbles with practical battery, touch controls and poor dongle connections that make its latest leap less remarkable.
