We’re no strangers to the gaming goodness that is RAZER products. After reviewing keyboards, headsets, mice, and speakers made by them, we’ve got a pretty good handle on how good their stuff is or can be. Today, we get a look and a listen at one of their new products made for the portable gaming market. The RAZER Moray In-Ear Noise Isolating Gaming Earphones are designed to give gamers rocking the PSP, Nintendo DS, or even a digital audio player of your choice “powerful bass-driven stereo sound and mid/high range clarity”. Let’s see how they score with us.
Features and Specifications
The RAZER Moray’s use a noise isolating design using replaceable earpieces that form to the ear canal. The seal that is achieved allows these earphones to give extended bass (down to 20Hz according to the specs) while isolating the listener from outside noise. This also means that you can use lower volumes, making it somewhat safer for your ears. Sensitivity of 110dB also makes them very suitable for portable devices that have lower powered headphone jacks like portable gaming systems and media players.
The earphones weigh a scant 10.7 grams and use a regular 3.5mm jack. They come in two colors, black and white (as reviewed). MSRP for these headphones run approximately $49.99 USD.
What’s Inside The Box?
Inside the box, you’ll find the headphones themselves, three seperate pairs of ear pieces, an airline headphone adapter, carrying pouch, some RAZER stickers and a quickstart guide. You’ll also find RAZER’s certificate of authenticity welcoming you to the “Cult of RAZER”.
First Impressions
The earphones themselves don’t seem that remarkable out of the box. Except for the earpieces themselves and the RAZER logo, they don’t look that different from a set of cheapie headphones you’d find for $10 bucks at a Chinese Night Market.
Different from most cheap headphones out there is of course the use of the noise isolating gaskets on the ear pieces. Three sizes come with the headphones for a custom fit.
The headphones come with a carrying case that is made to carry the extra earpieces and the airline adapter. With all the stuff packed inside, the case is just a little bigger than an Apple iPod Touch.
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Those Squishy Earpieces…
In order to get the best possible performance out of these headphones, you should definitely try out all earpiece sizes to get a proper fit. I found that the medium ones worked the best for my ears. A proper seal will get you the best possible bass and will block out the background noise. The only downside to headphones that use these types of earpieces is the fact that when you are eating, anything crunchy, you’ll hear it so you might want to stay clear of those chips and carrot sticks.
Sound Quality and Comfort
After breaking the RAZER Moray’s in for 24 hrs with a wide range of music, it was time for testing. I listened to all sorts of different music ranging from POP to Classical and my source material was played through an 80GB Microsoft ZUNE. I compared the RAZER Moray’s to the stock ZUNE headphones, SONY MDR-EX71SL Headphones (that use a similar earpiece style) and a set of SONY MDR-7506 studio monitor headphones. Here’s what I found out.
It’s clear that RAZER made the Moray’s for portable devices. Compared to all my other headphones, the Moray’s sensitivity gave it the highest volume levels at a given volume level. The RAZER’s also seemed to playback material with the most perceived low end bass response. However, they also seemed to offer the least amount of sparkle at the high end of the spectrum. Cymbal shots and high frequency notes just didn’t seem as pronounced. In the mid range, there was a good level of warmth to the notes, but not particularly detailed as minute details were muffled. But overall, it was a very comfortable listening experience.
As for physical comfort, the lightweight of the earphones and the soft earpieces made them comfortable for my listening sessions. In fact, I sometimes forgot I even had them on until I ripped the Zune from the table. On that note, they seemingly had the lowest build quality due to the flimsy cables. Most of RAZER’s headsets adopt some sort of armor for the cords and it’d be nice to see that here too.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
So what’s the bottom line on the RAZER Moray’s? Well, as a set of audio headphones, they do pretty well. Compared to my usual collection of headphones, high end, to low end, to stock, they seemed to hold their own. They were also particularly well suited to being hooked up to my ZUNE as they required the least amount of volume to get loud. This is a benefit with other low powered devices like portable game systems and other media players; you won’t need a lot of power to make them sound decent. The sound quality was also well suited to long periods of listening due to the comfortably warm sound and low amount of harshness in the high frequencies. Their in-ear noise isolation design also gives you a bit more peace and quiet, but watch it when you eat crunchy foods as the in-ear design amplifies the crunching.
On the physical side, the comfort and lightweight contributed to their long-term comfort, however I would have preferred that RAZER up the weight a few grams by armoring-up the rather thin cables. Being coiled up all the time and subjected to snagging on the road may lead to them being damaged along the way. The carrying case was a nice touch and does make it easy to carry them around with you rather than leaving them at home and the airline adapter means that they should rack up some airmiles with you.
At $49.99 USD, they aren’t on the cheap end of the price spectrum, but that just means that when they go on sale, they’ll be that much more inviting. But given the fact that they are comfortable both physically and aurally, it might make them worth your hard earned green.
Pros
- Warm sound and decent low bass
- Good efficiency makes them ideal for portable devices
- Cusomized fit makes them very comfortable
- Handy carrying case and airline adapter make them handy for trips
Cons
- Cables are somewhat flimsy
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
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RAZER Moray In-Ear Noise Isolating Gaming Earphones Photo Gallery
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