Razer Hammerhead True Wireless 2021 Headphones Review

The Razer Hammerhead have a somewhat similar ear-stem design as their predecessor, the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless 2019, although now they're in-ears instead of earbuds. They also have customizable RGB lighting on the Razer logo found on both earbuds. However, they only come in a glossy black color scheme.

These headphones have a decently comfortable fit. They don't put too much pressure on the inside of your ears and come with three different sets of ear tips to help you get the best fit possible. However, the hard plastic earbud may start to hurt if you're wearing them for hours at a time.

These headphones have good controls. There's a touch-sensitive surface on the buds, and while they aren't the most intuitive to use out of the box, they're still decently easy to use. The surface is responsive, and there are voice prompts or beeps to let you know when the headphones have registered most commands.

• One tap: Plays and pauses audio on either bud.
• Double-tap: On the left earbud, skips the track backwards. On the right earbud, skips the track forward.
• Double-tap and hold: On the left earbud, turns volume down. On the right earbud, raises the volume.
• Triple-tap and hold for two seconds: Cycles between 'Gaming Mode', which offers lower latency, and 'Standard Mode' on either bud.
• Hold two seconds: Cycles through active noise cancelling (ANC), talk-through, which allows you to hear your surroundings without turning off your audio, and ANC off on either bud.
• Hold for a few seconds: You can register this command on either bud, and it puts the headphones into pairing mode.

It can take a few tries to get the command to register, especially if you're using a double or triple-tap. You can also remap the controls using the companion app, and you can even add voice assistant support via the app without losing other controls.

The Razer Hammerhead have an outstandingly breathable design, which is to be expected for in-ear headphones. Since they don't cover your outer ear, they don't trap in much heat. If you wear them during a workout, you shouldn't sweat more than usual.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds are exceptionally portable. They should easily fit into most pockets or bags, even when they're inside their carrying case.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless have a good carrying case. It's made from plastic, is very light, and has a decent lid. It should fit into most pockets.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless' build quality is good. They're mostly plastic but feel more sturdy than the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless 2019. They're also rated IPX4 for water resistance, though we don't currently test for this. Unfortunately, the ear tips seem like they may rip over time.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless have a stable fit. Once you achieve a good seal, they should stay in place during moderate physical exercise. However, they lack stability fins, meaning that they could fall out during more intense activities.

• Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds
• 3x silicone ear tips
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Cable port covers
• Manuals

These headphones have a very bass-heavy sound profile using the 'Custom' EQ preset, delivering intense boom to your mixes, which should please fans of EDM and hip-hop. However, some users may find they sound muddy. Luckily, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound to your liking.

Note: These headphones were tested using the 'Custom' EQ preset, without adjusting any of the 10-band settings. We used this preset as it produces the flattest response of all of the presets. You can see a comparison of all of the EQ presets' raw frequency responses here.

The Razer Hammerhead have outstanding frequency response consistency. Once you achieve a proper fit using the included ear tips, you should experience consistent audio delivery each time you use them.

These headphones have decent bass accuracy. The response is overemphasized across the range and is very noticeable in the mid to high-bass. Mixes have extra thump, punch, and boom. However, some users may find they sound muddy.

The Razer Hammerhead's mid accuracy is okay. There's some overemphasis continuing from the bass range into the mid-range. As a result, mixes sound very cluttered and muddy. Vocals and lead instruments are also a bit forward, although a dip in the high-mid can weaken them a bit.

The Razer Hammerhead have sub-par treble accuracy. The range is underemphasized, so the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments are veiled while sibilants like cymbals are dull.

These headphones have decent peaks and dips performance. A peak in the high-bass to the low-mid adds boom and muddiness to your mixes, while a small dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of your mixes. Another dip in the low-treble veils the upper harmonics of these sounds, while a steep peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds have an outstanding imaging performance. The group delay falls below the audibility threshold for the entire range, ensuring a tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers of our unit are also very well-matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency response, ensuring the accurate placement of objects like voices and footsteps in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Razer Hammerhead have a terrible soundstage, which is to be expected from in-ears. A large and spacious soundstage depends on sound interacting with your outer ear. However, earbuds bypass the outer ear altogether, so their soundstage seems small and as if it's coming from inside your head. It also doesn't sound as open or spacious as that of open-back headphones.

The Razer Hammerhead's weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. There's a couple of peaks in the treble range at moderate listening volume, but it may not be noticeable with real-life content. The rest of the frequency response falls within good limits, resulting in fairly clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using this configuration.

The Razer Hammerhead have a satisfactory noise isolation performance. They have active noise cancelling (ANC) but still have trouble blocking out the low rumble of bus and plane engines. They do a better job of reducing mid-range noise, like office chatter. Their ANC doesn't improve upon their passive noise isolation capabilities in the treble range, and it offers an underwhelming performance if you want to cut down the hum of an AC unit. If you're looking for Razer earbuds with a better noise isolation performance, consider the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed True Wireless instead.

The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless have an excellent leakage performance. Most of the leakage is concentrated in the treble range and sounds thin. If you like to listen to your audio at high volumes in a moderately noisy environment, those around you shouldn't be able to hear it.

The mic's recording quality is good. Your voice sounds natural, although a bit thin and dark to whoever's on the other end of the line.

The mic's noise handling performance is alright. If you're taking calls in a moderately noisy environment like a busy street, your voice may get drowned out.

The Razer Hammerhead have an alright battery performance. They're advertised to last roughly 4.5 hours continuously with the ANC on but the RGB lighting off. We measured a similar result, though battery life can vary depending on use, and your real-life experience may vary. Luckily, their carrying case holds roughly four additional charges if you need it. They also have an auto-off timer that you can adjust or turn off in their companion app, and you can use one earbud while the other one charges in the closed carrying case. If you're looking for ANC earbuds with a longer battery life, check out the Skullcandy Sesh ANC True Wireless.

The Razer Audio app is great. It offers a 10-band graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound. The 'Smart Link/Quick Connect' feature allows you to switch between known devices while remaining connected to the app. You can also see the battery life for both buds, remap controls, and set the auto-off timer. You can cycle between ANC on, off, and hear-through mode, as well as access 'Gaming Mode', which offers lower latency. However, the app can take a long time to connect to the headphones.

The Razer Hammerhead are also compatible with the Razer Chroma app, which allows you to customize their RGB lighting to your liking. However, this feature isn't available via the Razer Audio app.

The Razer Hammerhead have decent Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing. They also have high latency on PC, which could be annoying if you're streaming video. However, their latency on iOS and Android is significantly lower. If you're looking for even lower latency, we measured 83ms of latency on PC, 26ms on Android, and 38ms on iPhone, when using 'Gaming Mode'. However, this feature isn't on by default, and you need to activate it each time you take the buds out of their case. Also, please note that apps and devices compensate for latency differently, and your real-world experience may vary.

These headphones are Bluetooth-only, and you can't use them wired. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable to charge the carrying case.

The Razer Hammerhead can wirelessly connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, you can't connect them to PCs in any other way.

These headphones come with a carrying case that holds roughly four additional charges. It charges via USB-C, and it doesn't have any additional inputs.