We get to play with the latest wireless headset from Razer, featuring 50mm neodymium drivers and virtual 7.1 surround. To ensure lag free audio, Razer include a compact, wireless USB adaptor.
Product on Review: Razer ManO’War
Manufacturer: Razer
Street Price: UK: £154.99, US: $169.99
There are some gamers that love to game without wires, so up until recently, it was surprising that Razer didn’t have their own offering to comepte against the likes of Corsair and SteelSeries. The Man’O War aims to fill that void. Addressing the primary concerns regarding wireless performance, Razer have put a lot of consideration into aspects such as battery life and audio lag. Razer are promising a 14 hour lifespan that is expandable to 20hours if you turn off the Chroma LED lighting. To tackle the latency issue, the Man’O War comes with its own plug-and-play compact 2.4GHz wireless dongle, ensuring quick and easy pairing and a lag free experience.
The headset itself is packed with 50mm neodymium drivers, controls on the earcups for on-the-fly audio adjustments and Chroma lighting. The Synapse software further enables virtual 7.1 surround sound.
Overview by Razer
Immerse yourself in the game with complete wireless freedom featuring the Razer ManO’War wireless PC gaming headset with gaming grade lag-free 2.4 GHz wireless technology. Hear every detail, every position of your enemy when you have high-performance 50 mm Neodymium magnet drivers and immersive 7.1 surround sound.
Technical Specifications
Headphones
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Impedance: 32 Ohm 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 Razer Chroma lighting / 20 hours without Razer Chroma lighting
Approximate weight: 375 g / 0.83 lbs
Microphone
Frequency response: 100 – 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 / 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 is available
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Impedance: 32 Ohm 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 Razer Chroma lighting / 20 hours without Razer Chroma lighting
Approximate weight: 375 g / 0.83 lbs
Microphone
Frequency response: 100 – 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 / 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 is available
Packaging & Bundle
The from packaging is distinctively Razer, using sleek black on green with little clutter. There is an large image of the product along size the Razer branding and the product name.
At the back there is some information about the key features of the Man’O War with some small print information given in various languages.
Inside Razer include a quick start guide, a manual, and some stickers. You will also find a braided USB – microUSB charging cable.
There is also a USB extension for the wireless adaptor, again Razer branded with a braided cable.
The compact wireless adaptor is stored on the headset itself for convenience, simply push it in and it pops out.
Closer Look
The headset itself is mostly black plastic, with a large plastic headband with swivel type earscups. The earcups look similar to the design found on the Kraken headset, though significantly larger.
The Razer name embossed on the top of the headband.
The headband itself features a pad of soft foam (could be memory foam) cushioning big enough for the top of your head.
The headset can be adjusted to fit your head size, though the default size seems perfectly adequate for most.
The outside of the earcups feature the mesh look seen on the Kraken headsets with the Razer logo in the centre. Simple and attractive.
The earcups feature a large 60mm circular opening for your ears and is lined with think foam padding, again, could be memory foam (not stated as such by Razer).
At the base of the earcups you find the business end, including the retractable microphone, microphone volume dial (press to mute), microUSB port, power button. On the right side we see the volume dial (press to mute) and the wireless adaptor seated in its storage area.
Software & Lighting
The Man’O War functions as a stereo headset, with spectrum cycling LED lighting in plug-and-play mode and you don’t need to install the software if you do not wish to. However, for full control and v7.1 surround you will need to download, install and sign into/create an account, then wait for the Synapse software to download and update the drivers for the headset. This sounds a little long winded, and it can be, however you will be rewarded with a host of advanced controls laid out on a beautiful and easy to navigate UI. After installation, the Synapse software will take you through a setup to calibrate the 7.1 surround.
Amongst the options you will see a battery life indicator, controls for bass boost, microphone noise reduction as well as EQ settings. You will also have control of the LED lighting and its various effects.
As expected from the Chroma lighting, the colours are bright and vibrant in a minimalistic and attractive setting that isn’t too much, or too out there. White is rendered in a slight pinkish colour but it isn’t too noticeable compared to some other RGB white rendering.
Performance Testing
Setup, Design & Observations
To setup, you will need to make sure the headset has been charged, and plug in the included wireless adaptor into your system, either directly or by using the included extension cable. One the adaptor is plugged in, hold the power button on the headset for a few seconds and it will pair almost immediately.
The first impressions in hand is that, it feels a little expensive considering all the creaky plastic, one would normally expect higher quality materials being used. The earcups swivel and rotate through about 110 degrees, but does not lay flay due to the manner they open out, nor does it fold.
When placing on your head, the headband doesn’t really flex or bend too much, but it easily fits over my head at its smallest size, and so smaller people may find the Man’O War too large. The earcups fit over my ears perfectly, and the cushioning is soft, though people with ears larger than 60mm in length may find a problem. General comfort was good for a long session and despite the use of plastic, it was not creaky like the ASUS STRIX headsets, nor did it echo noise through the frame as observed in the HyperX Cloud Revolver. The sound isolation was pretty good too, owed to the thick earpads. This would mean that there is little sound leakage, and would explain why there is a microphone sidetone enabled by default.
The controls on the earcups were difficult to locate by touch at first, but once you get used to them they worked perfectly fine, though they do feel a little cheap. The microphone felt a little short, but was flexible and retracted without any problem. If you mute the microphone, there is a RED LED indicator to remind you.
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Audio was surprisingly good, and listening through some bass heavy music the Man’O War gave a good, powerful bass that didn’t overpower the crisp mids and highs. The maximum volume is loud (not the loudest, but enough to cause ear damage if used for long periods) and there was no noticeable clipping/distortion; you could say it was like a broadside to the ear…
Anyhow, the soundstage does sound a little artificially widened while listening to music due to the v7.1 rendering, but it didn’t create too much of a detrimental effect. It was here I realised that once you have the Synapse software installed, there was no option to turn off the v7.1 surround rendering, serving as a reminder that this is a gaming headset first. Fortunately, this is where the Man’O War truly battles, because that v7.1 rendering is almost game breaking. The spatial awareness is amongst the best out there giving convincing, head-turning spatial awareness. Though this is a feature that you will have to forego if you plan on using this headset with the PS4.
Microphone
The microphone picked up our voice well and though it sounded rather deep, it is clear and mostly noise free. The automatic noise reduction works very well, but may cause intermittent muffled/rustling sounds if you, for example, have a fan aimed at you. It does a great job of blocking out background noises suck as keyboard typing and mouse clicks. Due to this noise reduction there is a slight time delay however.
Conclusion
After spending some time in various games, from CS:GO, to running around in Skyrim or Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, the Man’O War is a very enjoyable headset. It’s overall audio signature is perfect for gaming and its virtual surround rendering is surprisingly effective. The Man’O War delivers its promise of lag free audio and we experienced no interference while sitting about 2-3 metres away from the system (game pad heathen). After around 4-5 hours use (LEDs on), the battery life was reported to be at around 75% so the 14hour life span is realistic, though for a more respectable 20hour lifespan you need to turn off the LED lighting.
There are some problems with the Man’O War and it isn’t with its performance. Firstly, at its smallest size I found it a little too big, as I am not the smallest guy around I am sure many will find it difficult to wear despite being comfortable. The biggest point to consider is its pricing, and sitting at £154.99 RRP, the overall construction feels rather cheap and isn’t quite the half-way home between the Void Wireless and the Siberia 800 the pricing would suggest. Not to mention that if you were interested in a surround headset, you can get the true 7.1 Razer Tiamat for about the same price.
None of this undercuts the great performance of the Man’O War but we feel the need to underline the essential features. It is a wireless (doesn’t work via USB anyway) v7.1 gaming headset first and only, and for that purpose it is pretty damn good.
The Razer Man’O War gave us hours of enjoyable, lag free, wireless audio while the exceptional virtual 7.1 surround sits amongst the best out there.
Pros.
+ Lag free wireless audio
+ Great gaming audio, powerful bass
+ Relatively loud
+ Great v7.1 rendering
+ Reasonable battery life (lighting disabled)
+ Good bundled accessories
+ Compatible with PS4 (Stereo mode only)
+ Attractive lighting
+ Comfortable*
Cons.
– Feels over-priced
– but some may find it a little large*
– Limited connectivity options
+ Lag free wireless audio
+ Great gaming audio, powerful bass
+ Relatively loud
+ Great v7.1 rendering
+ Reasonable battery life (lighting disabled)
+ Good bundled accessories
+ Compatible with PS4 (Stereo mode only)
+ Attractive lighting
+ Comfortable*
Cons.
– Feels over-priced
– but some may find it a little large*
– Limited connectivity options
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
