My Samsung earbuds are on their last legs. I’ve owned three generations of Samsung’s response to AirPods; the color options have been fantastic, but the fit has been lacking, and they constantly fall out during workouts and on airplanes. When the right earbud went out completely for the third time, it was time to jump ship, and the Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed were there waiting.
Only coming in one color, the Razer Hammerhead V3 X doesn’t exactly match my usual lavender-and-pink accessory aesthetic. But, at this point, looking cute has to come second to function. The Razer Hammerhead has an all-black matte aesthetic with a small RGB strip where the case closes. The buds themselves are closer to the AirPods design, with a tail (for lack of a better word) sticking out of the ear.
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While they are bigger than Samsung’s older earbuds that I am used to, the in-ear fit can be adjusted with different sizes. That said, the smallest among them is still a tad too big for my ears, making them anything but a direct answer to the problem of them falling out easily. Still, though, it takes movement to make this happen, which means on a three-hour flight, there’s no issue to speak of while sitting in your seat.
Razer Hammerhead V3 x Hyperspeed earbuds offer the bells whistles of other brands.
The Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed aren’t just built for travel or commuting; they’re also built for gaming. Like most of Razer’s Bluetooth gaming products, the earbuds let you use standard Bluetooth or the included 2.4 GHz wireless receiver dongle to connect to your PC, console, or phone with Razer’s Hyperspeed Bluetooth instead.
The dongle option, which fits into the case for easy storage, helps people like me who are absent-minded, to say the least. When you look at the progression of how the Hammerhead earbud Hyperspeed dongle has evolved across its iterations, it’s the least intrusive it’s ever been.
The quality gain the Hyperspeed dongle provides is noticeable, especially compared to other Razer headsets I own that don’t use a dongle. That said, you can’t turn the volume up nearly as high as on other headphones, Bluetooth or otherwise. This was especially an issue on long flights, when I wanted to block out the rest of the cabin for some sleep.
On your cellphone, you can use the Razer audio app to change settings on the Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed, which mostly helps with the dampened sound. You can switch between noise canceling and ambient with the app, and the difference is immediately noticeable.
The Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed earbuds are just about the perfect size.
On PC, Razer Synapse offers the same options, but Mac users don’t get that customization because of compatibility restrictions. That said, so long as the earbuds are set to noise canceling when on the laptop, it’s not much of a problem, only slightly annoying for those looking to block out the noise around them.
The Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed are also water-resistant, which makes them good for workouts and leaves you mostly unconcerned in the rain, as well as for unforeseen drops while out. In addition to the durability (at least for the earbuds themselves), the Hammerheads are also big enough not to get lost in your bag (even if you need to buy a third-party case to clip it onto things) but small enough that they can be carried in a small clutch or fanny pack without using all of the real estate.
The case itself easily stands out as the product’s most interesting feature. The HyperSpeed Case serves as both a charging case and a 2.4 GHz wireless receiver. Instead of using only the provided dongle, you can plug the case into your device via the USB-C to USB-A cable to play and charge it at the same time.
This advancement works extremely well in practice and accounts for how easily parts of the case can be lost. And with Razer’s SmartSwitch, you can easily switch between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth devices when you choose. That said, beyond testing functionality, the audio quality over standard Bluetooth was always crisp enough that I didn’t feel the need to connect with Hyperspeed.
If it weren’t for the volume control and Synapse the Razer Hammerhead V3 x Hyperspeed earbuds would be perfect.
The two biggest flaws with the Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed are, like most Razer products, that you need the app to run them flawlessly. Without the app on Mac, and ultimately the limited range of features compared to what you see in the Samsung Wearables app, this is just another way that the software Razer pushes through its products keeps holding them back. It’s a frustrating reality: even when the products are fantastic, Synapse still gets in the way.
Outside of that, the matte black case scuffs easily, and unlike with high-shine products, the scuff won’t buff out easily. While the matte appearance feels good in your hand and stands out against other cases, after just two plane trips, where the case sat in a closed pouch or the very front of my bag, the case now has quite a few scuff marks. However, once you have an alcohol wipe, the job is done, and they’re back to new.
Still, small cosmetic issues and Razer’s continued dedication to pushing its users into software they definitely don’t need aren’t enough to keep this off your radar. The Razer Hammerhead V3 X Hyperspeed has replaced Samsung in my life, and I don’t think I’ll be going back. While they work well for gaming (which they really do), I’m confident that the they’re sure to replace your usual earbuds on-the-go if you give them a chance.
The Razer Hammerhead V3 x Hyperspeed earbuds are available now from Razer.com and other retailers.
