Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro

The in-ears are supplied with seven pairs of EarTips so that the fit can be individually adjusted. There is a choice of three soft SmoothComfort and three non-slip SecureSeal ear tips, each in sizes S, M and L, as well as a pair of Comply foam inserts in size M. Aided by the low weight of five grams per side, the fit is exceptionally comfortable and long-lasting, as the earpieces are hardly noticeable when worn. In addition, there is even sufficient stability for a short sprint. Merely the limited compatibility with wearing hats or caps lets them down, as the housings are not fully embedded in the ears and protrude somewhat. However, these in-ears are protected from weather-related moisture outdoors, as they have been designed in accordance with IPX4 water resistance.

At higher volumes, these wireless headphones offer a runtime of about five and a half hours, which is reduced to a good four hours in ANC mode. If the batteries are empty, these in-ears can be fully charged four times in the transport case, which serves as a charging station, so that the total runtime in basic mode is over 27 hours, while a little over 20 hours can be achieved when noise cancellation is activated. It might be helpful to have an indicator that the earpieces are fully charged again after 60 minutes. Unfortunately, the charging case LED does not provide any information about when the charging cycle of the in-ears is complete. The only useful indicator is on the case itself, that acknowledges that the battery reserve is restored after one hour and 45 minutes via the USB-C port.

Device control

Pairing the headphones, which support Bluetooth standard 5.1 and single-mode use, can be done by opening the case, which turns the system on and puts it into pairing mode. Switching off, on the other hand, is done by placing them back in the charger, where the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro automatically switch off after five minutes when put down and they can be switched on again by briefly holding the touch surfaces. Once a wireless connection is established, a tap on the right earpiece controls playback, the same motion on the left activates voice assistants, while calls can be answered and ended on both sides with a tap, or declined with a short hold. Track selection is done by double-tapping, skipping forward on the right and back on the left. The gaming mode can be activated and deactivated by tapping the right side three times, the same motion on the left switches between ANC, ambient and basic mode. The remote can be configured quite freely in the app, and this is a well-executed feature, especially since the touch surfaces react reliably. However, there is one shortcoming here, as there is no option for volume control. In addition to the remote, these in-ears are equipped with a sensor-based automatic start/stop function so that playback pauses when you take them out, but this can be deactivated via the app if desired. On the negative side, the Bluetooth range in combination with various Android and iOS devices was quite low at five metres in gaming mode and eight metres via standard connection, particularly since occasional dropouts occurred even at short distances. On the plus side, however, the earpieces have excellent speech intelligibility when used for making phone calls, with both sides of the conversation reproduced in a clear and present manner.

Sound

In their basic tuning, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro sound rather bass-heavy, murky and muffled. Although the voluminous bass reproduction seems solid and the full-bodied low bass also has a certain compactness, the bass foundation nevertheless seems too bulky and overloaded overall, which can result in booming and buzzing. Especially since vocals and lead instruments have a hard time asserting themselves in bass-oriented productions and are noticeably restrained. Although the highs don’t drop noticeably, they can’t do much to counteract this and seem underrepresented. However, if you are not a hardcore bass junkie, you can use the equaliser to adjust the sound quite effectively to match your own listening habits. The only annoying thing is that the settings cannot be saved as a preset. Any sound adjustment that you make remains active independently of the app, but several user-defined EQ settings are not possible.

Sound adjustment does not have to be made via EQ, however, as Razer also offer pre-configured settings. These include a mode with so-called THX certification, which is designed to be as realistic as possible and is much more neutral. You don’t have to forego listening pleasure, as the deep bass reproduction was by no means slim, it has a well-proportioned fullness and sounds well-defined. The sound is homogeneous, very clear and uncluttered, with detailed mids and lively highs. All in all, it’s a very objective reproduction that supports fatigue-free listening over longer periods of time and has very good all-round qualities. The reproduction is by no means unspectacular, as the headphones offer an unusually open, spatial presentation for an in-ear system, which is particularly effective in THX mode. In terms of audio codes, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro support the Bluetooth standard SBC as well as the higher-quality AAC format, while aptX has been omitted.

Noise Cancellation and Outdoor Amplification

In ANC mode, it is noticeable that high-frequency components are barely filtered, while there is quite a significant reduction in the mid and low-frequency range, which is positively noticeable in street noise or background conversations on public transport. Shrill ring tones, on the other hand, mostly come through and even the high noise content of a kettle, for example, remains audible. The perceived playback volume decreases slightly in both ANC and ambient mode. A background noise can also be heard in both modes, this does not affect the playback in noise cancellation, but is more pronounced in ambient mode. Nevertheless, voices are intelligible when playback is paused due to the amplification of the outside world via the integrated microphones, while orientation in the immediate surroundings remains possible up to a medium volume level.