Razer Plugs Into the Wired Earbuds Boom With $80 Hammerhead V3 Chroma

Razer is going back to wires. The company's new Hammerhead V3 Chroma are USB-C wired gaming earbuds, up for sale starting today at $80. The pitch is straightforward: plug in and get zero latency, so your audio never trails a step behind what's happening on screen.

They're not stripped down, either. Razer packed in active noise cancellation and RGB lighting — practically a house requirement at this point — plus an 11mm dynamic driver for what the company calls punchy low-end impact and a 6mm tweeter for crisp, articulate highs. A small in-line remote handles playback and toggles ANC on and off.

One design detail worth noting: Razer shaped the USB-C connector to sit flush against whatever it's plugged into. That's a real fix for mobile gamers, since a protruding plug can get in the way of where your palm naturally rests. The trade-off is that some mobile gaming controllers won't fit around a cable jutting into your phone, though this pair has a better shot than typical non-gaming wired buds.

The price lands well below Razer's wireless gaming options. The Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed carries an MSRP of $130, while the new Chroma set comes in at $80 — cheaper than most wireless rivals, pricier than a pair of EarPods. Whether the cord is worth it is a matter of taste, and Gizmodo's reviewer notes that wireless earbuds running through 2.4GHz USB-C dongles already eliminate most gaming lag, with no noticeable delay in his own testing.