As a reviewer, I get to see and try a lot more products than I ever would have prior to joining Gaming Nexus. There are a lot of good products out on the market, and even more that are not so good. That’s why when something truly great comes out; it’s exciting to be able to let other gamers know about it. I guess where I’m heading with this is that the Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones are something great.

Let me start with the basics. The Barracuda is not small. The unit is roughly 10 inches tall from the bottom of the earphones to the top of the connecting support wires. Each earphone is comprised of a circular unit holding 4 sonic drivers; front, rear, center, and sub-woofer. Each driver has its own amplifier. The earphones are connected via two semi-flexible wires that are long enough and offer enough give for the tallest and widest heads. The speaker portion of each earphone is circled with a large cushion 3 ½ inches in diameter to keep the speakers from pressing up against the ears. The cushion is roughly ¾ of an inch thick, and very soft. A self adjusting strap is connected to the top of both cones spreading the weight of the unit allowing the earphones to rest fully against the head without causing too much pressure, as some units are apt to do. Putting the unit on you really notice the comfort provided by the padded earphones and the weight distribution strap.

When it comes to appearance, the Barracuda doesn’t really look too dissimilar from most studio headphones. The unit itself is all black, and aside from the blue LED lit Razer logos on the outside of each headphone, the only noticeable differences are the detachable stick microphone attached to the base of the left earphone, and the control unit that sits not quite 24 inches down the cable from the unit.

The control unit is an interesting part of the unit. It offers volume control for the unit, as well as individual dials for the four pairs of sonic drivers, giving the user dynamic control over the audio mix without having to interrupt play to change game play audio settings. There’s also a power switch on the unit, which like the overall volume knob is strangely unmarked.

The Barracuda Headphones are designed specifically to work with the new Barracuda AC-1 Audio Card. This is highly evident when looking at the proprietary connection at the end of the nearly 7 foot long headphone cord. It’s somewhat reminiscent of an HD monitor connection. It is an HD-DAI plug, designed to work exclusively with Razers’ upcoming card, which was not yet available at the time of this review. For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to try the headphones with the intended audio card, an adapter is included in the box with the unit. The adapter plugs into the 4 standard audio mini-plug ports, and a USB port (for power). ;

Now that you know what the unit looks like, let’s talk about what it sounds like. I played a variety of games wearing the headphones but the best overall experience when playing Battlefield 2. This is exactly the type of game that the Barracuda was designed for. The high quality audio in the game sounded amazing through the headphones drivers, and the positional audio of the surround sound really made me feel like the action I was hearing was coming from around me. In one instance in particular, I was able to pick up on the location of an enemy sniper based on the sound of the bullets in the headphones. The sounds of the various weapons, vehicles, and movements were distinct and crisp and the audio range was impeccable. From the low grumble of a tank motor, to the high pit...