So today we'll be unboxing the Razer Banshee. I've received a ton of requests
to unbox this particular gaming headset. This is part of their Starcraft 2
branded line of products. Thus, there's something about calling down the
thunder, which is good, I suppose, when you have a headset. Thunder would mean
base, I guess. Okay, so let's have a look at what Razer has to say for
themselves about the features on the back of the box. And as always, Razer's
boxes are excellent, and this one is no exception. Looks outstanding. All right,
here we go. So, we've got eight preset EQ settings. We've got APM lighting
system, which means the more actions per minute, the lights change. So, that's
pretty neat. Uh, we have a circumaral design, which just means that they sit
around your ears. And we have a braided fiber cable which is pretty typical for
high-end gaming headsets these days. You can control your mic using this here.
You can use okay extended comfort circumal design. Okay, that we've
covered already. You got volume control, APM lighting system, true-to-life gaming
audio, which is to be expected from a true-to-life gaming headset. Detachable
microphone boom, as well as a 7 foot lightweight non-tangle cord. All right,
I think that's pretty much this is just the same stuff again. and it is a USB
headset. So that's something that I was not aware of looking at the product
initially. So what that means is that you won't be reliant on the performance
of your sound card in order to get the best possible performance out of the
Banshee. So the whole USB headset thing
is a bit of a double-edged sword because if you do have a great sound card, then
you're probably not doing yourself a favor using the USB sound card that's
integrated with it. But if you don't, like if you're gaming on a laptop, then
it is a huge advantage versus using a lower quality onboard sound
system. So, here we go. We got the product itself. We've got some
accessories here. Comes in kind of a neat shaped box, which has this in it.
That's it. Very little in terms of accessories. So, we've got a quick start
guide, some razor stickers, a master guide. That's it. That's it. That's
That's easy. All right. Now we take the front of the packaging off. We can get
out our uh tangle-free cord
here. And now we have removed the
Banshee headset from its packaging. So the first thing I like to do with any
headset product is put it on, see how it
feels. Okay. So, what stands out to me
about this right off the bat is the fact that it is not only circumal, it is
circumal even if you've got huge ears.
So, this should be comfortable and not press on the top of your ears even if
you have big ears. So, you know what? What you're seeing here isn't even the
full extent of the space inside because you can see even in here. So, if the top
of your ear, like right around here, is is up in
that pocket, then it's going to be quite comfortable. So, even wearing my
earrings, I I don't notice any any
discomfort from this particular headset. It is a little on the heavy side,
although part of that could be the fact that I do have the 7T cord hanging off
of it. Right now, there's the gold-plated USB connection. Remember,
gold plating doesn't help the performance, but what it does help is
the longevity. you'll always have a good connection because gold does allow you
to have a better uh more clean contact
surface due to its anti-corrosion properties. So, that's a good thing
about gold. So, let's go through the headset and have a look at what we've
got in terms of controls on this guy. So, first things first, let's attach the
optional boom mic and figure out where it even attaches here. Okay. So, on this
side, we take off that rubber stopper, which now fell, and we can go ahead and
plug in our boom mic, which can be uh
pushed up to the top, or it can be pushed down to the bottom. It can actually go almost all the way around.
So, that looks like about 270°. So, I wouldn't recommend using it
facing this way because then your uh left channel is going to be in your
right ear and your right channel is going to be in your left ear, and that's not really ideal for gaming, especially
if you want decent directionality. But there, that is how it is generally
intended to be used. You can adjust the positioning of it a little bit so it can
sit further or closer to your mouth. All right. And let's have a look at what
we've got in terms of controls on here. So, we've got lights here, lights here,
lights here. Lots of lights all over this headset. So, you'll definitely look
pretty cool at whatever land you're at playing with your headset. And then you
got mic volume. That's a really cool feature. So, your mic volume can be
adjusted here or muted using the buttons behind your left ear. Then your
headphone volume can be adjusted here or muted using the buttons behind your
right ear. So, personally, I find that to be a very cool feature. Most headsets
don't have mic volume control. They only have mute. So, this way you have a quick
way if you're in game, you don't have to alt tab out, go to mumble or ventrillo
or whatever you're using, adjust your mic settings. No, you can just set it to
something relatively high and then adjust as needed according to what the
other people who have to listen to you are asking you to do. So, that's a
pretty neat little feature. So, let's just get a couple shots of what the
Banshee looks like when it's installed on a
user. And last but not least, it is of course adjustable. So, I just want to
show you guys the increments that it is adjustable in. Nice firm clicks here.
And when I extend it to its full size,
you can see that it would fit a head that's quite a bit larger than my own
without any difficulty. Thanks for checking out my unboxing of the Razer Banshee. Don't forget to subscribe to
Linus Tech Tips for more unboxings, reviews, and other computer videos.