Everyone at Pocket Tactics, my family, and pretty much every reader knows my love for a good pair of gaming earbuds - I'm a sucker for the best earbuds around. While the Bose QuietComfort Ultra is my top choice for music, the award for my favorite gaming buds goes to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, which have yet to have a more modern rival. However, at $30 cheaper, the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed might be it - and even if it isn't better, competition is a good thing.
Wrapped in a sleek black case with an LED bar for simple alerts, the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed (not to be confused with the wired non-HyperSpeed options) is now available to buy for $129.99 / £129.99 at the Razer Store. It has all the bells and whistles you'd hope for from some gaming earbuds - Active Noise Cancellation, a 2.4GHz, and a promise of low latency, but it also has a few neat tricks to call its own.
While I have to test it to see it in action, the case has a unique value - it can be used as a receiver. With the handy 2.4GHz dongle stored in the case, "gamers can connect via Razer HyperSpeed Wireless on compatible devices." As an added bonus, you don't need to worry about pausing a match if your case has randomly died, as you can charge it while using the internal receiver. It sounds strange, but I can't wait to test it in person.
The market for gaming-focused earbuds isn't nearly as big as your standard buds, and while most people will be happy with a basic Bluetooth connection (the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed offers Bluetooth 6.0), the 2.4GHz dongle can't be forgotten. It offers much lower latency, meaning those gunshots in The Division: Resurgence will be heard a lot quicker through 2.4GHz connectivity. Sure, it's probably a minute difference, but in competitive games, that's an advantage.
There's also the option for the ANC-less Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed, which also has just 35 hours compared to the V3's typical 40 hours of run time. However, I'd still opt for the more premium option - it's $30 cheaper than my favorite earbuds (you can read about those in my SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review), and having ANC is such an improvement in my listening habits; I can't live without it anymore.
So, if you've been on the market for some new earbuds, the Razer Hammerhead V3 HyperSpeed might be a great option for you. We'll hopefully be testing them in the coming weeks, so we'll give you the rundown on how they perform later if you're not willing to part with your hard-earned money just yet.