Razer Nari Ultimate review: haptics you feel, bass you fight

The short version

The Nari Ultimate is worth considering if haptic feedback appeals to you and you are willing to spend ten minutes in the EQ. It is a poor choice if you want active noise cancellation, a metal build, or a headset that sounds right out of the box.

What HyperSense actually does

HyperSense reads the shape and frequency of the audio signal and converts it into vibration in the earcups. In practice, the useful part is directional: the intensity differs left to right, so a explosion off to your right is felt as well as heard. Razer describes this as touch-sensory feedback based on audio cues, and that is a fair description of the experience.

It is also a preference, not an upgrade. Some people find it adds presence to a firefight. Others find it fatiguing after an hour. There is a hardware dial for it, which is the right decision.

Spatial audio

Razer ships THX Spatial Audio, which simulates positional audio in a sphere rather than mapping to fixed 5.1 or 7.1 channels. How much benefit you get depends heavily on the game. Titles that expose proper positional audio data benefit; titles that do not are unaffected by any amount of processing.

Comfort and build

The cooling gel-infused earcups are the quiet highlight. Heat build-up is the reason most headsets become uncomfortable in hour three, and these manage it better than the cloth-over-foam alternative. The trade-off is the chassis, which is plastic and feels like it.

Microphone

The retractable microphone is adequate for voice chat and calls. Mic monitoring is louder than we would like by default, which is adjustable in software.

Connectivity

2.4GHz wireless via USB, with 3.5mm wired fallback. Razer lists compatibility with PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices over the analogue connection. Razer specifies up to 15 hours of battery per charge; we have not verified that figure independently and it is not a claim we are making.

What we would need to score it

A current retail unit, a measured latency test against a wired reference, a battery run-down under a fixed workload, and a microphone sample recorded in the same room as our other headset reviews. Until then this stands as a description, not a verdict.