I want a headphone, but not just any kind of gaming headphone, but a 5.1 gaming headphone and not just any kind of 5.1 gaming headphone, but I want it to be wireless as well. Not only that, but I also want it for my XBOX 360 and I want it made from high grade materials and excellent build quality. If those things passed through your mind, meet the Razer Chimaera 5.1!
Razer’s Chimaera 5.1 is the successor to the highly appreciated Razer Chimaera gaming headset which came out a while ago. They’ve ditched the “plebian” stereo to get some proper 5.1 surround sound going up with the 5.1 version of the headset.
The manufacturer has been known to provide hardcore gaming solutions for hardcore gamers and the Razer Chimaera 5.1 is here to keep up that tradition. Not only that, but it also comes with plenty of features to keep anyone out there pleased and gaming throughout the night. So let’s take a look at what the latest installment of the Razer Chimaera, the 5.1 version, is bringing to the gaming ring!
Overview
If you thought that the Razer Chimaera 5.1 would work only on the XBOX 360, then you have another thing going, as the 5.1 gaming headset is also working on a PC, but you’ll have to get an RCA to 3.5mm cable, which you’ll be buying separately. If that’s taken care of you can enjoy this gaming headset in said situation as well.
The Razer Chimaera 5.1 not only looks good but it feels solid as well
The first thing to pop in your eyes about the Razer Chimaera 5.1 is the design of the headset. It looks clean, stylish and the glossy plastic used on the wireless unit really looks great. Sure it’s a fingerprint magnet, but this is nothing a little bit of cleaning cannot take care of. The entire setup looks great to kick it off.
Razer’s Chimaera 5.1 also has excellent design in terms of ergonomics. As such, the headband is nice and padded offering excellent support and the charging dock is placed into a small crevasse on top of the headband. The padding is thick enough so that your head won’t be reaching the dock itself.
The headphones themselves are padded as well, however, there is no option of choosing leather for the padding. Don’t think for a second though that the Razer Chimaera 5.1 would be made out of cheap materials, as the sensation of quality is omnipresent. As the cable was dropped here, the volume controls are situated on the two ear pieces.
The left cup comes with the mute button for the microphone (which is muted if it’s sitting in its vertical position) as well as a standby button. The rear part of the left ear piece comes with the volume controls for said microphone. The right cup comes with a button to switch between XBOX LIVE and local team communication and a mute button (if you hold it for a few seconds it pairs it up with the base station).
Pretty straightforward, but that’s what you’d expect from Razer if you knew any of their products. Sound quality is excellent and thanks to the 5.8GHz frequency the wireless works on, you won’t be getting any interference. By setting up local team communication with more Razer Chimaera 5.1 headsets, you get 0 chat lag and the sound quality is also boosted significantly.
Power is provided by 2 AAA rechargeable batteries which are good for roughly 12 hours of gaming after a 3 hour charge. The stand itself has a number of controls, this is where you’ll find the Digital Audio in and out connectors, 3.5mm stereo in and out, RCA right and left connectors.
The buttons on the Razer Chimaera 5.1 stand give you information on the fly. As such there is a logo to show the battery status (red for charging and green for charged), an equalizer to switch between normal, bass and treble modes (green, red and orange to highlight the switch), a logo to show off the if the Razer Chimaera 5.1 is in Dolby Headphone mode and one more to show if the headset is in XBOX LIVE or local team communication mode.
Last but not least, we have a power light to show if the stand is active of not.
If sound quality is a concern the Razer Chimaera 5.1 won't dissapoint
As previously said, the Razer Chimaera 5.1 offers excellent sound quality for both gaming as well as media. Movies or music sound excellently on this headset and you can really feel the punch of the 50mm drivers which deliver excellent sound quality irrespective of the task you throw at it.
Pricing
We’ve seen that the Razer Chimaera 5.1 comes with a ton of nifty features and excellent performance in terms of both gaming and multimedia but the question remains – how much will this set me back? Well, if you buy the Razer Chimaera 5.1 from the US Razer Shop you’ll be paying $199.99, the German, British or French Razer Store will ask for 199.99 Euros for it.
Alternatively you can buy the Razer Chimaera 5.1 from Amazon where you can get it for as low as $165, which is a decent 30+ dollar save on the initial price tag.
Final thoughts
Although pretty expensive considering that you’ll be buying additional cables to hook it up to your PC as well, the Razer Chimaera 5.1 gaming headset delivers excellent performance for a more than reasonable price tag. The high quality materials along with the great sound quality really justify the price tag and the build quality of this thing will keep it working for years.
A good purchase? Definitely! But don’t take my word for it, but rather see what the competition can offer you in terms of 5.1 gaming headsets as you browse through our top picks! Make sure to stay tuned!
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