In short: Razer has now launched a new headset called Ifrit that aims to deliver professional broadcaster quality sound and features to gamers, media streaming users, and more at just under $100. Available worldwide and via the company’s website, Ifrit doesn’t shirk on either microphone or earpiece tech. The earphones, for starters, feature a 10mm driver with a sound pressure level set at 102 ± 3 dB at 1KHz and frequency response ranging from just over 20Hz to 20KHz. The dynamic speaker has an impedance of around 32 ohms and a bi-flange ear tip. Three different earbud tips are included in various sizes.
The 9.7mm ECM unidirectional adjustable condenser mic, on the other hand, ships with a stray noise-absorbing foam cover and has a sensitivity of -41 ± 3 dB with a maximum sound pressure level of 110 dB. The frequency response for the mic is set at between 100Hz and 10KHz. That’s all packed into a low-profile design engineered to stay in place without the hassle and shipped with an additional Razer USB Audio Enhancer that’s compatible with any headset and features two 3.5mm combo jacks for dual-headset use.
Background: Razer is easily among the most recognizable brands in gaming accessories and professional-grade gaming competition equipment. However, although the audio adapter included with Ifrit does allow the single-wire headset to be used with popular consoles such as the PS4, that’s not at all the point here. Building on its reputation for top-tier audio optimizations for video games and professional gaming events, the company is pushing past that to market this headset to content streamers and similar uses. Specifically, the company indicates that the headset will work great whether it’s needed for hands-free live streaming or recording audio for posting later to a service such as YouTube. The included adapter, which is also sold by itself for $20, takes the technology even further in that direction by allowing two ‘broadcasters’ to connect at once.
Impact: The ultimate purpose of the new headset appears to be in support of a new brand-building effort by the company. More directly, Razer seems more than ready to wield its current brand power as a means to drive into entirely new segments of the audio market well beyond gaming.
Razer Ifrit
