Should you get the Razer Kraken or Razer Kraken Tournament Edition?

Two very similar headsets

As Razer's two most recent headsets in this family, the Kraken and Kraken Tournament Edition are very similar — not just in their design, but in their hardware specs, sound quality, microphone quality, and comfort.

With both, you get custom-tuned 50mm drivers, large memory foam ear cups with a cooling gel inside them and a better than average frequency range. They both offer high-quality sound with excellent clarity and are comfortable enough to wear for hours on end without fatigue.

Both even have a 3.5mm jack which means you can play on console or PC. So then, how do you choose?

One important difference

The Kraken Tournament Edition comes with an additional USB audio controller that the regular Kraken does not. The controller can only be used with PC and is optimized by the Razer Synapse 3.0 application for Windows 10.

Besides basic audio controls and game/chat audio mix adjustments, the USB audio controller gives your games THX Spatial Audio. It's not exactly the same as virtual surround sound, but it's a similar idea. It's fully adjustable, but it provides you with a full sound stage in 360 degrees, which in some games, like battle royales or FPS titles like CS:GO, could be a game changer.

All of the detail and clarity in the regular sound is preserved, so you really do get a sense of direction when you're wearing it. As it's adjustable you can also set different priorities on direction in the software.

If you game primarily on a console you can't use any of this. You'll instead resort to hooking up your headset with the 3.5mm jack, which basically turns it back into the regular Razer Kraken.

PC, console or both?

If you're console-only, the Kraken has everything you need, and importantly, everything you'll be able to get from the more expensive Kraken Tournament Edition on your Xbox, PS4 or Switch.

If you game primarily on PC, or you do an equal mix of both, the Kraken Tournament Edition is worth the extra $20 investment to get that USB controller with THX Spatial Audio. You can use it as a regular Kraken with your console but get the benefits that come with the USB controller when you switch over to PC.