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So like I've said many times already, the Razer Opus are a pair of very well built $200 headphones that definitely try to punch about their weight class. And I feel its actually easier to compare these headphones to mid their ANC headphones like the Sony XB900N and surface Headphones 2… rather than comparing them to other $200 headphones. So lets see how the Razer Opus stack up to these two mid tier ANC headphones.
So like I just mentioned, the Razer opus retail for $200. Where as both the Sony XB900N and Surface Headphones 2 retail for $250. But since the Sony XB900N’s are a year old now they like to go on sale for $178 on a regular basis. But if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below. And if you want to learn more about any of these headphones please watch their full reviews cause we’re only going to be going over their main differences.
Now the first thing that I want to address about these headphones are going to be their carrying cases. Unfortunately the Sony’s only come included with a carrying pouch, which just isn’t going to cut it here. Where as both the Surface Headphones 2 and Razer opus come included with hardshell carrying cases. But the opus’s carrying case is just better cause its significantly smaller than the Surface 2’s case. Now the surface’s case isn’t unmanageable… but smaller carrying cases are better. So the Razer opus do take the first win here.
Now when it comes to build quality, all of these headphones decent build quality and none of them have any under lying issues to point out. They’re all using dense sturdy plastics, they all have zero cracking and squeaking whenever you handle them and they all have decent feeling leatherette. Ultimately when it comes to build quality, I feel its a tie between these three headphones.
But when it comes to fit… these headphones do fit a little differently from one another. Ultimately I feel the Sony XB900N are the best fitting headphones here. They don’t have a lot of clamping force so they’re big head approved and their ear pads are fairly spacious so they should be able to accommodate most ear types. Now the Razer Opus also have very little clamping force and you can also wear these headphones for hours on end without any issues… but their ear pads are just slightly more cramped than the ear pads on the Sony’s. Now the Opus fit me just fine but if you have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot then you’ll might want to go with the Sony’s. End even if you don’t have larger ears it is nice to have that extra bit of room in the Sony’s. And then there are the Surface 2’s. Now the surface 2’s do have the most spacious ear pads here but these headphones do have a little more clamming force to them. So they do have a slightly firmer fit to them. Now I still feel comfortable saying that these headphones are big head approved cause they don’t feel like they’re squeezing your head… but I do feel these headphones are the least comfortable headphones cause of their very minimal padding underneath their headband. These headphones have way less padding underneath their headband than these other two headphones do… so these headphones do like to create a hot spot on the top of your head. Personally I can only go for 40 minutes to an hour with these headphones on before I have to take them off to take a break. Now this might not be the case for everyone but I did want to point it out. So over all both the Sony’s and Opus fit great, but I do feel the Sony’s are a little more comfortable cause of their slightly more spacious ear pads. And then there are the Surface 2’s which might not fit everybody perfectly.
But now lets talk about tech specs, now all three of these headphones charge via a USB C port. But just keep in mind these USB C ports are strictly use for charging. You can’t use the USB C on any of these headphones as a wired connection like you can with some other headphones other.
Now when it comes to battery life, unfortunately the Surface 2’s are trialing behind a little bit cause they only have an advertised battery life of 20 hours. But if you were to use these headphones with APTX turned on then you’re looking at a battery life of around 18 hours. Where as the Opus are good for 25 hours of playback time which is average for headphones in 2020 and the Sony’s are good for up to 30 hours with their ANC turned on which is a little above average.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… all of these headphones have stable connections. But the Surface 2’s are the only headphones here that can be simultaneously connected to 2 devices at the same time so that you can easily hot swap from one device to another. Now ultimately it isn’t a big deal that the Sony’s and Opus can’t do this… but it is nice to be able to and this is something some power user out there might want to take not of.
But when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone… all of these headphones have zero latency across the board whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with any of these headphones cause all of these headphones have easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jacks.
So up until now, the Razer opus have done a very good job of keeping up with these slightly more expensive models. The Opus have the best carrying case here, their build quality in on par with these other two headphones, the opus fit great, and the opus have better battery life than the Surface Headphones 2. Even though the opus sound decent and they do get the job done… I don’t think that they are going to pease everyone. Specifically the bass on the opus lacks any physicality to it. The bass on these headphones isn’t going to rattle your head and the bass on these headphones doesn’t really resonate. So a lot of people are going to feel that the opus sound very flat. Now even though the opus do have an app and 5 different EQ modes to choose from… you can’t make your own EQ. And even though the opus have a bass enhanced EQ… this EQ just makes these headphones sound very shallow. And I also can’t say that the Opus are a pair of great sounding neutral headphones cause the soundstage and instrument separation on these headphones is average at best. But personally I feel these headphones sound best in their stock THX EQ. And with their stock THX EQ these headphones have very strong mids so vocals are very prominent… but they are a little bit on the bright side so the highs can get a little ear piercing on rare occasion. But then there are the surface headphones 2. With their stock EQ they should be able to please most people. Again these headphones have strong mids so vocals are very pronounced but these headphones aren’t so bright where the highs can get carried away which is good. But more importantly these headphones do have a decent amount of physical bass to them. So they’re going to rattle your head a little bit. So listening to your music is a little more engaging which I like. The only thing to look out for on these headphones is that their bass can bottom out on rare occasion with their stock EQ… and if you were to go into their EQ settings and raise the Low’s and Mid Low’s on these headphones too much, then their bass is going to bottom out more frequently. Which is not a good thing. But personally I do prefer to listen to music with the Surface 2’s over the Opus, cause you’re getting some physicality from your bass. I just recommend that you use the Surface 2’s in their stock EQ.
But then there are the Sony’s which I think are the best sounding headphones here and they’re also the people pleasers here. From a performance standpoint these headphones have far better instrument separation and a much wider sound stage that of what you would find on the Razer opus… and these headphones have better clarity than the Surface 2’s. But more importantly these headphones have a fully customizable EQ so you can make them sound how ever you want. If you like a neutral EQ you can do that or if you like a bass heavy EQ you can also do that. But the key thing to keep in mind about the XB900N is that they have an extra bass feature, thats what the XB in their name stands for. And if you were to turn up the bass slider on these headphones they’re going to physically rattle your head a lot more than your standard pair of headphones. And unlike the bass on the surface 2’s… the bass on the Sony’s stays intact no matter what. And this extra bass feature is a lot of fun to use while you’re watching movies with these headphones cause it adds an extra level of emersivness. But I will admit the extra bass on these headphones can get old after awhile… so if you don’t want to you don’t have to use this feature. But its there if you want it. So sound quality wise the Sony’s are the clear winners here cause they have better instrument separation and better clarity… but they also have that extra bass feature if you want it.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones… they’re all very different. The Razer Opus have your standard physical buttons… so there’s zero hassle here. Where as the Sony’s have a touch pad. Now this touch pad is very accurate and its easy to easy… but on rare occasions there might be some missed inputs. But you really shouldn’t fear this touch pad. But then there are the surface headphones which have a very unique set up. They have a physical dial so that you can adjust your volume and you can play, pause and skip through your music with a single tap, double tap or you can triple tap to go back a track. All of these headphones have decent media controls but personally my favorite ones here as the Surface Headphones.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now both the Razer Opus and Surface Headphones 2 block out an above average amount of noise entry level and mid teir ANC headphones respectably. Where as the Sony XB900N’s block out an amount of noise that you’d expect from a pair of mid teir ANC headphones. But with the way things are going… maybe newer ANC headphones here on out are going to start blocking more noise across the board. But so that you can see what im talk about we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
So like you maybe have just seen, both the Razer Opus and Surface Headphones 2 block out noticeably more noise than the Sony’s. These two headphones are blocking out almost as much noise as the Sony 1000XM3’s. And the Razer opus actually manage to block out a little more road noise than the Surface 2’s. But I still maintain that the Surface 2’s have better active noise cancelation than the Opus. With the Razer Opus, if you are not playing music through these headphones or if you’re watching movies with these headphones then you are going to feel a considerable amount of cabin pressure. Its not as bad as the Bose QC35’s which do give me head aches… but you are going to feel like you have to pop your ears. Where as the Surface 2’s have noticeably less cabin pressure. You still feel a little something but it not as bad as the opus. So I still maintain that the Surface Headphones 2’s are a good option to consider if you’re looking for near premium levels of Active Noise cancelation on a mid teir budget. But then there are the XB900N. Even though these headphones don’t block out too much noise, the active noise cancelation on these headphones can still help for like when youre on a bus and the active noise cancelation on these headphones have very little to no cabin pressure which is good.
But now lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Unfortunately the Razer Opus don’t actually have an ambient mode but when I first got these headphones I thought they did cause they have this NC/Ambient button on them. But instead if you press and hold on this button the headphones will mute you music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you like this.
And then when you let go they’ll go back to normal. But you can’t have the ambient mode on these headphones turned on and play music at the same time like you can with these other two headphones. Now even though the ambient mode on the Surface 2’s does get the job done… my main critique about the ambient mode on these headphones is that it sounds very unnatural and it also likes to pick up a lot of wind noise. So you can going to get some interference when walking out doors. Where as the Ambient mode on the Sony’s sound much more natural, they do a much better job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors and you can also adjust how much noise these headphones let in. So if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to constantly commute with then these are a good option.
But over all with all that being said… like ive said in past videos the Razer Opus are a pair of very well built $200 ANC headphones that really try to punch about their weight class. The Opus really give the Surface Headphones 2 and Sony XB900N a run for their money when it comes to their included carrying case, build quality, and fit. And these headphones have better battery life than the Surface 2’s. But when it comes to their performance… the Opus are trailing a little bit. The Razer opus just don’t sound as good, their ANC has an above average amount of cabin pressure for headphones getting released in 2020, and they lack a proper ambient mode. But still for $200 you are getting a lot from the Razer Opus. But still, I feel that the Surface Headphones 2’s are a great option if you’re looking for premium ANC performance for mid teir prices… And I still feel the Sony XB900N are one of the best mid teir ANC headphones you can get cause they fit great, they sound good, they have that extra bass feature if you want it, and these headphones have a really good ambient mode for commuting. The only draw back about these headphones is their carrying pouch. But fi you get these headphones on sale and you get your own case you’re still winning.