Headsets and Earbuds

5Sep

By NathanNo Comments

Sony WF-C710N Wireless Earbud Review

Alongside their premium products, Sony have an incredible habit of producing top notch audio products at an affordable price too. Let’s see if the Sony WF-C710N True Wireless Earbuds do the same. Clear sound, clear calls, clear design Retailing at £99.99, the WF-C710N are available today from Sony’s official website. Design The Sony WF-C710N are available in 4 different colours. If you’re after a traditional looking earbud that looks like every other one on the market, go for the White, Black or Pink options. However, if you want to hark back to those transparent PlayStation controllers of the past, the Glass Blue option is for you and it’s certainly striking. It reminds me a little of the PS4 Pro 500 Million Edition I was fortunate to own a few years back and I’m all for it. som...

Razer Blackshark V3 Pro – Headset Review

12Aug

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Blackshark V3 Pro – Headset Review

The Razer Blackshark range has gone through a bunch of iterations since its first release back in 2021. The Blackshark V2 was released in 2020, and now there is another new version. I present to you the Razer Blackshark V3 Pro headset! Starting from £249.99, this headset promises some great things, along with some familiar features. Does it offer enough for you to stump up an extra £50 from your hardware budget? I will aim to help you work that out. Now I hold my hands up, I have had this headset since a few days before it's launch on 29th July. The reason it's taken until now to actually put this review live? I wanted to ensure that I put it through some very rigorous testing, despite it being the school summer holidays! Design Features As with all Razer headsets, you are greeted wit...

8Aug

By NathanNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphone Review

Sony have very kindly sent us out their latest premium Bluetooth ANC headphone. Owning and testing quite an array of ANC headphones already myself. I can’t wait to see how the Sony’s compare. Come and join me as we review the highly anticipated Sony WH-1000XM6. The true ANC king The Sony WH-1000XM6 are available today and cost £399/€449/$449/A$699 from their official website. A tad more than the previous XM5, but still rivalling other premium ANC headphones from companies like Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Sennheiser. Whilst sitting pretty close to offerings from Apple, Dali and Focal if your budget can stretch that little bit further. So, let’s find out if it needs to. Design Upon unboxing, it is clear Sony hasn’t strayed too far from previous iterations. They don’t push the...

7Aug

By CharlieNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

TOZO Crystal Pods Review

The TOZO Crystal Pods are a pair of Hybrid Active Noise-Cancelling wireless earbuds that are offered at a very competitive price of just £35.99. With a long battery life and immersive stereo sound, these earbuds seem to check all the right boxes, but can they live up to our expectations? Great Price, Great Quality? As someone with tiny ears, I've had the misfortune of trying out many different earbuds that, sadly, become rather painful after just a few minutes of wearing them. Up until now, my go-to pair has been an older TOZO model, so I was excited to see what else the company has to offer. My main hope is that these earbuds will offer a nice and pain-free listening experience, and, of course, if the sound is up to par! Now then, let's have a look. Design The design of the TOZO Cryst...

16Jul

By CharlotteNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Headset Review

Straight off the back of my review of the Razer BlackShark V2 X Quartz headset, I'm back with another cute headset offering from Razer. Now for about as long as I've wanted a good quality pink headset, I have equally longed for a Razer Kitty headset. And I was very excited to have a set of the Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BTs land in my lap for review. I'm Not Kitten Around I never feel as penny-pinching as I do when looking at the price points of headsets. I very much believe in the ethos that you should invest in good audio wear, afterall we all use them so much of the time so they need to be decent! However, when it comes to putting my money where my mouth is, or ears, I know that budgets don't always allow for this. Mine certainly doesn't! Retailing for £100 on on the Razer website this hea...

Razer BlackShark V2 X Quartz Headset Review

14Jul

By CharlotteNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer BlackShark V2 X Quartz Headset Review

We're big fans of Razer here at Thumb Culture. And I guess they like us too as we got sent the Razer BlackShark V2 X to review. Now regular readers will know that we covered the BlackShark V2 Pro back in August last year. Which may lead to questions on why we are reviewing this one? I have one word in answer. Pink. Ok, so it's not just that it's pink, it's also the newer BlackShark model, but mostly I'm here because it's pink! Pretty In Quartz Unlike it's V2 Pro sister, the BlackShark V2 X headset does not have a big price tag. In fact they're available on the Razer website for £60. And don't worry, it's not just available in this pretty pastel colour! You've got black, white and of course that iconic Razer green to choose from! Design Features I need to just put it out there that...

4Jul

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Arctis Gamebuds Review

SteelSeries is often known for its headsets, and less known for their in-ear earbuds. Especially ones that aim to replicate the same sound that you would get from something like the Nova 3. That is where the Arctis Gamebuds come into play. Promising some pretty impressive specs to go along with a really good design. Do they stack up? That is a question I will aim to answer. Hey There Game-Buddy! Retailing at just shy of £160, these gamebuds aren't cheap. Let's hope that they justify that price as we head on to check out the... Design Features As soon as you open the box, you are greeted with the, in this case, black charging case. Emblazoned with the SteelSeries logo on the top, this snap-open case holds both the two earbuds and the USB-C dongle inside with up to 10 hours per charge, ...

3Jul

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Arctis Nova 3X Wireless Headset Review

Coming into July with our first-ever SteelSeries headset review at Thumb Culture. What better way than to bring you a nice little review of the recently released Arctis Nova 3X Wireless headset. Released back at the start of June, we've had this headset for a couple of weeks, and let me tell you, it's nice to have a new SteelSeries headset to try out. Steel doesn't always have to be hard. I'm a bit fan of what SteelSeries release, and after owning the Arctis Pro Wireless since it was first released back in 2018 I only recently had to retire it when it kept cutting out. I went through a host of different headsets, but thankfully, I've returned to a place of familiarity. Let's go and talk about what makes the Arctis Nova 3X Wireless an incredibly priced headset. Design Features As with m...

24Apr

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

RIG 900 MAX HS Headset Review

The RIG Headset range from Nacon has always been about pushing boundaries. That is exactly what they are trying to do with the RIG 900 MAX HS headset. We were lucky enough to be sent a set to try out. So we unboxed it, fired up the headset, and away we went. Big RIG So, what do you look for in a headset? Is comfort the most important factor, or do you prefer to have deep, rich bass notes? Well, we will try to let you know just what makes the RIG 900 MAX HS worth your time. Design The RIG 900 MAX HS features the same aesthetic as the majority of the RIG headset line-up. A minimalist but futuristic headband featuring cut-out sections. As well as the lift-to-mute microphone. It looks like something out of Minority Report. Coming in a black colourway, the headset features a nice, comfortab...

23Apr

By NathanNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Edifier R1 Open-Earbuds Review

Edifier really don’t need any introduction. Here at Thumb Culture, we’re big fans. They seem to be churning out so many new audio devices I’m struggling to keep up! Trying to choose that new set of earbuds though can seem so daunting. There are just so many out there where do you even begin? Thankfully, the Edifier R1 aren’t your run of the mill earbuds. They are open-ear earbuds, at a budget friendly price point of only £59.99. Intrigued? Read on to find out what makes these so unique. Bud-get Smart, Ear-resistible Comfort If you love all things tech and audio, feel free to check out some of our previous hardware reviews here. Design Edifier designs are often wildly varied. They’re not afraid of going bold, as much as they’re happy to offer a traditional aesthetic. The R1 fit...