We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-19 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a cheap wired gaming headset for positional PC audio and all-day lightweight comfort, choose Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X; if you need wireless over-ear noise cancelling with huge battery life for commuting, travel and calls, choose Edifier W820NB.
• Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X — biggest strength: Extremely light at 230 grams with a flexible frame, a bendable cardioid noise-cancelling mic, and software-enabled 7.1 surround sound for PC gaming.
• Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X — biggest trade-off: It's a wired 3.5 mm headset with no active noise cancellation, no Bluetooth, and it arrives as a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty.
• Edifier W820NB — biggest strength: Hybrid active noise cancellation rated to -49 dB, LDAC Hi-Res audio, Bluetooth 6.1 with multipoint, and up to 88 hours of playback (49 hours with ANC on).
• Edifier W820NB — biggest trade-off: It's a wireless-first headphone with physical buttons and app-dependent tuning; it's over-ear plastic-and-foam, so it's bulkier and not built around gaming positional audio.
• Who each pick is for: The Kraken X for PC/console gamers on a wired setup; the Edifier W820NB for commuters, travelers, students and remote workers who want quiet and long battery.
The Kraken X Lite is a wired gaming headset built around one idea: get out of the way. At 230 grams it's the lightest Kraken design Razer makes, and the company claims it's roughly 40% lighter than the competition. That matters more than any spec sheet line, because a headset you forget you're wearing is a headset you'll actually keep on through a four-hour session. The frame is flexible and reinforced, so it tolerates being tossed in a bag or yanked off a head — the kind of daily, careless handling that kills flimsier plastic.
Audio-wise it runs custom-tuned 40 mm dynamic drivers with a 20 Hz–20,000 Hz range. The headline feature is 7.1 surround sound, but read the fine print: it's software-enabled and PC-only, activated with a download code that ships inside the box. On Xbox, PlayStation or Mac you get plain stereo over the 3.5 mm jack. The bendable cardioid microphone is the other real selling point — cardioid pickup patterns reject ambient noise, so your voice comes through clearly without a boom arm or desk mic. Volume is handled by an inline remote on the cable, and the on-ear aluminum-accented cups use passive sound isolation rather than active cancellation.
Buy it if you game on PC and want surround positioning, or you play on console and just want a light, tough, wired headset with a decent mic. Skip it if you need wireless freedom, active noise cancellation for a noisy commute, or Bluetooth for phone calls — none of that is here. And be clear-eyed about the "Renewed" part: this is a previously owned unit backed by a 90-day limited warranty, not a new one with a full year.
The W820NB Plus Gen 2 is the opposite philosophy: it's a wireless lifestyle headphone that happens to sound serious. The core spec is hybrid active noise cancellation rated to -49 dB, with multiple ANC levels you can cycle through physical buttons or fine-tune in the EDIFIER ConneX app, which adds scenario modes for sport, office and travel. That app also gives you EQ presets, spatial sound, and a volume guard that caps playback at a level you choose — a genuinely thoughtful feature if you tend to creep the volume up on long flights.
Battery is the headline number: up to 88 hours of continuous playback, dropping to 49 hours with ANC engaged. Fast charging tops you up with 15 hours from a 15-minute charge, and a full charge takes about 2 hours over USB-C. Codec support includes LDAC for Hi-Res wireless and wired listening, and Bluetooth 6.1 adds multipoint so you can stay connected to a laptop and a phone at once. The 40 mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers cover 20 Hz–20,000 Hz at 40 ohm impedance. Calls lean on AI noise cancellation that isolates your voice and suppresses background chatter.
Physically it's over-ear with soft memory foam cushions in a plastic, foam and fabric build at 247 grams — slightly heavier than the Kraken X, but it folds flat for bags and backpacks. Buy it if you commute, fly, study in loud rooms, or take a lot of calls and want one headphone to do all of it wirelessly. Skip it if you want a dedicated gaming headset with a boom mic and PC surround, or you'd rather not depend on an app for tuning. It carries a 1-year manufacturer warranty, which is a meaningful difference from a 90-day renewed warranty.
• Best for PC gaming and positional audio → Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X. Software-enabled 7.1 surround on PC, plus a cardioid mic built for voice chat.
• Best for noise cancellation → Edifier W820NB. Hybrid ANC rated to -49 dB with multiple modes; the Kraken X only offers passive isolation.
• Best for battery life → Edifier W820NB. Up to 88 hours, or 49 with ANC on, versus a wired headset that never needs charging but never leaves the cable either.
• Best for commuting and travel → Edifier W820NB. Foldable, Bluetooth 6.1 with multipoint, fast charging and app-based travel modes.
• Best for long sessions without fatigue → Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X. 230 grams is lighter than the Edifier's 247 grams, and the on-ear fit runs cooler over hours.
• Best for calls → Edifier W820NB for wireless, hands-free calls; Kraken X for wired voice chat. The Edifier's AI voice isolation is built for phone and video calls, while the Kraken's bendable cardioid mic suits in-game comms.
• Best for durability and warranty peace of mind → Edifier W820NB. A 1-year manufacturer warranty against the Kraken X's 90-day renewed coverage.
• Best for plug-and-play simplicity → Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X. No pairing, no charging, no app — just a 3.5 mm jack.
In my opinion, the Edifier W820NB is the better all-round buy for most people, because it covers commuting, travel, calls and casual listening with ANC, LDAC, multipoint and a battery that lasts days — and it carries a full 1-year warranty. I'd only point you at the Amazon Renewed Razer Kraken X if gaming is your main job: nothing here matches a 230-gram wired headset with PC surround and a bendable cardioid mic for the money. If you split your time between both, the Edifier is the safer single purchase. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since the two sit in different value brackets.
It depends on what you value. You get the same design — 230 g frame, 40 mm drivers, PC 7.1 surround, cardioid mic — but as a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty instead of a full manufacturer term. If you want maximum savings on a gaming headset, renewed makes sense; if warranty length matters more, buy new.
Yes, by a wide margin. The Edifier uses hybrid active noise cancellation rated to -49 dB with adjustable modes. The Kraken X has no active cancellation at all — only passive sound isolation from the on-ear cups, which mainly blocks a little ambient noise.
You can, over Bluetooth or USB-C, and spatial sound is available. But it has no boom microphone and no PC 7.1 surround processing, so it isn't a gaming headset in the way the Kraken X is. For voice chat and positional audio, the Kraken X is the more natural fit.
The Edifier W820NB, clearly: up to 88 hours of playback, or 49 hours with ANC on, with 15 hours from a 15-minute fast charge. The Kraken X is wired, so it draws no battery at all but must stay plugged into a 3.5 mm jack.
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