How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a wired, gaming-first headset with a boom mic you can hide away, choose Razer Kraken Pro V2; if you need wireless, noise-cancelling all-day listening with huge battery life, choose Noise Master Buds Max. These two products barely live in the same category, and that's exactly why the decision is easier than it looks. One is built for the desk. The other is built for the day.
• Razer Kraken Pro V2 — biggest strength: a proper analog gaming headset with 50 mm tuned drivers, a fully-retractable boom mic and an in-line remote, so voice chat and game audio work out of the box.
• Razer Kraken Pro V2 — biggest trade-off: it's wired only, with no noise cancellation and no app tuning, so it's tethered to whatever it's plugged into.
• Noise Master Buds Max — biggest strength: adaptive active noise cancellation, spatial audio, dynamic EQ and up to 60 hours of playtime in a wireless over-ear design.
• Noise Master Buds Max — biggest trade-off: no 3.5 mm jack, so you can't go wired when the battery runs out or when you want zero-latency monitoring.
• Choose Razer Kraken Pro V2 if you mostly play on PC, console or a handheld and you want one headset for both game sound and teammate chat.
• Choose Noise Master Buds Max if you want one pair for commuting, flights, work calls and long listening sessions without a cable.
The Kraken Pro V2 is a gaming headset first and everything else second. The core of it is a pair of 50 mm dynamic drivers with neodymium magnets, tuned by Razer to push "crystal clear highs and rumbling lows" — which is marketing speak for a sound signature that leans lively and bass-forward rather than neutral. Frequency range runs 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, impedance is 32 ohm and sensitivity is listed at 118 dB, so it's easy to drive from a controller, a laptop or a phone jack without needing an amp. It's an analog 3.5 mm connection, so no charging and no pairing — you plug in and you're live.
The physical build is where it earns its keep over a long session. The headband is Bauxite aluminum, which is the reason it stays light and flexible rather than clamping down on your skull, and the oval ear cushions are designed for full-ear coverage. That combination matters if you're the kind of player who settles in for a three-hour ranked grind or a weekend co-op run. The fully-retractable microphone is the other practical win: pull it out for voice chat, push it back into the shell when you're playing solo or watching something, and you don't have a boom arm hanging in front of your face. The in-line remote handles quick volume and mute duties without making you dig through menus.
Who should buy it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch players who want game audio and a working mic from a single cable, plus anyone who prefers wired because it's one less thing to charge. The included 1.3 m cable plus a 2 m mic splitter adapter covers both single-jack and dual-jack setups, which is genuinely handy on a desktop.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants to walk around while listening. There's no wireless mode here despite the Bluetooth line in the connectivity listing — this is a corded headset, and there's no active noise cancellation at all. If you fly a lot, work in a noisy office or want audio to keep going when you stand up, this isn't the one. In my opinion, it's also worth saying plainly: this is a gaming tool, not a critical-listening set.
The Noise Master Buds Max sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. It's a wireless over-ear headphone with active noise cancellation, and Noise has tuned the sound with Bose — that's the headline feature and it's the one that shapes everything else. The tuning is described as balanced with deep bass, clear mids and crisp highs, and Dynamic EQ adjusts the sound automatically as you change volume, so quiet listening doesn't collapse into thin, lifeless audio the way it does on a lot of headphones.
The ANC is described as segment-leading and adaptive, meaning it works across a range of frequencies rather than just flattening out a low engine drone. In practice, that's the feature you'd notice on a flight, a train or in a shared office. You also get immersive spatial audio, LHDC 5.0 for higher-quality Bluetooth streaming on supported devices, touch controls and app support for adjusting things to taste.
Battery is the other number that stands out: up to 60 hours of playtime. That's the kind of figure that changes how you use a product — you stop treating charging as a nightly ritual and start treating it as a weekly one. Smart wear detection pauses your audio when you lift the headphones off, which is a small thing that becomes a habit fast.
Comfort is handled with soft vegan leather cushions and a memory foam headband, both aimed at long wear rather than short bursts. One thing to note from the spec sheet: despite the "Buds" name, this is listed as an over-ear design with circular earpieces and a leather-and-foam enclosure — so think full-size headphones, not earbuds. It also has no 3.5 mm jack, so wired listening isn't an option, and it's a heavier unit at 675 g.
Who should buy it: commuters, remote workers, frequent flyers and anyone who wants one pair of headphones to cover music, podcasts, calls and video through the day without a cable. Who should skip it: competitive gamers who need zero-latency wired audio and a dedicated boom mic, and anyone who wants the option to plug in when the battery is flat.
• Best for gaming and voice chat → Razer Kraken Pro V2. Retractable mic, in-line remote and a 3.5 mm connection that works with PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch and mobile.
• Best for battery life → Noise Master Buds Max. Up to 60 hours of playtime versus a headset that never needs charging because it's wired.
• Best for noise cancellation → Noise Master Buds Max. Adaptive ANC is a core feature; the Kraken Pro V2 lists noise control as none.
• Best for long-session comfort while gaming → Razer Kraken Pro V2. Bauxite aluminum headband and oval full-ear cushions are built around extended wear at a desk.
• Best for commuting, flights and open offices → Noise Master Buds Max. ANC, spatial audio and wear detection are exactly the features that matter outside the house.
• Best for wireless freedom → Noise Master Buds Max. Bluetooth, touch controls and app support; the Kraken Pro V2 is analog and tethered.
• Best for zero-latency, zero-charging reliability → Razer Kraken Pro V2. Plug in and it works, every time, with no pairing and no battery.
• Best for audio tuning flexibility → Noise Master Buds Max. Dynamic EQ, LHDC 5.0 and app support give you more ways to shape the sound than a plug-and-play headset does.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick based on where the headphones actually live. For a desk setup — PC, console or handheld — I'd buy the Razer Kraken Pro V2, because the retractable mic, in-line remote and wired reliability solve the exact problems a gamer has, and the aluminum headband and oval cushions are designed for the long haul. If your listening happens away from a desk, I'd buy the Noise Master Buds Max, because adaptive ANC, spatial audio and up to 60 hours of playtime are the features you feel every single day on a commute or a flight. Neither one is a compromise pick — they're just built for different rooms. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since that's the one variable that can tip a close call.
No. It connects over a 3.5 mm analog jack and includes a 1.3 m cable plus a 2 m mic splitter adapter for dual-jack setups. There's no battery and no pairing, which is either a plus or a dealbreaker depending on how you listen.
The spec sheet lists no 3.5 mm jack, so plan on Bluetooth only. That means charging matters — though with up to 60 hours of playtime, you won't be doing it often.
The Noise Master Buds Max, clearly. It has adaptive active noise cancellation as a core feature, while the Razer Kraken Pro V2 lists noise control as none. If blocking out a plane cabin or a noisy office matters, that's the deciding factor.
Despite the name, they're listed as over-ear headphones with circular earpieces and leather-and-foam cushions. Expect a full-size fit, not something that tucks into your pocket.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2, in my opinion, because of the retractable boom mic, the in-line remote and the wired connection that avoids Bluetooth latency. The Buds Max can handle game audio, but it isn't built around voice chat the way the Kraken is.
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