Design The Nari Essential is a big, unmistakably Razer headset. The black plastic earcups are large and circular, with Razer logos on the back panels. They don't light up like they do on the Nari Ultimate; they're simply etched. The round, memory foam earpads are covered in faux leather on the inner and outer sides, and a more breathable soft fabric on the top, where they rest against the ears and the sides of the head.
 

 All connections and controls are on the bottom and back edge of the left earcup, and consist of a power button, a micro USB port for charging, an indicator LED, and a volume wheel. The boom microphone also sits on the left earcup, and is a cylindrical black capsule mounted on a flexible arm that flips up to sit against the side of the earcup when not in use.
 

 The earcups are mounted on circular rings that let them pivot slightly up and down, separate from the flex of the headband. The headband has a two-piece design, with an upper section consisting of two thin, black aluminum bands for structure, and a lower section consisting of padding mounted on a wire suspension. The suspended head padding provides a secure, comfortable fit, and the fabric on the earpads allows for long listening sessions without your ears becoming too warm.

 Connectivity
 

The included USB transmitter is a simple, rectangular piece of black plastic that can be mistaken for any flash drive. There are no indicator lights or buttons on it, only a Razer logo embossed on the top.
 

 The Nari Essential works wirelessly with PCs and PlayStation 4 consoles. It doesn't work with the Xbox One X, and it has no wired connection option. According to Razer, the headset can last up to 16 hours before it needs a recharge.

 If you connect the Nari Essential to your PC, you can use THX Spatial Audio through the Razer Synapse app to provide simulated 7.1-channel surround sound through the headset. The app also provides a user-adjustable 10-band EQ, which is useful because of how bass-heavy the headset sounds out of the box.

 In addition, Razer Synapse offers a Sound Normalization feature that boosts the higher frequencies to level things out, a Voice Clarity feature that pumps up the high-mids and kills the bass to make dialogue and voice chat stand out, and even a Bass Boost mode that really isn't necessary. If you're listening through a PC, you can find a perfect balance with some adjustments.
 

 Music Performance

 The Nari Essential can put out some admirable low-end power. When playing our bass test track, The Knife's "Silent Shout," the headset doesn't distort even at maximum (and unsafe) volume levels. The kick drum hits sound properly head-rattling, without a hint of crackle.
 

 Yes' "Roundabout" shows how the sound signature is bass-heavy by default. The opening acoustic guitar plucks have plenty of resonance, with some delicate string texture to balance it out. When the bassline begins it takes up most of the mix, relegating the vocals and guitar strums to the background. The other elements can still be clearly heard, but the bass stands in front of all of them.

 This focus on bass is also clear in The Crystal Method's "Born Too Slow." The backbeat of the kick drum stays at the center of the mix, leaving the guitar riffs and screaming vocals to sit farther back. Again, they can be clearly heard against the thumping, but the lower frequencies get most of the attention.

 Game Performance
 

Games sound powerful on the Nari Essential. The rhythmic electronic soundtrack of Rez Infinite on the PlayStation 4 gets plenty of thump in the lower frequencies, with the more melodic tones settling slightly back but still coming through clearly. Some high-mid sculpting would be welcome, but the game's music isn't any less immersive as is.
Apex Legends on the PS4 sounds powerful, with punchy gunfire. Distant chatter can be picked up on the headset and all sound effects and voice clips come through clearly. Unfortunately, the audio is limited to stereo on the PS4, which impacts the detail of the directional imaging compared with the simulated 7.1-channel surround allowed by the Razer app on Windows. If you want to enjoy surround on the PS4, you'll need to pick up the pricier Razer Thresher 7.1 or Sony's own PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset.

 The THX Spatial Audio simulated surround sound works well on PCs, though. When playing Overwatch, the headset gave me solid directional imaging of explosions and gunfire all around me. I could pick out the directions from which the sounds of action were coming from accurately, and even got some sense of when fighting was happening behind me to the left and right.
 

 Microphone
 

The Nari Essential's boom microphone is excellent for the price. Test recordings sounded clear and warm, with no noticeable sibilance or fuzziness. The sound isn't quite as clean as you'll get from a much pricier wired headset like the Astro Gaming A40 TR or a dedicated USB mic, but for $100 it sounds fantastic.
 

 A Poweful Pick for PC Gamers

 The Razer Nari Essential is a strong pick for PC users and our Editors' Choice for affordable wireless gaming headsets. For the price it offers a solid, comfortable build, powerful audio with simulated surround sound, and an excellent microphone. It sounds heavy on the bass out of the box, but some tweaking can fix that. The headset is a bit less appealing for the PlayStation 4, where the THX Spatial Audio isn't available and you can't tune its audio balance. For PC users, though, it's hard to beat for $100.

 If you want to go all-out on a wireless gaming headset, the Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless remains one of our favorite models, albeit at three times the price of the Nari Essential. In the other direction, the PDP LVL50 Wireless offers solid performance with a slightly cheaper feel for $80. And if you want powerful sound and don't mind a wire, the $100 Razer Kraken Tournament Edition has you covered, at least on PCs. For PS4 gamers, Sony's PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset is an excellent value at the same price as the Nari Essential (and can often be found for much less).