Why You Can Trust CNET
Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement
The 2024 entry for Razer's annual CES concept reveal — a haptic seat cushion dubbed Project Esther — has now debuted as a real product: Freyja.
Incorporating Razer's newest generation of its haptic technology, Sensa HD (stemming from Razer's acquisition of Interhaptics in 2022), the cushion is ready to rumble with in-game feedback and more. Along with the flagship Kraken V4 Pro, this is the beginning of Razer's plans to put together an entire system of haptic-feedback products tied to one another via its revamped Synapse 4 utility. Synapse 4 has been in beta for a while but as of today becomes a formal alternative to the existing Synapse 3.
Freyja runs for $300 and the Kraken V4 Pro for $400; both are available starting today.
Surprisingly little has changed about the cushion since Razer showed the concept, though the number of actuators — the technology that provides the vibrations, and arguably the most important component — has dropped from 16 to six. (It's always possible they've been redesigned to require fewer, though.)
The haptic characteristics can be incorporated by developers into their games for best results, or the tech can use audio signals, automatically converting them to the haptics on the fly. Razer says you should be able to get a good sense of the direction, distance and location of the source audio. It seems like it essentially delivers the vibratory equivalent of quad surround, with the two actuators under your thighs serving the front, and the four on the back serving rear left and right.
Freyja is designed to work with most high-backed chairs, not just gaming chairs and not just Razer's own, and it can accommodate up to 300 pounds and a person roughly 5.3 to 6.6 feet tall.
There are three straps for attachment, two on the back and one on the seat. While it works over wireless — via the 2.4GHz dongle or Bluetooth — it still has power connection. The latter has a quick release so that the tension when you roll away won't wear on the cable. But ugh: Another cable to roll over and step on. There's a control panel on the side of the chair for turning it on and changing the intensity of the haptics.
Within Synapse 4 there are three default profiles, including the auto conversion, plus the ability to create custom settings: There are six levels of global intensity, which you can modify on a scale of 0-100 for each actuator or zone. The software coordinates and syncs among your Sensa HD devices.
The Kraken V4 Pro wireless headset incorporates the same Sensa HD — the other two new Krakens, the V4 and V4 X, don't use haptics, which I don't get — and comes with a control hub that allows you to connect up to three devices simultaneously. It's got two USB-C and two analog connections, and you can connect the headset to it via 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, USB and analog (up to three simultaneously, including 2.4GHz plus Bluetooth).
The hub has an OLED display, which you can customize in a variety of ways to show status and setting information and to walk you through the settings you can change. It supports the same Sensa HD settings as the Freyja.
Razer has slimmed down the headset, with smaller, thinner earcups, and added a diffuser to the nine-zone RGB LEDs on the earcups for a more organic effect. It's inherited some characteristics from other Razer headsets, like the latest Triforce drivers of the Barracuda (but 40mm rather than 50mm) and the same wideband mic technology as many of its latest headsets. Plus, the earcups now swivel for better comfort.
All of that comes at a pretty steep price, though.