Headphones Are Still Better Than This Headrest Speaker

Razer’s $230 Clio headrest speaker did not appreciate the shape of my home gaming chair. I own a cheap chair—technically a hand-me-down from my father—and the speaker likely fetches more than the chair itself. But the Clio didn’t reject the bum support. It simply did not fit around the back of the chair. The device would sit too far down, and sound literally blasted into my upper back, rather than my ears—which is where you want the sound to go.

I’ve used plenty of odd speaker setups, including neck speakers like Sony’s Bravia Theater U that promises to offer personalized audio without the need to sandwich your head between two cans. There’s certainly an audience that is looking for high-quality, room-filling audio that doesn’t actually fill the room—further incentivizing angry neighbors to knock down your door.

In that way, the Clio fits the bill. Even though I work in an open office, I wasn’t annoying my deskmates too much as I tested out my chair speaker on the other side of the room. They could hear me, certainly, but the “near-field” directional speakers on either side of the headrest kept the sound contained. Of course, what would be even less distracting is a quality pair of headphones with solid active noise cancellation to avoid any ambient sound bleeding.

The Clio nearly makes a case for itself—especially if you’re looking for a device to perfect your Razer surround sound setup. It’s also brought down by its attempts to keep you from developing tinnitus, protecting your ears from the might of two speakers with large drivers. It likely offers the personalized surround sound experience you want; it won’t if you’re used to high-end gaming headsets. Those headsets won’t reject you just because you tend to slump forward, nor poorly fit your chair just because it doesn’t have the right headrest circumferance.

Doesn’t fit chairs very well

I already mentioned my problems getting the Clio to accept the curves of my home gaming chair. Razer cites that any chair with a headrest circumference of  47 to 65 cm (18.5 to 25.5 inches) should be compatible, but how often are people measuring the tops of their chairs? To aid me in my predicament, Razer sent me a loaner of its own expensive and excessively ergonomic Iskur V2 X gaming chair so I could position the device correctly, just behind my ears. The Iskur is the kind of chair that reminds you of all your poor sitting habits. It’s comfortable and curves to the shape of your spine. Even though it’s made with Razer’s products in mind, the $300 gaming chair isn’t designed perfectly for the Clio.

The speaker uses two horizontal bands with adjustable buckles that are supposed to tighten against the chair’s back. You would imagine Razer would opt for stretchy bands to offer a snug fit. Instead, you end up doing your best to angle and tighten the Clio so the speakers sit to the left and right of your head. On Razer’s Iskur chair, that meant I couldn’t wrap the bottom strap all the way around the chair back, leaving the ends dangling.

The headrest itself is comfortable enough if you decide to lean your head back into it. The two wings are made of stiffer material you won’t want to rest your head on. The thing is, I don’t know many people who normally lean back far enough that they will keep their head and neck straight. If you’re a PC gamer, you’re more keen to lean toward your keyboard and mouse. When in this position, you won’t get the prime experience the Clio is trying to offer. If you’re a console gamer, get ready to sit straight-backed, like a soldier on parade, if you want the best quality audio listening with Razer’s 2.4GHz “Hyperspeed” dongle.

The Clio, like nearly every other Razer product, needs to connect through Razer Synapse PC software for firmware updates and to control the EQ, or equalization options. You only have three settings to chose from: Game, Movie, and Music. You can customize your options based on your preferences, but I found the Game option felt more flat than the Movie preset, no matter if I was watching Netflix, YouTube, or hearing the rattle of gunshots in Battlefield 6.

On the top of the speaker are controls for on and off, volume up and down, and another switch for toggling between Bluetooth and a 2.4GHz dongle connection. The dongle itself uses USB-C, and sticks out in an “L” shape, which thankfully helps you avoid taking up too much space on your desktop. There’s a single USB-C port on the headrest for charging, though you’ll also have to use it if Synapse forces you to update the firmware.

You need to sit like an army soldier on parade

The Clio speaker looks enormous; big enough you may assume its twin full-range drivers would somehow offer the full soundbar plus subwoofer experience behind your head. But no, it’s actually more closely aligned to the many, many headphones you may go out and buy right now—just larger. And despite the size, the sound really doesn’t feel “large” in the way you would expect for a separate, $230 full-range speaker.

The Clio makes use of 43mm drivers with an aluminum core. If you assumed that would create some head-pounding bass, you may be dissapointed. The sound is more subtle than that. Even when I maxed out it and my PC’s volume, I didn’t feel ratttled by it. Then, if you tend to lean over at all in your chair, you’ll start to miss out on the best audio quality. Sorry, but I don’t have an English gentleman’s sense of perfect posture. I grew up playing games on my basement couch. My spine is a permanent letter “C.”

On completely balanced EQ settings, I felt I was getting the most out of the speaker’s sound suite. Gunfire in some games could sound slightly muffled, but it wasn’t so toned down I couldn’t hear small differences in various weapons in a game like Cyberpunk 2077. I tried to put on a number of games with more overt or subtle audio. As I played through Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, there was a part of me that knew I could be feeling the horns on the soundtrack deeper in my chest.

The Clio’s sound was balanced and clear without any sense of “wow” factor in anything I played. Audio when playing any shooter game needs to be punctuated with the hard staccato of a machine gun, but sitting in my chair I felt like I was peppering my environment by loose gravel. The subtle lutes and lyres of Baldur’s Gate III need more of a twang to help sell the fantasy than what the Clio can fully provide. Audio quality felt better-tuned to a game like Ninja Gaiden 4, where the sound of your slicing and dicing has the satisfying quality of being on the right side of a butcher’s block.

The headrrest speaker also felt better situated for listening to music. My usual slate of indie folk rock felt tuned for this device. Andrew Bird could swoon and fiddle, and I felt right at home. Heavier music that you want to feel deep in your spine will offer a slight tingle instead. Again, the audio felt about right for the price for passive listening, especially with your back pressed up against the chair. It’s what I would want from a relatively cheap speaker setup but without needing to stick multiple speaker units around your desk. However, in that case, it wouldn’t matter how you sit if you were hoping to get the full effect.

Surround what?

The one unique feature of the Clio is that it can act as the driver seat for a kind of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setup. More specifically, the Clio can work as a rear speaker while another device can perform as front speakers. You could use your monitor or laptop’s built-in speakers to do the job, though that clearly isn’t the best use case. You’ll want an actual speaker setup in front of you. However Razer’s Synapse software failed to recognize separate speakers like a BlueAnt Soundblade soundbar. It’s just another quirk of Razer’s software, of which there are many. You will have a much better time if you plug in other Razer speaker or soundbars, like the company’s Leviathan V2.

If your content doesn’t support full surround sound, hitting the setting for audio mirroring will provide a better full-sound experience. In this mode, you don’t need to worry about your head’s position for the best audio experience. If you have any type of desktop speaker setup, the Clio may actually be a great addition if you don’t want to bother with placing speakers on the other side of your gaming room. That would also defeat the purpose of the “near-field” speakers if you were hoping to let your roommates sleep in.

One of the big selling points behind this speaker is the promise of THX immersive audio. In Synapse, you can get a demo of the spatial audio sensation as sound moves around the room. Again, in games, the “spatial” sensibility is less distinctive. I could get a better spatial sense out of Razer’s own Kraken V4 Pro headset. If you were hoping these drivers could offer enough bass that it would run from your spine to the tips of your toes, you’d also come away disappointed.

Why not just buy a gaming headset?

Clio promises a battery life of up to 14 hours, which is considerably less than many of the big name wireless headsets out there which promise at least 30 or more hours of listening time. In my days using it, I didn’t have to worry about that much considering I can barely get in a few hours of gaming a week, at most. Charging the device isn’t all that difficult if you have an extra-long USB-C cable. Otherwise, you’ll need to take the Clio off your chair to bring it somewhere to give it that extra juice.

My mind kept going back to the various headsets I’ve used all throughout 2025. For the same price, you can grab a pair of headphones that will offer personalized audio with improved bass. An Alienware Pro Wireless headset is notably light on bass compared to similarly priced devices, and I would still prefer it over the Clio to make my spine tingle. A HyperX Cloud III Wireless at $180 also provides meaty sounds without pitching over into annoying highs or lows.

For anything better quality, you end up spending closer to $300 or even more. The cream of this year’s crop of headsets is still the Sony Inzone H9 II. It’s the moment when “balanced” audio transforms into something more meaningful. Razer’s own BlackShark V3 Pro, built for competiive gamers, will cost you $250. A Razer Kraken V4 Pro will set you back $400 when not on sale, but I can confirm it offers truly immersive audio. Yes, all these options involve earcups. The Clio may be that extra piece of kit you needed for your surround sound (if Razer likes your device). Otherwise, most people are better off sticking with what works.