There are different levels of gaming immersion when it comes to haptics. On one side, you have controller haptics, which provide a bit of stimulation in games. There’s usually a nice little rumble from explosions or gunshots, and maybe a bit of vibration to give you some feedback while driving off-road.
On the other side, you have Razer’s two new gaming chairs, the $1,000 Soma Pro and the $570 Soma Sense HD Haptics, which feature some serious motors to really shake your spine. Both incorporate Razer Sensa HD Haptics, which the company first debuted as part of Project Esther back in 2024. There’s also THX Spatial Audio support and Razer Chroma RGB lighting built-in.
This isn’t an entirely new line for Razer. The Soma series is one the company has been working on for some years now. The Soma Chroma was the first wireless RGB gaming chair announced this summer for $499. Now Razer is rounding out its gaming chair lineup.
How immersive are these chairs?
Both chairs come with six haptic motor actuators built into each seat, unlike the $300 Razer Freyja, which was essentially a wired cushion you placed on top of your existing chair and plugged in. I actually owned the Freyja, and while it worked OK for some games, for a lot of others I tried it with, it just used a generic rumble without really customizing things. It was also very uncomfortable to sit on long-term, didn’t like the feeling of being tethered to a cable and ended up getting rid of it. A built-in wireless option, like these new chairs, seems like a much better solution to me.
Both new chairs deliver “multizone feedback” via Razer Sensa HD Haptics, and Razer says they should match the intensity, direction, and distance of in-game events. For example, an explosion off to the side will feel different from one that’s up close to you. So this isn’t just a generic rumble that applies to every situation; it’s customized based on the gameplay.
Razer lists more than 100 PC games that support integrated Sensa HD Haptics, including Battlefield 6, Borderlands 4, Marvel Rivals and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. For everything else, the chairs use Audio-to-Haptics via Razer Synapse, converting audio into vibration, so the effect also works with games without native support, as well as with movies and music.
In theory, this should allow the feature to work on anything that supports controller vibration, but a Razer representative did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. On the Soma Pro, you can dial the overall intensity up or down in Synapse, or adjust each of the six motor zones individually.
RazerIt’s worth noting that, unlike the Freyja, both chairs are wireless, though that doesn’t mean they’re completely untethered since Razer hasn’t managed to break the laws of energy yet. Each chair draws power over a single USB-C connection, from either a wall outlet or a compatible power bank, to preserve what Razer calls a wireless-aesthetic setup. Neither a power bank nor a power adapter is included in the box, so budget for one if you want the cable-free look. That’s a downside because my LiberNovo Omni chair, which comes with adjustable lumbar support, a motorized spine, and even a massager setting, shipped with a rechargeable 2,200-mAh power bank.
Both chairs carry a three-year warranty on mechanisms and moving parts and a two-year warranty on electronic parts.
Soma Sensa HD vs. Soma Pro
RazerBoth Soma chairs share the same hardware, at least where you rest your backside. There’s a built-in lumbar arch intended to encourage a neutral sitting position, a dual-density cold-cured foam seat cushion with a softer top layer over a firmer core, and a backrest that reclines up to 132 degrees. Both have a steel frame and are rated for people up to 331 pounds. Razer lists the Soma Pro for people 5 feet, 5 inches to 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and the Sensa model for 5 feet, 3 inches to 6 feet, 6 inches.
For $1,000, the Soma Pro offers sound and light in addition to haptics. Built-in speakers deliver THX Spatial Audio directly from the chair. Yes, that’s right: you don’t need computer speakers; they’re right behind your head now. You can use them on their own, or pair them with front speakers to widen the soundstage, with the chair effectively handling the rear of the setup. It is the same idea Razer has used with Razer Clio headrest speakers before, now integrated rather than clipped on.
The Pro is also the only model in the line with Razer Chroma RGB. The reactive lighting uses 16.8 million colors, responds to on-screen action in more than 300 integrated games, and syncs with the rest of a Razer setup via Synapse. While I love a good light show, this isn’t really meant for the person seated in the chair. It seems designed for streamers and people watching you, since it doesn’t look like you can really see the light show unless you take your eyes off the stream.
The Pro also gets the line’s most adjustable fit: 4D armrests, a magnetic head cushion and a frog tilt mechanism, on a powder-coated aluminum alloy wheelbase.
The controls are on a built-in panel that switches between Razer HyperSpeed Wireless (2.4 GHz) for PC and Bluetooth LE for mobile, with a companion Razer Furniture app on the Pro for adjusting haptics, audio and lighting from a phone. The controls are a nice alternative to using Razer’s annoyingly overlapping and often invasive Synapse and Chroma software.
Price and availability
The $570 Soma Sensa HD Haptics chair keeps the same six-actuator haptic system and drops the speakers and the RGB. That makes it $70 more than the lighting-only Soma Chroma ($499), and $430 less than the Soma Pro ($1,000). If you already have a headset or speakers, which I’d assume you do as a gamer who’s considering a product like this, the Soma Sensa HD Haptics gets you most of the key features without the unnecessary extras.
