The Razer Soma Chroma is a $499 gaming chair built around a familiar racing style design, solid construction and customizable RGB lighting. It is comfortable and supports larger body sizes, but its limited adjustability and high price make the lighting feel like an expensive addition rather than a major functional upgrade.
The chair uses a steel frame, cold cured foam, black fabric and plastic panels. Its most distinctive feature is a pair of RGB strips positioned near the top of the backrest, roughly beside your head when seated.
These lights work with Razer Chroma and can display different colors, synchronize with other compatible peripherals or react to supported games.
Comfortable construction with simple assembly
Setting up the Soma Chroma is straightforward.
The casters, gas cylinder, seat base and backrest follow the usual gaming chair assembly process, and the included tools handle the required screws. Plastic covers hide the mounting points once construction is complete.
The seat uses channels that may help with airflow, while its fabric covering and hard plastic rear should also make basic cleaning relatively easy.
| Specification | Razer Soma Chroma |
|---|---|
| Price | $499 or £499 |
| Frame | Steel |
| Upholstery | Black fabric |
| Cushioning | Cold cured foam |
| Recline | 90 to 155 degrees |
| Seat depth | 47 cm |
| Maximum seat height | 51 cm |
| Backrest width | 58.5 cm |
| Maximum supported weight | 150 kg |
| Maximum recommended height | 200 cm |
| Chair weight | 24.5 kg |
| Dimensions | 135 x 67 x 71.5 cm |
The chair supports people weighing up to 150 kg, or 331 pounds, and heights up to around 200 cm, or 6 feet 6 inches.
That gives it relatively generous capacity without requiring a separate oversized model.
Adjustability is more limited than expected
The main weakness is ergonomic adjustment.
The backrest can move from an upright 90 degree position to a 155 degree recline, and the chair includes a butterfly tilt mechanism.
The padded armrests offer height and swivel adjustment.
However, there is no adjustable lumbar support.
The backrest has a built in lumbar curve, but its position and depth cannot be changed. For a chair at this price, that omission is significant, particularly when competing models provide more control over lower back support.
There is also no headrest included.
These limitations mean the Soma Chroma offers fewer ways to adapt the chair to your body than some similarly priced alternatives.
RGB requires external power
The lighting system introduces another unusual requirement.
The RGB strips need power through USB C, and the supplied cable is short enough that connecting the chair directly to a desktop PC is unlikely to be practical.
A USB C extension cable can solve the problem, but a portable battery pack is a cleaner option.
The chair requires a 20 W power source with PD 2.0 support. A zippered compartment behind the seat cushion provides a convenient location for storing a battery.
No battery is included with the chair.
Wireless lighting control is handled through a 2.4 GHz dongle and Bluetooth, while the Razer Synapse application provides fuller control over Chroma effects.
The lights can remain Razer green, cycle through different colors or synchronize with other compatible devices.
The lighting is more visible to other people
One practical issue with the RGB placement is that you cannot see much of it while sitting in the chair.
The strips sit beside and slightly behind your head, making them more useful as part of a visible gaming setup than as something the person using the chair directly experiences.
That makes the Soma Chroma particularly relevant to streamers or anyone whose chair regularly appears on camera.
For a conventional desk setup, the lighting may have less practical value.
The implementation is also relatively restrained. The RGB does not extend down the backrest, armrests or seat, despite lighting being one of the product's defining features.
A solid chair for a specific type of setup
The Soma Chroma was found to be comfortable, well padded and well constructed, with enough capacity for taller and heavier players.
Its main issue is the tradeoff between appearance and ergonomics.
At $499, you are paying for Razer's Chroma lighting system while giving up features such as adjustable lumbar support that may matter more during long gaming sessions.
If your setup already uses several synchronized Razer RGB products, the Soma Chroma fits naturally into that environment.
If comfort adjustment is the priority, however, similarly priced chairs can provide more ergonomic control without requiring you to plug your seat into a power source.
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