Razer BlackShark V3 Pro ANC evaluate: The finest gaming headset will get higher, due to lively noise cancellation

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: one-minute evaluate

The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro is, because the keen-eyed could have surmised, an improve to the 2024 V2 wi-fi gaming headset, which provides lively noise cancellation to the proposition. Razer’s BlackShark headsets match into the producer’s vary proper on the high, by way of each options and pricing, so the modifications it makes to this mannequin are at all times an actual assertion of intent.

What is that intent? A mix of 1 large addition in ANC, plus just a few smaller tweaks that show an open ear to neighborhood suggestions. It’s odd to see noise cancellation added to a headset that options breathable material earcups, since ANC depends on the headset’s means to isolate sound passively by way of its bodily design with a view to work successfully.

In different phrases, the earcups want to dam out most ambient sound by making a vacuum round your ear earlier than the listening expertise will get concerned. It’s not remarkable, although, as AirPods Max customers will attest, and regardless of the material material’s inferior isolation properties, these up to date BlackSharks do certainly handle to tune out a great deal of undesirable exterior noise. Best of all, there’s a button on the headset that toggles between ANC on, ambient (utilizing the listening mics to actively amplify exterior noise), or ANC off.

Those different small tweaks: a barely redesigned hinge connecting the earcups to the adjustable headband, which is now completed with an aluminum panel and operates barely extra easily and – the holy grail of headset options – a bodily chat combine scroll wheel, identical to MetalSeries provides to their Arctis cans.

Truthfully, there wasn’t a lot improper with the prevailing mannequin, as you’ll see from our Razer BlackShark V2 Pro evaluate. I’ve been utilizing the V2s ever since they launched, and I’m delighted that the V3 retains all of the sturdy factors like unimaginable consolation, end high quality, battery life, audio, provides a few welcome tweaks, after which slaps in an enormous value-add like ANC with out upsetting the apple cart. The Xbox and PlayStation variations function very comparable choices, distinguished solely by some inexperienced headband trim on the Xbox mannequin and a barely totally different variant of the dongle.

The solely important draw back to utilizing the BlackShark V3 Pro ANC, no matter platform, is the dongle scenario. The equipped HyperSpeed wi-fi dongle truly requires a USB cable to hook up with both a PC or console, whereas the smaller, neater BlackShark V2 USB-C dongle gained’t pair with V3 fashions. So though the headset’s wi-fi, the dongle is… wired? That looks as if a little bit of an odd scenario, regardless of the improved latency that HyperSpeed brings.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: Price and availability

• List value: $249.99 / £249.99 / round AU$510
• $50 greater than the BlackShark V2
• Considerably cheaper than MetalSeries’ Nova Pro Wireless ANC possibility

This definitely isn’t an inexpensive headset. Then once more, the BlackShark by no means has been, and ANC tends so as to add a substantial value premium on any headset mannequin that provides it, gaming or in any other case.

The value of blocking out exterior sound is about $50, versus the outgoing 2024 mannequin of BlackShark V2 Pro, which suggests anybody contemplating hitting the purchase button has an vital query to ask themselves: is ANC important, or would they be simply as blissful to make use of the V2 mannequin as a substitute and benefit from the lion’s share of the identical options, for much less? V2s promote for lower than $180 now and are prone to be discounted additional whereas shares final.

The different large participant within the ANC gaming headset house is MetalSeries, whose Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is among the many most feature-rich and lavishly completed fashions we’ve ever seen. Priced at $349.99 MSRP, it’s a full hundred {dollars} dearer than this Razer mannequin, which just about makes the Pro V3 ANC look like a discount.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: Specs

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: Design & options

• Beautifully stealthy appears to be like with immaculate stitching
• All-day consolation, regardless of the load
• Great suite of bodily controls

BlackSharks are constructed round an aviation-style headset design, just like HyperX’s Cloud, which was itself primarily based on the OG QPAD QH90s. That entails two oval-shaped earcups related not on the high however by way of a hinge together with every to a padded headband.

I’ve been testing headsets for a lot too a few years at this level, and I’ve discovered this earcup measurement and design usually provides the perfect consolation and passive noise cancellation. So when it’s manufactured to a excessive customary like this and completed with a beneficiant wedge of reminiscence foam, you’ve received a recipe for long-term consolation.

Some individuals don’t get on with the hinge design. While different headsets supply a notched sensation if you alter the scarf and even present you measurements which you could reference, these BlackShark V3 Pros, like their ancestors, don’t have any of that. Personally, I’ve at all times discovered {that a} bit pointless – absolutely it’s faster and simpler to regulate till you are feeling snug, slightly than dialing in a prescribed quantity?

It’s true that the skinny telescopic aluminum poles that allow you to alter for measurement have historically been a bit stiff to function, and to me it seems like they’re smoother on this mannequin. That may simply be the brand new headset impact, although.

The end is often immaculate, as per Razer’s requirements. The stitching on the higher leather-based portion of the scarf appears to be like like an Italian sports activities automobile’s inside, the imprinted Razer emblem working alongside the highest is pin-sharp, and so are the gloss end Razer logos on the matte earcups. There’s a brand new aluminium plate on the hinges for these V3s, completed in an engraved spiral design, which breaks up what was beforehand a plasticky-looking part with a little bit of added shine. They in all probability don’t carry the load down, however regardless of its 0.81lbs/367g being in direction of the heavier finish of the market, discomfort isn’t a problem as the scarf and earcup cushioning, along with the headset’s clamping power, work collectively to forestall something digging in.

I’m such an enormous fan of the right-hand earcup’s bodily controls. Firstly, there’s a button that cycles by way of three ANC modes: on, off, or ambient, and never even my Bose QC45s supply that a lot management over ANC, so properly performed for that, Razer.

Second, I at all times discover a chat combine wheel helpful, so its addition to the BlackShark V3 Pro ANC is an especially welcome one for me. Streamers would possibly like to listen to a small quantity of their combine audio simply to verify they’re not muted, and personally, I discover it helps to manage my talking quantity for in-game chat.

There’s additionally an EQ cycle button, which I by no means, ever use. Some individuals would possibly. At least it’s positioned in order that I by no means hit it accidentally.

The solely important unfavorable is a permanent one: the equipped HyperSpeed dongle wants a USB cable to be related to it. The USB-C dongle for the V2 gen gained’t pair with these V3s, so HyperSpeed dongles are the one possibility. This gained’t influence your enjoyment of the headset’s options, but it surely seems like an odd answer, a little bit of a stopgap till Razer releases a HyperSpeed dongle that plugs immediately into your system. Until then, grit your enamel and brace for some cable spaghetti emitting out of your PC or console.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: Performance

• ANC works properly, if not completely
• Booming however exact sound
• Absurd battery life

Let’s get into the headline addition to this V3 iteration of the BlackShark Pro: lively noise cancellation. Seeing ANC on a gaming headset’s spec sheet is a latest phenomenon, in all probability as a result of the areas the place we play video games are usually quiet within the first place. But there are eventualities when it may come in useful: doubling up as work and gaming headphones, taking part in on a cell system on public transport, or, for the only a few gamers expert sufficient to seek out themselves in such a scenario, taking part in an esports match in entrance of a crowd.

Until the Worms Armageddon aggressive scene blows up, the one use case I’ve for ANC is when utilizing a headset with a cell system out on the earth, significantly on a aircraft. I have to disclose that I haven’t used the BlackShark V3 Pro ANCs on a aircraft but, however I’ve taken them on prepare journeys and on walks, utilizing the Bluetooth reference to my cellphone.

The listening mics do their job properly, negating a whole lot of ambient noise in each conditions. However, the draw back to utilizing material material as a substitute of pleather across the earcups is that should you actually pay attention out for it, you possibly can hear the ANC making tiny changes every time your headset’s place modifications barely. Which it does, as a result of that breathable material doesn’t ‘stick’ the headset in place like pleather does. You actually must pay attention out for it, however the sound of low frequencies adjusting is perceptible as your headset shifts.

I don’t discover {that a} main concern. ANC is an enormous value-add for me, however not as a result of I must drown out sound whereas gaming. Instead, it provides to the BlackShark V3 Pro ANC’s versatility, as a smartphone headset, a night-time cellphone session buddy, or a examine assist to assist me focus.

Speaking of versatility, because the V2s had been launched, Razer up to date their firmware to permit simultaneous 2.4GHz wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, which means you possibly can take calls out of your cellphone whilst you play in your PC or console. Yet one other value-add.

Like its predecessor, the mannequin is available in PC, PS5, and Xbox variants, each additionally suitable with PC, with solely minor beauty variations and one compatibility distinction (the Xbox model works on all platforms, the opposite two not so) between them – some inexperienced trim and a distinct dongle on the Xbox model, mainly. Setup is straightforward on each consoles, and new to this gen, you should utilize them wired whereas they’re charging on consoles, too.

Not that charging is an particularly frequent activity. The spec sheet offers these 70 hours of life on a full cost when utilizing a 2.4GHz wi-fi connection, which is a rare determine. Based on my 12 months of heavy utilization with the V2s, the 70-hour declare held up long-term, so I’ll have an interest to see what impact the ANC has on the V3’s battery efficiency over the approaching months. All I can say at current is that 70 hours is appropriate out of the field.

I don’t assume the mic’s been up to date this gen, a minimum of not so far as I can inform. The similar removable design returns, with an enormous foam pop defend, respectable noise suppression, and a well-rounded sound. In the final 12 months, I’ve been utilizing the V2s, individuals on Discord at all times requested if one thing was improper with my mic once I used a distinct headset for testing. The consensus this time? It sounds… the identical.

Let’s point out the motive force sound high quality, because it’s the underside line of any gaming headset. It’s been a very long time since Razer and its contemporaries used to artificially increase the low-end frequencies to make the whole lot you listened to sound like a bone-rattling motion movie. Modern gaming headsets supply a a lot flatter EQ response, which supplies you quite a few advantages, from versatility to specific audio articulation. It additionally signifies that headsets from totally different producers sound much more like one another than they used to, however nonetheless, the BlackShark household has ‘a sound’.

It’s exact and flat, however with an authoritative thud to the bass response when it’s actually wanted. You can, in fact, tinker with these properties by way of the EQ presets and Razer’s Synapse software program, however I discover software program EQ tends to introduce a digital artifice to the sound that’s at all times counterproductive.

The backside line is that they sound implausible in each setting. Like their predecessor, the V3 Pro ANCs are an entire bundle that’s laborious to seek out fault with.

Should I purchase the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t purchase it if…

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro: additionally think about…

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How I examined the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro

• Over per week of strong use on PC, PS5, and cell
• Desktop station and noisy environments field-tested
• Comfort and battery life had been evaluated by way of long-term utilization and prolonged play periods, audio by way of music, and in-game sound

There are two methods to check the effectiveness of lively noise cancellation outdoors the lab: one is to look at the distinction in a quiet house, and the opposite is to go someplace noisy. I did loads of each throughout testing, on commuter trains and walks by way of the park, in addition to at my good, tranquil desktop PC setup.

I put the BlackShark V3 Pro ANCs by way of their paces in direct comparability to the V2s, throughout a number of consoles, and in a number of video games, together with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on PS5, Far Cry 5 on Xbox, and my outdated favourite, MotoGP 25 on PC, in addition to a variety of music too.

My typical play periods lately are a few hours every, however I additionally logged some longer periods to check out the long-term consolation, and used the battery from full cost all the way down to full depletion, utilizing each wi-fi modes and the total suite of ANC choices.

First reviewed July 2025

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