Razer Blackshark V3 Pro Gaming Headset Overview – Reaching New Heights

In the world of gaming peripherals, seeing new iterations of merchandise we have seen repeatedly is not essentially the most thrilling factor. But it’s a probability to see good concepts change into absolutely shaped ones. When it hit just a few years in the past, our BlackShark V2 Pro overview mentioned it was, “a great headset for those who care about their audio experience,” and it positively proved to be a contender among the many higher gaming headsets on the market. With finer tuning on upgraded audio drivers for sturdy sound high quality and quite a lot of significant new options, the brand new BlackShark V3 Pro makes sufficient of a step ahead to face out in a crowded area, making it considered one of greatest high-end gaming headsets I’ve used in recent times.

Specifically with Razer, it additionally has the luxury-style line with the Kraken and a extra easy sequence within the Barracuda. Having reviewed the most recent within the Kraken V4 Pro, I felt its characteristic set to be extraneous and did not precisely justify its ballooning price ticket. Meanwhile, the Barracuda continues to be a stable alternative amongst our really useful budget-level gaming headsets. But in the event you have been to ask me for my full advice if pricing wasn’t as a lot of a priority, Razer or in any other case, the Blackshark V3 Pro is actually in that dialog.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Design and Features

If you’ve got seen the BlackShark earlier than, the V3 Pro does not stray too removed from the V2’s design ideas. It sports activities skinny wire-like aluminum yokes that department outward to additionally act as telescoping arms for adjusting the match. The headband itself is a versatile aluminum wrapped in a leatherette higher stitched with a padded sports activities mesh cushion beneath to relaxation comfortably atop your head. Don’t mistake its unassuming search for an absence of high quality, the BlackShark V3 is among the many well-built gaming headsets on the market. And at 376g, it isn’t heavy but nonetheless feels lighter than its listed weight due to its strategy to consolation.

Along with the oval-shaped earcups, it appears a bit like a pilot’s headset however with a slim-enough profile and modern rounded edges so it isn’t heavy or cumbersome. The earpads are a serious spotlight, too – they’re made with a dense reminiscence foam and wrapped in a velvety sports activities mesh for breathability. Since the headset does not have a robust clamp drive, the BlackShark V3 Pro’s earpads present consolation all through 5 or 6 hour gaming classes with out fatigue. And in contrast to leatherette upholsteries on equally comfy headsets, the sports activities mesh right here stored sweat round my ears to a minimal. A small, however efficient contact is that the innards the place the audio drivers are have a skinny padding in case your ears are available in contact, which may help these with greater ears for the reason that earpads themselves have a considerably decrease profile.

Along the appropriate earcup are buttons for biking by completely different EQ presets, the chat quantity combine wheel, and the lively noise cancellation (ANC) / ambient toggle. It’s a minor element, however I respect how snappy the headset swaps by these settings, so you do not have to carry a button or look ahead to the change to kick it. On the left facet is the mic mute toggle, the facility button, the USB-C charging port, and the microphone jack. Master quantity is managed by a knob that protrudes out of the left earcup for simple entry, which adjusts quantity digitally on the platform you are utilizing it on.

Pitched because the “esports” lineup of Razer’s headsets, the BlackShark is made with aggressive gaming in thoughts, but it surely’s good to see that it does not skimp out premium options that weren’t on earlier variations of the BlackShark. For one, it has a 45-degree inward swivel for the earcups, letting them sit a little bit extra naturally round your neck when it isn’t in use – whereas it isn’t the total 90-degrees of most different headsets that swivel, it is good that the V3 Pro swivels in any respect.

Other options new to this lineup is ANC, simultaneous audio, and wired analog enter. While the pure closed-back sound isolation is stable, the V3 Pro ANC may be very sturdy at its highest setting and provides it extra versatility for noisy environments (though I would not use it until I needed to since it might have an effect on general sound tuning). While you will primarily use the BlackShark V3 Pro with the two.4GHz HyperSpeed wi-fi dongle for a super-low 10ms latency, simultaneous Bluetooth permits you to take an extra audio feed, which might usually be handy for many who use this headset with a cell gadget, too. And a USB-C to three.5mm analog converter comes full of the headset in case you need to plug it right into a controller or immediately into Switch audio port, for instance.

While you will see extravagant options like Chroma RGB lighting and Sensa haptics on the Kraken V4 Pro, the BlackShark all the time meant enterprise – so there is no RGB, which is completely tremendous for a headset since I’m not seeing it anyway. And given its performance-focus, the BlackShark’s customization lies in fine-tuning audio efficiency.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Software and Battery Life

The story of Razer Synapse stays the identical; a finicky software program suite with too many transferring elements, however works nicely sufficient to carry out one of the best in your peripheral. It’s fairly vital to have so you can also make small changes to get essentially the most out of the headset, and as soon as it is working, Synapse is simple to determine. Customization principally lies in EQ settings, that are essential to getting essentially the most out of the BlackShark V3 Pro. Synapse has built-in profiles for the most well-liked aggressive video games – Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Call of Duty Warzone. It’s not almost as sturdy as SteelSeries, which has a whole bunch of built-in profiles for video games, but it surely’s easy sufficient to make your personal changes alongside the 10-band frequencies. This can be the place you allow THX Spatial Audio on PC, and it runs by itself set of EQ settings you could change right here. (You may use Tempest 3D audio on PS5 and Windows Sonic with Xbox in addition to Dolby Atmos, when you have a license).

Other settings embrace ANC / ambient noise management energy, simultaneous audio combine, audio enhancements (like bass increase and vocal readability outdoors of EQ), and a slew of microphone tweaks. Features like sidetone to listen to your personal voice and noise gate ranges are right here along with adjusting the microphones 10-band EQ. All settings are saved onto the headset itself so you will have your preferences even when you do not have Synapse operating or apply it to a special platform.

Battery life stays stable with the BlackShark V3 Pro, rated for 70 hours just like the earlier iterations. Many components feed into the precise battery life you get, like how a lot you employ ANC, HyperSpeed ultra-low latency, or simultaneous audio. From my expertise, I obtained about 50 hours of complete utilization from a full cost over the course of a full week earlier than it dipped under 20% (in response to Synapse). Considering I used HyperSpeed anytime I used to be enjoying video games and used ANC sparingly through the workday, that is greater than adequate in my e book and never too far off Razer’s personal claims.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Sound Quality and Performance

A gaming headset is nothing with out correct sound efficiency, and from utilizing the BlackShark V3 Pro throughout completely different functions, I’m glad to report that sound high quality is likely one of the clear highlights of the headset. Such is anticipated for a premium-level headset within the $250 vary, however even then I used to be impressed with its punchy, but balanced sound and its spatial audio efficiency.

The BlackShark V3 Pro is not precisely bass-heavy just like the Kraken V4 Pro or Audeze Maxwell, but it surely’s a well-balanced headset on the default EQ settings that also has good bass response. It provides a bit extra wiggle room for the audiophile sorts to tweak it to their liking, providing flexibility for particular video games. Personally, I took the bass up a little bit bit and treble down since I wasn’t too sizzling on the slight harshness and located a very good common profile for music and video games.

I performed a number of rounds of Call of Duty: Warzone on PlayStation 5 and swapped between the profile particularly made for Call of Duty and my very own EQ tuning – regardless, I felt like I had a wider soundstage, serving to sure audio cues stand out extra prominently. Sure, this may present a aggressive edge, however for me, the extra fulfilling audio expertise was extra vital for a sport that may get audibly cluttered and busy.

In Counter-Strike 2 on PC, I bounced between the custom-made profile and my very own and felt very aggressive in each modes. My personal EQ gave a extra pure sound whereas nonetheless letting me pinpoint footsteps, gunshots, and enemy actions like reloading to offer me the sting when making essential tactical choices in ranked matches. In a whole 180-turn, enjoying one thing like Deltarune on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a a lot completely different type of expertise the place the layered soundtrack got here by superbly even with the high-pitch of its chiptune-esque soundfonts.

That positional audio and general sound high quality speaks to the changes Razer made to the design of its 50mm audio drivers, which sanded off distortion and introduced out the finer particulars in each video games and music – and I’m undecided if I used to be capable of absolutely say that about earlier Razer headsets.

Having reviewed so many headsets at this level, the microphone generally looks like an afterthought. Given that with the ability to talk clearly by in-game chat, you do not essentially want standalone mic high quality, but it surely’s good that the BlackShark V3 Pro’s is best than most even on the premium degree. In Audacity recordings, my voice got here by pretty clear and heat with out a lot of that “digitization” you hear on lesser mics, rivaling the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, two of which we regularly advocate. Oddly, although, the BlackShark V2 Pro’s mic was noticeably nearer to the standard of a standalone mic, so whereas I’d name the V3 Pro’s a slight downgrade, it is nonetheless no slouch – a minor disappointment, if something.