Razer BlackShark V2 Gaming Headset with Microphone & USB Sound Card - Black/Green

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Razer BlackShark V2 Gaming Headset offers great sound, features and comfort at a reasonable price. When unboxing the headset you're greeted with a fold up top that is usually a part of premium packaging so that was a nice touch. Inside of the inner cardboard tray you'll find the headset in a fleece like bag that includes the headset with attached USB sound card a detachable mic and the headset itself. The headset is adjustable on the sides by sliding the ear cups along the skinny black rails that hold them to the band it does feel a bit delicate. The top of the headset does offer a bit of cushion and does feel comfortable and so do the cushions on the ear cups. The detachable mic can only go in one way and it did sound loud and clear on my mic tests as well as voice chatting. The sound quality of the Razer BlackShark V2 did sound good for its price point thanks to the 50mm Titanium drivers and the included software that installs on your pc from the USB sound card adds a bunch of features like spatial surround sound that helps you hear directional footsteps as well as different equalizer settings to tune the sound to your liking. At first I thought the overall sound levels were low but it turns out that the volume adjuster on the side of the headset was turned about halfway down so when I raised it to the max the sound was much more immersive. The cups seal around your ears and give a decent amount of passive noise cancelation and the software included does also give your mic some noise cancelation to cancel out loud keyboards, clicks and background noise when you use your mic. The headset does feel light and never felt heavy on my head even after several hours of testing. Adding on to all of these features you have a 2 year warranty that instills a sense of reliability and making this a no brainer for me to recommend getting whether you game on PC, Console or Mobile.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I’ve never been one for multiplayer gaming, let alone conversing with strangers about how bad I am at FPS games. Just getting that out of the way so you know this review is based on audio into your head only, not audio out to your clan. Razer is a well known brand in gaming peripherals, especially headsets, and their stuff has always been respected by my friends. I’ve never owned a headset from them until now, which I bought for early morning gaming or movie watching while my family sleeps (try to watch a horror movie at 6:00am using only subtitles and single digit volume….its the worst!). The Razer Blackshark box advertises THX spatial audio and Triforce 50mm titanium drivers with a big picture of a cushy headset and rainbow foil embossed lettering….it caught my eye to say the least. Out of the box you get a headset with ultra soft squishy not quite memory foam but very comfortable pads on both ears and over the top of your head. This makes for a trifecta of comfort as you get a solid fit, zero pinching or that pinpoint sweating area where hard plastic covers skin, and isolation chamber like quiet when nothing is playing into the set. I hooked the wire into my game controller and was immersed in the background music that plays from the start screen. Wow! The sound on these is fantastic! I was playing “Control” which is a 3rd person action game featuring lots of mysterious noises, many echoing halls and rooms, monsters and fighting….it's got plenty of room for a headset to shine. While the box advertises spatial audio I didn’t ever really pick up a simulated 3D sound vibe but the sound is crystal clear without being overpowering like when you go from dialogue to action and the volume jumps to deafening levels in other headsets or speakers. I tried a movie next and was equally surprised as it seems to give better audio output than my TV speakers when I watch at normal volumes with the family. Highly recommended for movie watching especially! It also features a mute button, if you were playing online and needed to answer your kid or significant other's question privately, volume knob, and a port for the detachable mic. As the box suggests its a deep black with bright zombie green accents in the wires/logo. Besides the main attraction, inside the box you also find a cloth carrying/storage bag, a detachable microphone, a USB dongle (the sound card mentioned on the box) for PC use, a sheet of stickers, an instruction manual in various languages, and a thank you note from Razer which gives you details about the awesome gear you just bought. It's all just bonus stuff to me but it really makes you feel like the company appreciates your purchase. One concern I have is with the wire itself. It's a thin cloth braided cord which is almost string-like in its flexibility and I have no idea how it holds up to being bent accidentally or on purpose. It feels like most bends will be OK but severe ones may damage the headset and it's not like just replacing a cheap pair of headphones. There is a rubber tie attached for cord management and I would encourage everyone to use that instead of the age old “wrap it around the headset” strategy. If you like good sound and gaming (or movie watching in the wee hours) I would ask why you aren’t buying these already! I love them, they’re fantastic, and I’ve no doubt that online competitive gamers or streamers will get anything less than top notch mic performance.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] ========================================================= Bottom Line Upfront: The Razer Blackshark V2 is exactly what it appears to be: a lightweight, well thought and executed headset with a clear gaming focus. It won’t break the bank – and the added USB sound card really gives it much appreciated flexibility when jumping from different PCs or laptops on the go. No, its, not perfect – but it is totally worth the price and is a quality piece of kit to add to your gaming set up. ========================================================= Detailed Observations after a regular usage: =================================================== >>> Exterior Design thoughts: ====================================== Starting with the physical design of the headset – it definitely “gamer centric” with its two Green “Razor Serpent” logos on the exterior of each earcup - and will not be confused with a high end / premium styled headset that cost upwards of $200 out there. I personally would have liked to see those logos light up or have some kind of RGB element to them – but I can wholly appreciate the “muted gamer” aspect these manage to pull off – plus I imagine that would have added to the overall cost of the unit as well (if they ever found a way to put that option in there without raising the price that would be awesome though). It still manages to feel solidly built where it counts, particularly with the knobs and switches for volume and mic muting. The headband stitching and material seem durable and quality on top of that as well. I am not a fan of the hardwired/non removable cable that leads into the earcup – I would have preferred something modular that I can replace, or would not be subject to strain/wear and tear when traveling with them in my bag/backpack. It would also have been nice is the earcups offered some kind of rotational adjustment so that they could be folded flat against my chest, or storage/travel as well when not in use. The wires that support the up and down adjustment seem sturdy enough – but I would like to have a thicker gauge of metal used for added reassurance of “durability” over the long haul. >>> Earcup padding and fabric thoughts: ===================================== The fabric Razer uses for the earcups is simple, but functional. Its soft and has more than enough ventilation holes -without feeling scratchy against me skin. Razer says the BlackShark V2 has memory foam – but in my personal experience this can be pretty vague since there are essentially what I consider to be 2 types of memory foam products out there..either the “classic” – slow forming, quicksand feeling – “heavy” memory foam from the TV mattress commercials where someone places their hand on it … OR … the newer “lighter” memory foams that are blended with other foams to “breath better” and rebound faster. The Blackshark V2 definitely has the latter – which helps the whole set to have a light feel, without giving me a “head trapped in vice” feeling that I have gotten from other headsets in the past. I still would have preferred the “classic” heavier memory foam in the cups, even if it added extra weight and reduced breathability – but I think that would have also helped reduce background noise when the headset is on as well. The headset still does a good job of blocking ambient and background noise – but I wouldn’t say it was “stellar” in that regard. I don’t believe the earcups are removable for washing, and I did not see anything in the product literature/instructions that says it could be removed -so that really is some I am concerned with. I keep saying I travel a lot – because I do – and I like being able to clean my things after heavy usage. Sweat, dirt, grime builds up quicker and I worry that this may be an issue further on down the line. >>> THX Spatial audio: ==================================== For the record I have never been overly found of “spatial audio” effects in headsets. Having owned and tried a couple of these “spatial audio” styled headset recently and in the past -I am still not overly impressed OUTSIDE of gaming applications. I repeat…OUTSIDE of gaming applications. While gaming – the THX spatial audio delivers on its promise of immersive enhancement all the way. Playing Fortnite, I could clearly and distinctly hear the directional location of gunfire and footsteps with it on, and saved me from elimination on more than one occasion while indoors and in certain environments by accurately letting me gage where people where sneaking around to try to get the drop on me. All that being said – THX spatial audio is not so great on anything else. Often distorting to altering music and movies in a way that was not natural to my ears. Fortunately, it is a simple couple of clicks to turn it off in Razer’s Synapse software – and you can go back to enjoying excellent sounds from all the other non-gaming applications. Closing thoughts: ================= Razer has been part of the gaming scene for what seems like forever to me…since I was back in high school…literally 20 years ago. That being said, I can say that they have consistently brought new, innovative products, devices and peripherals over those couple of decades. Some of those products didn’t deliver on expectations, while others far exceeded expectation and helped to push the industry forward. I am happy to say that the Razer Blackshark V2 (with the included USB soundcard in use) safely falls into the latter of those two in that comparison… and truly delivers on what a gaming focused headset should do – while not requiring a car payment sized investment as part of the price of admission. I think the part I honestly found that made the difference was the USB soundcard dongle. While you can use the headset without the USB soundcard as just a regular 3.5mm plug/input - that's not what made this headset special to me. I jump from my Gaming laptop, to my ultra-portable laptop, to a friend’s laptop – and then back to my home gaming rig … all the time. Having the ability to have a consistent, good sounding headset – that didn’t make me feel like my head was in a vice – wasn’t something I initially thought I would appreciate until after using it for a bit. The Razer Blackshark V2 delivers on all the basics, adds external USB sound card functionality, and seems well built for under $100 MSRP. Yeah – it could offer some nicer included goodies and design choices - and even some additional RGB lighting – but wouldn’t hold it against it. What I would say is that the non-removable ear cup covers/foam is disappointing to me personally – and affects my rating of the product the way I use it significantly. Interesting things to note: =========================================== - The headset/USB cables are all braided, helping to reduce tangling, reduce cable noises while gaming and look legit in any setup / desk setup - The included “Storage/Carrying” bag is a nice thought – but it is a little on thing side and not made of the most durable fabric. It caught a ton of pet hair in my use, and it managed to act as a dust and crumb magnet in my bag when I transported it – these things may not bother/apply to you - I liked the little mic imprinted on the exterior casing of the removable microphone. Little things like that make me feel like Razor is actively trying to make sure people face the wrong end of the mic to face - You NEED to download and install the Razor Synapse software to unlock ALL of the features of the mic. Everything from Custom EQs, Spatial sound modifications, to microphone recording enhances are tucked away inside – and really help the Blackshark V2 punch above its weight - I like having the detachable mic in the Blackshark V2 headset V.S. having it built in adding more bulk and making it non user serviceable as well. I did not use the microphone heavily – but when I did, I never had any distortion or recording issues with my teammates or while in any games - I have mixed feelings about the tactile volume “knob”. I like how I can turn up/lower the volume quickly and easily by feel alone from “off”position all the way to the to 50% - and to 100% positions – but I can’t feel that just a normal sized knob, with maybe “off”-25%-50%-75%-100% positions would have been more appreciated by me - since I don’t need to fine tune from 50% -100% - but rather 75%-100% (as complicated as that all may sound)

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Razer Blackshark V2 headset... TLDR: best bang for the buck in this price range! Sound Quality: This is a closed-back headset and it does well to provide very accurate directional audio. Compared to my A40s, mids & highs are a bit less pronounced but still good enough to hear what you need to to play at a high level. If you play FPS games, you'll appreciate these headsets as footsteps and directions are very discernible. The addition of the Razer USB soundcard is also a nice addition to provide better audio quality compared to your standard 3.5mm outputs. One thing to note is the volume knob - it is in reverse from what i'm used to... Turning it counter clock-wise will go up in volume and clock-wise will lower the volume. Thought that was strange, but eventually i got used to it. This may not be an issue for others, so it's not worth docking any stars over but worth mentioning. Comfort: These headphones have some very comfy earpads. I have pretty big ears, and when gaming over a few hours, i don't experience any discomfort with my ears or my head from the headset. The inner ear pads have a thin layer that sits between your ears and the drivers, thus if your ears are big, there won't be any hard contact that would cause ear discomfort. One thing to note also is that these are very light as well, so this helps to alleviate any strain you may experience with other headsets with prolonged use. Form Factor & Build Quality: Since this is a budget gaming headset, this is an area where you can see some corners were cut. Each earcup is connected via two adjustment rods that move independently of each other. What this means is that when adjusting the headset, if you don't evenly apply pressure to lengthen/shorten the earcup, then it may be uneven (one rod may have more length than the other). This mechanism makes it certainly more tedious to adjust the headset, however once set you wouldn't have to repeat this process again so it's not a make or break factor. Outside of the earcups, the microphone is detachable and very good. Compared to my A40s, the microphone quality is on par, so that is a big plus! Razer also provides software to adjust mic & sound profiles as well, so don't forget to download it to adjust to your liking. The audio cable on the other hand is not detachable, so you will not be able to replace it if you need to (or detach it when you are putting it in your bag to travel). Overall, in this price range i would definitely recommend this headset.

Very good headset I love it. I tried the Turtle beach (horrible ugly bad audio and mic) and hyperX cloud (which is also really Good all around). Out from both of those this headset is really amazing in Audio and microphone quality. It feels and looks luxurious. It comes with a nice. I would very much recommend this. Only down side I would say is the price. If you don’t mind spending a little $99 then go ahead. I got this with a $25 coupon so I didn’t mind. I don’t think you’d be disappointed.