Razer pays tribute to the famous Koss Pro-4AA in design — an 1970’s headset, cute round-shaped shell, sponge earmuffs, dual-sided height adjustment rods, the position of the volume potentiometer and the wire connector are almost the same. This visual impact is similar to a colour-contrasting design, which is abrupt but harmonious, and also bringing a touch of elegance to the intensive Esports.

KOSS PRO-4AA

Razer Blackshark V2 X

The Package Appearance

Razer Blackshark V2 X Tech Specs from Official Website
https://www2.razer.com/au-en/gaming-audio/razer-blackshark-v2-x

Package Front

Package Back

Package Sides

The headset main body and the accessories include:
User manual, Razer 7.1 surround sound activation card, sticker

Audio splitter cable and the collection bag

The main body of Razer Blackshark V2 X has an old fashion design on the outside.

The head beam angle cannot be twisted. The head beam part is made by a thick and single-layered form pad, which can fully stick to the head and provides comfortable pressure.

The material inside the earmuffs is officially described as breathable memory foam

The volume potentiometer

The Razer Hyperclear cardioid microphone

The microphone mute button

The headset comes with a 3.5mm combo header, an extension splitter cable also provided
The material of these cables are the standard rubber cable

The total weight of Razer Blackshark V2 X is 270g includes the extension cable (30g around)

The Product Disassembling

The Razer Blackshark V2 X has used a pair of 50mm 3 in 1 driver which has a 12 Hz – 28 kHz frequency response, 32Ω at 1 kHz impedance and Sensitivity at 1khz is 100 dB SPL/mW

The 50mm TriForce unit
This customised unit has integrated with three individual high, mid and low audio frequencies replications

The I/O connector boards

The earmuffs

The height adjustment rods

Software Analysis

The RAZER SYNAPSE software is not supported, we have to use the Razer 7.1 Surround Sound software to enable the full performance of this headset.

User should visit https://www.razer.com/71-surround-sound to download the software and use the activation code to unlock the features. It’s like an upgraded version of the previous Razer Surround software, but if the user wants to customise the position of the virtual speakers, a paid upgrade called ‘Razer THX SPATIAL AUDIO’ is also available. Unfortunately, this upgrade only supports under US and Singapore store

The Hearing Analysis

MUSIC MODE
7.1 Surround Sound MODE OFF
Turn off the 7.1 Surround Sound mode will keep the headset under stereo mode. However, this ‘tri-band’ unit is specially designed for playing games, the high-freq level is a bit sharp and crispy. The mid-freq is quite good but also been limited, the human voice will be pulled very thin, resonance and reverberation will be infinitely lowered to ensure the purity. Also, the low-freq is basically nothing.

7.1 Surround Sound MODE ON
Turn on the 7.1 Surround Sound mode will increase the sound field a little bit but not really improved a lot. It will bring the human voice to the back.

GAMING MODE
7.1 Surround Sound MODE OFF
Turn off the 7.1 Surround Sound mode will narrow the background music down for some AAA games, it’s not designed for enjoying the elaborated musical composition for full orchestra.

7.1 Surround Sound MODE ON
Under the virtual surround mode, this headset will exert its Esports power. Simple design, precise positioning and lightweight is the Blackshark V2 X’s designing language. When we playing CS:GO, this headset can quickly and accurately feedback the enemy’s footsteps and the volume of the distance, experienced players can judge the approximate location of the enemy on the map and the type of the guns they used through the echo of the gunshots in the distance.

MOBILE PHONE EXPERIENCE
Most of the MOBA or PUBG liked games on the mobile phone are not supporting 7.1 or virtual 7.1 channels headset, plus, the decent phones are getting rid of the headphone jack unless you using an adapter. However, playing FPS game on a phone with the Razer Blackshark V2 X headset, compared with the ordinary Bluetooth earbuds or wired earphone, the unique comfort of the headset, no delay without the wireless transmissions and the clear game sound effect brought by the large 50mm unit will get a larger sound field for precise positioning. Also, the noise reduction microphone will allow players to communicate with their teammates to enhance the gaming experience.

Overall

First of all, we think the Razer Blackshark V2 X is a good Esports headset. Putting aside some design flaws, the appearance is classic enough. Although there is no RGB effect, it is not a problem to attract a wave of fans.

At the same time, the only 240g overall weight and the comfortable wearing experience are also highlights that deserve recognition. And from the perspective of sound performance, the quality of the unit is also quite good. Although the gaming performance is not perfect at all, because it’s designed for Esports, there’s nothing more to be complaints about.

Finally, is this headset worth buying? In Australia, you can get it for only $99! and this will be the Razer’s most cost-effective gaming headset in the retail market. With the traditional analogue connection, players can use it on most of the gaming devices, mobile phones, PC and laptops etc. If you want to buy a cheap and practical Esports designed product, the Razer Blackshark V2 X is actually a perfect device to consider.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 93.5/100

EPIC REWARD: EPIC RECOMMENDED, DESIGN AWARD, BEST VALUE

Razer Blackshark V2 X OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

The Sound

The Razer Kraken follows many of its predecessors in its presentation and sound. Typically, in a gaming headphone, the manufacturer produces them to overwhelm your senses with deep bass that will satisfy any gamer and prospective EDM lover but underwhelm the average user. The Kraken is no exception, but with a much cleaner bass representation than I have heard from a gaming headphone. Even at a higher price point, the SteelSeries Siberia 840 (~$390) and even Razer’s own Thresher Ultimate headphones (~$400) don’t present the bass as clean as the Kraken. For a headphone that is hundreds of dollars cheaper, you can see why I heap on praise to Razer. Razer does tout their headphones as being ‘balanced’ but this is by no means true. The bass still washes out the mids/highs and makes the AWP from CS:GO sound more like a cannon than a sniper rifle (just like the SteelSeries Siberia 840). The software does give users the ability to equalize the sound signature to reduce the bass which gives some nice customisation but most gamers will simply never be bothered to touch these settings.

The Razer Synapse Audio Tab

The Razer Synapse EQ Tab

The 7.1 works well but I haven’t seen any noticeable difference in-game when playing CSGO or PUBG compared to any other gaming headphone. I would say if you are in the market for surround sound, then there are better headphones.

The Build & Quality

The build quality of the Kraken is simply astounding. It’s as if they opened up the book of audiophile-grade equipment and actually took notes. The earpads are synthetic but are made to emulate the lambskin of some of the greatest headphone companies in the world (HiFiMAN or Audeze) and it does a decent job of it. They are soft and despite being synthetic, breathe well over long gaming periods. The stitching on the headband is clean and is better than I have seen on some cars.

The headphone feels and looks sturdy. With an aluminum chassis running down the side and into the frame. During my extensive gaming periods, I haven’t felt that they would ever break even when stretching the headband out. This is mainly due to the headband being insanely flexible, being able to be pulled out at almost 90 degrees before I feel like I’m doing any damage to the headphones.

That being said, I do have a few gripes about the build quality. The cable just isn’t long enough. The cable measures in at 2m which makes it impossible to route behind my desk and instead I have to plug it into the front of my tower. This increases the chance of breaking the USB tongue by running into it with my chair or hitting my foot against it. It also increases the chance of running over the cable which is not removable. When will companies learn that gamers want their headphones to last longer than the cables attached to them? That being said, my desk is fairly wide, but it’s something to keep in mind when shopping for these headphones. Razer does deliver some convenience with its cable, having the Kraken run via one USB for both playback and recording.

Another more minor issue is that the cable between the headband and the cups run outside of the frame. This increases the chance of users breaking their headphones, especially if they want to keep them for long periods of time. This was obviously a necessary evil that Razer chose when deciding to make the headband-less chunky.

Razer opted to expose the cable

The headphones come in a range of options in terms of painting and decal. The Razer Kraken comes in default black, white, quartz (pink), green and my gunmetal version. You can even buy Razer Kitty Ears for your Kraken if that’s your thing…

RGB

RGB on headphones is something we can really live without. I can understand RBG on a keyboard or a PC tower because you can actually see it while your gaming. You can’t see it on a headphone but Razer has opted to implement it anyway.

There are two dedicated RGB areas on the Razer Kraken. These are on the two earcups and show an illuminated Razer Logo. Although it feels like you’re more of a brand ambassador for Razer than a gamer, I appreciate that they have made the logos smaller than many other competitors. The functionality is fairly limited and has 4 different settings: static, breathing, spectrum cycling and none. This is far from the Razer Lancehead TE which had endless customisation.

Software

I feel like a broken record writing about this having just reviewed the Razer Lancehead TE which shares similar software to the Kraken. Why do you need to sign up to use all the functionality of your headphones? Sure, the headphones are plug and play and you can get away with using them without the software, but to fiddle around with any of the additional settings Razer forces you to give them your email address, name and birthday.

The software isn’t bad. It’s not exactly great either. Perhaps its because the Kraken 7.1 is older than the Lancehead TE but Razer has opted to use the older Synapse software when compared to the new Razer Central. Razer Central has done leaps and bounds for the company’s software and it’s sad to see old products such as the Kraken 7.1 v2 not being uplifted onto the new software. Despite this, the software is well laid out and feature rich. The lighting tab is uncomprehensive as discussed earlier in my RBG section, but I don’t really blame them since gamers don’t really care about lights on their head. The software does feature plenty of features to tweak your audio, including a calibration for the 7.1 surround sound and a full equalizer.

Razer has once again outdone themselves on an affordable piece of tech for gamers of any calibre. The Razer Kraken 7.1 v2s build quality is outstanding, having taken a leaf from the great audiophile companies that exist today. The sound is decent, albeit reminiscent of the SteelSeries Siberia 840s but with a much cleaner bass presentation. All-in-all, I would strongly recommend checking out these headphones and they may have just overtaken the HyperX Cloud II’s as my go-to recommendation.

Verdict/Bottom Line

Pro

✔ Great value for money
✔ Decent sound quality
✔ Great build quality
✔ Extremely comfortable and lightweight
✔ All plugs in via one USB cable

Con

✖ Too bass heavy; although cleaner than many
✖ Software that you have to sign up for
✖ Cable isn’t embedded in the frame
✖ Cable just isn’t long enough

Rate: 4/5

What’s in the box?

– Razer Kraken Quick Start Guide
– Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 Headset
– Razer Marketing Material