Very like the usual Razer Blackshark V2, the Razer Blackshark V2 Professional retains a lot of the design rules, sound high quality, and options whereas including some much-needed wi-fi capabilities. The Razer Blackshark V2 Professional for Xbox is just about the identical headset, with probably the most distinguished change being official help for Xbox consoles. It options the identical design and a lot of the expertise, albeit with just a few shortcomings. That being stated, it is a nice gaming headset for avid video games and aggressive console gamers alike, providing strong sound, a sturdy design, a high-quality microphone, and a number of connectivity choices. Whereas the actual model I reviewed prioritizes seamless Xbox integration, the Blackshark V2 Professional nonetheless stands as a implausible headset.
Razer Blackshark V2 Professional (Xbox) – Design and Options
The Razer Blackshark line of headphones are geared in the direction of Esports athletes and aggressive gamers, offering a cushty headset for prolonged gaming classes, nice positional audio, and a crystal clear microphone for communication.
The headset’s distinctive design encompasses a steel-reinforced headband body paired with steel sliders to simply regulate the peak of the earcups. The earcups pivot properly on the connected hinge, making the whole headset really feel extraordinarily sturdy and sturdy. Though it’s a bit heavier than earlier Blackshark V2 headsets at 330 grams, it nonetheless feels pretty light-weight.
Each the scarf and earcups are comprised of reminiscence foam wrapped in a delicate, mesh weave, which helps with breathability. I discovered the headset to be very comfy throughout my testing, because the reminiscence foam portion of the scarf allowed it to relaxation flippantly on prime of my head with out including further stress. This can be attributed to how the headset distributes its weight, although, because the earcups do sit snugly towards your head to maintain every little thing in place. Whereas this does create a decent seal round your ears to assist isolate exterior sound, I discovered it positioned a whole lot of stress close to the again of my jaw that was uncomfortable throughout prolonged classes, however a fast repositioning of the headset round my ears helped to alleviate this concern.
It encompasses a minimal quantity of buttons and knobs on either side of the earcups, permitting you to remain dialed in whereas taking part in and never fumbling the controls attempting to regulate one thing. On the left earcup you’ll discover the ability button close to the underside with a mute toggle above it, the USB-C connector for charging, and the three.5mm auxiliary port to attach the removable microphone. There’s additionally a big multi-function audio dial on the surface of the earcup that controls quantity, and you may management your recreation chat and audio combine when used with Xbox. The best earcup options the SmartSwitch button which lets you toggle between varied connections.
So far as connectivity goes, the Blackshark V2 Professional Xbox Version makes use of Razer’s Hyperspeed wi-fi expertise, which delivers high-quality audio over a 2.4GHz wi-fi reference to the included USB-C dongle. The two.4GHz USB-C receiver permits it to work throughout all Xbox fashions together with Xbox Collection X|S and the Xbox One household, in addition to PS5, PS4, Nintendo Swap, PC, Mac, and cellular units with a USB-C connector. If the gadget you’re utilizing doesn’t have a USB-C port, you possibly can make the most of the included USB-C to USB-A adapter for compatibility with the included receiver.
Moreover, it options Bluetooth 5.2 which supplies a low-latency wi-fi connection for PC, Mac, and handheld gaming and cellular units. It additionally helps simultaneous connections, permitting you to seamlessly swap between the Razer Hyperspeed wireless-connected gadget and a Bluetooth gadget by double-pressing the SmartSwitch button on the precise earcup. This button can be utilized to swap between varied onboard EQ modes, together with {custom} profiles for varied video games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Name of Responsibility, for instance.
On the coronary heart of the Blackshark V2 Professional is Razer’s implausible 50mm Triforce Titanium audio drivers. Naming conventions can usually sound like simply advertising and marketing jargon, however the sound high quality is significantly spectacular. The drivers are divided into three sections (therefore the “Tri-” in “Triforce”) that steadiness highs, mids, and lows to present you a fuller total sound and deeper bass. It additionally helps Home windows Sonic spatial audio on each Xbox and PC, providing you with an important encompass sound expertise throughout video games, films, and music. On PS5, it helps PlayStation’s Tempest 3D audio, as properly.
Sound high quality apart, the most effective options of the Blackshark V2 Professional is the HyperClear Tremendous Wideband microphone, which continues to be current on this version of the headset. It encompasses a unidirectional pickup sample to isolate vocal audio whereas lowering undesirable noise to make sure your voice is crystal clear on the opposite finish. It makes use of a a lot wider frequency (100-10,000 Hz) than most headset microphones, permitting for a better vocal vary that’s usually reserved for standalone microphones. In reality, whereas testing this headset, my associates had a tough time distinguishing my vocal audio from the Blackshark V2 Professional and my Elgato Wave:3 microphone, one thing I used to be in a position to verify firsthand when evaluating sound recordings between the 2 in Audacity. The microphone can be detachable, so if you happen to don’t want it, you possibly can merely pop it off when not in use.
The Blackshark V2 Professional encompasses a USB-C port for charging and affords as much as 48 hours of battery life on Xbox and PS5, with as much as 70 hours on PC. Moreover, a brief 15-minute cost offers you one other six hours of listening time, permitting you to rapidly top-up the headset’s battery as wanted.
However, whereas it is a Blackshark V2 Professional in identify, the Xbox version is lacking the most effective options from the 2023 version of the headset — the THX Spatial Audio that gives 7.1 encompass sound with custom-tuned audio profiles for dozens of well-liked aggressive video games. If you happen to completely want a headset for Xbox, it is a nice choice, however if you happen to primarily play on PC or PS5, your greatest wager is to get the usual Blackshark V2 Professional (2023 version) because it helps actually the identical set of units, with Xbox being the one exception.
Razer Blackshark V2 Professional (Xbox) – Software program
In contrast to the overwhelming majority of Razer headsets, the Razer Blackshark V2 Professional Console Version doesn’t combine with the Razer Synapse app on PC for tinkering with the audio settings. As an alternative, it opts for the Razer Audio Setup app on PC and Xbox.
It’s a really pared down model to what you may be accustomed to if you happen to’ve used Razer Synapse earlier than, because it’s lacking a whole lot of the extra in-depth audio settings. On PC, it’s very clearly simply the Xbox app ported over, because it really requires a controller to navigate a few of the menus. I really had a pair moments the place I couldn’t work together with sure parts of the app utilizing a mouse and needed to plug in a controller to complete a few of the configuration.
Whereas the customization could also be restricted, what you are able to do is regulate EQ settings by swapping between totally different presets akin to recreation, film, music, and {custom}, in addition to select between three preconfigured Esports modes for Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Name of Responsibility.
Moreover, you possibly can regulate microphone quantity and allow or disable vocal monitoring within the headphones, choose a timeframe for the headset to energy off mechanically after idling for a while to protect battery life, and allow a Do Not Disturb mode, which blocks incoming calls over Bluetooth whereas gaming.
Razer Blackshark V2 Professional (Xbox) – Gaming
Like most fashionable gaming headsets, the Blackshark V2 Professional For Xbox is able to use proper out of the field. After plugging within the USB-C receiver and toggling it to “Xbox” mode, it was immediately acknowledged on my Xbox Collection X. Whereas I downloaded the Razer Audio Setup app, I discovered a lot of the helpful options might be accessed immediately from the headset itself, and located choices within the app to be largely redundant.
When it got here to audio high quality, every little thing sounded nice. I spent a great chunk of time testing out the EQ profiles throughout totally different video games, together with Fortnite, which has its personal Esports EQ profile. Whereas I wasn’t in a position to discern an enormous distinction swapping between the custom-tuned profile and the usual gaming profile, footsteps gave the impression to be barely extra discernable and explosions have been diminished a bit total.
On the PC facet of issues, I hopped into Future 2 to proceed my countless pursuit of substances within the aftermath of The Remaining Form and located the encompass sound to work exceptionally properly in each PvE and PvP. I used to be in a position to determine my enemies’ areas simply as I explored the varied planets, and will simply get the drop on my enemies within the Crucible as I waited for them to spherical a nook. I additionally spent a while in Valorant the place I discovered the encompass sound audio to be serviceable because it appeared a bit loud throughout, even with Home windows Sonic enabled.
Utilizing the Blackshark V2 Professional as a set of normal Bluetooth headphones for audio was a surprisingly good expertise utilizing the default music EQ setting. I used to be happy with how crisp every music was, and the headset produced a great quantity of bass with little to no distortion in any respect. And, due to the noise isolating seal created by the earcups, there’s just about no sound bleed from the headphones. I think about these on the lookout for a flexible headset that may work for each gaming and music will likely be happy with this feature.