Very similar to 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 nearly the identical headset, with essentially the most outstanding change being official help for Xbox consoles. It options the identical design and a lot of the know-how, albeit with just a few shortcomings. That being mentioned, this can be 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 improbable headset.
Razer Blackshark V2 Professional (Xbox) – Design and Options
The Razer Blackshark line of headphones are geared in 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 includes a steel-reinforced headband body paired with metallic sliders to simply alter the peak of the earcups. The earcups pivot properly on the connected hinge, making all the 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 headscarf and earcups are made out of reminiscence foam wrapped in a mushy, mesh weave, which helps with breathability. I discovered the headset to be very comfy throughout my testing, because the reminiscence foam portion of the headscarf allowed it to relaxation flippantly on high of my head with out including further strain. This can be attributed to how the headset distributes its weight, although, because the earcups do sit snugly in opposition to your head to maintain all the things in place. Whereas this does create a good seal round your ears to assist isolate exterior sound, I discovered it positioned lots of strain 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 subject.
It includes a minimal quantity of buttons and knobs on each side of the earcups, permitting you to remain dialed in whereas enjoying and never fumbling the controls making an attempt to regulate one thing. On the left earcup you’ll discover the facility 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 sport chat and audio combine when used with Xbox. The precise earcup options the SmartSwitch button which lets you toggle between numerous connections.
So far as connectivity goes, the Blackshark V2 Professional Xbox Version makes use of Razer’s Hyperspeed wi-fi know-how, 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 cell gadgets with a USB-C connector. If the system you’re utilizing doesn’t have a USB-C port, you may 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 offers a low-latency wi-fi connection for PC, Mac, and handheld gaming and cell gadgets. It additionally helps simultaneous connections, permitting you to seamlessly swap between the Razer Hyperspeed wireless-connected system and a Bluetooth system by double-pressing the SmartSwitch button on the fitting earcup. This button can be utilized to swap between numerous onboard EQ modes, together with {custom} profiles for numerous video games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Name of Obligation, for instance.
On the coronary heart of the Blackshark V2 Professional is Razer’s improbable 50mm Triforce Titanium audio drivers. Naming conventions can usually sound like simply advertising and marketing jargon, however the sound high quality is severely spectacular. The drivers are divided into three sections (therefore the “Tri-” in “Triforce”) that stability 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, supplying you with a terrific encompass sound expertise throughout video games, motion pictures, and music. On PS5, it helps PlayStation’s Tempest 3D audio, as effectively.
Sound high quality apart, among the finest options of the Blackshark V2 Professional is the HyperClear Tremendous Wideband microphone, which remains to be current on this version of the headset. It includes 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 sometimes reserved for standalone microphones. The truth is, whereas testing this headset, my pals 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 affirm firsthand when evaluating sound recordings between the 2 in Audacity. The microphone can also be detachable, so if you happen to don’t want it, you may merely pop it off when not in use.
The Blackshark V2 Professional includes a USB-C port for charging and presents 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 shortly top-up the headset’s battery as wanted.
However, whereas this can be a Blackshark V2 Professional in identify, the Xbox version is lacking among the finest 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 fashionable aggressive video games. In case you completely want a headset for Xbox, this can be a nice choice, however if you happen to primarily play on PC or PS5, your finest wager is to get the usual Blackshark V2 Professional (2023 version) because it helps actually the identical set of gadgets, 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 is likely to be accustomed to if you happen to’ve used Razer Synapse earlier than, because it’s lacking lots 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 among 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 among the configuration.
Whereas the customization could also be restricted, what you are able to do is alter EQ settings by swapping between completely different presets comparable to sport, film, music, and {custom}, in addition to select between three preconfigured Esports modes for Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Name of Obligation.
Moreover, you may alter microphone quantity and allow or disable vocal monitoring within the headphones, choose a timeframe for the headset to energy off robotically 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 instantly from the headset itself, and located choices within the app to be largely redundant.
When it got here to audio high quality, all the things sounded nice. I spent chunk of time testing out the EQ profiles throughout completely 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 appeared to be barely extra discernable and explosions have been decreased a bit total.
On the PC aspect of issues, I hopped into Future 2 to proceed my limitless pursuit of drugs within the aftermath of The Remaining Form and located the encompass sound to work exceptionally effectively 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 ordinary Bluetooth headphones for audio was a surprisingly good expertise utilizing the default music EQ setting. I used to be happy with how crisp every track was, and the headset produced quantity of bass with little to no distortion in any respect. And, due to the noise isolating seal created by the earcups, there’s nearly no sound bleed from the headphones. I think about these searching for a flexible headset that may work for each gaming and music might be happy with this feature.