“The very best” of something is already a misnomer, however throw “professional” into the combination, as so many gamer peripherals are inclined to, and we’re staring down the barrel of hyperbole. Which brings us to the Razer BlackShark V3 Professional, a gaming headset that Razer claims epitomizes low-latency sound for high-performance gaming, the place listening to a footstep or lacking your teammate’s callout is the distinction between triumph and rage-inducing defeat. So after I say Razer’s BlackShark is “one of the best” of its class, you need to keep in mind this will not be one of the best for each recreation it’s possible you’ll play.
The $250 BlackShark V3 Professional is the corporate’s newest in its lengthy line of esports-focused wi-fi headsets. It’s a purpose-built machine made for gamers so hardcore they want to pick the tones of enemy footfalls amid the chaos of battle. The Name of Responsibility or Counter-Strike crowds—each execs and wannabes—have each purpose to pay attention deep for each trace of a bonus, however what about everybody else who merely desires a tool to be their one and solely gaming headset for each scenario? It’s now $50 greater than the Blackshark V2 was at launch, however with THX Spatial Audio, a comparatively snug band, and the inclusion of energetic noise cancellation, the Blackshark V3 Professional makes a compelling case for itself. Take into account its value; having a headset designed for execs first means you received’t obtain the form of “oomph” you need to demand for essentially the most compelling single-player titles.
Razer BlackShark V3 Professional
The BlackShark V3 Professional is the premium headset for multiplayer video games. Simply know going “professional” means shedding out on one of the best sound for some single-player titles.
Professionals
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“Professional” audio expertise -
Low latency throughout the board -
Clear Audio from 12mm mic -
Comfy match -
ANC helps preserve you targeted
Cons
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Not nearly as good for single-player video games at its worth -
Requires wi-fi 2.4GHz dongle -
Not tremendous moveable
The BlackShark V3 Professional makes use of Razer’s bio-cellulose 50mm drivers. Bio-cellulose usually gives clean midtones—which helps it hone in on these small audio particulars like footsteps. Together with Razer’s software program suite, the headset hits the ears with a punch for each gunshot, a rattle for each reload, and the whining sound of your teammate complaining, “Dude, the place’s my staff at?” The closest approximation to that sound is the whine of a mosquito flicking close to your ear.
The headset is tuned for aggressive video games the place sound is commonly extra vital than what you’re seeing on display. This implies the audio is constructed to not be distracting nor—dare I say it—immersive. The drivers and audio software program are tuned so the place the bullets are coming from, reasonably than how punchy they’re. I switched headsets throughout a number of video games of Counter-Strike 2 and Halo Infinite. I observed I’d truly play higher listening by way of the BlackShark V3 Professional in comparison with different costly headsets just like the Alienware Professional Wi-fi, the HyperX Cloud III S, or Razer’s personal Kraken V4 Professional (it’s usually a $180 headset, but it surely prices $400 if you happen to get it with the Management Hub and Razer Sensa haptics). The expertise in video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Warhammer 40K: Area Marine 2 wasn’t in any respect horrible, but it surely lacked the bass that helped the video games’ deep, darkish soundscape come alive. In these video games, I loved a extra dynamic sound from cheaper headsets. For $250, the BlackShark V3 Professional isn’t the headset you need for each situation.
Razer has made some enhancements over the BlackShark V3 Professional, most notably the massive 12mm removable mic with its 48 kHz sampling fee. The upper-than-normal sampling fee means the gaming headset can acknowledge a wider vary of frequencies, which helps your voice sound extra like your self or at the least come by way of clearer to your mates or frenemies, relying on how properly you’re doing every match. The precise distinction between the BlackShark V3 Professional and different headsets is minor, however nonetheless noticeably clearer by way of the golf ball-sized pop filter.
Razer put a heavy emphasis on the gaming headset’s low latency capabilities, so you may’t blame your {hardware} for any time you choke in a match. The BlackShark V3 Professional makes use of Razer’s personal 2.4GHz “HyperSpeed Wi-fi Gen-2” wi-fi codec, which requires an additional dongle wired to the PC so you may have it as near you as potential. It has a acknowledged 10ms connection latency, which is a few of the lowest accessible, providing nearly no lag between your wi-fi headset and the sport. For comparability, the high-end HyperX Cloud Alpha has a acknowledged 15ms latency by way of its 2.4GHz dongle. Most trendy headsets have beneath 40ms latency. You’d solely be capable of inform the distinction if you happen to had knowledgeable ears. What the HyperSpeed dongle actually means in a sensible sense is you’ll have another wire clogging up your pristine desk house.
The BlackShark V3 Professional has a stage of customizability by way of the Razer Synapse software program (as with all Razer merchandise, Synapse is unavoidable) that rivals are nonetheless missing. You may create your personal EQ—or equalization—to make your favourite video games sound nearly as good as potential. Razer promoted that it has 12 video games, together with common shooters like Valorant, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, with EQ profiles tuned by a number of esports stars. I want it had entry to one thing like SteelSeries’ huge library of EQ choices by way of its Arctis app, although what’s accessible are good for every respective recreation. Customers can retailer as much as 9 of their very own profiles straight on the headset in case they should take it with them.
See BlackShark V3 Professional at Amazon
The BlackShark V3 Professional is extra bodily customizable than Razer’s earlier gaming headsets as properly. Taking a web page from HP’s HyperX lineup of headsets, the BlackShark V3 Professional helps you to connect new plastic pads to the left and proper earcups. At the moment, Razer is barely promoting particular caps that sport logos from numerous esports groups. If, like me, you’re not religiously following the Los Angeles Thieves, you’re questioning if you may get different personalized pads. Razer instructed me it might think about releasing STL recordsdata for customers to 3D print their very own customized panels, however we don’t doubt common customers will craft their very own with out Razer’s assist. On the similar time, the BlackShark V3 Professional isn’t very street pleasant. The pads don’t fold flat, and that huge 12mm removable increase mic means it’s going to take up means an excessive amount of room in your bag or baggage.
You received’t actually care what you seem like when these are wrapped round your noggin. I’ve loads of issues with some gaming headsets rubbing my bare, bald head uncooked, however the BlackShark match round my ears with simply sufficient stress that I wasn’t caught listening to my very own staccato heartbeat. I may put on them for hours with out a difficulty, although I really feel the headset would really feel barely extra snug with barely firmer reminiscence foam across the high band and softer cups. The BlackShark V3 Professional additionally lacks swappable cups that will have alleviated any small ache factors. Being a “professional”-level gaming headset additionally implies greater than the flexibility to outlive a number of rounds of gamer sweats. The wireframe holding the cups to the primary physique has some give, however not sufficient that they stayed bent as I gave them a powerful twist in my arms.
So is that this the headset constructed for the huddled desktop denizens who don’t wish to depart the comforts of their gamer gap? Razer’s personal $180 Kraken V4 is crammed with glowing RGB lights and THX spatial sound. That pair of headphones doesn’t embrace noise cancellation, however the pleather earcups do a greater job of dampening sound with out the addition of the energetic noise cancellation (ANC) software program. With ANC turned on, it manages to hinder background chatter and the sound of my workplace’s HVAC on a sweltering New York summer season day, however I may nonetheless choose up on the sounds of deskmates typing and sniffling. That’s nonetheless adequate for if you’re deep right into a gaming session, however it might not exchange your high-quality ANC headphones for pure listening bliss. The headset will get a acknowledged 70 hours of battery life—which is anticipated for this worth—however ANC will deplete that sooner. That doesn’t matter a lot contemplating how within the a number of days and a number of play classes testing the system, I by no means noticed it dip beneath 80%.
There are few gaming headsets that may go toe-to-toe with the BlackShark V3 Professional. It’s a lithe, lone aquatic killing machine swimming in a pond filled with fairly, glowing fish destined for some wealthy man’s aquarium. It’s a costlier headset than the final go-around, although those that need one of the best gaming headset for multiplayer received’t discover a lot better. If you’d like one thing that will likely be your one and solely headset for each recreation beneath the solar, you need to search for extra well-rounded alternate options.
See BlackShark V3 Professional at Amazon
