Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2023 Headphones Review

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 have a very similar design to their predecessor, the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2020. They have an all-black design with aluminum hinges and the manufacturer's logo on the ear cups. You can also pick up these headphones in a white color scheme if you prefer a different look.

These over-ears have a comfortable fit. They have cloth padding on the ear cups and headband, which feels nice against the skin. They don't clamp very tightly onto your head, so you can wear them for long gaming sessions without feeling fatigued. That said, the ear cups have a limited range of motion to accommodate larger heads.

The physical control scheme is decent. Like their predecessor, most of the buttons are on the left ear cup and have clicky feedback to help you know when you've registered a command. The infinite volume knob also has audible feedback to let you know when you've reached minimum and max volume. There's audible feedback when connecting the headphones as well as turning them on and off. However, there's no channel mixing button. The mic mute button can also be easily mistaken for the power button when muted.

Power button:

• Single press: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends calls.
• Double press: Skips to the next track. Also swaps calls and rejects incoming calls.
• Triple press: Skips to the previous track.
• Press and hold for three seconds: Turns the headphones on and off.
• Press and hold for five seconds (while off): Activates Bluetooth pairing mode.

Mic mute button:

• Single press: Mutes and unmutes the mic.

Razer SmartSwitch:

• Single press: Cycles between different EQ presets.
• Press and hold for seven seconds (while on): Activates Bluetooth pairing mode.

They aren't very portable, though that's to be expected from gaming headphones. They have a bulky design, and the ear cups can't swivel or fold to help lessen their footprint. It won't be an issue if you plan to leave them at your desk or near your couch.

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 have an okay build quality. They're mostly made of plastic, except for the metal hinges and cloth padding. However, the yoke and hinges feel a bit thin and flimsy, making them seem prone to damage over time. On the upside, the mic is detachable and has a mesh grille to help protect the mic.

They have a stable over-ear fit, which is good if you move your head while gaming. They'll stay in place if you're taking it easy and not moving your head too much. However, they'll fall off if you're making more exaggerated head movements.

• Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 gaming headset
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• USB-A (male) to USB-A (female) extension cable
• USB wireless transmitter
• Detachable mic
• Manual

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 have a less bassy sound than their predecessor, though they still crank out extra boom to help emphasize sound effects in your games. However, a bump in the mids makes dialogue and instruments sound harsh. Sibilants like cymbals are piercing too. They also have a high deviation in audio delivery due to fit, positioning, and seal. Luckily, you can fine-tune their sound to suit your tastes using their companion software's EQ and presets.

These headphones have disappointing frequency response consistency. They're prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery, most noticeably in the bass range. The headphones' seal on your head can be disrupted by thick hair, glasses, and earrings, causing a drop in bass. As a result, it's important to take the time to adjust their fit, positioning, and seal each time you use them to achieve a more consistent sound.

These headphones have great bass accuracy. The response is tilted, so there's extra punch and warmth, which helps emphasize sound effects like footsteps in first-person games like Valorant. They lack a thumpy low-bass, though, and some people may find the extra boom to muddy the mix. Keep in mind that this response represents the average bass response. As bass delivery can vary across reseats, your experience may vary.

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023's mid accuracy is good. The low to mid-mid is fairly flat, which ensures that vocals and instruments are present and clear. A big bump in the high-mid makes dialogue and instruments harsh.

These headphones have decent treble accuracy. There's some overemphasis coming from the mid range into the treble, which makes dialogue and instruments sound slightly harsh. Sibilants are also very bright and piercing. Treble delivery varies across reseats, and our response represents the average. Your experience may differ.

The peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. There's a peak in the high-bass, which adds warmth and boom to mixes. A dip in the low to mid-mid thins out vocals and instruments while pushing them to the back of the mix. The following peak in the high-mid harshens these sounds while a peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like S and T sounds piercing.

Razer has had a couple of duds when it comes to imaging, which can be an indication of inconsistencies when it comes to quality control and ergonomics. That said, most of their headphones have solid imaging, which is important for accurately placing sound objects like footsteps in the stereo image. While imaging varies between units, our unit's L/R drivers are well-matched regarding group delay, ensuring tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. They're also well-matched regarding amplitude and frequency response, which helps keep the stereo image stable and even. That said, there's a phase mismatch in the mid-range, which makes lead singers sound a bit further back than they would normally sound in a song.

The passive soundstage is disappointing. They're closed-back headphones, so they struggle to create an open, spacious sound. That said, the soundstage still seems wide and natural.

These headphones are compatible with THX when the USB dongle is connected via PC. You can activate speaker modeling, creating a more natural and immersive audio experience. Depending on how sound is mixed in the game you're playing, this feature can even improve positional accuracy, making it easier to spot the location of sound effects like footsteps. However, not all games are mixed the same, so you may not get a consistent experience from one game to the next.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. There's a spike in the right driver at high volumes between the low to mid-bass. However, it can be difficult to hear with real-life content as it affects a narrow frequency band. There's also a peak in the mid-treble at moderate and high volumes, but this, too, is very hard to spot with real-life content.

These are the settings used to test these headphones, and our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 have a sub-par noise isolation performance, but that's to be expected from gaming headphones. They won't block out any of the rumble of car engines from traffic outside your window. However, they can cut down a great amount of ambient chatter, which is handy if you're gaming in a shared space like a living room. They can also reduce the hum of computer fans well.

The leakage performance is good. Audio bleed is most noticeable between the mid to treble range but sounds mostly thin. That said, it's not a lot of leakage, so if you like to game with the volume cranked up, others around you won't hear it in a moderately noisy environment.

These headphones come with a detachable boom mic. You can customize its performance using the EQ settings in their companion app. You can see a comparison of each of the presets here. We tested the mic's performance using the 'Default' microphone EQ.

The detachable boom mic has excellent recording quality. Your voice sounds natural, clear, and easy to understand.

The boom mic's noise handling performance is good. The mic can separate your voice from moderate background noise well, ensuring that your voice is clear. While loud and inconstant background noise is present, it never overpowers your voice.

The battery performance is outstanding. The manufacturer advertises them to last 70 hours, and we tested just about that. Remember that battery life can vary depending on use, like volume level and Bluetooth codec. They charge up in just over two and a half hours and have an auto-off timer to help conserve battery life. Unlike the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2020, you can't use them passively.

Razer Synapse 3.0 is excellent. This software is only available on Windows, and offers a variety of settings like a 10-band graphic EQ, presets, game profiles (to keep specific settings associated with a game), bass boost, and sound normalization. If you're looking to finetune your mic, there's also an EQ for that, plus voice gate, volume normalization, vocal clarity, mic noise cancelling, and sidetone. You can also utilize features like volume control and 'Do Not Disturb' mode, which eliminates sounds coming from audio sources like notifications while gaming.

Unlike their predecessor, the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless 2020, they don't support an analog connection. While they come with a braided USB-A to USB-C cable for charging the headphones, you can't use it for audio. These headphones also come with an extension cable with a USB-A connection, which is handy if you still want to game while your headphones are charging. Both cables have the same length of 60 inches. If you're looking for Razer headphones that support audio via wired USB, consider the Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless.

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 have excellent Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Corsair HS80 MAX WIRELESS, they can connect to a Bluetooth device while simultaneously connecting to your console via their wireless dongle. That said, using Bluetooth for gaming on a PC isn't ideal since they have a high latency with this connection via SBC. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency.

These headphones have excellent non-Bluetooth wireless latency. Their latency falls within good levels, so you can game with minimal lip-sync issues.

These headphones can connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full audio and mic compatibility. You can also use the dongle for full non-Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

The wireless dongle lets you connect the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023 to your PlayStation console. You'll have full audio and mic compatibility and can use 3D audio on the PS5.

You can't use these headphones on Xbox, but if you're looking for wireless gaming headphones that can, try the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless instead, which come in a dedicated Xbox-compatible variant. Alternatively, Razer has released a later version of these headphones, the Razer BlackShark V2 PRO for Xbox, designed with consoles in mind, but we haven't tested them.

These headphones have a wireless dongle that works on PCs and PlayStation consoles. It doesn't have any ports, though.