Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Notice: We're proud to introduce Test Bench 2.0, which overhauls our audio measurements, with new tests and usages. There's even a brand new multi-target graphing tool! You can read all about this in our changelog, featuring commentary from our Test Designer, Pierre.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Razer BlackShark V2 vs Razer Kraken V3
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Razer BlackShark V2
Razer Kraken V3
Tested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 01, 2024 10:04 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 17, 2024 04:03 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- BlackShark V2 (Black)
- BlackShark V2 (CourageJD)
- BlackShark V2 (ESL Edition)
- Kraken V3 (Black)
Our Verdict
Razer BlackShark V2
Razer Kraken V3
The Razer BlackShark V2 and the Razer Kraken V3 are similarly performing gaming headphones, and you may prefer either one. The BlackShark V2 are more comfortable, have better frequency response consistency, and their passive soundstage is wider as well as more natural. However, the Kraken V3 are significantly better-built, have more robust virtual soundstage features, and their mic performs slightly better overall. Unfortunately, you can only use them with devices that have a USB-A port.
Check Price
Black
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeCourageJD
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeESL Edition
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.7
7.2
Passive Soundstage
6.0
4.8
Bass Accuracy
8.1
7.4
Imaging
7.5
5.9
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.6 lbs
0.72 lbs
Clamping Force
0.9 lbs
1 lbs
Controls
5.7
5.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Decent
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
No
No
Breathability
6.0
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.9 °C
Portability
5.3
5.4
Portability Picture
L
7.8" (19.8 cm)
8.0" (20.2 cm)
W
6.8" (17.3 cm)
7.1" (18.0 cm)
H
4.3" (10.9 cm)
3.7" (9.5 cm)
Volume
228.00 in³ (3,736.23 cm³)
210.79 in³ (3,454.20 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
5.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
Pouch
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
6.5
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
6.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-1.42 dB
0.16 dB
Treble Amount
-0.55 dB
-3.75 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.4
5.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.78 dB
1.01 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.1
7.4
Std. Err.
2.72 dB
3.82 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
22.13 Hz
13.16 Hz
Low-Bass
-1.24 dB
-1.7 dB
Mid-Bass
1.63 dB
2.28 dB
High-Bass
4.57 dB
6.27 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.8
8.8
Std. Err.
1.65 dB
1.54 dB
Low-Mid
2.47 dB
1.8 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.02 dB
0.08 dB
High-Mid
0.56 dB
-0.68 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.5
7.6
Std. Err.
3.78 dB
3.59 dB
Low-Treble
3.05 dB
-2.66 dB
Mid-Treble
3.66 dB
-2.16 dB
High-Treble
-4.85 dB
-8.68 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.7
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.6 dB
1.73 dB
Dips
0.88 dB
1.09 dB
Imaging
7.5
5.9
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.18
0.32
Weighted Phase Mismatch
17.83
87.49
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.43
1.14
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.16
1.82
Passive Soundstage
6.0
4.8
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
2.02 dB
2.03 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.23 dB
3.43 dB
PRTF Distance
12.5 dB
6.11 dB
Openness
5.1
4.8
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.3
2.7
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
Adjustable
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
THX
THX
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.2
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.217
0.357
WHD @ 100
0.078
0.129
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
USB
USB
Connection
USB
USB
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Default
DEFAULT (Flat)
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
4.9
5.1
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-13.8 dB
-14.44 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.31 dB
0.62 dB
Mid
-11.11 dB
-12.62 dB
Treble
-31.58 dB
-32.51 dB
Leakage
7.1
7.6
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.13 dB
35.8 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
Yes
Yes
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.1
7.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
586.88 Hz
578.47 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.36 dB
2.33 dB
HFE
10,093.19 Hz
6,639.82 Hz
Weighted THD
0.325
0.09
Gain
12.9 dB
14.86 dB
Noise Handling
7.2
7.8
SpNR
27.73 dB
40.43 dB
Noise Gate
On/Off Toggle
On/Off Toggle
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
8.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
0.0
0.0
Battery Type
No Battery
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
No
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
8.5
8.0
App Picture
App Name
Razer Synapse
Razer Synapse
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
No
Windows
Yes
Yes
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.2
8.4
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
No
USB Audio
USB Type A
USB Type A
Detachable
No
No
Length
5.80 ft (1.77 m)
6.50 ft (1.98 m)
Connector
1/8" TRRS
USB
Latency - Analog
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
9.8 ms
21 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - SBC
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio + Microphone
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
3.4
0.0
Type
Wired USB Dongle
No Base/Dock
USB Input
Yes
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeCourageJD
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeESL Edition
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Kraken V3
Searching
Finding store
Razer BlackShark V2
Razer Kraken V3
Comments
Razer BlackShark V2 vs Razer Kraken V3: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.