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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Razer Kraken Ultimate vs Razer BlackShark V2
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Razer Kraken Ultimate
Razer BlackShark V2
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 26, 2022 08:56 PM
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BestBuy.comTested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 01, 2024 10:04 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- Razer Kraken Ultimate
- BlackShark V2 (Black)
- BlackShark V2 (CourageJD)
- BlackShark V2 (ESL Edition)
Our Verdict
Razer Kraken Ultimate
Razer BlackShark V2
The Razer BlackShark V2 are better headphones for gaming than the Razer Kraken Ultimate. The BlackShark have a much more comfortable, stable fit. They have a more neutral default sound profile, which some may prefer, and their companion app is much better. You can also use them wired or wirelessly with their USB dongle. On the other hand, while the Kraken can only be used wired, they have a much better overall mic performance and a significantly better build quality.
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Standard
Razer Kraken Ultimate
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BestBuy.comBlack
BlackShark V2
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Razer Kraken Ultimate
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Amazon.comCourageJD
BlackShark V2
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Razer Kraken Ultimate
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B&HESL Edition
BlackShark V2
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Razer Kraken Ultimate
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Walmart.comMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.3
7.7
Bass Accuracy
7.3
8.1
Mid Accuracy
8.1
8.8
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.87 lbs
0.6 lbs
Clamping Force
0.8 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
5.6
5.7
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Decent
Good
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
Surround Sound
No
Breathability
6.0
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.9 °C
Portability
5.3
5.3
Portability Picture
L
7.6" (19.3 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)
W
6.4" (16.3 cm)
6.8" (17.3 cm)
H
4.5" (11.4 cm)
4.3" (10.9 cm)
Volume
219.00 in³ (3,588.75 cm³)
228.00 in³ (3,736.23 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
5.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
Pouch
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
7.5
6.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.0
7.5
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
-1.34 dB
-1.42 dB
Treble Amount
-3.13 dB
-0.55 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.7
6.4
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.1 dB
0.78 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
7.3
8.1
Std. Err.
3.97 dB
2.72 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
37.21 Hz
22.13 Hz
Low-Bass
-3.47 dB
-1.24 dB
Mid-Bass
3.66 dB
1.63 dB
High-Bass
5.16 dB
4.57 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.1
8.8
Std. Err.
2.54 dB
1.65 dB
Low-Mid
3.56 dB
2.47 dB
Mid-Mid
0.05 dB
-0.02 dB
High-Mid
-1.57 dB
0.56 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.1
7.5
Std. Err.
2.96 dB
3.78 dB
Low-Treble
-1.64 dB
3.05 dB
Mid-Treble
-3.19 dB
3.66 dB
High-Treble
-3.47 dB
-4.85 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.9
7.7
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.38 dB
1.6 dB
Dips
0.91 dB
0.88 dB
Imaging
6.5
7.5
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.36
0.18
Weighted Phase Mismatch
39.05
17.83
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.76
1.43
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.72
2.16
Passive Soundstage
6.1
6.0
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.12 dB
2.02 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
5.16 dB
6.23 dB
PRTF Distance
11.06 dB
12.5 dB
Openness
5.2
5.1
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.2
3.3
Virtual Soundstage
2.9
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
Adjustable
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
THX
THX
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.6
8.2
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.394
0.217
WHD @ 100
0.132
0.078
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
USB
USB
Connection
USB
USB
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Default
Default
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
4.2
4.9
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-11.79 dB
-13.8 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.26 dB
0.31 dB
Mid
-8.13 dB
-11.11 dB
Treble
-28.14 dB
-31.58 dB
Leakage
6.3
7.1
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
43.44 dB
39.13 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
Yes
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.2
7.1
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
162.33 Hz
586.88 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.26 dB
2.36 dB
HFE
11,166.8 Hz
10,093.19 Hz
Weighted THD
0.201
0.325
Gain
23.65 dB
12.9 dB
Noise Handling
7.5
7.2
SpNR
26.7 dB
27.73 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
On/Off Toggle
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
7.0
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
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
8.0
8.5
App Picture
App Name
Razer Synapse
Razer Synapse
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
Yes
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
8.7
9.2
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
USB Type A
Detachable
No
No
Length
6.80 ft (2.07 m)
5.80 ft (1.77 m)
Connector
USB
1/8" TRRS
Latency - Analog
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
11 ms
9.8 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
No
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
3.4
Type
No Base/Dock
Wired USB Dongle
USB Input
No
Yes
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
USB
Check Price
Standard
Razer Kraken Ultimate
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comBlack
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeStandard
Razer Kraken Ultimate
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comCourageJD
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding storeStandard
Razer Kraken Ultimate
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B&HESL Edition
BlackShark V2
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Razer Kraken Ultimate
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Walmart.com
Razer Kraken Ultimate
Razer BlackShark V2
Comments
Razer Kraken Ultimate vs Razer BlackShark V2: Main Discussion
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