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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Razer Kraken X vs Razer BlackShark V2

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Razer Kraken X
Razer BlackShark V2

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 17, 2024 01:34 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Mar 01, 2024 10:04 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Razer Kraken X Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Picture

Variants

  • Kraken X (Black)
  • Kraken X (Classic Black/Blue)
  • Kraken X (White)
  • BlackShark V2 (Black)
  • BlackShark V2 (CourageJD)
  • BlackShark V2 (ESL Edition)

Our Verdict

Razer Kraken X

Razer BlackShark V2

The Razer BlackShark V2 are better overall headphones than the Razer Kraken X. The BlackShark V2 are more comfortable, and their boom microphone is detachable. They also have a better-balanced sound profile, and you can even adjust the sound and the microphone settings using their companion software and USB Soundcard. The Kraken X aren't compatible with Razer's software and they don't come with a USB Soundcard. However, their mic does have a better out-of-the-box performance than the BlackShark V2.

0 

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Black
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store
Classic Black/Blue
Kraken X
Searching
Finding store
CourageJD
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store
ESL Edition
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.6
7.7

Treble Accuracy 
 

3.7
7.5

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.1
8.1

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.3
8.8

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Razer Kraken X Design Picture 2
Razer BlackShark V2 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show text

Comfort 
 

7.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Razer Kraken X Comfort Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.54 lbs
0.6 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1 lbs
0.9 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

5.6
5.7

Controls Picture  

Razer Kraken X Controls Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 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  

No
No
Show text

Breathability 
 

6.0
6.0

Breathability After Picture  

Razer Kraken X Breathability After Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.9 °C
6.9 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

5.2
5.3

Portability Picture  

Razer Kraken X Portability Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Portability Picture

 

8.6" (21.8 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)

 

6.6" (16.8 cm)
6.8" (17.3 cm)

 

4.2" (10.7 cm)
4.3" (10.9 cm)

Volume  

238.00 in³ (3,900.10 cm³)
228.00 in³ (3,736.23 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show text

Case 
 

0.0
5.0

Case Picture  

Razer Kraken X Case Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Case Picture

Type  

No case
Pouch

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.5
6.5

Build Quality Picture  

Razer Kraken X Build Quality Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Razer Kraken X Stability Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Razer Kraken X Angled Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Razer Kraken X Side Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Razer Kraken X Front Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Razer Kraken X Rear Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Razer Kraken X Top Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Razer Kraken X In The Box Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

1.23 dB
-1.42 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-3.06 dB
-0.55 dB
Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.6
6.4

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

1.12 dB
0.78 dB
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.1
8.1

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.65 dB
2.72 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

12.6 Hz
22.13 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-1.71 dB
-1.24 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

3.94 dB
1.63 dB

High-Bass 
 

7.41 dB
4.57 dB
Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.3
8.8

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.33 dB
1.65 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.66 dB
2.47 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

1.11 dB
-0.02 dB

High-Mid 
 

-1.29 dB
0.56 dB
Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

3.7
7.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

8.69 dB
3.78 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-8.38 dB
3.05 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

3.38 dB
3.66 dB

High-Treble 
 

-4.52 dB
-4.85 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

5.2
7.7

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

3.31 dB
1.6 dB

Dips 
 

2.96 dB
0.88 dB
Show text

Imaging 
 

7.4
7.5

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.31
0.18

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

24.23
17.83

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.64
1.43

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.2
2.16
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.4
6.0

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

5.24 dB
2.02 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

2.98 dB
6.23 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

13.96 dB
12.5 dB

Openness 
 

5.2
5.1

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

4.0
3.3
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
2.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Razer Kraken X Virtual Soundstage
Razer BlackShark V2 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
THX
Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.8
8.2

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.320
0.217

WHD @ 100 
 

0.111
0.078
Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
Unknown

Power 
 

Passive
USB

Connection 
 

Wired
USB

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
Default

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
Boom
Show text
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.6
4.9

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-13.58 dB
-13.8 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.03 dB
0.31 dB

Mid 
 

-9.8 dB
-11.11 dB

Treble 
 

-31.68 dB
-31.58 dB
Show text

Leakage 
 

6.5
7.1

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

42.54 dB
39.13 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
Yes

Detachable Boom 
 

No
Yes

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show text

Recording Quality 
 

8.7
7.1

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

20 Hz
586.88 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.48 dB
2.36 dB

HFE 
 

9,805.86 Hz
10,093.19 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.244
0.325

Gain 
 

26.45 dB
12.9 dB
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.2

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

37.29 dB
27.73 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
On/Off Toggle

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.0
7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text
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
Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
8.5

App Picture  

Razer Kraken X App Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 App Picture

App Name  

No App
Razer Synapse

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
Yes

Windows  

No
Yes

Equalizer 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
Adjustable Level

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
Yes
Show text
Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.0
9.2

Cable Picture  

Razer Kraken X Cable Picture
Razer BlackShark V2 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
USB Type A

Detachable 
 

No
No

Length 
 

4.40 ft (1.34 m)
5.80 ft (1.77 m)

Connector 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.3 ms

Latency - USB 
 

0 ms
9.8 ms

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

USB
Show text

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
Show text

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
Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

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
Show text

Check Price

Black
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store
Classic Black/Blue
Kraken X
Searching
Finding store
CourageJD
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store
ESL Edition
BlackShark V2
Searching
Finding store

Razer Kraken X

Razer BlackShark V2

Comments

  1. Comparison

Razer Kraken X vs Razer BlackShark V2: Main Discussion

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