Gaming headsets are notoriously bad at being good. In my own search for the ideal gaming headset, I’ve often compared it to Captain Ahab’s perilous hunt for legendary white whale – a vendetta bordering on obsession. Such was my desire to achieve the perfect combination of comfort, quality, and aesthetics from a gaming headset. It’s not about perfection on its own, I don’t want audiophile-grade hardware worth a Cape Town apartment. I just want a good gaming headset. That’s not asking a lot, is it?
Today I’m here to tell you that after months of begging, and finally convincing Apex Interactive to send over a pair of BlackShark V2s (though they held onto the mic, maybe they didn’t want COVID cooties), I can finally rest. My search is over. I’ve done it. I’ve found the best gaming headset.
The Razer BlackShark V2 follows a similar design aesthetic to the original BlackShark from the early 2010s that are styled like those of a helicopter pilot’s. The V2s opt for a more muted aesthetic this time around – there isn’t even any RGB if you can believe it from a Razer product. Just simple matte black with some green accenting on the cups, glossy black Razer symbols, and that’s it. Exquisite. Just about as gorgeous as my current daily driver, the HyperX Cloud Alpha. And with similar performance, to boot!
Inside the soft fabric earcups on the BlackShark V2 are 50mm of what Razer calls TriForce Titanium drivers. Marketing nonsense? Maybe. I can’t deny how insanely good they sound, no doubt down to the absolutely crazy frequency range. We’ll return to this shortly.
The earcups, which feature cooling gel pads inside, are medium in size and exceedingly comfortable with medium clamping force that holds the headset firm (even for us glasses-wearing folk) without ever becoming a burden and causing strain during prolonged periods. They are detachable, though it’s tricky and I wouldn’t freely advise it.
The top band features the same soft fabric on the lower side that makes contact with your kop, with a faux leatherette on the top and some black-on-black glossy Razer branding. On the left earcup is a volume knob with a tactile bump at 50% volume, a mic mute button, and a hole for where the detachable mic would’ve gone if we’d received it (I’m starting to feel like this was a prudent decision by Apex, Cavie. You’d probably be sucking on it. – Tarryn).
The only flaw in an otherwise stellar package is the non-detachable braided 3.5mm cable found on wired versions of the BlackShark V2. There is also a wireless Pro version that features a detachable cable, so the choice to make the other versions non-detachable is curious, and a little disheartening in all honestly. I think Razer knew this, because the mid-range Blackshark V2 is also bundled with a USB connector that includes a built-in sound card. This is useful if you’re still rocking onboard audio and want your audio to sound better than a telephone call from a political party asking if you’ve voted for change.
Returning to the just outrageously good sound quality on offer here, I honestly cannot believe this is a Razer product because, my god. I’ve been harsh on Razer before for dialling their headsets up to “bass o’ clock” and not caring about the rest of the EQ range because gamers are dumb and only care about boom-boom, right? No, they nailed it here. Everything from video games to movies to music just sounds exceptional. The sound stage is breathtaking even at stock, but then I went into Synapse and played with the EQ curve, toggled a few enhancements, absolutely left THX 7.1 off because nobody needs that, and then turned on Dolby Atmos instead. I can only describe the result as otherworldly.
As I mentioned earlier, my current gaming headset if the HyperX Cloud Alpha. Over the years I’ve added custom earpads, a custom DAC, and have carefully tweaked its sound to just how I like it. The BlackShark V2, at stock, barely broke a sweat in keeping up. Suffice to say, I was absolutely floored, and that’s at stock! Imagine what’s possible with tweaking. I’m now reconsidering not just my life choices, but my daily driver as well.
If I can make some suggestions to Razer here, consider making the ear pads easier to swap out, and please for the love of the Chroma gods make the cable detachable, that’s literally all we need here and you’ve got the best headset on the market. Even for the asking price.
