A good gaming headset has to be one of the most surprisingly significant upgrades to my setup. I still remember the first time I went from gaming on a cheap included headset to getting a decent pair of cans, and was astounded by the difference. I could hear everything, from atmospheric creeks to the doomed footsteps of my openants coming around the corner. Technology has come miles since my early days of acoustic awakenings, and now we see one of the biggest powerhouses in esports release its newest pro level headsets with the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro lineup of headsets.
I was lucky enough to go hands-on with the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro before launch and can say that these are a very comfortable and versatile headset. They’re expensive, but the build quality and features are there to potentially make it a worthwhile purchase, especially for someone who really values their esports edge.
The BlackShark is Razer’s heaviest hitters when it comes to esports pro gaming headsets, and the V3 has taken this mantel very seriously. This is true even if PC isn’t your platform of choice, with optimised models for PlayStation and Xbox also releasing with themed blue or green trimming depending on your team. For PS fans, the headset works with Tempest 3D Audio, while Xbox gets Windows Sonic support. Those of us on PC can rely on THX Spatial Audio with 7.1.4 sound, which is said to be better for telling not just compass direction but also the height of a noise’s origin.
To make the V3 Pro a step up over the V2 from 2012, or even the V2 2023 edition Razer have focussed on esports improvements. This starts with latency, and the BlackShark V3 Pro is the first headset to sport the brand’s newest Gen-2 HyperSpeed Wireless with as little latency as 10 milliseconds. This is step faster than most other headsets, sitting at 15 milliseconds. For me this probably doesn’t matter, but if you can make good use of those extra 5 milliseconds, then you have the advantage.
The drivers are also gen-2, but this time of Razer’s TriForce 50 mm ultra-thin design. They use a bio-cellulose diaphragm which sounds more like a bodypart than a driver but is said to give cleaner sound with better frequency separation. I can say they are excellent for listening to music, and also provide excellent clarity on things like gun sounds and footsteps in game. All of this is to say Razer thinks these should sound better and give better accuracy than the BlackShark V2.
But it’s a bit more than that. It’s a common esports branding message to design these pieces of kits alongside pro gamers, tailoring them to what a pro needs in game. Well the BlackShark V3 comes with 12 profiles all tuned to games that pros have found give the best results when it comes to hearing out their enemy. You can tweak these yourself, make new ones, and even store 9 of them to the headset so you don’t need Razer’s software to make them work.
As a Pro headset, these also feature active noise cancelling so you can really get into the game without disturbance. I always find playing games with noise cancelling incredibly immersive but also terrifying, because anyone can walk up behind me and I’d have zero idea of their presence. The ANC on the BlackShark V3 Pro uses 4 microphones to pick up and filter out ambient noise. Then you’ve got plush memory foam cushions to form nicely to your head and do the rest. It makes for a very comfortable and focussed listening experience.
The BlackShark V3 Pro delivers a whole lot in a headset, but naturally has a price to match. To hear all those lovely curated EQ profiles out of these snazzy drivers you’re going to need to pony up $250 USD or $450 AUD for the V3 pro. It’s not cheap, especially for us Aussies. But you rarely get all these features for much less so for those who want one of the most pro-focussed headsets around it could be worth the drop.
For everyone else, you can check out the rest of the BlackShark lineup. Alongside the pro flagship Razer is also dropping the BlackShark V3 and the BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed.
The standard V3 is a general step down from the pro. You take a hit to things like drivers, mic, and lose the noise cancelling but get a slightly lighter headset and save yourself around 100 USD. These come in at $150 USD or $270 AUD.
Lastly the BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed is the budget option of the group. Going for only $100 USD or $180 AUD, this one drops the specs once more on things like drivers, mic, and spatial audio but delivers a fairly affordable headset that hopefully still carries enough of the BlackShark DNA to be worthwhile.