Razer BlackShark V3 Pro Review

Design and Features

• Lightweight and comfortable
• Solid connectivity and software
• ANC is okay, although not as good as rivals

Visually, the BlackShark V3 Pro hasn’t changed too much from its predecessor. They’ve still got the same yoke design as before, with earcup and headband separated by a spindly metal shaft, almost like the kind of aviation headsets you’ll see pilots sometimes use.

The white version I have is quite stylish, although the lack of metal to break up the plastic feel means they aren’t quite as bougie as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless in the same colourway. With this in mind, the plastics used feel high-quality, with the leatherette on the headband providing a pleasant soft touch.

At 367g, they’re reasonably lightweight with a clamping force best described as ‘pleasant’. It’s on the heavier side initially, but you soon get used to it. Adjustment is limited to height adjustment on the headband and a small amount of swivel – it’s a shame they won’t lie flat. The memory foam earcups are soft and plush, while being rather breathable – that was especially handy given how warm it gets in my office sometimes.

The BlackShark V3 Pro’s on-board controls are distributed evenly across both earcups. The left side has a mic mute, power button and USB-C port, as well as the jack for the microphone, and a volume dial on the earcup itself. On the right, you’ll find a profile switch, a customisable dial and an ANC toggle.

As is becoming more common with these premium gaming headsets, Razer’s latest candidate doesn’t have any RGB lighting, which would normally be configurable in software. However, Razer’s Synapse 4 suite is left to deal with things such as customising the EQ, remapping buttons, toggling ANC levels, ultra-low-latency wireless connectivity and THX spatial audio. It’s intuitive and easy to do without much effort.

Connectivity for the BlackShark V3 Pro is a strong point, with wireless covered off with either Bluetooth 5.3 or the new HyperSpeed Gen-2 receiver box that connects via a USB-C cable to a vacant port on your PC. 

The HyperSpeed Gen-2 receiver has the option in Synapse for an ultra-low-latency mode, which reduces latency down to 10ms – you can use both the 2.4GHz and Bluetooth channels simultaneously for real power user action. As for wired means, we’ve got support for both USB-A and 3.5mm, which is a pleasant upgrade over its predecessor.

The addition of active noise cancellation is a first for the BlackShark line, and I found it to be okay, if a little unremarkable. It only dampens noises rather than blocking them outright, and you will get better performance from SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, the AceZone A-Spire and comparably priced premium headphones.

One area where the BlackShark V3 Pro hasn’t improved over its predecessor is with its endurance. This new model is still rated for the same 70 hours over the HyperSpeed Gen-2 receiver, which is still good, but it’s a shame this hasn’t been improved. Adding in ANC and the ultra-low-latency mode will take this down closer to 30 hours, though.

You can access the headset’s battery by removing the now magnetic faceplates on the earcups – however, this isn’t to change it out as with SteelSeries headsets, but to potentially change the faceplates themselves to more themed ones. Razer says these might be available purely as giveaways, which seems a bit of a shame.

Audio and Microphone

• Fantastic width and directionality
• Solid bass and mid-range, although harsher treble
• Okay microphone

The BlackShark V3 Pro has changed a lot internally, with its brand new TriForce Bio-Cellulose 50mm drivers that Razer says have been completely redesigned, adding a driver ‘plug’ that cuts distortion in half for a clearer sound and a new diaphragm for less distortion. They increased the size of the magnet at the base of the driver for stronger stereo imaging and overall precision.

Of course, I go into any review thinking marketing hoo-hah is, well, just that, and the proof is always in actual use. I’d wager, though, that Razer’s marketing hoo-hah has lived up to its hype because these cans genuinely sound excellent.

Where they particularly excel is with their directionality and the precision of their audio. In running through some rounds of Counter-Strike 2 as I do when testing headsets, footsteps and distant gunshots had a very pleasant precision to them, while their wider soundstage gives instruments room to breathe in songs. For instance, the bongos were well off to the right in Earth, Wind & Fire’s September – where they should be.

Razer has managed to cram in a bit more low-end oomph against their predecessors to give explosions and heavy gunfire a bit more oomph and immersion, so you feel like you’re right in the action. It helps my usual array of rock testing tracks, including the busy YYZ from Rush, which can be a nightmare for some headsets with its busy blend of pounding bass, soaring guitar soundscapes and Neil Peart’s consistent sweeps from one side of his kit to the other. There’s definitely plenty of meat on the bone.

There is some pleasant depth and detail in the mid-range, as accentuated by the warm vocal and fingerstyle guitar in James Taylor’s Caroline I See You.

Moving over to the busier Nights on Broadway from the Bee Gees, the vocals are sunk back into the mix, in among the song’s clavichord and prominent drum work, although there is still good body.

If I have one complaint with the BlackShark V3 Pro, it’s that at higher volumes, the treble can become too sharp to the point where it can feel jarring in certain situations. For instance, listening to Someday by The Strokes, the track’s constant cymbal hits just felt a little shrill and harsh. This can, of course, be configured away with the extensive EQ settings in Synapse by bringing the bass and mids up a smidgen, such as with the ‘Game’ preset.

As for the headset’s microphone, the capsule has been sized up to 12mm from the 9.9mm of its predecessor, although, depending on the preset selected in the Synapse software, it doesn’t necessarily yield any improvements. It’s okay out of the box with decent depth, although putting it in the ‘Broadcast’ mode in settings gives a fuller result. Noise rejection isn’t the strongest in any case, though.

Should you buy it?