Our Verdict
As its identify suggests, the Seiren V3 Chroma goes huge on RGB. Though it’s tempting to assume Razer has prioritized type over perform, this gaming microphone backs up its standout appears to be like with stable efficiency that delivers clear, clear audio, particularly when used with a growth arm. Streamers will see quite a bit to like right here, particularly the stream-reactive lighting results.
- Wonderful stream and game-reactive RGB lighting
- Clear, clear sign
- Supercardioid response limits noise coming from the facet or rear
- Chroma Studio isn’t significantly user-friendly
- RGB results might not curiosity everybody
- Growth arm is a should for streaming
The gaming microphone market is extra crowded than ever, with heavy hitters like Logitech and HyperX offering high-quality merchandise alongside smaller producers like Antlion making their very own glorious mics. Solely an distinctive little bit of equipment could make itself stand out given the swathe of choices obtainable. The Razer Seiren V3 Chroma goals to be simply such a candidate, and it’s certain to please followers of RGB lighting.
Razer’s no slouch relating to producing high quality gaming microphones, with a number of of its fashions already occupying a spot on our greatest gaming microphone information. From price range choices just like the Razer Seiren Mini to heavyweights just like the Razer Seiren V2 Professional, it has merchandise to cowl all areas of the market.
The brand new Seiren V3 Chroma isn’t a case of RGB type over substance both. It has nice construct high quality and tried-and-true audio tech that delivers glorious vocal readability. It’s an ideal microphone, though it might depart some customers questioning whether or not a mic wants subtle RGB results.
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma specs
| Kind | Condenser (16mm single capsule) |
| Pattern price | 96 kHz (48KHz and 44.1KHz additionally obtainable) |
| Bit price | 96-bit |
| Polar sample | Supercardioid |
| Connector | Kind A to Kind C USB |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz – 20 kHz |
| Sensitivity | -34 dB (1 V / Pa at 1 kHz) |
| Max SPL | 110 dB |
| Sign to noise ratio | 96 dB (A-weighted) |
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma options
With regards to standalone desk mics, you received’t get a less complicated setup than the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma. It truly is plug-and-play: all you want is a spare USB-A port to plug this mic’s USB-C cable into and also you’re able to go. Keep in mind, although, that some options and customization choices are solely obtainable by way of Razer’s Synapse software program.
Razer has opted for a easy design, with only a single dial on the entrance of the microphone, for tweaking headphone or microphone ranges, and a multifunction button on high. Urgent the highest button as soon as mutes or unmute the mic. Helpful in the event you’re on a Discord name and must have a fast dialog along with your higher half.
Faucet it twice and it’ll change between RGB lighting results, whereas a triple faucet will toggle RGB on and off. Each these features are customizable in Synapse. The microphone is connected to a sturdy steel stand which ought to forestall this equipment from taking a tumble throughout your desk.
The Razer Seiren V3 Chroma has a 20Hz-20kHz frequency response, which, no less than on paper, covers the complete vary of human listening to and is way as we’d anticipate for a high quality microphone. It’s a condenser mic with a supercardioid pickup sample, which gives a tighter pickup angle and superior facet rejection in comparison with a typical cardioid mic. This makes it ultimate for streaming or chatting to your pals in case your setup is liable to choosing up background noise.
Alongside the same old 48kHz sampling price for gaming mics, the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma affords 44.1kz and 96kHz charges too. 44.1kHz is the usual sampling price for CD-quality audio, so continues to be glorious high quality, whereas 96KHz affords an additional excessive constancy that may be helpful in some purposes however has little sensible utility for a gaming mic. In the meantime, the default 48kHz is the usual DVD sampling price and is an effective middle-ground possibility.
Audiophiles would possibly take into account making use of the 96kHz possibility’s decrease processing latency and higher capability to keep away from high-frequency aliasing, however the greater price means bigger file sizes. At any price, the inclusion of all three choices is a rarity in gaming microphones and a welcome choice from Razer.
The Seiren V3 Chroma additionally affords a digital achieve limiter and built-in shock absorber to stop undesirable voice distortion and preserve fixed vocal readability whether or not you’re barking instructions to associates in CS2 or recording an ASMR phase in your newest podcast.
Characteristic-wise, the star of the present is undoubtedly its Chroma RGB results, together with stream and game-reactive results, one thing we’ll discuss extra about under.
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma design
Razer’s newest iteration on the Seiren line elevates gaming microphone design to new heights. When the RGB is off, it appears to be like nice however unspectacular. It options the smooth, black design and easy contours typical of gaming microphones, standing at 8.3 inches tall whereas the stand is 3.58 inches vast. The general footprint is pretty small, that means it received’t be too obtrusive amongst the opposite PC and gaming peripherals in your desk.
The microphone itself has a cylindrical, ovoid form harking back to the HyperX QuadCast S however extra rounded on the highest and backside. It appears to be like smooth and fashionable, however not in contrast to a thousand mics you’ve already seen. The majority of the mic’s physique is taken up by a plastic grill, underneath which the RGB lights are seated.
And when these lights illuminate… wow. It’s undoubtedly the brightest, most dynamic microphone RGB I’ve ever seen. We’re used to seeing keyboards arrive with a variety of lighting results, nevertheless it’s uncommon to see on a microphone. And it’s all of the extra spectacular when these results are exhibited to such a devastating impact as on the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma, with Razer Chroma’s 16.8 million coloration lightshows displayed like by no means earlier than on a gaming microphone.
As you’d anticipate from a Razer product, the microphone’s flashiness is underpinned by glorious construct high quality. The Razer Seiren V3 Chroma enjoys an unmistakable premium look and feel. The underside half of the microphone and stand is steel, giving the product a low heart of gravity that vegetation it firmly in your desk, though it’s not too heavy at 474g.
The steel stand permits the microphone to swivel by way of a pretty big vary, and I’d suggest having it tilt backwards so the entrance of the microphone factors up at you, in the event you select to not use a mic arm. This mic’s supercardioid pickup sample is narrower than cardioid mics, which is nice relating to avoiding facet ambient noise however offers you a smaller efficient space for choosing up your audio.
Even so, my desk is kind of low, that means the mic sits far-off from my mouth. Even when it’s pointing proper at me, I discover it laborious to achieve a steadiness between having the mic delicate sufficient to choose up my voice sufficiently whereas avoiding background noise like clicking and utilizing the keyboard.
Whereas that is wonderful for chatting on Discord or recording podcasts or music, this is a matter for streaming, with any clacking of keys and mice being picked up by the mic more likely to discourage viewers. Fortunately, the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma is appropriate with growth arms, nevertheless it’s a disgrace that utilizing a growth arm – bought individually – seems like a necessity with a premium mic like this. After all, most streamers will most likely be utilizing a growth arm anyway, nevertheless it’s one other price in an already-expensive passion/vocation.
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma efficiency and software program
Profiting from the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma’s full palette of RGB enjoyable means downloading Razer Synapse. Fortunately, Synapse has a nice, streamlined interface that gives a spread of customization choices, as you’d hope and anticipate.
Lighting results take pleasure in their very own tab, with a paralyzing swathe of selections at your fingertips. Synapse allows you to customise RGB brightness, tweak the degrees of the microphone and headphone quantity adjustment indicators (which mainly present you ways excessive or low you’ve adjusted them by way of the dial on the entrance of the mic), and toggle the peaking indicator, which makes the mic shine a sure coloration when the enter exceeds the analog limiter.
Naturally, probably the most enjoyable available is discovered within the ‘results’ part, which affords ‘fast results’ like the comfy ‘hearth’ and arresting ‘wave’ results. Clicking on ‘superior results’ opens up a complete new world of customization by way of the Chroma Studio. This takes you to a separate tab the place you possibly can tweak the person results in minute element. The Razer Seiren V3 Chroma has an unprecedented (to my information) 9 zones which might be individually programmable.
I discovered the Chroma Studio interface decidedly not user-friendly, and doubt I might have persevered with it have been I not duty-bound to as a reviewer. It was hardly ever clear what impact your modifications would have on the RGB, resulting in a prolonged strategy of trial and error to see what every space of the studio might do. It turns into simpler to make use of the extra time you set into it, however that funding merely received’t be value it until you’re probably the most die-hard RGB fanatic.
Razer Synapse additionally allows you to swap the perform of the entrance dial between tweaking headphone quantity (and for this to have any impact, you’ll naturally must have headphones linked by way of the obtainable 3.5mm headphone jack) and microphone quantity, fiddle with the microphone, headphone, and sidetone (the quantity of microphone enter that comes by way of your headphones) ranges.
You can even tweak the Excessive Go Filter which, when enabled, successfully weeds out any noise under a sure frequency, though the software program doesn’t point out what the cutoff level is. I seen a really slight enchancment with this filter on, decreasing basic background noise, nevertheless it’ll actually present its value in the event you’re making an attempt to make use of the microphone with an air con unit or different low-frequency sound within the neighborhood. Until you significantly want to choose up low-frequency sounds when utilizing your mic, I’d suggest having this filter enabled always, no less than for streaming and chat functions (dwelling music recording could be a special matter).
Equally, toggling the Digital Achieve Limiter additionally additionally stops clipping, peaking, and different, undesirable voice distortions. The choice is Auto Achieve Management, which will increase achieve once you’re talking quietly and reduces it when it’s loud. I didn’t see a large amount of utility within the latter, so typically left the Digital Achieve Limiter enabled, which helped present audio readability always.
One standout characteristic of the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma is that its RGB lighting will be set to react to what you’re doing in your PC. Whereas this isn’t as groundbreaking because it may need been a number of years in the past, the convenience of setup is spectacular. One click on of a button and your mic is flashing varied colours in keeping with what you’re listening to. Your mileage might fluctuate, although, as I’ve discovered that sure kinds of music, particularly the place you’re listening to a single instrument (i.e. Bach’s Cello Suites), don’t work properly with this setting.
There are additionally over 300 appropriate video games that this mic’s RGB syncs up with. The consequences are sometimes refined, nevertheless it’s simply straight up good enjoyable once you’re traipsing the grime-smeared corridors of a dungeon in Baldur’s Gate 3 or Diablo 4 and your mic flashes in keeping with what you encounter.
The stream-reactive performance requires one other obtain, which will probably be unpopular amongst anybody whose PC is as peripheral software-bloated as mine. Downloading Razer’s Streamer Companion App, although, will unlock the flexibility to hyperlink specific mild results when an emote or alert occurs on-stream. It additionally includes a stream mixer which lets you fine-tune your varied enter ranges, and rather more. Undoubtedly value it in the event you’re streaming.
By way of the audio high quality itself, this microphone very a lot delivers the products. The Razer Seiren V3 Chroma affords vocal high quality that’s pretty much as good as any I’ve utilized in a streaming microphone. My solely criticism is that, as talked about above, it’s laborious to strike a steadiness between choosing up your audio clearly sufficient whereas minimizing ambient noise. A growth arm, naturally, will type this drawback out.
After all, many microphones undergo from this actual problem, and the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma’s supercardioid response does a greater job than most at minimizing irritating background audio anyway.
Conclusion
At $129.99, the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma gaming microphone isn’t an automated advice. Don’t get me flawed: it’s a improbable mic. However there’s a spread of cheaper choices that might present higher bang in your buck if cash is tight. In case you solely care about efficiency, you would possibly need to look elsewhere. In spite of everything, the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma’s essential attraction is certainly its cutting-edge RGB.
Nonetheless, in the event you’re a streamer or gamer who loves RGB, there’s possible no higher mic on the market than this. It brings standout appears to be like and stellar vocal efficiency worthy of being the centerpiece in anybody’s streaming setup.
Alternate options
Maono DM30 RGB
If you’d like flashy RGB however don’t need to fork out $129.99, try the Maono DM30 RGB. At simply $49.99, it’s a fraction of the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma’s price. Its RGB results are rather more restricted, however you possibly can’t complain an excessive amount of at that value
HyperX QuadCast S
In case you’re much less apprehensive concerning the value, the HyperX QuadCast S appears to be like much like the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma however is maybe extra sturdy. Whereas this microphone might lack the sheer vary of RGB results of its Razer counterpart, it gives unimaginable construct high quality and a built-in shock mount. Each this and the Razer mic have their professionals and cons, so this one comes down to non-public desire.
