14 DAY TRIAL // Content creators have become the preferred audience for more and more tech companies, with even software giant Microsoft launching two separate Windows 10 versions specifically dubbed “Creators Update.”
Unsurprisingly, Razer has its own niche to go after with “creators” products, and this is exactly the purpose of the recently-announced Seiren V2 Pro microphone.
As you can easily figure out by just reading its name, this is a professional microphone that’s more or less aimed at people who’ve made streaming a business rather than at casual gamers who just want to play games and chat with friends.
But at the end of the day, the Seiren V2 Pro can be used by pretty much anyone who wants a crystal-clear signal that makes clarity a top priority.
The first impression after unboxing the Seiren V2 Pro more or less made me think about Apple products. The build quality is impressive (okay, maybe not all people are fans of Apple products, but nobody can deny the quality of their products is top-notch), and the microphone feels extremely solid both in hand and on the desk.
Only high-quality materials have been used, and the metallic grille at the top clearly highlights its professional purpose. The finish is pretty cool, and the mic comes with a foam rubber base that keeps it in place on slippery surfaces like a traditional desk.
The Seiren V2 Pro comes with a capsule hosting a 30mm dynamic microphone with a cardioid pattern. The other specs include 96 kHz sample rate, 24-bit bit rate, 105 dB signal to noise ratio.
Put all of these in practice and you get a truly professional microphone focused on crystal-clear sound quality. There are three physical buttons, one for muting and to let you know when the microphone is enabled, and another two to adjust the volume and the gain. One particular issue that I noticed is that the volume and gain controllers don’t come with any light, so if you’re trying to adjust the volume in a dark room, you could end up using the wrong buttons.
This is just a little shortcoming though, as once you get used to the setup and know precisely what each button does, you can theoretically adjust the volume and the gain without even looking at the device.
The performance of the microphone is, as you’d expect, top-notch. While I don’t do any streaming, I ran a series of tests to determine how clear the quality of the audio really is, and I can confirm it’s on par with the samples published by Razer on its website.
The noise suppression system and the high pass filter help block any sound you wouldn’t want others to hear. For instance, the device is supposed to be used for streaming, and more often than not, this activity involves powerful hardware that generates background noise. The Seiren V2 Pro managed to successfully eliminate the typical humming of a computer, though to be honest, I’ve also seen cheaper and less complex microphones having similar results as well.
The analog gain limiter helps prevent voice distortion, but there’s something you need to know on this front.
Both the analog gain limiter and the high pass filter are off by default, and they must be enabled with the help of Razer Synapse. However, this piece of software, which is obviously a must-have solution for Razer customers, only runs on Windows, so if you were planning to use the microphone on a Mac, this is going to be much harder than you’d imagine.
The only workaround is to just enable these features on a Windows device and then plug in the mic on a Mac to have access to the said options.
CONCLUSION
The Seiren, however, is a super-high-quality product that content creators certainly wouldn’t mind having.
It still needs minor refinements here and there, such as some lighting for the physical buttons, but otherwise, it’s pretty clear Razer has paid a lot of attention to the smallest details. For example, the cable forces the microphone to switch to a natural angle while used, and this proves that in the long-term, Razer seems fully prepared to build an advanced product that could easily lead the market in its price range.
