Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed review – premium feel without the cost

Our Verdict

A great mid-tier headset, the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed might fall short of beating the Pro out on audio, but it packs in enough additional features to make you think twice about which one is right for you.

Reasons to buy

• Light and comfortable for long sessions
• Crystal-clear microphone
• Adds wired use over Pro

Reasons to avoid

• Plain design
• Lacks a definitive puch on audio delivery

It’s not a rare occurrence to see a premium gaming product hit the market only to be followed up by a budget or mid-tier offering a few months later. This is exactly what I thought the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed was, a lesser model, for a cheaper retail cost, trimming away certain features from its premium counterpart, the Blackshark V2 Pro. Simply put, this was completely wrong, and the BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed is now my go-to recommendation over the Pro for casual gamers, but the hardcore crowd will still desire the audio quality of the Pro.

Razer knew it was on to a winner with the Blackshark V2 Pro. The microphone is among the clearest you’ll find, even on the best gaming headsets, while it also competes with some standalone streaming mics. This quality is retained in the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed, and in some cases features are added over the Pro, making its lower starting price incredibly attractive, and leaving this Blackshark as one of the best wireless gaming headsets you can buy today.

Here are the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed specs:

Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed features

The Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed doesn’t live or die on any one particular feature. It has Razer’s Triorce titanium 50mm drivers, Hyperclear super wideband microphone, noise isolating earcups with soft memory foam, and only weighs 280g.

You can connect the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed in one of three ways; 2.5GHz Razer Hyperspeed wireless, Bluetooth 5.2, or USB (type-C on the headset to Type-A at your computer). Notably, the Razer Blackshark V2 Pro didn’t allow for a wired connection, so the latter is a big improvement that will no doubt leave many Pro owners green with envy.

The battery life is listed as up to 70 hours, and I can honestly say I don’t recall needing to charge it too often during my time testing the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed. This is likely due to a quick charge feature that gives six hours’ worth of playtime after just 15 minutes. Power-saving modes can also be enabled in Razer Synapse to help extend the battery life between charges.

Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed design

Designing the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed must have been a relatively simple process. Knowing that the V2 Pro had proven popular, it was a great base to build upon, and there wasn’t necessarily a need to make the headset lighter, but it certainly helps with long-term comfort. There are lighter headsets, but not by much, and I genuinely found I’d forget I was even wearing the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed. The earcups have a closed-back design so will passively block some noise but there is no active noise cancellation on this headset.

While the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed betters the Pro in some aspects, thanks to its low weight and added wired connectivity, one area where a change harms the general day-to-day wearability is the lack of a removable microphone. The quality of the microphone itself is incredible, but a cheap-feeling plastic housing around a fairly inflexible cable did become the source of frustration from time to time. 

On the durability front, the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed impressed me with how sturdy it is, given its lightweight frame. At no point did I feel I was at risk of breaking it when adjusting the sliders for the earcups, nor did it feel cheap in any way, despite some material having been lost to attain the lighter overall weight. 

Razer Blackshark V2 Hypespeed performance

While I adore what Razer is trying to accomplish with the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed, the general sound quality is nothing special. The audio is clear, but I never felt like I was getting a full range from any games I played. 

Having tested headsets that sit in the premium tier, there is a noticeable gap in the audio quality here. That’s not to say that the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed is bad, far from it. It just feels like it can’t quite reach the level of performance that a true audiophile would desire. 

We tested the Blackshark V2 Pro and found it to be the perfect companion for games and music reliant on bass. The same Titanium TriForce drivers are present in the V2 Hyperspeed, but there’s just that little bit of quality that is missing. This is most notable in games like Diablo 4, where the general tone of the musical score sits on the lower end, but the impact is sometimes lost. I can only think that this comes from having made the Hyperspeed substantially lighter and creating a headset that even when closed back, still doesn’t quite seal over the ear, likely due to the lighter material used in the earcup. 

For general gaming, music, and even movie watching, I never had a problem with the delivery, connectivity, or quality of audio, but I was still left wanting a little bit more. There are four pre-set EQs in Razer Synapse, and the option to create your own custom profile, but beyond this and a few tertiary features like bass boost and sound normalization, there’s nothing to write home about. The audio profile switcher that features on the earcup of the Pro is also missing, meaning profiles need to be switched within Razer Synapse.

Perhaps it’s a slight feeling of entitlement given how the V2 Hyperspeed improved upon the Pro in so many ways, that I find myself struggling to come to terms with the fact it falls just shy of its counterpart on audio output. 

Microphone quality remains untouched but this is more of a relief than an outstanding point of note. The Razer Blackshark V2 has a stunning microphone that will result in a noticeable difference to anyone whom you communicate with, be it via game chat or Discord. There is the option to enable mic noise cancellation, but even without it, I found that the microphone picked up very little ambient noise such as keyboard tapping or background conversations. 

Should you buy the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed?

I would recommend the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed, even though for some, the premium alternative of the Pro would be seen as a requirement for its improved audio quality, the Hyperspeed makes for a better casual alternative. While the lack of a removable microphone is sometimes a pain to deal with, the added features and retained quality are quite remarkable given the lower MSRP of $129.99 / £129.99.

Conclusion

The Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed won’t win you over with its looks, but from a pure performance standpoint, it’s hard to find this level of quality for less than $130. 

The super wideband microphone is crystal clear right out of the box, while the 50mm titanium drivers offer great sound quality but stop short of anything spectacular. Rather than viewing the Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed as a way to strip features and quality, Razer has added them instead, all while reducing the cost and creating a product that’s very easy to use as your long-term gaming solution.