Razer Seiren V2 Pro vs Seiren V2 X

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The Razer Seiren V2 Pro and Seiren V2 X were released in late 2021 to update Razer’s microphone lineup.

The Seiren V2 Pro is the successor to the Seiren Elite. The Seiren V2 X is a newer version of the Seiren X but with the form factor of the Seiren Mini. I bought the V2 Pro for its launch price of $150 and the V2 X for its launch price of $100.

Similarities and Differences
Capsule Design
Build Quality
Software
Audio Quality Analysis
Verdict

Similarities and Differences

The Seiren V2 Pro and Seiren V2 X are both USB microphones. They connect with a Type-A cable. Specifically, the side that goes into the mic is USB-C, but the side that goes into a computer is USB-A. Both mics grant access to the Razer Synapse software which I'll cover later.

There are 3 main differences between these mics: capsule design, build quality, and software options.

Capsule Design

The Razer Seiren V2 Pro is a dynamic microphone. The V2 X is a condenser. Because of that, you speak into the top of the V2 Pro and into the front of the V2 X.

The different capsule designs inside lead to different sound, and the most notable difference is the V2 X picks up far more room ambience and background noise.

Build Quality

While both devices look similar at a glance, the V2 Pro has superior build quality. The V2 Pro is made mostly of metal and it comes with a yoke for adjusting its angle. It has both 3/8th and 5/8th inch boom arm threading, has two knobs for adjusting the headphone gain and mic gain, and it comes with a wind guard. I measured the braided USB cable of the V2 Pro at 121 inches long.

The Seiren V2 X is made of plastic and does not have a yoke or headphone gain knob. The threading is only 5/8th inch, so I needed a separate adapter to put it on my boom arm. Its wire is 74 inches long - also braided.

Both of these devices have a mute button that turns red when the mics are muted. And they both have a 3.5 mm headphone jack port for low latency audio monitoring.

Like most mics, neither of these perform very well with their included stands when placed on a desk. The adjustability on both is not bad, but they’ll just be too far from the sound source to get good audio quality without a boom arm. In terms of tilt, the V2 X has minimal flexibility to angle it how you want when compared to the yoke of the V2 Pro.

Software

Athough both devices connect Razer Synapse, only the V2 Pro has a high pass filter option in that software. Personally, I didn't really find it to eliminate fan noise at all. Perhaps it could be useful for containing other low frequency sounds.

As a warning, if you're considering getting either of these mics for the software, I would go for something else. When I first bought the Seiren V2 Pro ,the software just straight up didn't work at all and it rendered my mic unusable until I deleted Synapse from my computer.

Eventually I came back to it and tried it again, but it's still not great. The point of the software is to function as a mixer so you can adjust the volume of different audio sources on your PC for your stream, recording, and audio monitoring mix.

This isn't really some revolutionary tech that you can't already do in OBS, or Voicemeeter, but since Elgato's Wave Link software got a lot of exposure from a few big content creators, Razer probably felt it needed to match them.

Viewing the stream mixer in Razer Synapse.

I'd be fine just not really using Synapse at all, but I had issues both using and trying to avoid it:

First off, the analog limiters would never stay on in Synapse. They'd always untick themselves for both mics. The usefulness of a limiter is to prevent peaking when you’re speaking too loud. It’s a good feature - if you can get it to work on these mics.

Secondly, Synapse adds a ton of audio sources that clutter up any program that needs them like Windows sound settings, OBS, and Audacity.

Finally, there's some sort of conflict with Synapse and other programs. Synapse often causes the recording program to either freeze when selecting the mic or it just won't let the program start a recording at all. This software continues to be very frustrating.

Synapse would have been a lot better if they added some basic filters and an equalizer rather than trying to make it into a mixer. As I’ll demonstrate in the next section, a quick noise reduction option would help a lot.

Audio Quality Analysis

Now for the most important part of this review - audio quality. In this section I’ll cover:

Clarity and detail
Tone
Plosive Rejection
Background Noise Rejection

Clarity and detail

Based on my tests, the Seiren V2 Pro is clearer than the V2 X. The V2 X is slightly muffled in comparison and doesn’t match the fidelity of the V2 Pro for vocals.

From a technical perspective, the V2 Pro can record at up to 96 kHz while the V2 X is capped at 48 kHz. In my experience this sample rate isn’t what tipped the scales. The difference can still be heard at 48 kHz.

Tone

The Seiren V2 X is a much warmer mic and emphasizes bass much more than the V2 Pro. It’s a very smooth and rich sound. I love the frequency response of the V2 X.

The V2 Pro, while clearer overall, has a sound signature closer to the Blue Yeti and HyperX QuadCast. The highs and mids are detailed while avoiding the sibilance of the Blue Yeti. But the bass is lacking strength. The proximity effect is pretty weak on the V2 Pro.

I prefer the tone of the V2 X, but this is more about personal preference. It’s similar to how the Electro-Voice RE20 sounds compared to the Shure SM7B. Some people (like me) enjoy the low end power of the SM7B, but others enjoy how the RE20 vents excess bass instead.

Plosive Rejection

Plosive rejection isn’t very good on the V2 Pro, but it’s simply bad on the V2 X. Any sounds that force air rapidly onto the capsule of the mic will distort the V2 X very easily. Even using the mic off axis isn’t a sure solution as it’s so sensitive to plosives. The V2 Pro gets mild protection with the included wind guard, but I’d use a pop filter with both of these mics if possible.

Background Noise Rejection

Background noise rejection is where the Seiren V2 Pro really pulls away from the V2 X. This is a result of the different capsules and sturdier build.

Keyboard typing was a lot quieter on the V2 Pro than the V2 X. And not just the keys themselves. The vibrations from the desk carry all the way through the V2 X. Incidental bumps are also quite loud due to the weaker shock resistance.

For more constant sounds, the loud fan on my PC can be heard more in the V2 X. The same goes for echoes from my voice from the walls. This is ultimately why I almost always recommend dynamic microphones over condensers for home use. Outside of a studio, there are just too many hard to control sounds that creep into recordings of most condenser mics.

I can't really say how both of these are for music - yet. I'll be adding a music sample once I'm able to hire my usual musician to record over both of these mics.

Verdict

So which of these would I buy? If I had to buy one of these two, I'd definitely get the Seiren V2 Pro. It sounds clearer, and it has a dynamic capsule to isolate your intended sound source better.

However, if I could get any mic on the market I wouldn't get either of these. The Samson Q2U is also a dynamic mic, but it's generally way cheaper than the Seiren V2 Pro and sounds better. I got mine for even less than the Seiren V2 X’s launch price as well.

Product Listings

Razer Seiren V2 Pro: https://amzn.to/3ESkkuX
Razer Seiren V2 X: https://amzn.to/3HTHRNZ
Samson Q2U: https://amzn.to/3srmNql

Similarities and Differences

Capsule Design

Build Quality

Software