As the highest-priced device in the Seiren V2 series, the Seiren V2 Pro has the most built-in controls – three in total. The functionality of the microphone mute button is self-explanatory: once pressed, the microphone is muted and ignores all sounds – press it a second time and the device resumes audio operation.
Nice: A red or green light, in the form of a microphone symbol, indicates whether the recording function is switched on or off. Below this is the volume control for the headphones. Finally, the microphone amplifier control (gain) can be used to regulate how sensitively the microphone records; it is advisable to adjust the gain here to keep unwanted background noise out of the audio recording or to avoid audio clipping and peaking.
Setup & basics
As mentioned, the Seiren V2 Pro is advertised as a professional USB microphone for streamers. According to the product description, the device has a dynamic 30 mm capsule and captures a frequency range from 20 Hz up to and including 20 kHz. For further information on the technical specifications, it is worth taking a look at the Razer website.
The microphone can be set up in a matter of seconds. Once the device has been removed from the outer packaging, the microphone is screwed into the stand supplied. The actual microphone sits in a U-shaped holder, with locking screws on the left and right of the microphone housing; these are used to lock the device in place. As the Seiren V2 Pro has a cardioid polar pattern, it is advisable to orientate it so that the upper part of the microphone points directly at the speaker. This ensures that the speaker’s voice is optimally recorded.
The microphone is connected to the computer via a standard type C to type A USB cable. With our test setup, a Windows PC, the microphone was automatically recognised by the system once plugged in. Only a pop-up message prompted us to restart the PC. If you have defined the microphone as a playback device, you will need to plug in your headphones via the 3.5 mm connection – assuming you still want to hear what sound your device is emitting; this is located on the back of the device, i.e. on the opposite side of the device to the built-in rotary controls and the mute button.
The Razer Synapse app
As we pointed out in our last Razer device tests for the Razer Orochi mouse (p. 51) and Razer Productivity (p. 61) in DP 04:22, any Razer hardware can be paired with the company’s own Synapse software. This is convenient for those users who already have a whole fleet of Razer devices and want to keep track of the different devices and save device settings in the cloud.
There are several selection options in the Synapse header bar – including the item: Streaming. If you select this, you will find the options “Micro” and “Stream Mixer”.
In the Micro menu item, the input and output volume can be adjusted – but different sampling rates can also be set up: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz and 96 kHz. In addition, the high-pass filter and analogue amplifier limiter can be switched on and off.
The high-pass filter ensures that low-frequency noises (e.g. your caretaker’s leaf blower making green spaces unsafe outside your home office or the humming of your computer cooling system) are filtered out. Clipping, peaking or speech distortion can be controlled by using the “Analogue gain limiter” slider to prevent distortion when screeching into the microphone, for example.
Synapse app in practice
To be honest, it has to be said: With the Razer Orochi, which I use for my editorial setup, I have so far deliberately avoided Synapse. However, the stream mixer built into Synapse offers useful convenience functions, especially for streamers; here, several input and output levels of different sources can be regulated independently of each other (output side: stream, playback; input side: headphones, system, music, game, voice chat, browser, sound effects, microphone. Other applications can be set up individually for the separate input). In practical terms, this means that the sound output can be set up so that viewers of your stream only hear what you want them to hear.
For example, you can play background music for your viewers but mute it on your own headphones. Or you can listen to gangster metal or your favourite podcast during a low-tension video call, while your colleagues are already spilling unasked gossip from their private lives. YouTuber Senpai Gaming compares the Stream Mixer with the Wavelink software from competitor Elgato. The comparison is worthwhile here.
Conclusion
The foolproof cabling via USB, the high-quality looking device casing, the satisfying audio recordings during our test and the streaming software included: all on the plus side. On the downside, the recorded typing noises (whether on the keyboard or tabletop), which the Seiren V2 Pro picks up no matter how much I tweak the knobs and software settings, are emblazoned thick and bold. In other words, I was pleasantly surprised by the Seiren V2 Pro during my first microphone test drive; it remains to be seen whether the flagship model of the Seiren V2 series can hold its own against competing devices in future microphone tests. By the way: If any audio experts can offer me tips and tricks on how to filter keyboard clatter from audio recordings, please send an e-mail to info@digitalproduction.com!
Key data
Price: 159.99 euros (RRP)
One-year limited product warranty
Included in the scope of delivery: Razer Seiren V2 Pro, stand, USB cable (type C to type A), windscreen
Technical specifications
Required power: 5V/350 mA
Sampling rate: 96 kHz
Bit rate: 24 bit
Capsule: 30 mm dynamic microphone
Polar pattern: Cardioid microphone
Frequency range: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Sensitivity: -34 dB
Maximum sound pressure level: 120 dB
Signal-to-noise ratio: 105 dB (A-weighting)
