Razer Kraken V3 review

As Razer keeps trying to make newer and better gaming headsets, the Razer Kraken V3 tries to strike the balance between barely breaking the $100 USD mark and having a variety of features to customize your gaming experience. It has all the essentials of a good gaming headset: a comfortable design, good sound quality, and no-longer-gimmicky surround sound features. However, you get THX 7.1 Spatial Audio that we’ve seen from similar headsets.

We spent two weeks with the Kraken V3 to determine if it’s worth a spin.

Editor’s note: this Razer Kraken V3 review was updated on November 4, 2022, to update formatting.

What is the Razer Kraken V3 like?

The Kraken V3 is a very comfortable and easy-to-use gaming headset. The memory foam ear pads rest gently on my head, even with glasses on. Plush padding on the headband keeps things comfortable and prevents any unwanted pressure. The leatherette fabric on the headband feels fairly premium too. The Kraken V3 has some heft to it and tends to slide a little when I lean forward. Additionally, the ear cups don’t move left and right, so if they don’t fit around your ear properly, you won’t be able to adjust that, which can affect sound isolation (more on that later).

How do you control the Razer Kraken V3?

The left headphone has a mute button and volume slider on the back; both are easy to use. The slider is especially nice since it has a bit of resistance, preventing any volume accidents from happening. I never accidentally move the slider while repositioning the headset, and it’s easy to feel because the wheel has little ridges. You can detach the mic from the left ear cup if you don’t it, or if you prefer a dedicated gaming mic.

What can the Razer Synapse software do?

Razer Synapse 3 is a Windows app where you can customize your headset, it’s not yet available on macOS. You can use Razer Chroma to change the color of each ear cup’s LED, so you can keep them a single color, cycle through the rainbow, or let it fade in and out of a color. Much like the LG XBOOM 360, the possibilities are almost endless.

You can also change the EQ and surround sound options through this software, adjusting where you see fit for your ideal experience. You need this to enable THX Spatial Audio here, which makes games much more immersive.

How is the Razer Kraken V3 for gaming?

The Razer Kraken V3 is a very nice gaming headset. The boosted bass response makes gunshots and blasts sound prominent but not overwhelming. In CS:GO, gunshots from powerful guns are the loudest element of the game but I can still hear things around me. Similarly, bomb explosions have just the right amount of boom. This makes for gameplay with lots of immersion.

When you enable THX Spatial Audio in Synapse, directional sounds are much more noticeable, and some rooms in certain maps even have a realistic echo quality to them. Specifically, THX Competitive mode makes all sounds more echoey, almost cinematic. THX Environmental mode, on the other hand, reproduces sounds more realistically because it tries to emulate how we experience sound in real life without a headset. It’s fine, though nearby sounds can sound muffled as if there’s a barrier between the headphones and my ears. Game mode amplifies voices, so that’s useful if you play multiplayer games and need to talk to teammates.

Despite having no special THX spatial audio options for Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild environmental sounds come through clearly, and my sense of direction in the game is very good with this headset. Bear in mind, you can only use the Kraken V3 with the Switch when docked, or if you have a Switch Lite as I do, you can use a USB-C to USB-A dongle. With the dongle, I find that the headset doesn’t connect to my Switch unless I plug it into a computer first, make sure the headset’s LEDs are on, then plug it into my switch. It’s an annoying quirk, but the workaround isn’t the worst.

How does the Razer Kraken V3 connect?

The Kraken V3 is a wired USB gaming headset, which limits its utility. This is not a headset for people who want to do more than stationary gaming at their desks.

How well does the Razer Kraken V3 block out noise?

The isolation on the Razer Kraken V3 is a bit above average, but won’t touch the effectiveness of a noise canceling gaming headset like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Our isolation chart shows that lower frequencies come through the headset, so you’ll easily hear a loud truck outside your house, but it blocks out higher frequencies pretty well. Anything above 1kHz sounds one-quarter to one-sixteenth as it would without the headset on, though this requires a proper fit.

With this headset on, I can hear pretty much any regular household sounds like talking or cooking, but it’s not enough to take you out of a game. If a fire alarm goes off or someone is yelling for your attention, you will likely hear it when wearing the Kraken V3.

How does the Razer Kraken V3 sound?

The Razer Kraken V3 sounds pretty great thanks to its 50mm dynamic drivers. The frequency response chart shows that the headset’s bass frequencies are boosted compared to our house curve (pink), which is common for gaming headsets, and higher frequencies are a bit less pronounced than we prefer. All around, the headset has a pretty accurate sound, making both gaming and music enjoyable. By going into the Synapse software, you can change the EQ, and there’s even a bass boost option if you just need more oomph.

Lows, mids, and highs

When listening to Paranoid Android by Radiohead, every instrument plays the part it should, a benefit of the consumer-friendly response. The headset’s bass boosting is enjoyable and does little to mask other parts of the track, from the higher frequency shakers and snare to the guitar strumming through the beginning of the song.

When I listen to Vroom Vroom By Charli XCX, the bass boost sounds pleasant, if you’re into hyperpop-type music. The exciting percussion and low-pitched synth come through and Charli’s vocals. The bass emphasis is obviously still there, but it doesn’t take anything away much the song, it just makes me want to bop my head to it that much more.

How is the Razer Kraken V3 microphone?

The microphone on this headset is surprisingly good. All speech is very clear, with no particular frequencies or sounds being masked. Background noise is audible through it, but it doesn’t mask speech at all. The mic on the Razer Kraken V3 is Razer’s Hyperclear Cardiod mic, which isolates your voice from in front of the mic and cancels some peripheral noise. This microphone will be all you need to come across clearly in Discord or in-game chat.

You can adjust mic settings in Synapse, toggling on or off ambient noise reduction, voice clarity, and voice normalization. You can also change the mic equalization with presets or by using sliders to get a specific sound from the mic.

Razer Kraken V3 microphone demo (Ideal):

Razer Kraken V3 microphone demo (Office):

Should you buy the Razer Kraken V3?

The Razer Kraken V3 is a solid option for a gaming headset if you only plan on using it for PC gaming. Its $99.99 USD price point makes it a pretty affordable option for a headset with spatial sound capabilities, LEDs, great sound, and a good microphone. Perhaps the wired connection is a bit limiting but there are plenty of other wireless gaming headsets for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for you to choose from.

What should you get instead of the Razer Kraken V3?

Anyone needing a wireless option for a similar price should look into the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless. This pick has great sound and an RF dongle for low latency wireless gaming, although it doesn’t have surround sound ($64 at Amazon). Another wireless Razer headset at the same price point is the Razer Barracuda X (2022), which can connect wirelessly through a USB-C RF dongle or over Bluetooth, and wired with a 3.5mm connection. It’s a solid multi-platform headset, and it has amazing battery life to boot ($99 at Amazon).

If you want an amazing wireless headset with the best battery life possible, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless has a genuinely mind-blowing battery life of about 327 hours. As an added bonus, it also sounds good, especially if you like bass ($151 at Amazon).

If you don’t have $100 USD to spend on a gaming headset but still want the comfort and aesthetic of a Razer headset, the Razer Kraken X is a more affordable option. It doesn’t have LEDs but it does have surround sound and controls on the headset at half the price of the Kraken V3 ($49 at Amazon). Those with a bit more money to throw down can look into the Razer Kraken V3 X is a hybrid between the Kraken V3 and the Kraken X. The V3 X includes 40mm drivers, LEDs, and surround sound ($49 at Amazon). Want to kick it up a notch? Check out the Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense, which adds haptic feedback to your gaming experience ($87 at Amazon). It’s like the Corsair HS60 Haptic, but flashier ($70 at Amazon).

Frequently asked questions about the Razer Kraken V3