The Razer Kraken V3 X are entry-level wired gaming headphones. They have a similarly simple design to the Razer Kraken X but now feature customizable RGB lighting on the ear cups and a USB-A connector rather than a standard 1/8" TRRS connector. They don't offer many extra features other than their design and surround sound support. Although they're compatible with Razer Synapse software, you won't be able to tweak their very warm and dark sound profile as it doesn't offer any EQ settings. On the upside, their flexible boom microphone does an excellent job of recording your voice, and it can separate speech from moderate ambient noise decently well.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are inadequate for neutral sound. They have a very warm and dark sound profile, and even though they're compatible with Razer Synapse software, they lack an EQ or presets to help tweak their audio reproduction. Also, they're very prone to inconsistent bass and treble delivery, which can vary depending on the headphones' fit, seal, and positioning.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are poor for commute and travel since they're not built for this purpose. They're decently comfortable but have a USB-A connector, so you won't be able to use them with your smartphone if you don't have an adapter. They also don't block out much rumble from bus or plane engines and have a bulky design, which can make it difficult to take them with you on the go.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are disappointing for sports and fitness. They're not suitable for this purpose as they're bulky and don't have a very breathable design. They also lack an IP rating for water resistance, although we don't currently test this, and they only use a USB-A connector, so you won't be able to use it with a smartphone unless you have an adapter.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are poor for office use. Although they're decently comfortable, and others around you shouldn't hear their audio leakage in a moderately noisy environment, they struggle to block out ambient chatter. They also use a USB-A audio cable, which shouldn't be too much of an issue if you're using them on your PC, but you won't be able to connect them to your smartphone unless you use an adapter.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are wired gaming headphones and can't be used wirelessly.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are alright for wired gaming. They're decently comfortable, lightweight, and have customizable RGB lighting on their ear cups, which some users may like. They also use a USB-A connector, which ensures low latency on PC, PS4, and PS5 consoles. Their flexible boom mic does an excellent job of recording your voice, even in moderately noisy environments, and they're compatible with Razer Synapse software, which allows you to access their surround sound feature. However, the software doesn't offer a lot of extra features, like an EQ.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are okay for phone calls. They have a flexible boom mic that does an excellent job of recording your voice so that your voice sounds clear, natural, and full-bodied. It can also separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, although the noise is still present as you speak. Unfortunately, the headphones don't block out a lot of noise, which can make it harder to hear the person on the other end of the line.
The Razer Kraken V3 X come in one color variation: 'Black' and you can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussion section below and we'll update our review.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are entry-level wired gaming headphones that use a USB-A connector, which make them fully compatible with PC, PS4, and PS5 consoles. Unlike the Razer Kraken USB Razer Kraken X, these headphones also have customizable RGB lighting. However, they have a very warm sound profile, and their companion software lacks sound customization features like an EQ or presets, unlike some other simply-designed gaming headphones, like the Logitech G432.
Check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets under $100, the best PS4 gaming headsets, and the best gaming headsets.
The Razer BlackShark V2 X are somewhat better gaming headphones than the Razer Kraken V3 X. The BlackShark V2 X are more comfortable and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. Their boom mic also offers better overall performance, and they have a 1/8" TRRS cable, so you can use them on Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles. However, the V3 X have customizable RGB lighting.
The Logitech G432 are better wired gaming headphones than the Razer Kraken V3 X. The Logitech are more comfortable and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also have a graphic EQ and presets available in their companion app, and come with a couple of different audio cables, so you're able to connect via analog or wired USB to PC, PS4, and PS5 with full compatibility. Their boom mic has better noise handling too. You can also use them with Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles with full compatibility via an analog connection. However, the Razer's boom mic has a better recording quality.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are very similar headphones to the Razer Kraken X. Both headphones have the same alright build quality, although the V3 X are somewhat lighter. However, the X have a better-performing boom mic and use a 1/8" TRRS cable, so you're able to connect them to PCs, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X consoles via analog. However, the V3 X use a USB-A connector, so they're only compatible with PCs, and PS4 and PS5 consoles.
The Razer Kraken V3 are better than the Razer Kraken V3 X. While both headsets are decently comfortable, the V3 are significantly better-built, have a more balanced sound profile out of the box, and have more robust virtual soundstage features. Their boom mic also offers better noise handling, and their companion software offers more customization features like a graphic EQ and presets. Ηowever, the V3 X's boom mic has a better recording quality.
The Razer Kraken V3 X are slightly better gaming headphones than the Razer Kraken USB. The V3 X are more comfortable, have volume and mic mute controls, are better-built, and have a more balanced and flat mid-range, which some users may prefer. However, the USB have access to a graphic EQ and presets in their companion app. Their boom mic also delivers better overall performance.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a similar black finish look as the Razer Kraken X, with metal grilles surrounding the ear cups and a flexible boom mic. However, these headphones have customizable RGB lighting on the ear cups that you can set in their companion software to better match your style. They only come in one color variation: 'Black'.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a decently comfortable fit. The ear cups have faux leather covering the exterior with a cloth-like material interior, which feels good against the skin. There's also some leather padding along the middle of the headphones. Unfortunately, they're a bit bulky, which is to be expected from gaming headphones, and the ear cups have a limited range of motion and articulation.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have sub-par controls, which is to be expected from entry-level gaming headphones. They only have a mic-mute button, which feels clicky, and a volume wheel on the left ear cup. These two controls are easy to use, though, and the mic mute button is indented to let you know when you're muted. However, the volume wheel lacks notches to indicate when you've reached minimum or maximum volume.
These headphones have okay breathability. They trap in some heat, which could make your ears warm over time. They're not meant for use during sports, so you may sweat more than usual wearing them. However, it shouldn't be too much of a problem if you're wearing them while gaming.
The Razer Kraken V3 X, like most gaming headphones, aren't very portable. They're bulky, don't fold into a more compact form, and lack a carrying case.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have an okay build quality. They're very similar in build to the Razer Kraken X, as they're mostly made of plastic. They also have faux leather padding on the ear cups and headband as well as an audio cable wrapped in a silicone-like material. However, the padding feels cheap and weak while the audio cable isn't detachable, so you need to replace the headphones if it's damaged. The mic mute button also makes a spring-like noise when pressed, which some users may not like. On the upside, there are markings on the headband so that you can see its height measurements. If you're looking for better-built Razer headphones, try the Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have good stability. They shouldn't fall off your head if you're gaming, but they can move around with higher-intensity movement. Their audio cable isn't detachable either, so the headphones could get yanked off of your head if it gets caught on something.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a very warm and dark sound profile. They deliver a lot of boom, which can help bring out sound effects in your gameplay. However, they lack a thumpy low-bass. Dialogue in video games also lack detail and articulation, while lead instruments in soundtracks are veiled and lispy. These headphones are very prone to inconsistent bass and treble delivery too. Their position, seal, and whether you have glasses or thick hair can all affect your listening experience each time you use them. Unfortunately, they lack an EQ to help tweak their sound to your liking.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have disappointing frequency response consistency. Both their bass and treble delivery can vary depending on fit, seal, and positioning. If you have thick hair or glasses, you may especially notice a drop in bass, as these elements can break the seal on your head.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have okay bass accuracy. They have an underemphasized low-bass, so your audio lacks thump and rumble. In comparison, the mid and high-bass are both overemphasized, which adds significant punch and boom to your mixes. Some users may find they sound muddy, though. That said, the response here represents the average bass response. Bass delivery can also vary across users, so your experience may vary.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have excellent mid accuracy. There's some overemphasis coming from the bass range, which makes your mix a bit cluttered and muddy. However, the rest of the range is very flat and even, resulting in clear and present vocals and lead instruments.
The treble accuracy of these headphones is bad. It's really underemphasized across the range, so vocals and lead instruments are veiled and lack detail. Sibilants like cymbals are dull and lispy. However, the treble delivery can vary across users, so your experience may vary.
The peaks and dips performance of the Razer Kraken V3 X is acceptable. There's a peak across most of the bass range, which adds thump, punch, and boom to your mix. A dip in the low to mid-mids thins out vocals and lead instruments, pushing them to the back of the mix, while the following peak in the high-mids and low-treble makes the upper harmonics of these sounds honky and harsh. The very steep dip in the low-treble veils the highest part of those vocals and lead instruments, while the small peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals sharp.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have middling stereo imaging performance. Their weight group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, which ensures a tight bass and transparent treble. The left and right drivers are also well-matched in amplitude and frequency response, which helps accurately place and localize objects like voices, instruments, and sound effects like footsteps in the stereo image. However, the right driver is very mismatched in phase response. This mismatch can cause inaccuracies in the stereo image at certain frequencies. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a poor passive soundstage, which is common for closed-back gaming headphones. They don't have a very large soundstage, and audio sounds like it's coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed around you. Due to their closed-back design, the soundstage is perceived as unnatural and closed-off.
These headphones are compatible with a 7.1 virtual surround sound feature via their companion software. However, we don't currently test the performance of this feature, and you need to download the program and register your headphones to use it.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a mediocre weighted harmonic distortion performance. There's a large peak in the treble range at both normal and high listening volumes. It can be a bit hard to hear with real-life content, though, and it may not be noticeable to all users.
These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have poor noise isolation. Like most over-ear gaming headphones, they don't block out any bass-range noise like bus or plane engines. They also struggle to cut down mid-range noise like ambient chatter, or higher-pitched sounds like the hum of an AC unit.
The Razer Kraken V3 X have a satisfactory leakage performance. They leak audio at a high volume, although it shouldn't be too audible if you're listening to audio in a moderately loud environment.
The boom mic has an excellent recording quality. Your voice sounds full-bodied, natural, and clear.
Update 12/09/2021: These headphones have been updated to test bench 1.5. In this update, we made changes to the way we test noise handling. We now use a subjective evaluation of our audio clips. This new method has resulted in different results than what we had reported in our previous test bench. As a result, the scoring of this box has changed, and we have updated our results.
The noise handling performance of the Razer Kraken V3 X's mic is decent. It can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, like if you're at a gaming tournament. However, the background noise is still present as you speak.
Update 04/21/2021: We incorrectly reported that the companion app was compatible with macOS. However, you won't be able to access this app on macOS. We have updated our review to reflect these results.
The Razer Synapse companion software is unremarkable. It's only available on Windows, there's no EQ, so you can't tweak the headphones' sound to your liking, and it lacks mic control features like sidetone. There is a volume control slider, though, and you can customize the brightness, effect, or turn off their RGB lighting. There's also a link so you can access their 7.1 virtual surround feature.
The Razer Kraken V3 X come with a non-detachable USB-A cable. They have extremely low latency, so you can game without an issue.