At first we would like to thank Razer for offering us a sample of their Seiren Elite USB Digital Microphone for testing and reviewing.

 

About Razer:

"Razer is more than just the world's leading brand in gaming.

We were founded in 1998 in San Diego, California by our CEO Min-Liang Tan and our President Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff in a tiny shared office with a couple other gamers. We have grown today to hundreds of employees worldwide with offices in seven cities, including San Francisco, Hamburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.

Our vision from the very beginning was to be the world's greatest gaming brand and we've set out to achieve that by designing the best gaming products that any gamer has ever seen.

We believe that truly great products are based on technology, designed with extensive human factors and user ergonomic studies and then tested by the top professional gamers. In simpler terms, our own world class scientists and engineers develop cutting edge technology in-house or with partners, design phenomenal products around core technologies – and test the hell out of them in the field with our pro-gamers before we launch them.

We are the only gaming hardware company in the world with dedicated gaming user interface research and development labs, and our technology and designs are incubated in three dedicated design centers located in facilities in California, Singapore and Shenzhen. No other company boasts of technology like we do – because we're the only guys who have what it takes under the hood.

We tell it like it is: some can pretend to co-develop products with professional gamers, but gamers don't develop technology: scientists and engineers do (and ours just happen to be gamers as well).

We develop and design our products in our own labs and then put them to the test with top professional gamers who use them in pro-level tournaments and then provide us with feedback. Then we iterate on the product, refining it with the feedback – over and over and over again. That's how it's done, that's how a Razer product is built from ground up. No marketing BS and no hype.

We pioneered the eSports movement with the world's first $100K tournament back in 2000 and we have continued to give back to the community by sponsoring top eSports athletes who give back to Razer by beta-testing our products. We remain one of the largest sponsors of eSports community sponsoring top global eSports teams worldwide.

The people that work here at Razer are gamers just like you – some amateur, some ex-professional gamers, some just play for fun, just ask our CEO who will lay the smack down on you in Quake Live or our President, who has over ten level 80's on his local server. Hell, he will even take you on a raid in the middle of the work day.

We are the same gamers who are told by the suits that we need adult supervision and we need a professional CEO or management team – and we're the same gamers who tell the suits exactly where to shove it because we like doing what we do – and we do it on our own terms.

We hope our passion for gaming speaks to you like it does to us, through our products and we hope you enjoy the competitive edge we bring to your game."

Product Features

 

• HD recording with outstanding clarity

• 4 adjustable recording patterns (Cardioid, stereo, omnidirectional, bidirectional)

• Quick controls for pattern switching, headphone volume and mic gain

• Built-in headphone amplifier with zero latency output

• Recording via single USB connection

 

Microphone Specifications

 

• Power required / consumption: 5V 500mA (USB)

• Sample rate: 192kHz

• Bit rate: 24bit

• Capsules: Three 14mm condenser capsules

• Polar patterns: Cardioid, stereo, omnidirectional, bidirectional

• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz

• Sensitivity: 4.5mV/Pa (1kHz)

• Max SPL: 120dB (THD: 0.5% 1kHz)

 

Headphone Amplifier

 

• Impedance: > 16ohms

• Power output (RMS): 130mW

• THD: 0.009%

• Frequency response: 15Hz – 22kHz

• Signal-to-noise ratio: 114dB

 

Razer is one of the veterans in custom gaming gear and is trying to cover more and more areas of expertise. In this review we will look upon one of their latest launched products, the Razer Seiren Elite USB Digital microphone. The product is shipped inside a quite large cardboard enclosure with the usual Razer theme:

 

 

 

On the frontal area we will also get to see the product highlights:

 

 

 

 

If we switch the box on one of its sides, we will get to see even more details regarding the product construction and optional recording accessories:

 

 

 

On the opposite area, Razer has detailed the four available recording patterns, which are selectable from a single button:

 

 

 

The back side holds a large photo of the main product and explains its main interfaces:

 

 

 

 

For the tech-oriented people, the manufacturer has also included the specifications on the bottom area:

 

 

 

After unsealing the box and removing the top cover, we will end up with another layer of cardboard protection, which informs us „Welcome to the Cult of Razer”:

 

 

 

The Seiren microphone is also fully wrapped inside a sponge-like material so it won’t get any dents or scratches during transit:

 

 

 

Here is the Seiren microphone in all its splendor; the aluminum dock (desk stand) comes pre-installed:

 

 

 

 

The area of the microphone which faces away from the user features a LED-lit Razer logo:

 

 

 

Also on this side we will be able to spot the „Polar recording pattern selector”, but also the „MIC gain control”; the selector allows us to switch between four different functionality modes:

 

- Cardioid -> for streaming, podcasts, voice-overs and instrument recordings

- Stereo -> for vocals, instrument recordings

- Omnidirectional -> for conference calls and events

- Bidirectional -> for interviews, recording instruments but also for vocal duets

 

 

 

 

On the frontal area of the microphone we have the „Master headphone volume control”, the Mute button but also one small OLED display which shows the headphone volume, MIC gain value, but also the current recording pattern of the microphone:

 

 

 

On the bottom area of the unit, we are having the Razer LED light logo On/Off button, the zero-latency headphone port, the central mounting port but also the USB port. Here we will also learn of the product code name and power ratings:

 

 

 

On the top area of the microphone we have a custom-built aluminum grill:

 

 

 

The desk stand is quite heavy in order to bring stability to the product on the surface it will stay on:

 

 

 

On the sides we will get to see the removable thumb screws:

 

 

 

The bundle of the Seiren is to be found in a separate layer:

 

 

 

Along the documentation, we will also receive a set of Razer stickers:

 

 

 

Speaking of the documentation, we will receive one instruction leaflet which aids registration, but also one Quick Start Guide:

 

 

 

As with any Razer product, the manufacturer explains with drawings and text how the installation should proceed in order to get everything working in order fast:

 

 

 

As with their other professional high-end gaming gear, Razer ships the Seiren with a fully-braided and gold-plated USB cable:

 

 

 

 

Optionally, we can purchase for the Seiren the Shock Mount, but also the Pop Filter; these are supplied in simpler, more OEM-like boxes which feature the Razer emblem on top:

 

 

 

 

Each box comes with an additional, smaller sticker which explains the inside contents and shows the product serial number:

 

 

 

Let’s dig in and see what we have inside the Shock Mount box:

 

 

 

Besides the documentation, we will receive the actual accessory, which is also made from sleek full aluminum:

 

 

 

The purpose of this product is to further eliminate noise coming from vibrations and is able to suspend the mic when attached to the stand (which, by the way, is not included):

 

 

 

 

The shock mount can be adjusted depending on the stand characteristics:

 

 

 

After removed from the desk stand, we can install the Seiren easy onto the accessory:

 

 

 

Next, let’s take a short look at the Pop Filter for the Seiren:

 

 

 

This accessory seems to follow the same packaging design:

 

 

 

 

The instructions mention that the Pop Filter can be installed either when the Seiren is attached to a MIC stand + Shock Mount assembly or it can be easily installed to the product while attached to the desk stand:

 

 

 

The main reason of using a Pop Filter is to reduce the phenomena „Plosives” and „Sibilance”, by eliminating noticeable pops or hisses on the recording when „P’s” and „S’s” are recorded:

 

 

 

 

Here is the mounting piece of the Pop Filter:

 

 

 

The final assembly looks like this:

 

 

 

As with any other Razer peripheral, Razer Synapse software is in charge of the GUI and will download the necessary drivers automatically; also, it saves our custom settings in the cloud. The Seiren does not have a lot of options available to set up, we can only modify the Bit Rate and Sampling Rate for the microphone:

 

 

 

Here are the Bit Rates we can set:

 

 

 

Also, here are the available Sampling Rates:

 

 

 

In order to test the quality of the Seiren, we have used it for lengthy Skype conferences quite a few days which lasted more than an hour a day and also did some sample recordings. The difference between the Seiren and a standard desktop microphone is quite big since the Razer product is much more sensitive and can pick sounds even coming from quite far away. The person we were discussing with in our conference could clearly hear the hum of the desktop computer fans, something it did not happen before with many headset microphones we have tested in the past (analog or digital) so we had to re-adjust the position of the product a little more far away, but also set a new level of the gain value. It was not once when our colleagues told us that they were hearing the dogs/cats very clear outside, even if they were about two hundred meters away. Also, if you own a noisy mechanical keyboard when gaming, you may as well put the patience of your gaming mates to the test ?.

 

Thanks to the three 14mm condenser capsules, Seiren can function in four different modes: cardioid, stereo, omnidirectional or bidirectional, in order to accommodate different recording environments. Even if you do not use it in a professional environment, it should bring a lot of benefit to people which record streams daily/weekly thanks to the added clarity but also to the ones which talk a lot on Skype or any other audio/video conference programs. Talking again about non-professional scene, the device is really easy to set up and should not need any extra skills given you read the supplied manual and install Synapse software in a matter of minutes.

 

The adjustments on the microphone itself are a nice touch and the OLED display is used for confirmation:

 

 

 

If needed, we can also acquire separately the accessories for the Seiren like the Shock Mount and the Pop Filter.

 

While it is a very useful peripheral, the Razer Seiren is not a very cheap peripheral, aiming for the professional range as it is being available for about 179 Euros at online stores.

 

Razer Seiren Elite USB Digital Microphone is Recommended For:

 

We would like to thank again to Razer for making this review possible!