This is a small, beautifully designed USB condenser microphone that works with virtually any device with a USB input. This microphone has certain features that make it ideal for lone gamers and streamers rather than music applications, so let’s take a closer look at what the Razer Seiren is all about and where it can be powerful.
With the Razer Seiren X sitting at the entry-level end of so many price points, you’d be forgiven for thinking the quality isn’t the best. We certainly weren’t expecting great things, which is why we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. However, given that the Seiren X will sit on your desktop, this is less of an issue.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]With so many USB condenser mics out there, including Shure and Rode, Razer will always face a battle to get the sound right. However, with the Seiren X, it has found its niche and built up a lot of goodwill over the years for the quality of its gaming peripherals. For music production, you should honestly look elsewhere – the Shure MV7 and Audio Technica AT2020USB+ deliver excellent results in such situations – but if you’re looking for a way to boost your voice and don’t care much about music then the Razer Seiren X is a solid choice and represents excellent value for money.
On the one hand, it offers a sensible and very usable compromise between Razer’s full-size, full-price gaming mics inside and outside the fold, minimising set-up fuss while offering great clarity and basically clear, bright recording quality. However, this is a compromise within a compromise, as the gaming mic itself is a bit of a compromise against XLR studio mics. It’s not that the product itself fails to deliver on its specifications or intended use, but that these are quite narrow to begin with.
Even if you are a streamer looking for an easy and portable set-up, it is definitely worth considering spending a little more money on an audio interface and studio microphone. Doing so opens up a lot of possibilities to you, and while your audience probably won’t notice the difference on the compression happy platforms of Twitch or YouTube, it can also open up better recording quality.
The good stuff comes in a small package. It’s no Seiren Mini, but the Seiren X is easily one of the most compact microphones I’ve reviewed. Not only is it small, it is lightweight, which makes this a great travelling companion. Its size also means that it doesn’t get in the way when placed on my desk. I have a lot of junk on my desk (which is my fault) and I like that it fits nicely on the side, as there is nowhere else to put the microphone except on the floor.
The plug-and-play feature makes it a great choice for beginner streamers, as there is no need to fiddle with obscure settings or download drivers to get it working properly. Just plug it in and you’re ready to go. The only disappointment is that it uses microUSB instead of USB-C, but we understand that this product was released four years ago, when USB-C was not yet commonplace.