Razer Seiren Pro Elite Review / Test / Explained
Today I am testing out an absolute beast of a microphone. The Razer Seiren Pro Elite.
And if you are interested in this microphone, it will set you back approximately $225 on Amazon.
What's In the Box
Microphone
Microphone Stand
USB Cable
5-Pin to Dual 3-Pin XLR Splitter
3.5mm Extension Cable
Documenation
1-Year Warranty
Performance / Features
The build quality of this mic is excellent. It has an all metal stand. Metal body. Metal grill. There are a few scattered pieces of plastic in the build, but nothing that raises concerns. Basically, everything feels well built.
Front: The front has an LED display that shows mic gain, headphone gain, and current polar pattern. Directly below that is the headphone volume control and a microphone mute button.
Back: There are two dials on the back. The top dial is the polar pattern selector that allows you to switch between all 4 different polar patterns. The bottom dial controls the microphone gain.
Bottom: The bottom has the 5-pin XLR Jack, Microphone Mount, USB Port, Headphone Port, and a high-pass filter button which allows you to cut troublesome low frequencies.
The frequency response alters with each polar pattern, but the documentation lists that it the microphone is capable of 20Hz - 20kHz performance. It seemed to accurately represent the instruments being tested on it, and sounded very nice on the voice.
The polar patterns available on this microphone are as follows.
Stereo (generates stereo L-R signal)
Cardioid
Omnidirectional
Bidirectional
Each polar pattern serves it's own purpose and performs relatively well. I think that this microphone would hold it's own if it were placed against ~$100 USB microphones with each polar pattern. Basically, the performance is not stellar, but it is everything that most entry level folks will need.
I should also note a few other things.
Sample Rate: 192kHz
Bit Rate: 24-bit
Both 3-Pin XLR's require Phantom Power to Work
Pros
Excellent build quality
ULTRA LOW NOISE FLOOR
Versatile polar patterns
Great frequency response
Cons
Expensive
Bulky
Conclusion
Overall, the microphone sounds great. Each polar pattern works well, and the overall tone is accurate and nice sounding. I do think that this microphone is for a very specific group of people though, and it is surprisingly, not gamers.
For gamers, this microphone will be overkill. Most gamers use a cardioid polar pattern and that's it. You can get an ATR-2100 for $60 and be perfectly fine. You will most likely not use any of the other settings. I also don't think that this microphone is for professional musicians.
I think the people who will benefit most from this mic are amateur musicians, and youtube musicians. It will allow you a LOT of microphone versatility for a relatively low cost. It may seem expensive, but if you think about the cost of getting 4 decent microphones to match this microphone's performance, it suddenly seems like a much more reasonable price.
If you have any additional questions about this headset, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Razer Seiren: http://amzn.to/1SbI4gb
Razer Seiren Pro: http://amzn.to/1Uef1fM
