Razer has refreshed its lineup of broadcasting products, and its Seiren X USB microphone is a central piece of its attempt to win over streamers on Twitch, YouTube, and Mixer. This is a small condenser microphone that sits on your desk and competes with other USB mics like Blue’s Yeti, which sells for $130.
The Seiren X is available now for $100 — although you can get it for $80 if you combine it with Razer’s new $100 Kiyo webcam. And while I think the Seiren X is a passable microphone for most rookie online content creators, it performs better and worse than the competition depending on your circumstances.
What you’ll like
It’s compact
Razer markets the Seiren X as “streamer approved,” and I don’t know which streamers the company is referring to. I would bet that a fair number of professionals have a much more expensive microphone setup, but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t approve of the Seiren X myself. I think it’s an ideal microphone for streaming for a couple of reasons.
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This is a small desktop microphone. You can place the Seiren X on your desk, and you should have a ton of room left over for your keyboard and mouse. I spent several nights using the Seiren X while streaming and playing Rainbow Six: Siege with friends. Once I had it set up, I didn’t have to think about it. Its size meant that it was never in the way, and I could just focus on my stream or on the game.
You don’t have to hover over it
Another reason that the Seiren X works well for streaming is because you don’t have to worry about speaking directly into it. Again, you can put the mic on your desk and forget about because it should pick up your voice without any issues. It should also limit the amount of room noise you get in these instances.
Razer included a feature that automatically adjusts the gain depending on how loud your voice is. If you are further away, it will turn up the gain to better hear what you’re saying. Of course, that lowers the overall quality of the signal, so it turns the gain back down during moments when you aren’t speaking.
This makes it easy to get the most out of, which makes it ideal for something like a livestream where you’re managing multiple concerns all at once.
What you won’t like
It doesn’t work as well for podcasts or voiceovers
I doubt that I’d use the Razer Seiren X for recording a podcast or the voiceover track on a video. It sounds OK, but the Blue Yeti sounds slightly better for me. The Yeti also does a better job minimizing room noise without taking anything away from voice audio.
With the Seiren X, you’ll get just enough whirring of PC fans that you may find it distracting if you’re trying to get a clean audio track.
Conclusion
The Razer Seiren X is a fine microphone for the price. You get something that can produce acceptable podcast/voice over audio and really excels during actual gameplay and livestreaming. If you are looking for a livestreaming mic in this price range, I could see selecting the Razer because it won’t get in your way like some other USB mics. It also has crucial features like mic monitoring and the ability to handle vibrations from using your mouse and keyboard. If you want to spend a lot more money, I would maybe suggest the $200 Turtle Beach Elite Pro PC Edition and its $20 optional noise-canceling mic add-on. That stays out of your way and sounds even better than the Seiren X. But, for $100, the Razer is difficult to beat.
Razer provided a sample for the purpose of this review. It is available now for $100.
