The Razer Seirēn is a professional-grade desktop microphone aimed primarily at gamers doubling as video streamers, presenters, and podcasters. If you need professional-grade recording capabilities, the USB Razer Seirēn seems like a solid choice.
The Seirēn stands a shade under 12” tall and just shy of 3” in diameter. Construction and build quality are commercial-grade: the Seirēn is quite heavy and stands firmly in a solid base, easily resistant to the thuggiest of felines.
Feature highlights and specifications
On the front of the Seirēn is a small LCD and a volume control for a connected headset, as well as a mute button for the Seirēn itself. On the back there are 2 dials: 1 for adjusting microphone gain, and one for selecting 1 of 4 pickup patterns (Bidirectional, Omnidirectional, Stereo, and Cardioid). Considering some microphones are sold with a ‘hard-wired’, single pickup pattern, having an adjustable one may help justify the Seirēn’s $180 price tag (well, maybe a little).
The Seirēn doesn’t offer much in the way software-configurable options through Razer’s Synapse driver software. You can change between a 16-bit and 24-bit rate, or select a sampling rate of 44.1, 48, 96, or 192 KHz.
The Seirēn connects to your PC through a single USB connector, and in turn can connect to a headset through either a single 3.5mm connector or Micro USB connector, both located on the bottom of the microphone. The Seirēn also has a threaded connector on its underside for mounting on a boom. A shock mount and pop-filter for the Seirēn are available as separate purchases.
Razer Seirēn technical specifications
Seirēn microphone specifications
- Power required / consumption: 5V 500mA (USB)
- Sample rate: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz, or 192 kHz
- Bit rate: 16- or 24-bit
- 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)
Seirēn headphone amplifier
- Impedance: > 16ohms
- Power output (RMS): 130mW
- THD: 0.009%
- Frequency response: 15Hz – 22kHz
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 114dB
Life with the Ear of Seirēn
I am not a professional audio engineer, podcaster, streamer, or anything close to the general target audience for the Seirēn. I am, however, someone who can appreciate the utility of having an advanced, dedicated, high-quality microphone—more so for recording desktop recordings and presentations than streaming video games.
That said, as a desktop companion and compared to a typical gaming headset, the Seirēn does an excellent job and is actually quite handy—even if you don’t use it in a professional (or ‘prosumer’) capacity. I used it mainly to voice chat without having to don a headset, and found that it makes a great sidekick for Razer’s Leviathan sound bar. You can hear your team mates, speak normally, and still hear your stupid thug dogs knock over the garbage can downstairs because those f***ers dumpster dive while I’m playing SMITE.
Of course, your team mates may also hear your dogs. The Seirēn is like the Ear of Sauron, capable of picking up my voice, my extremely noisy Razer Blackwidow keyboard, my less noisy Logitech G910 Orion Spark keyboard, and possibly a cat fart (which I’ve come to think of as ‘catulence’) at 100 paces.
However, as noted earlier you still have the option of using a headset in conjunction with the Seirēn thanks to the 3.5mm jack on its underside. (Which also enables you to hear your own voice — and yes it really sounds like that.)
Overall: Recommended
The Seirēn seems like a great product for its intended audience, i.e. the 1 in 1000 people with the actual skills required for professionally streaming and making podcasts. It’s also a pretty great product and highly useful companion for those not squarely in its intended demographic; I’ve quite enjoyed using it and having it available as an alternative to a dedicated headset.
The Seirēn could use some additional software options (which seem like an easy add-on) for recording, such as voice morphing and an equalizer to complement its range of pickup patterns.
PC & Video Gaming Examiner 