There is a particular moment in every tech addict’s life when one realises that one has accumulated enough headphones to start your own branch of Currys; Gaming headset on the desk….check. Music headphones beside the sofa…..check. Something wireless for travelling……check. Something else you bought because it was on sale and pretty and shiny and, frankly, you were weak……check.
And then Razer arrives with the Barracuda V2 Pro and looks at this ridiculous collection of audio hardware and effectively says: “You know you could just use one pair, don’t you?“……..And “Would you like one more, just this one more to review?” And not only that because, “We’ll send you a review sample to have weeks before the embargoed release date so that you can play with it to your forever geek heart’s content?”
Well… yes.
The Barracuda V2 Pro is Razer’s latest release aims to bridge the gap between gaming headset and everyday wireless headphones. It brings Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, THX Spatial Audio+, 2.4GHz HyperSpeed Wireless, Bluetooth 6.0, a detachable microphone and up to 70 hours of battery life into a headset weighing just 285g.
Now, on paper, that’s an impressive shopping list. However it could be argued that the more interesting question is whether all of those features actually make sense when you’re wearing the thing. Having spent a considerable amount of time doing exactly that, I’m pleased to report that they do. And I’ve discovered something rather alarming. I like these features. I like them a lot.
So, let me say this straight away: these don’t look like gaming headphones. The first thing you’ll notice about the Barracuda V2 Pro is what isn’t there. No overt RGB light show……No enormous angular plastic wings……..No suggestion that you’ve just been recruited by the Imperial Fleet (though that would be rather cool, none of that rebel scum on my ship). No, instead they’re actually rather understated. Which for this here Forever Geek, is refreshing.
The Barracuda V2 Pro looks perfectly comfortable sitting beside a laptop, travelling in a bag or being worn while listening to music – something that I’m assuming is rather the point.
Razer has designed these to be portable. The earcups swivel, the headset folds flat and there’s even somewhere to store the wireless dongle. At 285g, it’s also impressively light. This means you can throw them into a bag without requiring a second bag to carry the bag. Always a positive.
The memory-foam cushions and soft headband also make them comfortable over longer sessions. Which brings me to something that I think is increasingly important – comfort. Now, at the risk of sounding like an ‘older man shouting at clouds’, but when you’re younger, you can apparently wear a headset for six hours without noticing. However, as a ‘slightly’ more experienced Forever Geek, I now require my technology to respect my neck. The Barracuda certainly does this.
Let us embark on a journey into the Forgotten Realms
For gaming, I went straight to my PS5 and to compare the experience, my PC and spent a few hours once more playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
Because if you’re going to test an audio system, you might as well throw it to where characters routinely scream, whisper, sing, stab each other and occasionally make decisions that veer from being all loved up one moment to a behaving bloodthirsty murder-hobo on steroids the next. Anyway, enough of my home life……
Baldur’s Gate 3 is also an excellent test because its sound design isn’t simply about making things loud. I know that this isn’t a review of, in my humble opinion, the greatest video game of all time (well at least until GTA6 is released next month. But in Baldur’s Gate 3; There’s atmosphere…….There’s subtle environmental audio. There’s witty and emotive dialogue. There’s incredible music. There’s the sound of things happening around in this incredible open world that you aren’t necessarily looking at. And the Barracuda V2 Pro handles this beautifully.
The 40mm Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose drivers are designed to deliver natural mids and crisp highs, with Razer specifically highlighting vocals, instruments and in-game detail. And by you can hear it. Dialogue has clarity. Environmental sounds have definition. Music doesn’t simply sit underneath everything else — it becomes part of the environment.
And that is where THX Spatial Audio+ comes into its own, because suddenly I’m looking over my shoulder
The Barracuda V2 Pro’s THX Spatial Audio+ system supports 7.1.4 virtual surround sound, with four height channels designed to create overhead positioning and a larger soundstage. On PC, it requires Razer Synapse and Windows 11 version 23H2.
Now, I’m going to be careful here because I’m not going to tell you that the headset transformed me into some sort of human Dolby Atmos calibration system. It didn’t. But the sense of space is impressive. In Baldur’s Gate 3, environmental sounds feel more naturally placed around you. The world quite simply feels bigger. And that matters enormously in a game like this. Because Faerûn is supposed to feel like a world and not just a collection of sound effects being fired directly into your skull.
The Barracuda helps create that feeling. And when the game’s music swells during one of its more emotional scenes, there’s a genuine sense of depth to it. That was probably the point where I stopped “testing the headset” and simply started playing the game. Which I firmly believe is generally a good sign.
Then I made the mistake of playing The Beatles
Once the gaming tests were done, I thought I’d give the Barracuda V2 Pro a proper music workout. So I synced the headphones, via Bluetooth, with my iPhone put on Abbey Road. This was a mistake. Not because it sounded bad. Quite the opposite.
It sounded rather lovely and very much like the greatest album of all time that it is (once again, in my humble opinion). I’ve listened to Abbey Road for decades. I know these songs. I know the album’s iconic cover like the back of my hand……and can talk ad nauseam about it to anybody unfortunate enough to ever ask me what my favourite Beatles album is. I know the side 2 medley, note for note, emotion for emotion. I’ve heard the album on CDs, streaming services, various pairs of headphones, speakers and probably a cassette at some point when I was young enough to think cassettes were a good idea.
Yet the Barracuda made me stop and listen. The natural midrange of those Bio-Cellulose drivers work beautifully with the Beatles. The vocals, both the solo’s and delicious harmonies are crystal clear. Guitars have a definition. McCartney’s underrated bass has presence without becoming a muddy blob in the mix. And there’s enough separation between instruments to make familiar songs feel surprisingly fresh.
I am genuinely not one for hyperbole, but you know that experience where you’ve listened to an album hundreds of times and suddenly notice something you hadn’t really heard before? That happened. Several times.
Shut the world out
The Barracuda V2 Pro also brings Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation. And this is one of those features that sounds like a luxury until you actually use it. Razer combines feedforward and feedback microphones for the ANC system, with four levels of control. There’s also an Ambient Mode that lets you hear what’s happening around you without taking the headset off. This is particularly useful if you’re using the Barracuda away from the gaming desk.
Train? ANC……Coffee shop? ANC……Someone nearby explaining something at considerable length? ANC……My wife shouting: “STUART, HAVE YOU SEEN MY PHONE?” Ambient Mode. (If I know what’s good for me).
It’s practical rather than gimmicky. And that’s something I’ve appreciated about this headset.
And yes, there’s a microphone
The Barracuda comes with a detachable Razer HyperClear Full Band Microphone. Remove it and the headset automatically switches to its internal beamforming microphones. There is also onboard AI noise reduction intended to isolate your voice from background noise. So, when gaming, you’ve got the proper boom microphone. When you’re out and about, you can remove it and you’re left with something that looks considerably more like a normal pair of wireless headphones.
This is exactly the sort of flexibility I want. Because while I am perfectly happy looking like an older gamer when I’m sitting at my desk, I’m not sure I want to walk into Tesco looking like I’m about to coordinate an air strike. Although knowing Tesco, they probably have a loyalty card for it.
The connectivity is properly clever
The Barracuda V2 Pro supports 2.4GHz HyperSpeed Wireless, Bluetooth 6.0 and wired USB-C audio. It also supports simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections, which in my non-expert opinion is particularly clever, because you can be gaming through the wireless dongle while remaining connected to your phone. So you can take a call or mix phone audio with your game without having to faff around switching modes.
And the 2.4GHz connection has a specified latency of just 20ms, which I feel is the sort of figure hardcore gamers will appreciate. Now, don’t get me wrong, because even though I appreciate it too, if you ever see me blaming a 20ms delay for dying in Baldur’s Gate 3, you have my permission to confiscate the headset. It wasn’t the headset. It was almost certainly me.
Battery life: see you next Tuesday
Razer quotes up to 70 hours of battery life. Seventy. Hours. That’s enough time to play an alarming amount of Baldur’s Gate 3, listen to Abbey Road approximately several hundred times and still have enough battery left to discover that you’ve forgotten where the connection cable is. Which is, frankly, the natural order of things…..and no, its not ‘An Age Thing’…..I’ve always been something of a space cadet.
Compared with the previous Barracuda Pro, the new V2 Pro also offers a substantial increase in rated battery life, going from up to 40 hours to up to 70 hours. For a wireless headset intended to move between gaming, music and everyday use, that’s exactly the sort of battery performance you want.
The Razer Audio App
The Razer Audio App lets you adjust ANC levels, use Ambient Mode, customise EQ profiles and tweak microphone settings. There is also mic monitoring. It’s a good example of something I appreciate about modern Razer products, the fact that you can leave things alone and just use the headset. Or, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys tinkering with EQ settings (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) at half past eleven on a Tuesday night, there’s enough here to keep you occupied.
In truth, I’m somewhere in the middle. No, it’s not laziness, I like having options. I just don’t want to spend three hours adjusting a frequency slider and then realise I’ve made everything sound like it is being played inside a biscuit tin. Been there. Done that.
So… is this my new everyday headset?
This is genuinely not hyperbole – it definitely is my new headset. And that’s actually the biggest compliment I can give it. The Barracuda V2 Pro isn’t simply a gaming headset that can technically play music. It feels like a pair of wireless headphones that happens to be extremely good at gaming. This for me is an important distinction.
You’ve got:
Gaming:
Low-latency 2.4GHz wireless, THX Spatial Audio+ and the detachable HyperClear microphone.
Music:
40mm Bio-Cellulose drivers, clear mids, crisp highs and a pleasingly spacious presentation.
Everyday use:
Bluetooth 6.0, Hybrid ANC, Ambient Mode and a design that doesn’t scream “I spent my evening rolling a virtual D20”.
Travel:
Foldable design, integrated dongle storage and 285g weight. And then there’s the battery, Up to 70 hours. That’s not bad.
The Forever Geek verdict
Here’s the problem. I love my gadgets, I really do. But occasionally, I want one gadget that does several things properly. The Barracuda V2 Pro comes surprisingly close. It’s comfortable enough for long gaming sessions and has the connectivity flexibility to move between PC, console and mobile.
The ANC makes it useful outside the house. The detachable microphone means it doesn’t look like you’ve escaped from a gaming convention when you’re listening to music.
And, crucially, it sounds bloody good. With Baldur’s Gate 3, the combination of spatial audio and detailed drivers gives the game greater depth and atmosphere. With Abbey Road, I found myself listening and discovering something new rather than simply hearing. And that’s probably the best compliment I can give a pair of headphones.
At £199.99, the Barracuda V2 Pro isn’t cheap. But this isn’t really a product aimed at someone looking for the cheapest possible gaming headset. It’s aimed at someone who wants one high-quality wireless audio solution that can follow them from the gaming desk to the sofa, from the PC to the phone and from Faerûn to the real world.
The only uninsured question that I have, and it’s an important one, is whether the Barracuda will cope with the demands of next month’s GTA6 release……..I can’t wait to find out.
Gaming: ★★★★★
Music: ★★★★★
Comfort: ★★★★★
Connectivity: ★★★★★
Portability: ★★★★★
Battery: ★★★★★
5D Pop Culture: The Forever Geek — Razer Barracuda V2 Pro Review
Price: £199.99 GBP / $199.99 USD / €219.99 EUR MSRP
Weight: 285g
Drivers: 40mm Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose
Wireless: 2.4GHz HyperSpeed + Bluetooth 6.0
Spatial Audio: THX 7.1.4 Spatial Audio+
ANC: Hybrid ANC + Ambient Mode
Battery: Up to 70 hours
Compatibility: PC, PlayStation, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck
For more information on purchasing this product go to the main Razer website RIGHT HERE.
Full disclosure: This product was sent to us for an honest and objective review. No promises were made of free holidays in the sunny Bahamas in exchange for our review…….sadly
Full Disclosure: We do have affiliate status with Razer, so any clicks towards them generate commission towards keeping this website running.
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