THERE STILL AREN’T many soundbars available for PC gamers, but the original Razer Leviathan made an impression when it launched. It produced great sound, had lots of connectivity options, and had the usual Razer sense of style. That was eight years ago though, so it’s probably time for a refresh. Read our Razer Leviathan V2 Review.
GUY COCKER
The Razer Leviathan V2 makes some interesting changes, adding some key new features while dropping some previously popular ones. For example, both the soundbar and sub are larger for fuller audio, and there’s now gamerfriendly Chroma RGB lighting as well as THX Spatial Audio. But we’ve lost the 3.5mm and optical connectivity, which limits the flexibility of this speaker for use with anything other than a PC.
The headline improvements are good news for those who care about audio quality, as the expansion of the internal space in the speaker and sub brings a big boost to sonic performance. The soundbar still fits comfortably under a monitor, but it’s deeper and wider than before. The sub, meanwhile, has expanded outwards to become more of a true cube shape for more impressive bass.
The soundbar connects to a PC using USB-C, as well as a separate power cable, and a wired connection to the sub. This means it only works with a PC in its main operation, although you can connect a Bluetooth device if you want to listen to music but don’t have your PC switched on.
With your PC on though, you’ll be treated to an excellent aural experience, whether that’s gaming, listening to music, or streaming video. The two passive radiators on the soundbar improve the depth and presence of the soundstage, while the optional feet lift the bar so it fires sound more toward your ears.
The subwoofer’s size increase now makes it a more appropriate candidate for locating on the floor, whereas the previous model would sit on most desks. Your neighbors, family, or housemates might not love you for doing this though, because it does a good job of pushing out bass from its downward-firing speaker.
Razer has also added THX Spatial Audio, making the stereo mix more enveloping. It helps create atmosphere rather than precision, which helps more in movie-like games such as The Quarry rather than Call of Duty. It isn’t Dolby Atmos-quality, but it isn’t priced as high as a Dolby Atmos soundbar either.
As you’d expect from a Razer product, it’s designed to fit into its wider ecosystem, meaning you can sync lighting using its Synapse software. We liked that there’s also a mobile app to control the soundbar, meaning you don’t have to Alt-Tab out of a game to change settings.
There are some small niggles about some of Razer’s design choices. The subwoofer isn’t wireless, which is fine at this price, but the short lead to connect it to the main soundbar might limit your location options. The lack of optical or 3.5mm audio also limits your connectivity options if you also want to use the speaker system with a TV or games console.
The competition for the Leviathan V2 comes in the form of the recently released Sonos Ray, which we covered in our August 2022 issue. At $ the Ray is slightly more expensive, but has the optical input that makes it so versatile, while it also fits into the Sonos ecosystem. But it doesn’t come with a subwoofer and has no RGB lighting. If you’re a pure PC gamer, we’d go for this Leviathan V2.
$ is a lot to spend on a PC speaker system, but the Razer is a great option. It sounds fantastic, supports virtual surround sound, and has some good audio and lighting options.
8/10
- Brilliant sound
- multiple connection options
- great RGB lighting
- Expensive
- no 3.5mm or optical inputs