The Razer Leviathan V2 is a powerful soundbar designed with gamers and home entertainment enthusiasts in mind. As a successor to the original Leviathan soundbar, the V2 aims to deliver an immersive audio experience for both gaming and media consumption.
With Razer’s gaming heritage at its core, the Leviathan V2 integrates technologies like THX Spatial Audio and Chroma RGB lighting into a sleek and compact soundbar form factor. Equipped with a dedicated subwoofer, the Leviathan V2 promises a deep bass response for a true home theater sensation.
With its sleek aesthetics and the specs to recreate an immersive sound for gaming, the Leviathan V2 aims to be more than just an accessory; it seeks to be an integral part of your gaming setup.
Razer Leviathan V2
- Great stereo imaging
- Plenty of bass
- Customizable RGB
- Lack of ports and no optical
- Unreliable Bluetooth
Design and Aesthetics
The Leviathan V2 soundbar has an elegant yet minimalist design that will blend into any home entertainment setup. It has a slim, rectangular shape measuring 19.7 x 3.6 x 3.3 inches (500 x 91.3 x 84 mm). The soundbar is constructed from durable aluminum in a smooth black finish. Razer’s signature green logo is at the center, providing a subtle accent, while RGB lighting the space below makes it apt for gaming environments.
The wired subwoofer has a cubic shape and is around 9 inches wide on each side. It is designed from the same matte black aluminum as the soundbar for consistency. The subwoofer pumps out bass through a front-firing 5.25-inch driver.
Both the soundbar and subwoofer have a premium, high-end look and feel. The matte finish limits obtrusive lighting and branding, allowing the Leviathan V2 to blend in discreetly. Overall, the minimalist all-black aesthetic realizes Razer’s vision for a clean, modern gaming soundbar fit for any entertainment setup.
Key Features
The Razer Leviathan V2 is equipped with a range of features to provide an immersive surround sound experience for games, movies, and music:
- THX Spatial Audio – Provides virtual 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound for accurate positional audio.
- Built-in arrays with full-range drivers – The soundbar contains two upward-firing full-range drivers for height effects and two front-firing drivers for clear mids and highs.
- Subwoofer – Deep bass response from the 5.25″ subwoofer that can be placed anywhere in the room.
- Bluetooth 5.2 – Allows wireless music streaming from mobile devices.
- Razer Chroma RGB – Fully customizable RGB lighting zones integrated with Razer Synapse.
Placement
The soundbar is easily placed centered below your monitor. The slim, compact size allows it to fit into most standard entertainment centers and TV stands as well, although this is primarily designed with PCs in mind. There are two keyhole mounts on the rear for wall mounting the soundbar if desired.
The subwoofer is designed for placement anywhere in the room. The subwoofer can be tucked more discreetly into a corner or next to furniture. An included pedestal allows for upright floor placement.
Overall, the Razer Leviathan V2 can be set up quickly and without a headache. The subwoofer and intuitive app make installation seamless even for those less familiar with soundbar systems.
Sound Quality and Performance
With THX audio technologies integrated, the Leviathan V2 delivers solid sound whether gaming, watching movies, or listening to music. The dedicated subwoofer extends the lower-end frequencies and adds a serious punch to the gaming action. Even at high volumes, the bass remains tight and responsive thanks to the downward-firing driver.
The soundbar produces clear and detailed mids and highs from its array of front-firing drivers. Vocals come through pronounced in the mix while higher frequencies like cymbal hits have a crisp, lively quality. The upward-firing drivers effectively create the illusion of overhead audio for immersive height effects.
THX Spatial Audio virtualizes surround sound fairly well. In games, sound effects and environmental audio pan seamlessly around the room, enhancing immersion. The surround performance also translates well for films, with audio placed accurately around the viewing position.
The Leviathan V2 handles demanding, multi-layered game and movie soundtracks well for its size. It fills small to medium-sized rooms effectively while preserving the separation between treble, mids, and bass. At normal volumes, the soundstage feels wide with a balanced presentation across frequencies. Overall, the Leviathan V2 delivers solid sound performance that will be a substantial improvement for most existing gaming setups.
Connectivity and Compatibility
The Razer Leviathan V2 soundbar offers the following connectivity options:
- Bluetooth: It is equipped with low-latency Bluetooth 5.2, allowing seamless connectivity to a PC and other paired devices such as smartphones or tablets.
- Wired Connection: The soundbar can be connected directly to a PC using a Type-C to Type-A cable.
The Razer Leviathan V2 has more limited connectivity compared to some competing gaming soundbars. It lacks 3.5mm and optical audio inputs, which restricts its use to devices with Bluetooth or USB connectivity. This limitation may impact its compatibility with certain audio sources.
The absence of 3.5mm and optical audio inputs sets the Razer Leviathan V2 apart from some competing gaming soundbars that offer a wider range of connectivity options, such as optical, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C, and HDMI. The lack of HDMI immediately rules it out as a TV soundbar.
Control and Customization
The Leviathan V2 soundbar can be controlled through a few different methods:
- Physical buttons
- Mobile app – The Razer Audio app (iOS and Android) allows full control and customization of all soundbar settings.
- Synapse app – Razer’s Synapse software unlocks advanced audio features and Chroma RGB customization.
Through the mobile and desktop apps, users can customize the experience:
- THX Spatial Audio profiles – Tweak surround levels or disable height channels.
- Equalizer – Customize the frequency response with 5-band parametric EQ.
- Game/movie mode presets – Optimize audio for different content with genre-specific presets.
- Chroma RGB – Choose from 16.8 million colors and effects for the Razer logo lighting.
- Room calibration – The app auto-tunes the soundbar’s output to your room’s acoustics.
Between the physical controls and app support, the Leviathan V2 provides extensive control options for casual and power users alike.
Also Consider
If you are interested in the Razer Leviathan V2 with a subwoofer, you may also consider the following soundbars:
- Creative Sound BlasterX Katana:
- Offers a wider range of connectivity options, including USB, optical, and Bluetooth
- Features 5 drivers, 2 up-firing midbass drivers, and a 5.25-inch subwoofer for powerful audio
- Logitech G560:
- Equipped with LIGHTSYNC RGB lighting technology for an immersive gaming experience
- Offers Bluetooth, 3.5mm, and USB connectivity options
- Corsair ST100 RGB:
- Features a built-in 3.5mm analog jack, 2 USB 3.1 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for versatile connectivity
- Equipped with dynamic RGB lighting and a durable aluminum construction
Competing soundbars generally provide a wider range of connectivity options which makes them more flexible.
Final Verdict
With the Razer Leviathan V2, Razer has created an impressive all-in-one PC audio solution aimed at gamers. It combines cinema-quality THX surround sound, potent bass, and gamer-centric technologies into a simple soundbar and subwoofer system.
While the sound quality alone might make it difficult to justify its price tag, features like Chroma RGB lighting and the Razer Audio app mean it can command a premium for specific use cases.
It does however lack versatility, with a disappointingly limited number of connectivity options. Sound systems from Creative or Logitech are better in this respect, although they might not offer consistency if you own a bunch of Razer peripherals.
Despite these considerations, the overall performance and quality of the Razer Leviathan V2 will make it a worthwhile investment for those who understand what they’re paying for.