Razer has been firmly planted in the gaming industry for quite a while and is coming out with more and more products aimed at streamers. With their latest microphone release, the $180 Razer Seiren Emote offers something brand new to the streaming world – interactive graphics on the mic itself. It all comes together through Razer’s new program, the Streamer Companion App.
The Seiren Emote Microphone
Already geared for streamers, the Seiren Emote takes the well known Razer design and adds an impressive new feature – a screen that shows interactive emoticons that react to the audience. This 8-bit LED display, powered by the Streamer Companion App, has over 100 emoticons built into it, or users can create their own that suit to their audience.
As a microphone, the Seiren has already built an excellent reputation as a streaming microphone. The Seiren Emote takes the overall design from Seiren X. Compared to other newer streaming microphones like the Hyper X Quadcast or the Blue Yeti X, the Seiren Emote has a smaller overall footprint with a simple design. On the microphone side, we have a gain knob and a mute button – that’s it. There is no additional functionality on the microphone. It connects to a computer through USB mini at the bottom of the mic to USB type-A.
Getting the Seiren positioned in an ideal location is made more accessible by the included interchangeable gooseneck. This not only raises the Seiren Emote higher off the desk but also opens up a world of positions. The orientation of the 8-bit LED display can be turned in the Streamer Companion App to fit your setup if you end up mounting the Seiren on its side.
A built-in shock mount helps keep noise down as does the hyper-cardioid condenser design. Besides mic volume and playback volume there aren’t any controls for the Seiren built into Razer’s software Synapse 3.0. You’ll need third party help if you want to change the sound of the microphone at all. If you’re looking for a quick all-in-one solution, check out the Blue Yeti X that we recently reviewed with its Blue VOICE software.
Streamer Companion App
Where the magic of what Razer has created shines is in the Streamer Companion App. After linking a Twitch, Streamlabs, XSplit, or Mixer account, creators can enable alerts based on different interactions from the audience. The examples that Razer shows me in a demonstration were an animated +1 and silhouette of a figure moving across the Seiren when a new viewer started following the stream. Or if a viewer typed out “GG” or “let’s go” into chat, those would scroll across the microphone, making it an interactive experience for the streamer.
All of these commands can be enabled or disabled and other criteria set within the Streamer Companion App to suit the size of the stream. Cheers, for example, on Twitch, where viewers can donate a special Twitch currency, can be set to only display interactions if the cheer amount is over a certain number. That way popular streamers aren’t being spammed with alerts.
Beyond the Seiren Emote
To take the Streamer Companion App a step further, other Chroma devices can be linked to interact with alerts. Another example Razer gave in the demonstration was linking some Philips Hue lights up through Chroma also to be triggered with interactions from the audience. Waves of color would splash through the room as subscribers signed up to a channel or donations were made.
It’s easy to see why this could be a big hit with streamers. On-screen overlays have been almost standard with streamers for interactions, but taking it a step further with physical objects in the performer’s space takes it up another notch.
Wrapping up
If you’re planning on streaming, the added interactive capabilities of the Razer Seiren Emote could be a massive boost to the production level of your stream. But, if the $180 price tag is too high or that aesthetic is just too gamey for you and your audience, Razer also has the old tried and true $99 Seiren X.
Buy the Seiren Emote
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