Ah, nuts. On this Prime Day, I think it's finally time to admit to myself (and you, dear readers) what I have been in complete denial about: my beloved Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Headset has taken its last breath. One could say that this headset had been dead for three months, and that it was a slowly decomposing corpse that I had spent years hanging up every day.

I got my BlackSharks in 2021 and still love them. They are very comfortable, lightweight, and output better sound than any headset I have ever had. I had no problems with them for years, but then little problems started piling up. Six months ago, the adhesive on the right ear cup began to loosen. Little by little the cups began to droop from the speaker bed, exposing the bright yellow foam under the comfortable fabric. Then one day, the cups came off completely and I noticed that the left ear cup was also coming off.

The loose cup may be where someone decided to get off this $200 headset. My partner certainly could have. When I first saw the headset lying on my desk, one Styrofoam cup was eight inches away from the speakers, and the other was still hanging on by an almighty will and a surprisingly durable adhesive. But I told myself, “I'm not going to do this.” For now, I just have to fit the cups I removed to my ears every time I put the headset on.

Of course, it was never later. I adopted the new grip style for putting on and taking off the headset, keeping the removed ear cups in place. In early June, however, the battery stopped charging. The battery stopped charging. Now my wireless headset is completely wired, as it will turn off in minutes if not plugged in.

Now I actually have a problem. I've procrastinated long enough and it's time to find another headset. The same Gen 1 model I got a few years ago is on sale for $129.99 on Amazon right now, which is not a record low price or anything, but still $50 cheaper than I can find elsewhere.

You'd be a fool not to consider alternatives; Amazon is also having a sale on the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless, our top-rated wireless headset overall. While I believe I'd be happy with the HyperX, I've actually owned a wired version of this headset before; I got it in 2019, but the faux-leather ear cups chipped within a year (pleather is really sweat sensitive). They also tightened a little too tightly on my large head, causing occasional headaches. These are all problems that BlackSharks has solved for me, but then again, it's been three years.

Senior Editor Wes suggested another path: get out of the gaming headset life and become a wired headphone guy. As someone who doesn't use a headset microphone, it's an interesting suggestion, and Senior Hardware Editor Jacob recently shared a great deal on his favorite pair of Sennheiser headphones. Before the batteries in this pair ran out, I would happily wear these anywhere in my apartment, thanks to their impressive signal radius.

I don't know what will be wrapped around my ears this time next week, but I do know something has to change. I'm open to suggestions, but honestly, my cursor is on another set of BlackSharks “add to cart”. Let's get this one stored properly this time: