It has been seven years since Razer released an updated version of its popular Leviathan gaming soundbar. Gaming soundbars have become less of a novelty and more of a serious addition to the PC gamer's audio setup. Over the past year, several have appeared in the pages of PC speakers, and the Razer Leviathan V2 attempts to improve on its predecessor with a few design changes.

The Leviathan V2 is less than 20 inches long and fits snugly under your monitor without feeling intrusive. Despite being about the same size as the original Leviathan, it is more powerful thanks to the addition of two passive radiators, providing more bass than the average soundbar. This is useful if you don't have room for a subwoofer but still want that sweet, sweet sound.

I was quite surprised by the overall sound quality of the new V2s, considering how small they are. It is also quite powerful.

I used it at about 25% volume, as any louder would be too loud. Even with the subwoofer plug-in, bass-heavy jams can sound a bit muddy, and this was evident on songs like What's Up, Danger.

At first, I was not at all impressed with the default audio settings; it wasn't until I dove into the audio settings of the Razer Synapse software that I found the sweet spot, I was able to find the sweet spot. Incidentally, Razer Synapse is my least favorite software for managing accessories. However, it was easy to get the Levithan V2 settings just the way I wanted them. Here, you can even switch between stereo and THX Spatial Audio.

Speaking of THX Spatial Audio, I'm not yet a convert to the church of surround sound, but it worked quite well in games like Apex Legends. Spatial Audio works best in horror games like Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village, where it adds to the immersion rather than providing a tactical advantage.

One area where soundbars excel is in sports broadcasts. As I write this review, I have the Mets-Cardinals game on in the background and it sounds incredible. I am enjoying the rich tones of the Mets' deep-voiced commentary by Mets Hall of Famer Ron Darling and the great Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen calling the game. The sounds of the game, the people cheering, the bats clattering, I wish there was an easy way to hook this up to my living room TV, but therein lies the problem.

This PC-only soundbar has no 3.5mm or optical port input, and its $250 price tag makes it a hard sell to anyone looking for speakers to connect not only to a PC but also to a game console or TV. Frankly, I wouldn't blame you if you opted for the older Levithan model. A wireless subwoofer would have been really nice, because I really can't stand to see cables tangled up behind my desk.

I own a pair of Razer Nommos next to my monitors, and it was nice to have the extra space back on my desk to fill with clutter and snacks; I've also used LG's Ultragear gaming speakers, which have so many features and therefore I consider it the gold standard for gaming soundbars.

As far as PC-specific speakers go, there is a lot to like about the Razer Leviathan V2. It's a small, powerful soundbar that is easy to use and looks great on a desk; it's easy to connect devices via Bluetooth and tweak the RGB, which is the best thing we can say about the Synapse; and the real downside to the Synapse is that it's not as feature-rich as other soundbars in this price range. The real downside of the Synapse is that it is not as versatile as other soundbars in this price range.