Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Random Audio Cut (Chat Endpoint Investigation)

Issue Description

• Audio randomly cuts out during gameplay (mostly CS2).

• The headset remains powered on.

• There is no disconnect/reconnect sound.

• Windows does not show the device as disconnected.

• I must power cycle the headset to restore sound.

• Gameplay recording still captures both game and Discord audio even when I cannot hear anything from the headset.

Key Observations

1. When audio cuts out:

   • Windows still shows the device as active.

   • No USB disconnect event occurs.

   • No RF disconnect sound is heard.

   • Recorded clips still contain full game + Discord audio.

   ➜ This confirms the PC audio stream is still active.

2. The issue appears more frequently when using:

   • BlackShark V3 Pro – Chat endpoint for Discord.

3. When switching Discord output to:

   • BlackShark V3 Pro – Game

   The audio becomes:

   • Noticeably louder

   • More stable

   • No random cut so far

4. When disabling and re-enabling:

   • THX APO 4 Component

   Discord volume suddenly increases significantly.

   ➜ This suggests THX APO is actively affecting gain levels and may enter an unstable state.

5. At one point, the Chat endpoint volume in Windows mixer was separately reduced.
   Increasing it manually restored normal volume.

Troubleshooting Steps Performed

• Disabled THX Spatial Audio

• Disabled ANC

• Disabled Low Latency mode

• Disabled USB power saving on all USB Root Hubs

• Switched USB ports (rear motherboard ports tested)

• Removed SteelSeries Sonar and related APO components

• Fully uninstalled Razer software

• Removed THX APO components

• Tested with pure Windows generic USB audio driver

• Verified that USB disconnection is not occurring

• Verified that the PC continues producing audio during failure

Important Technical Findings

• This does NOT appear to be a USB disconnect issue.

• This does NOT appear to be an RF drop issue.

• This does NOT appear to be a complete driver crash.

• The issue seems isolated to the Chat endpoint behavior and gain processing.

The Game endpoint works normally and appears more stable.

The Chat endpoint:

• Has independent volume control in Windows.

• Is treated as a communication device.

• May interact with Windows communication attenuation.

• May be affected by THX APO gain processing.

Current Working Configuration

• Windows Default Playback → BlackShark Game

• Discord Output → BlackShark Chat (currently testing)

• Communications setting → “Do Nothing”

• THX removed

• No additional APO layers active

Testing continues under clean driver conditions.

Main Suspicion

Possible instability in:

• Chat endpoint processing

• THX APO gain handling

• Dual-endpoint communication routing behavior

Since recordings continue capturing audio normally, the failure seems to occur after the PC audio stream — potentially at the endpoint processing or headset firmware level.

If anyone has experienced similar dual-endpoint instability or gain reset behavior with BlackShark V3 Pro, please share your findings. I am trying to make an app to figure out why it happens. So far I believe there is no pyshical issue on the headset.