Corsair’s new HS80 RGB Wireless gaming headset allows for both wired and wireless audio from a variety of sources. It also comes with built-in DOLBY Atmos! Read on for our full rundown of the new headset:
The Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless headset features some very good build quality. Its headbands are flexible and comfortable even after wearing the headset for a long time – although if you have a larger head you may need to break in/stretch the support headband a bit. As a large-headed person myself, the headset was a bit tight on the top of my noggin. It would have been a good ide for them to include a slightly larger support band, maybe wrapped around the main headband with Velcro so that you can swamp them out for maximum comfort. The ear cup cushion is made from a very comfy memory foam that feels great – and the cups are large enough to go around my ear instead of pressing on it. The headset features a very slight RGB element in the Corsair logos on both ear cups. Using the iCUE software, you can change the color they illuminate. This is a very small detail and, while it may not be important to some gamers (and makes me question why they would brand this as an RGB headset considering the light up element is so small), I think others will appreciate the splash of color. On the back of left ear cup, you’ll find the power and volume controls. They are designed in a very user-friendly way, and controlling them with just your thumb takes next to no effort at all – even while playing a hectic first-person shooter title.
Inside each of the ear cups is a custom-tuned 50mm driver capable of delivering some great sound to the wearer. Of course, sound processing is of utmost importance these days and the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless knows that. To that end, they include built-in support for DOLBY Atmos on your gaming PC. Plug the dongle in and then install the DOLBY Atmos software – then away you go! Coupled with the HS80 RGB Wireless, you will NOT be disappointed. It charges and connects to your PC by way of a USB-C cable that is nice and braided to avoid snagging on things. Also, Corsair has enabled this headset to connect wirelessly to your computer with an included Slipstream Wireless dongle. The Slipstream Wireless connection is outstanding and I never noticed any hint of latency loss in my content consumption or game playing. More about the Slipstream Wireless dongle – it can actually support a maximum of two other Slipstream-enabled devices at the same time. This means that you won’t need a dongle for every Corsair device with Slipstream that is wirelessly connected to your PC. Also, the Slipstream Wireless dongle can be connected to a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, allowing you wireless capability on that gaming console.
There is a technical difference in maximum audio quality when in wired or wireless modes that should be noted – although, in practical use I was hard-pressed to notice any real, discernible difference. In wired mode, the headset is capable of 24-bit, 96kHz audio while in wireless mode it is capable of 24-bit, 48kHz audio. Again – I couldn’t hear a real difference – both modes sounded terrific to me.
But how does it sound? Thankfully, the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless has some excellent sound quality – thanks to not only DOLBY Atmos support but also its large pre-tuned drivers. I ran the headset through a variety of games and uses – from titles like Aliens: Fireteam Elite to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Then I simply wrote this review while listening to music while wearing it. It’s a shame it is not a bit more accommodating to my head size – the sound is outstanding.
Unfortunately there are some things I would like to see done differently on this headset. First and foremost – the design of the boom microphone is very odd. It’s permanently attached and flips up and down however its boom arm has no articulation to get the microphone angled towards or away from your mouth. I am also slightly skeptical regarding the flip up/down design and how it will stand up over years of use. I could imagine it eventually losing a tight grip on the boom arm over time and just permanently settling into the down position. The positive side of this microphone design is that, when flipped up, the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless headset automatically mutes its microphone, unmuting it when subsequently flipped-down. The end of the boom microphone features a small LED indicator that shines green for unmuted and red for muted. Secondly, the ear cup is made from a plastic material that seems to sop up oil like nobody’s business. This means that it shows finger smudges very easily. While not anything that affects its performance, it might bother gamers who prefer as clean a look as possible.
Overall, Corsair’s HS80 RGB Wireless Headset is a solid set of headphones that will provide you with very good spatial audio. It retails for $149.99 and is available now.
