Retailing for about $80 dollars, Corsair’s VOID Surround Dolby 7.1 USB gaming headset is the mid-tier option in their line of headphones. Featuring wired connectivity of lower-end models with the DOLBY 7.1 USB adapter of the higher-end ones, it is always interesting to see how a company will balance features vs. MSRP in these situations. Thankfully, Corsair has done a masterful job of providing a quality product at a price point that will not break your proverbial bank.
Externally, the Corsair VOID Surround features volume and mute controls on the left ear cup as well as a boom microphone. Its ear cups are contoured to fit more in-line with the shape of the human ear and they are very comfortable. That being said, I found the overall headset fit slightly more snug than usual – but I should add to this that I have a big head. If you have an average-sized human head, you should be okay.
Internally, each ear cup houses a 50mm neodymium driver that produces a good audio output that is very clear, if not a bit bassy at higher volumes. What is important to remember about the Corsair VOID Surround is that it is basically a sub-one hundred dollar stereo headset. What adds leaps and bounds to the audio quality is the included Dolby 7.1 USB dongle. When using this dongle and the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software suite, you can tweak your sound profile quite a bit and the virtual surround sound is quite convincing. You can tweak the scale of the surround sound and overall sound levels with the equalizer and it has some nice presets like “Movie Theater” and “FPS Competition” that are really good at providing audio benefits to specific types of activities.
Technical specifications
[ezcol_1half]Headphones
- Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz
- Impedance: 32k Ohms @ 1kHz
- Sensitivity: 107dB (+/-3dB)
- Drivers: 50mm
- Connector: 4-pole 3.5mm
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]Microphone
- Type: Unidirectional noise-cancelling with adjustable, rotating boom
- Impedance: 2.2k Ohms
- Frequency Response: 100Hz to 10kHz
- Sensitivity: -38dB (+/-3dB)
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This biggest issue with the Corsair VOID Surround Dolby 7.1 USB gaming headset lies in its boom microphone. It isn’t very adjustable and has more “pop” than I am used to on my gaming headset microphones. I would have also liked to have seen Corsair add a way to remove the microphone entirely in situations where game chat is not necessary or desired. It would have been nice for them to add a slightly better pop filter (if there is one at all on the unit) to the boom microphone.
Overall, the Corsair VOID Surround Dolby 7.1 USB gaming headset is a fine mid-tier gaming headset option with decent audio quality for a model in its price point. When coupled with the Dolby 7.1 USB dongle, however, the audio experience is elevated quite a bit. You can even plug other headphones into the Dolby 7.1 USB dongle which further adds to the versatility of this package. The Corsair VOID Surround Dolby 7.1 USB gaming headset retails for $79.99 and is available now at various online retailers.
[easyreview title=”Corsair VOID Surround Dolby 7.1 USB Gaming Headset Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]
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