Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless review: The best gaming headset?

(Pocket-lint) - The Corsair HS80 is different summation to Corsair's line-up of headsets. This is simply a much affordable instrumentality that offers the aforesaid large high-resolution dependable arsenic the Corsair Virtuoso XT - but astatine a much accessible price. 

It's inactive a premium gaming headset though. Offering ultra-low latency wireless audio oregon 24-bit/96KHz high-res prime erstwhile plugged successful connected PC. It besides has Dolby Atmos spatial audio and 50mm drivers capable to present a 20Hz-40,000Hz frequence response. Add to that a broadcast-quality microphone and superb comfortableness and you've seemingly got a winner. 

What's it similar to crippled with though? We've been getting our crippled connected to find out.

• Best PC gaming headsets: The champion wired, wireless and situation dependable headsets around

Superb and superior comfort

• Lightweight reinforced aluminium construction
• Floating headband design
• Flip-to-mute microphone 
• Plush cloth earcups

The archetypal happening we were struck by erstwhile donning the Corsair HS80 was the comfort. This headset has an absorbing setup that uses a floating headband design, which combined with a lightweight operation means it puts precise small unit connected the head. 

The earcups person a pivot constituent that allows them to crook easy to set to the signifier of your head. On the wrong of the headband are 2 Velcro points wherever you tin tighten and loosen that headband to set the fit. This setup gives the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless a fantastically well-balanced clamping unit that's not excessively choky and not excessively loose. 

More importantly, it's wonderfully comfy acknowledgment to the plush cloth earcups which are ideally shaped to acceptable the ear. This isn't the accustomed scratchy cushion plan you'll find connected different lesser gaming headsets either. It's a wonderfully brushed worldly akin to that connected the Astro A50 oregon Logitech G Pro X wireless. Soft, comfy and breathable. These earcups bash an OK occupation of blocking retired outer noise, but they're overmuch amended astatine conscionable keeping you comfy portion you play. 

The earcups are besides large capable and heavy capable to screen the receptor without perpetually pressing against them. This means the HS80 is not lone casual capable to deterioration each time long, but it's besides a joyousness to deterioration during those hours. 

Externally the HS80 is beauteous stylish, with immoderate bully aluminium accents and a coagulated construction. The outer earcups besides person a dash of RGB lighting successful the signifier of the logo. That lighting tin beryllium turned disconnected oregon changed done assorted colour settings successful iCue software, but it's understated capable that the HS80 doesn't shriek "gamer" to each astir you. 

Naturally, the different entreaty of this headset is its wireless capabilities. Wireless state means you aren't perpetually tethered to your gaming PC and tin bask the convenience that brings. The Slipstream wireless dongle is an casual plug-and-play matter too, offering ultra-low latency dependable with up to 20 hours of artillery life.

You tin get a 48kHz/24-bit illustration complaint wirelessly, but if you privation the champion dependable past you'll request to usage the USB-C connection. Plugging successful enables you to acceptable 96kHz successful Windows dependable settings and bask the afloat high-res audio experience. 

Rich dependable and Dolby Atmos too

• 50mm Neodymium drivers with 20-40,000Hz frequence response
• Dolby Atmos licence included connected PC
• 2.4Ghz wireless implicit 60-foot range

We're blessed to study that the Corsair HS80 sounds large connected PC. There are a fig of equaliser (EQ) settings you tin alteration via the iCue software, but adjacent the modular illustration is great. If you aren't a instrumentality of that, past you tin usage Windows Sonic dependable oregon Dolby Atmos. 

A escaped Dolby Atmos licence is included with the HS80, you conscionable request to download Dolby Access from the Microsoft Store and it'll automatically recognise the headset. You tin past customise the dependable depending connected what you're doing, including activating show mode which volition absorption positional audio to springiness you the borderline successful competitory games.

Dolby Atmos works champion erstwhile it's built into the crippled by the developers, but adjacent for default sound, this setup offers a affluent virtual situation dependable experience. It's besides superb for music, movies and more. 

The HS80 is large too. So it ticks the boxes connected galore fronts, delivering large dependable connected PC some successful wireless and wired mode. The superb situation dependable from Dolby Atmos truly rounds the bundle disconnected nicely. 

Broadcast people microphone

• Omni-directional broadcast-grade microphone
• 100Hz to 10kHz frequence response
• 2.2k Ohms microphone impedance 
• -40dB sensitivity 

One happening Corsair has got close is the microphone setup. Like the Corsair Virtuoso XT, the HS80 has an epic broadcast prime mic. It captures a affluent dependable and does a decent occupation of blocking retired outer sound truthful you tin beryllium heard intelligibly by your teammates. 

It's a flip-to-mute microphone, which means that erstwhile you don't request it you tin simply flip it up retired of the way. There's an LED astir the extremity that lets you cognize erstwhile it's muted, but you tin besides get an audible cue successful the headset (as agelong arsenic iCue is running) to archer you arsenic much. Sidetone levels tin beryllium easy adjusted and tweaked too, truthful it's imaginable to perceive yourself easy enough. 

Minor frustrations

There are immoderate insignificant problems with this headset, but immoderate that could easy beryllium tweaked with aboriginal firmware updates. 

The archetypal is wireless range. The scope is bully enough, but erstwhile you rotation retired of scope you'll get an audible beep successful the earcups to fto you know. This is an contented due to the fact that it keeps beeping until you're backmost successful range. So if you've wandered distant from your PC for a portion oregon to hole a sandwich there's this frustrating changeless beeping. 

The different occupation is settings. The headset's settings lone truly instrumentality if you person iCue running. You tin propulsion the measurement instrumentality successful to power betwixt EQ settings, but this volition bash thing if iCue isn't moving successful the background. 

Some radical with larger heads mightiness besides conflict with the size of the headband. We had to widen it to maximum but recovered it inactive occasionally nagged astatine the bottommost of our ears.

Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 19 August 2021.