Whether it’s mice, keyboards or headsets, Corsair has always had an incredible catalogue of PC peripherals on top of their internal hardware components. If there’s one category that has been growing at an exponential rate, it’s their headsets. From the Void series to their Virtuoso, Corsair has improved upon and evolved its offerings for many years now, allowing for all forms of affordable and enthusiast devices. Coming off the Virtuoso XT, Corsair has released their latest HS model, the HS80. Featuring a new design, wireless connectivity with the company’s Slipstream technology and RGB lighting controlled through iCUE, the HS80 has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, while there’s a significant forward, there’s also a step back in some areas.

Unlike Corsair’s other headset offerings, the design of the HS80 is different from what we’ve come to expect. For starters, it includes fantastic breathable cloth memory foam earphones, which I personally prefer much more than your standard plush leather. It also features a static design when it comes to flexibility, meaning instead of having two hidden separate height adjustments, there’s simply a flexible band below the base band that adjusts to your head’s placement. The ear cups themselves could be larger, although they’re not necessarily small either. Having a larger dome, the headset won’t fit as neatly around your head; instead they can get a little tight around the ears, which is actually good for more active activities. They’re suitable for general use, a couple hours at a time, although after an extensive number of hours, the pressure can build up and get a little uncomfortable. Finally, there aren’t too many options when it comes to functionality on the base itself, as it features a volume wheel, which I wish was moved an inch or two lower, the USB Type-C connector and the power button -- not much to it. Regardless, because of all that’s here, the HS80 is surprisingly portable. Overall, though, the design of the headset is well constructed and generally comfortable.

Quality is always the top priority for any headset and the Corsair HS80 delivers. Rocking 50mm Neodymium audio drivers, it features a 20Hz to 40kHz frequency spectrum, which allows for a massive range of audio clarity. It comes with 24-bit 96kHZ USB connectivity, and on top of that, the HS80 also features Dolby Atmos’ spatial audio, allowing you to modify your overall audio experience in a 3D soundscape. All of this is controlled through Corsair’s iCUE technology, allowing users to customize the different types of EQ presets through the built in equalizer. It comes with various pre-installed presets, but it’ll be up to you to mess around with the settings and find what fits you best. Alongside the equalizer, the iCUE settings allow you to adjust the Auto-Shutoff function (which can be turned off completely), disabling the LED on the mic when it’s active, and the overall lighting effects of the Corsair logo on both earcups.

The Omni-directional broadcast-grade microphone is one of the more favorable components on the HS80. These have never been particularly memorable, a lot of which failing to come anywhere near what studio grade or standalone microphones have to offer. Thankfully, in terms of quality, The HS80 stands on its own as one of the better headset microphones out there with clearer quality than some of the more expensive competition. This might have something to do with the 2.2k Ohm impedance, 100Hz-10kHz frequency response and -40db sensitivity. The design of the microphone is also appealing, being small and easily mutable by simply flipping it up. It even indicates whether the mic is active or muted with an LED light illuminated near the tip, just giving you enough identification through your peripheral vision (at least when unmuted). It does require a little more force to bend and shape the mic closer to your face, but that’s a small side note to an overall impressive component.

Audio Driver

Custom 50mm Neodymium

Frequency

2.4Ghz

Wireless Range

Up to 60 feet

Battery Life

Up to 20 Hours

Frequency Resp.

20Hz - 40kHz

Impedance

32 Ohms @ 2.5kHz

Sensitivity

109 dB (+- 3dB)

Microphone Type

Omni-directional broadcast-grade

Mic Impedance

2.2k Ohms

Mic Frequency Resp.

100Hz - 10kHz

Mic Sensitivity

-40 dB (+-3 dB)

Dimensions

205mm(L) x 97mm(W) x 183mm(H)

Weight

367g

Warranty

2 Years

Two core components for making a wireless headset a step above competition are battery life and wireless range, and unfortunately this is where the HS80 somewhat falls apart. It’s advertised as to running for upwards of twenty hours and ranging up to sixty feet via Corsiar’s Slipstream technology, but our tests didn’t see close to these numbers. For the former, if the RGB lights are set to half brightness, we saw an average battery life of eleven hours. If you’re someone who uses their headset for the vast majority of their day, this could be a problem. Fortunately, if you turn off the RGB lighting, we saw the time increase to 15-16 hours, which is a major improvement, seeing it last essentially a full day of use. It's disappointing how much of a difference this causes because of how minimal the actual effects of the RGB lighting is, only really showing off the two small Corsair logos on the side.

As for the latter, the wireless range on either the headset itself or the USB dongle included with the package is far from great. Advertised as sixty feet, we couldn’t go above half of that without the headset dramatically cutting out. This is within a clear line of sight of the dongle, with moving across a household being just as bad, if not worse. I had it where I was in another room twelve feet away, all but drywall separating the two wireless devices, and the headset would still cut out from time to time. Movement seems to affect it, as well, which is unfortunate considering the headset’s strong grip feels well made for high movement activities. We decided to use the headset while working out on a punching bag and while it worked well 90% of the time, the other 10% we caught the headset losing connection for a second.

The Corsair HS80 RBG Wireless Headset has its share of issues that are counterbalanced by a number of terrific additions. The wireless connectivity’s range doesn’t reach particularly far, getting under thirty feet before cutting out, half of which was expected, and excessive movement will also hamper this. The battery life is also just questionable if you have the RBG lighting on, getting only around eleven hours of playtime. The earphones do squeeze tight on your head, although that will depend on the size of your dome, and could actually be a positive in some scenarios. There will always be variables to these, but they ended up leaving a disappointing reception when it comes to the wireless features.

Closing Comments:

Despite these issues, at the end of the day, the Corsair HS80 RBG Wireless Headset will most likely end up being my new preferred wireless headset. Comfort levels aren’t on par with some of the pricier options out there, but the favorable microphone quality and generally solid audio quality are what excel the device. The microphone is one of the best you can find at the price (at least attached to a headset), having a higher level of clarity. It’s still nowhere near the level of a studio grade standalone mic like the Wave:3, but it holds up as something special for a wireless gaming headset microphone. The device is also fully compatible with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, which gives it more value. At the end of the day, the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Headset is a good value for those looking for an affordable wireless headset that’ll excel in multiplayer gaming sessions thanks to Dolby Atmos compatibility and better-than-average microphone quality.