Product: Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset
Type: Gaming Headset (Wireless)
Price: $239.00 AUD
Availability: Out Now
Link: corsair.com/Gaming-Headsets/Wireless/HS80-RGB-WIRELESS-Premium-Gaming-Headset

One of the most important aspects of the gaming headset, or any headset really, is the microphone. Often overlooked when it comes to those initial impressions, if you view gaming as a social activity or have simply ramped up the “from home” side of things over the past year, then microphone quality matters. Not that you’ll hear the results, but you can always tell a poor headset mic over a dedicated desktop-standing affair.

When it comes to quality of the microphone found in the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset, it’s definitely up there in the ‘broadcast quality’ region. In that as a headset for streaming or extended Discord sessions it’s hard to go wrong.

It’s also impressive for a wireless offering, where more often than not, voice quality suffers a bit when compared to wired. But as with overall sound quality going wired or wireless isn’t the best indicator for how something ends up performing. With the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset there’s a premium quality to the components and design that’s commendable. Just in terms of raw sound, there’s a booming quality that never distorts or wane no matter the volume. Balance is mostly impressive too, outside of a little imbalance when it comes to the low and high-end. Plus, there’s a focus on comfort. Which is good because when paired with a PC or PS5, the Corsair HS80 won’t weigh you down after a few hours.

Tech Talk

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At the core of every headset lies the audio engine, the driver, and for the Corsair HS80 you’ve got a powerful 50mm neodymium audio driver with a frequency range that sits in the HD Audio region. In fact, Corsair has seen fit to unlock its full potential when connected via wired USB where there’s support for up to 24-bit 96 kHz output versus the 48 kHz when in wireless mode. It’s worth noting that the latter is still very much HD Audio, and for one it’s kind of hard to tell the difference between the two in most cases.

Headphone:

• Drivers: 50mm
  
• Frequency response: 20-40,000 Hz
  
• Impedance: 32 Ohm
  
• Wireless Range: 18 metres
  
• Battery Life: Up to 20 hours
  
• Weight: 367g

Microphone:

• Frequency response: 100-10,000 Hz
  
• Pick-up pattern: Omnidirectional

Sound-wise the result is crisp, balanced audio that has warmth. The only downside here is that both sub-bass and the higher frequencies lack a bit of presence, something that can be tweaked quite easily on PC thanks to the excellent iCue software. Outside of the drivers there’s no on-board surround or audio processing happening – all of that is handled software-side. On that front support for Dolby Atmos out of the box (via a separate Windows Store download) does offer up one of the better virtual surround experiences you can get. And when connected to a PlayStation 5 you’ve got its new 3D spatial audio, which takes advantage of the larger drivers and HD audio capabilities of the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset.

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When it comes to quality of the microphone found in the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset, it’s definitely up there in the ‘broadcast quality’ region.

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And if you’re chatting or on a video call, there's excellent microphone quality. Though as Omnidirectional it will pick up a lot of background noise without some sort of limiter or tool like RTX Broadcast.

Design and Comfort

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Even though you can’t really adjust the headband’s overall size, the adjustable inner fabric does make for a comfortable fit without much need for adjusting things. Designed primarily for PC, the Corsair HS80’s angular design and RGB flourish set the tone that this "for gaming". Although there’s plug-and-play action for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, versatility isn’t really a strong suit. Wired audio is only available via USB connection and the microphone isn’t detachable. Though it’s worth pointing out that the voice that proclaims “mic on” and “mic off” when you raise and lower the boom arm is ASMR levels of soothing.

Outside of the angular shape of the cups (which you don’t notice at all when you put them on) the big thing to take note of is the fabric comfy-couch meets comfy-sweater material over the cushions. Which are super comfortable by the way, breathable, and soft in all of the right ways. Going fabric does mean you’ll begin to notice dust accumulation and kind of brush them over a bit as you would a jumper, but it’s a great choice.

Build quality is uniformly excellent across the board, and even though the 367 gram weight is a tad higher than you’d want, weight balance and feel is comfortable for long-term use. Going back to versatility for a moment there is one thing that feels weirdly omitted. No separate knob for voice and audio balance, meaning this is left to software alone.

Sounds Like

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Sound quality is where the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset shines, especially when paired with Dolby Atmos and Sony’s virtual surround on the PlayStation 5. The direct sound option might be a little lacking for certain styles of music (it’s great for the most part), the HD capabilities make for a great headset you can use to switch between games, music, and streaming content without skipping a beat.

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Build quality is uniformly excellent across the board, and even though the 367 gram weight is a tad higher than you’d want, weight balance and feel is comfortable for long-term use.

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When it came to testing in-game we spent most of our Corsair HS80 time with Deathloop, Age of Empires III, and more recently Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. No matter if it was playing a single mission or sitting down for an extended session, the results were impressive. From the cinematic sci-fi spectacle of Guardians' missions through to the stealthier moments of Deathloop, those bits where you’re paying full attention to what's on your periphery, it was great either in stereo or running through Dolby Atmos.

In the end it’s easy to think of the Corsair HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset as a premium wireless headset, albeit one that doesn’t quite carry a premium price-tag. And in the end outside of a few shortcomings, this is an easy recommend.