The Corsair HS70 - When Solid build meets decent Audio
Corsair is a brand that is almost synonym to eSport gaming due to their rich lineup of gaming peripherals and mainly courtesy to their infamous VOID series gaming headsets that proved their metal when it came to eSports. But everything needs to evolve to sustain and so did Corsair by launching a new lineup of budget gaming headsets in form of the H series which started off with the HS50 followed by the HS60 and now the latest one to join the lot is thew Corsair HS70. The Corsair HS70 is the top of the line in the H series budget gaming headsets and take the series ahead in form of wireless connectivity ditching the hassle of wild vine like wires running all over your desk.
Today thanks to Corsair India I have with me the Corsair HS70 Wireless Gaming Headset and by the looks of it, I'm sure this is going to be an interesting review.
With a launch price of $90 the Corsair HS70 finds itself to be the cheapest wireless headset from Corsair and also among the cheapest ones as a whole. These are particularly aimed at gamers on a budget who want want something wireless without compromising upon what its predecessors have to offer including the massive 50mm neodymium drivers that power those cups and a full metal frame. The headset offers virtual 7.1 channel surround sound features along with compatibility with both the PC and PS4 sadly the Xbox is not listed compatible. Comaptible with Corsair Utility Engine or CUE the headset is available in three colors as of now carbon which is fully black, white which is white and black and one golden one which is named the SE speculatively standing for Special Edition like the iPhone SE maybe.
What's in the Box!?
Corsair has brought the HS70 in their traditional gaming designs with hues of yellow on a black box and the product image right in the center with the name and other signature features enlisted neatly in yellow accents. Unlike the other Corsair headsets this one does not not have a transparent side window to peep inside the box to look at the actual product.
Inside the box you find that the headset sits snugly inside a molded plastic case which house the headset and other accessories and documents including the user manual and warranty card. The accessories are inside a small cavity in the case and are basically three in number namely as the receiver module for connectivity, the detachable mic and a 2m long USB cable to charge the headset battery when required. Over all the accessories are enough & justifiable for this price point.
A Closer look at the HS70
Corsair HS70 is a solid looking yet distinguishable headset which has been made out of a variety of materials like premium grade plastic, metal, cloth and even rubber. The entire body is black with trims of white on the swivel joint, stitching on the headband & the cups being prominently white out of all. Over all the first impression of the headset is quite elegant and classy unlike what we are used to seeing from most of the other Gaming headsets out there which definitely earns the HS70 a few brownie points.
The cushioning on the HS70 is made out of memory foam just like all the other Corsair headsets and this one is quite firm but soft enough to comfort the ears. These oval cups are large enough to accommodate even the biggest of ear sizes including mine which most headsets struggle to leaving my ear lobe hanging out! So definitely no complaints regarding the cups at all.
Coming to the outer surface of the cups the cups are mainly made out of white colored premium grade plastic with a metallic mesh that cover the entire outer surface just like the previous models. The swivel joints are white aswell and the frame is entirely made out of aluminum which is surprisingly very light in weight. The joints on the cups are non rotatable and don't offer any rotation at all but merely tilt up and down for basic adjustments which is a bit disappointing as these are wireless headsets and are meant to be worn around the neck mainly if resting or even if roaming around the house with these on and rotating cups can make the world of difference when it comfort that ways.
The left cup is where all the ports and buttons rest, first up we have the micro USB port for plugging in the headset for charging the battery, the power on and connected light which is green in color and right below which is a small stub of rubber which covers the mic port to connect the provided mic. I would've personally loved to see a slider or something rather than that stub of rubber as you can easily misplace it especially when going outside for a LAN party or gaming tournament. On the top we have the mic mute button which is a single press and doesn't depress in or out with respect to the status of the mic and lastly the volume control wheel which is quite smooth but lacks a click in case one is used to that from a volume wheel. On the right cup you find nothing more than the power on/off button which once held down for like two seconds powers on and off the device respectively.
The mic on the Corsair HS70 is detachable with a 3.5mm jack connector and is extremely flexible with a design identical to those that we find on the lower versions of the H series. this unidirectional noise cancellation mic has a frequency response range from 100Hz to 10Khz which is adequate along with -40dB sensitivity which can be a bit too sensitive but we'll test that in the review ahead.
Headband on the HS70 is entirely made out of solid aluminum with no hints of plastic whatsoever even on the adjustable sliders at the ends. The entire band is covered by black leatherette which is soft and smooth having the Corsair logo on top while the inner side is covered by a diamond stitch done meticulously with white cotton thread making the headset look extremely premium on or off the head.
The Corsair Utility Engine (CUE)
The Corsair HS70 unlike the other H series headsets is compatible and makes use of the CUE software for fine tuning the performance as per the user's needs and taste. During the time of this review I didn't have an officially compatible version of CUE that would worked with the HS70 as it was still under embargo so I downloaded the one that I found latest, version 2.24.50, on the Corsair website and it worked flawlessly with my unit from the get go itself without any additional efforts. Still your device might behave differently or have additional functionalities than mine once the product is officially released with a corresponding CUE software.
The functions that we have are quite basic to be honest, there are a bunch of preset equalizers that one can choose from if they don't like the default flat EQ or might aswell set a custom one as per their taste and needs.While the FPS competition and Clear Chat didn't have any noticeable difference the Bass and Movie did make quite a difference while listening to music or playing games and watching movies ofcourse. I'd rather advice you to either stick with the default flat or go for the Movie or Bass EQ if you want to enjoy your games and movies alike.
As for the other settings you can also set the virtual 7.1 channel surround sound off or on by the click of a button which is quite starkly visible eight below the product image.
Among the other features you can monitor the device battery levels which is quite handy indeed but I wish it was present on the main page itself where all the equalizer presets are mentioned for easier monitoring. You can also turn off the voice prompt which you definitely should or a female voice would keep irritating you with every choice you make in the main area, do yourself a favor and uncheck that option please!
Let's put it to Test!
Are they Comfortable!?
The memory foam cushions on the earcups are soft and feel really smooth against the
ear without creating any sort of irritation at all. Even though they are leatherette but due to the fact that they apply a perfect force on the ears there is no sweat or
strain caused even when worn for hours at a stretch infact these are so
light that I even forgot that there is something on my head and ear due
to light weight and no irritation. Obviously in summers without an air conditioner some sweating is eminent as these aren't fiber based cushion so breathing room is less. I've used a lot of wireless gaming headsets
and the Corsair HS70 is easily on the comfortable side of the spectrum.
The clamping force is just perfect and doesn't hurt the ear especially with the cups being large enough that they can easily fir in larger ears too such as mine. A bit of a concern is that since the inner side of the headband is quite smooth if you jerk your head suddenly the headset might loosen up or even fall in worst cases as the headband has almost no friction with the head.
How do they Sound!?
The sound signature on the Corsair HS70 is neutral and well
rounded which is rare to find on gaming headsets that mainly concentrate
on bass and end up sounding not so generic to put it lightly.
This means that in Crysis 3 we had no issue whatsoever in listening to or understanding what Prophet was saying and noises were greatly distinguished in the heat of battle, even of the crickets in the NY jungle! Battlefield 1 came out fully immersive especially when it came to sitting inside the battle tanks or listening to aerial bombing happening across the field. In Far Cry 5 we could really feel the voices coming from different directions and interestingly even though since the bass on these headphones are mild to insignificant they didn't distort the sounds of footsteps from behind and I was able to pin point the enemy location making it a great choice for eSport players including CS:GO.
The passive noise isolation is great. The ear cushions are great and do a wonderful job at noise isolation making it ideal for playing around with your friends or even listening to music or watching movies without disturbing others around you.
Coming over to music since these are very natural sounding cups and not just gaming exclusives they cover all ends of the sound spectrum well making listening to music or watching movies a great enjoyment. Yes I did feel it lacks significant bass when it comes to listening to explosions or revving engines in movies but its not that bad that I start complaining about it!
This means that in Crysis 3 we had no issue whatsoever in listening to or understanding what Prophet was saying and noises were greatly distinguished in the heat of battle, even of the crickets in the NY jungle! Battlefield 1 came out fully immersive especially when it came to sitting inside the battle tanks or listening to aerial bombing happening across the field. In Far Cry 5 we could really feel the voices coming from different directions and interestingly even though since the bass on these headphones are mild to insignificant they didn't distort the sounds of footsteps from behind and I was able to pin point the enemy location making it a great choice for eSport players including CS:GO.
The passive noise isolation is great. The ear cushions are great and do a wonderful job at noise isolation making it ideal for playing around with your friends or even listening to music or watching movies without disturbing others around you.
Coming over to music since these are very natural sounding cups and not just gaming exclusives they cover all ends of the sound spectrum well making listening to music or watching movies a great enjoyment. Yes I did feel it lacks significant bass when it comes to listening to explosions or revving engines in movies but its not that bad that I start complaining about it!
Its a virtual 7.1 channel surround sound system which makes your ear believe that
its a surround sound but technically it isn't. While some brand have
implemented this technology well Corsair with its HS70 failed
miserably! You would end up spoiling the whole experience of listening
to music or even playing games especially games since the spatial
sounding is lost and you won't know who or what hit you from which side.
So please don't turn on this feature you'll be better off without it
believe me.
Performance wise we see a balanced sound signature in gaming with decent bass and to the point spatial sounding. The same however can't be said for the music and movies as the signature is just too flat in terms of bass and can hinder the experience if you are into genres that are bass intensive. But at the price point that it comes with I can't really expect it to offer everything since its primarily intended for gaming only. Mic is nothing too great but very receptive to even the quietest of mumbles with a neat noise cancellation to offer flat yet clear audio to the other side making it a decent choice for gaming and streaming but definitely not for dubbing purposes.
The 7.1 virtual surround sound isn't something that I recommend to turn on when using it for multimedia but yes you can use it for gaming and its entirely subjective as I found it to be better without that feature turned on.
My Verdict
Corsair H series headsets have been there for sometime now to cater to the budget gamers doing pretty well at what they claim to do so that is offering nothing out of the blue but competitive audio performance in games to the average budget gamer and the HS70 certainly takes a whole new role with a few new features that it brings to then table. Aesthetics are similar in every way to its predecessor with just two new color ways to match the theme & styling of one's rig, over all its extremely well build & quite elegant without any flashy designs poking out like we are used to seeing in most of the gaming headsets out there making it quite universal for day to day use aswell. I love the build quality here but I'm disappointed that the cups don't rotate which by now should be a basic standard for gaming headsets from reputed brands as it offers exceptional comfort and mobility.Performance wise we see a balanced sound signature in gaming with decent bass and to the point spatial sounding. The same however can't be said for the music and movies as the signature is just too flat in terms of bass and can hinder the experience if you are into genres that are bass intensive. But at the price point that it comes with I can't really expect it to offer everything since its primarily intended for gaming only. Mic is nothing too great but very receptive to even the quietest of mumbles with a neat noise cancellation to offer flat yet clear audio to the other side making it a decent choice for gaming and streaming but definitely not for dubbing purposes.
The 7.1 virtual surround sound isn't something that I recommend to turn on when using it for multimedia but yes you can use it for gaming and its entirely subjective as I found it to be better without that feature turned on.
"Corsair HS70 is the perfect blend of elegance and decent performance, a
rarity in the budget gaming headset category. Its wireless nature makes it a perfect companion for on the go gamers
who are on a tight budget but don't want to compromise upon gaming audio
quality."
Pros - - Solid Build Quality
- Available in three colors
- Neutral to elegant Looks
- Good pricing
- Decent sound signature for gaming
- Light and Comfortable
- Cups don't rotate
- 7.1 surround sound is poor and pointless
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