Corsair HS80 RGB gaming headset review — Playing the objective

There are many items I find necessary when playing competitively, but a headset is always close to the top. Your arsenal is a bit different when you go to war in a video game. This usually consists of your PC or console, controller or keyboard and mouse, and a good headset. Corsair has thrown their hat in the ring with several products (like the Virtuoso Max we reviewed only a little while ago), and the HS80 has been in their armory for a moment. After spending some time with it, this weapon is solid in your fight for a better K/D, although it has a few drawbacks.

In the box you’ll find the Corsair HS80 RGB gaming headset, a USB dongle, a six foot charging cable, and a warranty card. The included USB-C cable is a really nice braided one, a bonus where many headset makers either give you a short or cheap one. While looking at the Corsair website, I also found you can purchase replacement parts for the HS80. That’s not something I’ve seen before, and being able to replace the ear pads or the USB dongle is good thinking ahead.

The HS80 itself is a great looking headset. I specifically went with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 model, and the additional orange pops on top of the carbon colored headset. The plastic headband attaches to two metal pieces that hold the ear cups, which is an excellent choice to add stability. While the fuzzy cloth ear cups might not look like much, the memory foam is quite comfortable underneath, which works well for long gaming sessions. Couple this with a ski-band up top and you have a very enjoyable headset to wear. My only qualm is that the ski-band also functions as the adjustment for your head-size, so if you have a large head you might still be wearing the headband if you have to velcro it all the way.

On the HS80 are several controls, but only on the left ear cup. Your volume wheel and power button are present, along with a charging port and microphone. You can also click the volume wheel to access a limited EQ feature. There’s not an overabundance of function at an arms length on the HS80, but what is necessary is certainly covered.

What isn’t covered is Bluetooth capability. I’m a little bit disappointed in this given how comfortable the headset is, because I wanted to use it in more places. The USB dongle will give you PC and PlayStation compatibility, but nothing more. Being only able to enjoy this headset in those two areas is a major bummer, especially as there is a wired version of this headset so you’d love to have at least a 3.5mm jack to supplement the wireless shortcomings.

Even so, this headset sounds fantastic. If you’re on PC, it sounds awesome on its own, but opening up Dolby Atmos (which comes with the HS80) or SteelSeries Sonar app will amp it up even more. These 50mm drivers are very well tuned, offering superb spatial audio as I gunned down opponents in Black Ops 6. Whatever sound cues I needed were there, knowing exactly what direction my enemy was coming from whether a footstep, gunshot, or even a reload gave it away.

I’m especially impressed with the performance on PlayStation. I’ve already seen some mention of it working well with the PS5 Tempest 3D audio, and that’s absolutely true. Playing around even with Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, I found myself hearing directional sound that isn’t even necessary in that game but does add to the immersion. I took it a step further and tried my go to audio testing game: Returnal. It may not reach the detailed heights of some more premium headsets, but for $150, it sounds pretty stellar.

While I’m limited by platform, listening to music on my PC has also been a pleasant experience. As mentioned above, you’ll get your best out of utilizing the included Dolby Atmos, but it’s more than adequate on its own. This also applies to any movie, TV, or YouTube watching.

Two areas that the HS80 struggles in are the battery and the microphone. First, the battery life is not that hot. I’ve managed to deplete it completely in a single session of Call of Duty, and while I play for a while (I’d say I was online with the headset for 10+ hours), that’s not a lot of time. Thankfully, the USB-C charging will get you back into the fight quickly, but this limitation is a challenge I haven’t seen in the competition. You also can disable the RGB lighting to get more out of the HS80, but the lighting is so minor I’m unsure if it would add more than an hour or so.

Secondly, the microphone sounds okay, but my compatriots thought I sounded far away from it. In recordings I didn’t hear this complication, so it might be more Discord than myself, although I was certainly a bit quieter than my streaming microphone (shout out the Elgato Wave:3). It’s a little fuzzy in capturing your voice, but serviceable, and that’s all that matters. I do love the flip-to-mute feature they’ve gone with, which even has an RGB indicator light on the tip to let you know for sure it’s muted.

Corsair’s software, iCUE, still has yet to sell me on its setup. I don’t find it very user friendly, and there’s not a lot here to adjust anyway. I appreciate the ten-band EQ, and the lighting effects are nice, but I’d like more guidance in how to use all of these settings to my advantage. More presets are always a good thing.

I’ve had a few bugs while using the headset on PC. Occasionally Discord has simply shut off the headset audio, and I’m not sure as to why. The iCUE software has also randomly been unable to find the headset, even if I’m using it without issue on the computer. These problems are more of an oddity, but they can be annoying.

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