[section_title title=Corsair VOID Stereo Review]

Corsair VOID Stereo Review

Corsair VOID Stereo – UK: £54.99 @ Amazon UK
Corsair VOID Stereo – US: $69.99 @ Amazon.com

The Corsair VOID Stereo features analogue audio and is compatible with both PC and games consoles alike; fantastic versatility in my opinion for those who own both platforms, but don’t want to sacrifice on quality on either one.  Or that is the suggested premise!

With 50mm  neodymium drivers, this headset isn’t your low key “entry level” gaming headset, but one designed for mid-range market; one could couple this with an ASUS XONAR sound card to further enhance the audio quality which does give this headset a slight advantage over the USB and Wireless models in my opinion.  I for one only use dedicated audio and it will be interesting to see if they make the grade in that department.

The headset itself features an all-black design with a yellow Corsair Gaming sails logo on the ear cups; this is complimented with yellow accented audio leads which aren’t detachable like on some other headsets.  It is worth noting that to use these with an XBOX One games console; you will need an adapter which is available separately via many different console accessory specialists.

With very padded ear cups and a padded headband, Corsair are obviously focused on comfort as let’s be honest, no-one wants to go through a 4 hour gaming session with the feeling of a couple of bricks over your ears; if you do, you are officially bonkers!  The Corsair logo is featured across the top of the headband and is pretty large; this isn’t featured on the other 2 VOID headsets in this fashion separating the 3 from each other.

You can use the headset with or without microphone capabilities allowing these to be used as headphones, but an adapter is included which separates the 2 audio channels for PC, MAC and console compatibility.  The coated cables also ensure these remain free from the issues of braided cables as they tend to thread quickly, especially when used often.

A microphone mute button and volume adjustment scroll wheel are featured on the left hand cup (same as the microphone) which I actually like; no more looking for the in-line controller by your feet; it’s on your head!

Performance

With the Corsair VOID range effectively being gaming headsets, I wouldn’t even dream of comparing the audio quality with high bitrate music files such as .FLAC etc.  You can’t really compare a set of audiophile headphones for music quality over any gaming headset, but for what the Corsair VOID Stereo analogue headset gave me in terms of tonality, I was mightily impressed overall!  I played a variety of genres such as rock, soul, metal, dance, hard style etc., just to get a feel of the tone and although a little muddy in the midrange (I expected this anyway) and the bass being flat in places, this is actually a good analogue headset.

For gaming which these are actually designed for, I decided to try them out across a multitude of AAA titles such as FIFA 16, Battlefield 4 and even CS: GO.  The first thing I noticed was the slightly tinny explosions on Battlefield 4, this was particularly disappointing, but after a little tweak on my systems EQ settings and we were in business.  A good clear audio experience was good, although compared to the other headsets in CS: GO, I did feel at a slight disadvantage due to relying on good surround sound quality.  Aside from that, the Corsair VOID Stereo for what it is a very formidable bit of kit in terms of audio quality.

The microphone although generally good, did have its moments as many people asked commented on the slightly tinny twinge to the quality.  However, they could understand everything I said and although each microphone on any headset will make you sound slightly different depending on drivers, I apparently sounded completely different, so take that how you will.

Now it’s time for the USB 7.1 Dolby RGB version…