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Audio Quality, Analyzed

On The Bench: Corsair's HS1 USB Gaming Headset
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Comfort is well and good, but audio quality needs to be up to snuff, too. The HS1 offers a variety of listening modes, from pure stereo to Dolby Headphone-enabled virtual surround sound. In direct stereo, the headset sounds as good as the excellent Steelseries Siberia V2 (which also uses 50 mm drivers) and nearly as good as a pair of dedicated Sennheiser HD 580 headphones...and the Corsair unit is more comfortable than both. The overall effect is mostly neutral, with a little bit of forwardness to the vocals. The 50 mm drivers deliver excellent detail, with subtle nuances audible in complex music material. We listened to renaissance music from the quartet Palladian Ensemble and Loreena McKennitt’s Live from the Alhambra CD, and could hear all instruments, even those barely audible at low levels.

Bass is less robust. Even with 50 mm drivers, there’s only so much you can do. Mid-bass content from rock music, like Green Day’s American Idiot and The Crane Wife from the Decemberists is solid, but deep bass effects from Blu-ray movies lacked punch.

Once we were satisfied that the stereo reproduction was up to snuff, we moved on to virtual surround in both movies and games. No virtual surround technology is perfect, and Dolby Headphones is no exception. The default settings for 7.1 seemed a little conservative, and the overall surround effect wasn’t particularly noticeable. However, Corsair’s basic-looking but easy-to-use control panel allowed us to spread the effect out a bit, and the overall sound stage did emerge from between our ears and at least across the desktop. Note that, like many similar technologies, Dolby Headphones uses HRTFs (head-related transfer functions), which tend to affect listeners differently, so your mileage may vary. Some users can’t hear HRTF effects at all.

Even in 7.1 virtual mode, the HS1 seems to retain its ability to project excellent detail, although volume levels drop a bit. However, Corsair’s headset offers a lot of dynamic range (up to 93 dBA), and a few clicks of the large, tactile inline control boost volume to ear-shattering levels without maxing out volume. We could hear every crunch, gunshot and effect during the combat scenes in Kick-Ass, but subtle background noises, like those from the quieter passages of the Band of Brothers boxed set, were clearly audible.

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  • 12 Hide
    7amood , September 16, 2010 9:49 AM
    I see no graph... just words describing what the reviewer feel.
    I only see general pictures of the headphones...
    this is not the quality review i'm used to see from tom's...
    total disappointment, but still interested in the headphone.
Other Comments
  • 0 Hide
    amk09 , September 16, 2010 6:07 AM
    corsair? really? well i guess i'll have to try these baby's out.
  • 4 Hide
    IzzyCraft , September 16, 2010 6:25 AM
    $99 it looks like it's in competition with the G35...
  • -8 Hide
    crazybaldhead , September 16, 2010 7:07 AM
    Nice advertising, Loyd.
  • 0 Hide
    agnickolov , September 16, 2010 7:26 AM
    No technical data provided here, so I had to look it up on Corsair's web site. The dynamic range is 20Hz-20kHz, which is a very solid showing in contrast to all the other sub-par gaming headsets reviewed here on Tom's Hardware. However, it's still no match to a professional gaming headset like the Sennheiser PC 350 (10Hz-26kHz). I couldn't find HD 580 on Sennheiser's web site (discontinued I suppose), but the updated model HD 600 has a dynamic range of 12Hz-39kHz, so it's a different ball game again. In the author's defense, it's very hard to discern audio quality differences beyond 20kHz and many humans cannot do that.

    I'd say for its price of $100, this headset is a great value. For comparison, the MSRP for the Sennheiser PC 350 is $250, while it can be found online starting at $125.
  • 8 Hide
    DavC , September 16, 2010 8:54 AM
    agnickolovNo technical data provided here, so I had to look it up on Corsair's web site. The dynamic range is 20Hz-20kHz, which is a very solid showing in contrast to all the other sub-par gaming headsets reviewed here on Tom's Hardware. However, it's still no match to a professional gaming headset like the Sennheiser PC 350 (10Hz-26kHz). I couldn't find HD 580 on Sennheiser's web site (discontinued I suppose), but the updated model HD 600 has a dynamic range of 12Hz-39kHz, so it's a different ball game again. In the author's defense, it's very hard to discern audio quality differences beyond 20kHz and many humans cannot do that.

    i dont think there's hardly any people who can hear above 20kHz (or below 20Hz). i remember we tried it in a science lesson at school, out of a class of about 30, there was only me and one other person who could hear a tone upto just over 18kHz.

    I've always been under the impression 20Hz - 20kHz is the full range of human hearing. anything above or below that is pointless measuring, and of no use what so ever.

    Anyway, this headset looks good. i've never done gaming with a proper headset before, and am rather tempted by this one.
  • 12 Hide
    7amood , September 16, 2010 9:49 AM
    I see no graph... just words describing what the reviewer feel.
    I only see general pictures of the headphones...
    this is not the quality review i'm used to see from tom's...
    total disappointment, but still interested in the headphone.
  • 0 Hide
    nanonyous , September 16, 2010 10:22 AM
    That 'easy to use' control panel is the standard C-Media control panel, which leads me to believe the audio controller employed in the headphones is a C-Media derivative, if not a C-Media chip.
  • 2 Hide
    Collie147 , September 16, 2010 11:26 AM
    I thought the Psykos were 5.1 and not 7.1???
  • 5 Hide
    precariousgray , September 16, 2010 12:50 PM
    "But that capability is there, so if you’re a man who plays female characters in MMOs, you can now sound like one as well."

    Only good/interesting/informative part of this "review."
  • 1 Hide
    ares1214 , September 16, 2010 1:34 PM
    The more products corsair releases, the better if you ask me. And for those who wanted more graphs or pictures, audio quality is something very hard to do that with. Sure, he can do a dB chart, dynamic range chart, which he already said, but thats about it. This should have been a lot of opinion, and it was, which is good. Not everybody might thing they are comfortable or not. Same with audio quality. A 20Hz-20kHz is the official hearing range of humans. VERY few can hear below/above, and those who can likely cant tell the difference. It would be a waste of money to make them go any further.
  • 0 Hide
    fozzie76 , September 16, 2010 2:34 PM
    Same thing I always ask.. size of the ear cuffs please? I used the V2 now for a while but it's starting to hurt my right ear. I may have to switch to this. Thanks!
  • 3 Hide
    fozzie76 , September 16, 2010 2:40 PM
    "There are not sellers currently available for this product" -- from Corsair's website. You should give the one you tested away... to a loyal reader.. with big ears.. that purchased the V2 after you reviewed it.
  • 4 Hide
    fausto , September 16, 2010 3:20 PM
    headset reviews are a scam. give me 3 or 4 price ranges and compare 20 headsets and tell me which are better and why.


    best headset i've tried is the original fatal1ty usb headset from creative. could it be better? yes...but haven't see anyone else do better.

    all the surround headsets suck...nothing but a gimmick.
  • 0 Hide
    restatement3dofted , September 16, 2010 4:31 PM
    That this headset offers audio quality comparable to the Sennheiser HD-580s is really impressive, especially at that price point. Been looking for a replacement for my current Turtle Beach X1s, looks like I'll have to see if these are available anywhere for a test drive.

    Do wish they were compatible with my 360, so I wouldn't have to keep using a sub-par headset when playing console exclusive games, but c'est la vie, I suppose.
  • 0 Hide
    -713king- , September 16, 2010 5:20 PM
    Can this be match with Astro's mixamp??
  • 1 Hide
    ekidhardt , September 16, 2010 7:01 PM
    Why anyone would get a simulated 5.1 surround sound, or 7.1 with "emulated" positioning when you can get the REAL thing with the Turtle Beach HPA2, is beyond me.

    All simulated headphones, regardless of the quality are simply just inferior alternatives.

    The HPA2 is cheaper too.

    e

  • 0 Hide
    pinkfloydminnesota , September 16, 2010 8:06 PM
    Grado Sr 60s are the best sounding headphones, period. For anything.

    Get a microphone and tape on it.
  • 0 Hide
    Morgan3rd , September 16, 2010 8:17 PM
    Not particularly happy with my Megaledons, but I got Shure se530s when I really wanna rock out or kick back and drift into bliss.

    They get the job done though... I'd give the megaledons a 4/5 stars.
  • 0 Hide
    DokkRokken , September 16, 2010 8:56 PM
    Loreena McKennitt?! The gentleman has exquisite musical taste!
  • 0 Hide
    wolfram23 , September 16, 2010 10:10 PM
    At that price you should be comparing to, say Logitech G35 and SteelSeries 5H V2. I had a pair of 5H V2s for two days but hated them, picked up some Sennheiser PC350s, and have been in audiophile heaven since. I doubt that these Corsairs compare to HD 580s when you're also comparing to SteelSeries Siberia V2... But, whatever.
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