The Corsair Void Pro RGB is the follow-up to Corsair’s Void RGB headset, which ups the audio and recording quality while bringing 7.1 surround sound and customizable RGB lighting, which is all the rage at the moment.
It’s a wireless headset that gives you the freedom of movement you’d expect that comes from ditching the cords – but does this freedom come at the expense of sound quality? We gave it a whirl to find out.
The Corsair Void Pro RGB costs £109.99 / $99.99 / AU$159), which is undeniably pricey for a headset, although compared to the likes of the Asus ROG Centurion 7.1 (£219.99 / $270 / AU$360) and the Razer ManO'War ($169, about £155, AU$330), which sit atop our best PC gaming headset list, it doesn’t seem quite as eye-watering.
Design
Corsair positions the Void Pro RGB as a premium headset (with a price tag to match), and its design certainly helps to create a premium impression, with a design that, will nicely understated, should still please gamers thanks to its RGB lighting.
The feel of the headset isn’t quite as premium, though, with a plastic design that lacks the robust feel of expensive headsets like the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless. However, it does mean the Corsair Void Pro RGB weighs less than some of its competitors, making it more comfortable to wear for long gaming sessions.
While the outside is plastic, it features metal pillars that make the Corsair Void Pro RGB feel like a durable headset that won't break easily, and padding on the ear-cups, and on the band that goes over the top of your head, help make this a very comfortable headset to wear.
The Corsair Void Pro RGB comes in both wired and wireless versions, and you can choose from a range of colors. The cups sit comfortably over your ears, and each has a backlit Corsair logo which can be configured via software to glow in a variety of colors and to match your gaming setup (as pretty much every gaming laptop, PC, component or peripheral these days has RGB lighting).
While it’s the Corsair logo that gets the glowing treatment on these cans, it’s a nice enough logo, and Corsair is a respected brand in PC gaming, so that shouldn’t put too many people off.
On the left-hand can sits a mic arm that can be lowered and raised to turn the mic on and off. It’s a nice touch, as putting the arm into the up position mutes the microphone. The headset also alerts you via a sound when the mic is raised and lowered, so you’re aware of when the mic is on or off. The mic can also be adjusted slightly by bending the arm, so you can fine-tune its position for optimum recording quality.
Also on the left side is a button for muting the mic, a power button for switching the headset on, and a micro USB port for charging the headset. Overall, the Corsair Void Pro RGB is a very nicely designed headset that manages to balance a stylish design with gaming aesthetics like RGB lighting.
Setup
Setting up the Corsair Void Pro RGB is pretty straightforward, as it doesn't require an external amp. We tested the wireless version, and all we needed to do was plug the transmitter (which looks like a USB memory stick) into a USB port and turn on the headset, which then paired instantly.
Windows 10 recognized the Corsair Void Pro RGB when we plugged in the wireless adaptor, and we also installed the Corsair Utility Engine software.
This software lets you adjust the settings of the Corsair Void Pro, as well as customize its lighting settings. There aren't a huge amount of customization options, but you can choose the color from a wide range, as well as the effect (such as quick blinks, slow breathing, and more). If you have other Corsair products, such as the ST100 RBG stand or K95 RGB keyboard, you can also configure them via this app.
Sound quality
Sound quality is the most important factor when it comes to headsets, and in this respect the Corsair Void Pro RGB doesn’t disappoint, especially considering its price and the fact that it’s a wireless headset aimed primarily at gamers. Gaming headsets will often concentrate on delivering skull-rattling low tones to make explosions and other action scenes feel more ‘impactful’, but the Corsair Void Pro RGB is pretty well balanced, with non-gaming media, such as music, coming through well.
Of course, as the EQ settings in the Corsair Utility Engine software show, this is primarily a gaming headset, so the EQ presets are all aimed at gaming, except for one that's for movies. If you want a headset primarily for listening to music, then this probably isn’t the best choice.
Gaming-wise, the Corsair Void Pro RGB performed brilliantly, with punchy and vivid audio and a good use of virtual surround sound; a hectic gun battle in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was made far more immersive by the sounds of bullets flying past as we played. Volume can be controlled via a dial on the left headphone can, and the mic did a very good job of delivering speech both during gameplay and on video calls, while also keeping background noise to a minimum.
However, we did find that sometimes when we lowered the mic arm the microphone wouldn’t turn on, which led to a bit of fiddling around in Windows’ sound settings and turning the headset on and off again.
Battery life was good. There's an auto-shutdown feature that turns the Corsair Void Pro RGB off when not in use, and we rarely found ourselves unable to use the headset due to a dead battery – you just have to remember to plug it into the USB. The Corsair ST100 headset stand can be used in conjunction with the Corsair Void Pro RGB, with the RGB lighting matching up between the two devices.
If you want to go all-in on the Corsair ecosystem the stand is a nice accompaniment to the Corsair Void Pro RGB, although it doesn’t do very much apart from holding your headset while looking pretty, and also acting as a USB hub. It does have a 7.1 virtual surround processor for adding that effect to other headphones (which can be plugged in via an audio jack), although if you have the Corsair Void Pro RGB you won’t need that feature.
We found that the Void Pro RGB's wireless range was very good, covering pretty much all of the large room we were using it in, although it lost connection when we went into another room. Overall, the sound quality was very good, with a believable 7.1 virtual surround sound implementation.
We liked
The Corsair Void Pro RGB is a good-looking wireless gaming headset, and if you have quite a few Corsair products already, it will fit in well. Sound quality is also very good, and the virtual surround sound is a decent effect that can help make games more immersive.
We didn’t like
There wasn’t much we didn’t like about this headset, the only complaints being that sometimes the mic didn’t turn on automatically when the arm was lowered, and that the RGB lighting is limited to the two Corsair logos. But these are relatively minor complaints.
Final verdict
Overall, we were very impressed with the Corsair Void Pro RGB. It offered very good sound quality for games and movies, and the virtual surround sound was well implemented. Recording quality via the mic was also good, making this a great headset for communicating with team mates, and even for doing a spot of livestream broadcasting.
The sound quality, and various EQ profiles, are decidedly game-orientated, which won’t be a problem if you just want to use this headset for playing games. However, if you want a headset primarily to listen to music on, while just enjoying the odd burst of gaming, then you may be better off taking a look at something from our best headphones of 2018 list.
If you’re a committed gamer with a number of Corsair products already sitting on your desk you’ll be very pleased with the Corsair Void Pro RGB, especially considering its relatively low price compared to other gaming headsets.
- Here's our list of the best gaming headsets in 2018
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/2rY13b7
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