Corsair HS75 XB WIRELESS Gaming Headset Review

Recently Corsair introduced its new gaming headset HS75 XB WIRELESS for the current Xbox generations and I tested it extensively for you. Corsair has kindly provided us with a copy of it free of charge.

Just the first look inside the box gives a high-quality impression of the directly visible headset. Well protected it is wrapped in blister plastic and strapped securely for transport. Besides the headset, the box also contains a charging cable, the matching pluggable microphone, a protective foam padding for the microphone, some instructions and warranty documents and an instruction card on how to activate Dolby Atmos on Xbox for the headset.

Appearance and Finish

Externally, the headset also makes a very positive feeling. The ear cups are covered with imitation leather and have a mesh of light grey metal and the black Corsair logo on the outside. The frame of the ear cups and the transition to the bow, which is also covered with black imitation leather, is made of noble, matt and dark grey stainless steel. The inside of the headband is still pleasantly padded. For my taste the headband is padded well enough. Even after several hours I didn't have the feeling that something pinches or sits badly somewhere. Even my ears didn't get hot in the auricles, which has happened with other headphones vey often. Here I feel the wearing comfort is really first class. It's not too heavy for me, although with 330g it's already one of the heavier headsets on the market. Depending on your head size you can of course lengthen the headband like with other headsets - here in 9 steps. But you have to have a very large head to do this. For me it fits perfectly as it is, but my head couldn't be smaller, otherwise it could be uncomfortable. This means that the headset only works for adults. For a child's head, the headset is probably already too heavy and too big.

A real advantage is the removable microphone. This is simply plugged into the socket on the headset with a jack plug. If you don't need it, there is a small rubber plug in the scope of delivery, with which the socket can be closed. There is also a wheel for the volume and on the other side for the balance between game sound and voice volume. On the left side there is a mute button and on the right side the power button. Charging is done via USB-C (Type-C) plug. The headset also supports the Power-Delivery Standard and can be charged with a suitable notebook power supply. Of course, any smartphone power supply or directly the Xbox itself is also possible. The integrated battery should be sufficient for a playing time of about 20 hours, charging was very fast with a PD notebook power supply. The battery performance is of course also dependent on the volume, but is within a good range.

With some practice you can find the mute button quite fast, but a rough texture would have been helpful, so that you can feel the button directly with your finger. In addition, it takes a short moment after pressing the mute button until it is actually muted. A short acoustic signal comes as confirmation.

Soundquality

Since the HS75XB WIRELESS is a Dolby Atmos headset, you should of course use it. You don't have to buy the app on Xbox or PC, because the headset is pre-activated in the Dolby app. This means that you don't get a key for a free Dolby Atmos license, but the headset is automatically recognized in the app and the Dolby function is activated. This is of course great, because the headset then would not only work with the account which activated the code, but on every Xbox you are connecting it with. Very good Corsair!

The integrated 50mm Neodymium drivers achieve a very good sound experience. In combination with Dolby Atmos, very coherent spatial depth and a good immersion comes across. What many headsets often fail to achieve is a projection of the rear sounds. Everything in front of you works even with a Dolby Atmos emulation on stereo headsets. But here everything fits very well. Most current games already make use of this technology and especially in multiplayer games you can take advantage of it. For a fine adjustment you can adjust the controls directly in the Dolby App according to your needs and set them to your own optimum. The sound quality of the language of your party chat is good, but of course it also depends on the technology of your counterpart. Treble, midrange and bass sound balanced and not overdriven. All in all I am very satisfied with it. The only small flaw may be that without sound output, you may hear a very slight noise in the left auricle, but only when nothing else is heard. I think you can get over that.

What I find really annoying is that the volume of the headset is reset every time and I have to readjust it with the left wheel. It would have been better to save the old volume level at the moment the headset is turned off. This saves you having to readjust it every time. The same applies to the balance between game sound and party chat.

By the way, the auricles do not seal off so strongly that you cannot perceive your surroundings. This may be good for some people and rather bad for others. I think it is good. In addition, it does not create an unpleasant feeling of pressure, as I mentioned above.

Connecting with Xbox and PC

Paring with Xbox is nicely solved, because the headset can be connected like an Xbox controller. You just click on the Sync button, wait until the Xbox logo pulsates and shortly after that you press and hold the power button on the headset for about 10 seconds until the LED also pulsates. Shortly after that the two devices found each other and the profile logged on to the Xbox reports with a message that the headset has been assigned to the current profile. Very nice and uncomplicated. Similarly, it works on the PC - unfortunately, the Xbox Wireless Adapter is required. Without this, a coupling with the PC is not possible.

The headset has, as the name suggests, no cable, but is completely wireless. It is also not necessary to plug an adapter or similar to the Xbox. It is completely native compatible.

The headset is certified by Microsoft for the Xbox platform, Xbox One and even Xbox Series X|S.

The headset unfortunately does not support Bluetooth. Therefore you cannot use it on the PC without the Xbox Wireless Adapter described above or with other devices. With Bluetooth it would be even more attractive, because you could have used it as a headset on other devices or consoles, but especially as a headset without the microphone on your smartphone. Unfortunately a very big chance was missed here. I also tried to connect the headset directly to the PC with a USB cable. It is recognized by Windows 10 immediately, but cannot be used as a microphone or for audio playback. This would also be possible with a software update. Then you would at least have a wired headset on your PC.

I found it a bit irritating that you can't use the power button as an off switch. Once the headset is on, you can only turn it off by turning off the Xbox. But for this it must be paired. If the headset is in pairing mode and you switch off the console, the headset won't switch off and I couldn't switch it off manually. Possibly I would have had to wait until the battery is empty. In that case I turned the Xbox back on, re-paired it and then turned the console off again - which turned the headset off.

Why you can't use the power button to turn it off at any time is a mystery to me.

Specifications

Conclusion

I really like the Corsair HS75 XB WIRELESS. I have really enjoyed the last days with it. The disadvantages and shortcomings are limited and many things could be fixed by a software update - I have passed it on to the manufacturer. Good luck! The only real disadvantage in my opinion is the missing Bluetooth support. The few bucks for an appropriate chip would have been surely in it, particularly since the price with 159.99€ ERP and a current street price of 179.99€ on Amazon is not straight a good deal. Possibly the missing Bluetooth is due to the Xbox certification, which forbids this. I do not know.

On the other hand, the headset scores with an excellent quality of workmanship and syncing with the Xbox is just as easy as you would wish. Even the new Xbox Series X and S are already officially supported. Dolby Atmos is included for free, which you would have to buy additionally for 17,99€ at other manufacturers headsets. The most important thing with a headset is the sound, which is really well tuned and balanced, and can be fine-tuned with the Dolby App. Together with the high-quality materials I can recommend the headset!

What is good

• Outstanding workmanship and high-quality materials
• Xbox certified - also already for Xbox Series X|S
• Synchronization could not be easier
• Very good sound quality
• Removable microphone + jack cap
• Dolby Atmos AppLicense integrated for free
• Completely wireless
• 20 hours battery
• USB TypeC charging connector incl. PD standard
• Wireless range approx. 12 meters
• Separate dials for volume and sound balance
• Does not generate an echo at the opposite side
• Sound from behind can be well located
• Pleasant wearing comfort and the ears do not get hot

What is not so good

• No Bluetooth
• Usable at the PC only with a Xbox Wireless Adapter
• The headset is probably too big for smaller heads (especially children)
• No off switch ?! (could be fixed probably with a software update)
• There is a strange pairing bug, because the headset cannot be switched off manually (could be fixed probably with a software update)
• No instant mute (could be fixed probably with a software update)
• Volume and sound balance must be adjusted each time again (could be fixed probably with a software update)

Most of the text was automatically translated from german to english using DeepL.com