New Gaming Headset

Gaming
#1

Was thinking about getting a new gaming headset. I’m currently on the Corsair VOID RGB but the earpads are basically disintegrating after this last time I tried to wash them and I’m hearing some rattling noises on the inside of them. I’ve had them for 5 or so years now so I think I had a pretty good run with them.

I was thinking of sticking with Corsair and trying the Corsair HS70 Pro

Has anyone had any experience with these? I want to stay wireless because I really just don’t like dealing with cords and sometimes I like to walk around while I’m talking to people on discord.

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#2

While I can’t say I have any knowledge at all about this headset in particular I have a strong dislike of headsets in general and will always recommend people just buy a good proper set of earphones and a cheap clip on mic instead.

I’ve never come across a pair of headsets that were actually good and having both functions in a single device means throwing the whole thing out if one of them fails, though it’s usually the mic that goes first. Buying a cheap clip on mic that can be used and discarded when it ultimately fails seems like a much better idea to me.

Though I suppose if you desire wirelessness that would make the cheap mic option harder to achieve but it looks like you can get them for about $25-35 on the low end. So while it might end up a larger initial investment if you get good headphones that’ll last you 10 years and go through 3 $30 mics you’ll come out a head at the end.

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#3

The HS70 are great headsets, but for your budget, you can get something way better. The Hyperx Cloud IIs are cheaper and way better, then there is the HyperX Cloud Stinger Core for cheaper. There is also the Steelseries Arctis 5 .

You of course won’t go wrong with the HS70, but I do think you should go to Youtube and type in the headset name + microphone test to get a sense of what it’ll sound like in that department, and then find a review video where they review the sound itself.

RTings might have several audio files for the HS70. Ultimately that’s what helped me decide between 10 headsets and settle down to the Steelseries Arctis 1 (Wireless) edition.

EDIT

Okay, wireless. The HyperX Cloud has a wireless edition, unfortunately it’s way more expensive. The Arctis line has wireless and the HyperX Stinger I linked to is wireless. Anyways, if you settle for Corsair, you won’t be disappointed whatsoever.

Good luck!

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#4

I was also looking at the Arctis 1 Wireless and the only reason I’ll likely end up going Corsair was that I could still use the HS70 Pro while charging it. From one site I looked at (I believe it was rtings.com) they said that it doesn’t allow you to use it and charge it at the same time and I’ve definitely slacked on the charging and need it to be able to do that.

I’m definitely okay with losing some quality for wireless. I don’t listen to music that often and as long as audio comes through quality enough for Discord then I’m good. I walk around too much when I talk to use a desk mic exclusively anyway.

Thanks for the input so far!

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#5

I have the Arctis 1 and I can charge it while I use it. They probably mean you shouldn’t, because the given cord is rather short. It’s not an issue for me, because I have a pass through on my keyboard, so it is close by. You can get around it additionally by buying a longer cable. But I don’t know where they get that information from, completely incorrect.

Perhaps it was the early models? They’ve updated some of their products in 2020. As for quality, I don’t hear a loss when switching from wired (charging) to wireless, sounds incredible both ways.

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#6

Ah I see now. I didn’t look further:

It’s here. It looks like “Passive Playback” as compared to “Audio While Charging” which seems similar-ish in how it’s used. You don’t even have to have power to use the Arctis it seems as long as it’s plugged in, where as the HS70 Pro, you have to have it on and plugged in if the battery is dead… If I’m understanding that correctly.

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#7

I’ve been using the Corsair Void Pro’s for a few years now and they’ve been fantastic. They work great on my PC, PS4 and 5. I highly recommend them. Although they are a bit on the big side. The material used for the mic is prone to scratching also it doesn’t like to stay up anymore, even a simple slow head tilt can cause the mic to fall down. It is a very nice feature though for when you quickly need to mute, you just flip the mic up. It’s very comfortable, for me anyway. With any headset, I’d recommend trying it on if at all possible.

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#8

Well i’m not sure about wireless variety but i’m using wired Arctis 5 and they are just great. Single best headset i’ve ever used .

Yeah that wire kind of sucks but sound quality is just over the roof and they are so snug you can sit with them on for hours and have no pain around your ears or any sweet at all.

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#9

while it’s not usually my thing of parroting, i have recommended the HyperX Cloud a couple of times, provided they can be obtained for a decent price (which seems to be reasonably possible fairly frequent/depending on location) - giving you a fair “back for your buck” vs quality tier.
and “only” other option i’d suggest would be like @Fraggles, get good audio quality cans if possible/price, and just get a mic separate/ignore the whole “gamer headset” concept.
-and from my personal preference, stay clear of anything with “native/true surround sound”, many/multiple small drivers usually provides a worse experience than than regular stereo drivers with simulated surround fx, (ex razer)

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#10

The Steelseries headsets are so insanely comfortable. In fact, in every video you see they’re praised for it. Which is a huge bonus for me, because I’ve had the VOID Pro and other brands, and they were just too big and heavy for my little girl head. :rofl: and it was important for me to go wireless, so I understand your desire for it to (once you go wireless, you don’t go back). This fit the bill exactly. My friend actually recommended them to me, though he had recommended the Arctis 5s which are better (but not wireless, he has since upgraded to the Steelseries PRO). I’m very glad I settled on them.

As for charging, it seems like for the HS70, it sorta functions the same? I can’t really understand their description, but here is how mine functions. It goes red, beeps at me like an annoying house wife, and then I plug the headset in. I still get audio over the cord instantly, no need to turn it off and back on again. Except…that supposed “20ft” radius. If you reach that, the audio will start to cut out and eventually turn the headset off. Then you gotta get back in range of the adapter and return it back on. The only annoying thing about the headset, and is probably fixed in their more expensive wireless headsets. Now, if your headset is dead and already turned off, I do not think plugging the cord in will immediately begin sound through, but then again in all my time I have not actually tried that. I’m always needing them charged for wireless use, so when it hits yellow-ish I’m charging it. I could try it for you though.

As for the HS70, it sounds like when it dies and you plug it in, you gotta restart the power cycle to get it to start working through the cord. Though I honestly would be surprised if the HS70 did not have such a simple feature…

As for your link, there’s a lot there they haven’t even tested for the Arctis 1 (which is strange), but they look like they pretty much go hand-to-hand, except the HS70 certainly looks like it has a better build quality (at what I think is a cost to the comfort) and is better had not leaking audio through the headsets.

Is $100 your max budget? If you really like Corsair, they have the Virtuoso Wireless for I think $50 more. It’s going to be leagues ahead of the HS70 and the Arctis 1-5 range headsets, too.

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#11

I use HyperX Cloud and it’s very comfy :blush: My boyfriend uses Logitech and they have some really great mics - especially the G series

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#12

You cannot go wrong with the HyperX headsets. The Cloud IIs are still regarded the best on the market and they are very, very old. They have just come out with a wireless version too. If he can increase his budget some, I’d definitely recommend them. A shame though that they only have stupid red+black. lol

The newer Logitech G headsets come with the BLU microphones I think, so you’ll know you are getting great quality from that. But they are very, very pricey. xD

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#13

I looked at those as well but I didn’t see them cheaper than $175 anywhere. I found them for $150 at a place I’ve never heard of and I didn’t feel like bothering with a non-big name place to buy from. I just ordered something from a smaller place in Chicago and had the product never show up and had to go through a dispute process that I don’t feel like doing again.

The only reason I haven’t done the HyperX ones was last time I got a wired one of theirs, the Cloud Stinger, and I couldn’t get rid of a white staticky noise from the headset no matter what I did so I haven’t bothered with the brand since. Their wireless ones I’m sure are likely fine, but I didn’t feel like going through the buy and replace process at that time any more than I already had. I think that was the 3rd headset I tried that was below expectations that I was trying to replace my headset at the time.

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#14

I have had more cables give out than mics. I think I’ve had one mic give out and several cables have issues.

I am currently running HyperX Cloud II with fabric earmuffs. I had HyperX Cloud before that until the cable gave out, which is why I got the IIs because the cable is fully detachable (so is the mic for that matter).

I also have some Sennheiser PC37X (LE) that are really nice, semi-open back, fully detachable cables.

I had gotten two Microsoft Lifechats, those were PoS that broke after about a year, one from the cable and one from the mic.

@KSib
As for wireless, I find the audio loss going to USB from 3.5mm to be tremendous to the point of sounding downright terrible. I always bump my audio up to studio quality and I’m not sure any USB headset can do that. That being said, if you haven’t touched that setting ever, I doubt you’re going to notice much.

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#15

The headset came in the mail a few days ago and I’m pretty happy with it. The audio quality seems at least as good as my previous headset, the range might be better as it doesn’t even seem to start cutting out if I walk downstairs with them on, the detachable mic is nice if I’m just listening to something and don’t want the mic in my peripheral vision, and it’s much lighter than the VOIDs. That was why I originally tried to go to a HyperX Cloud Stinger but the background white noise was so bad on them.

Overall, I’m very happy with the headset. I don’t feel like I paid too much and they work well.

Thanks for the input everyone.

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#16

I am glad that you like what you did receive.

I guess I am the only one who had a dud HyperX Cloud II from everyone else talking about it. I had so many issues with the microphone and the headset having poor left/right balance that I had to return it.

Currently I am using a SkullCandy Crusher but I only use the headphones and don’t use the included mic, it’s a little hole on the side and I never tried it for gaming purposes, only occasionally made a phone call or two using it. But I use a Jabra headset for most of my phone calls and using a Blue Yeti for my mic, so everything works out pretty well. Only complaint is that it’s a little tight for my big noggin so I can’t use it all day long.

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#17

Which one did you get, the HyperX?

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#18

I got the Corsair HS70 Pro. The one I was originally looking at. I had problems with a HyperX headset in the past so I didn’t want to risk it again.

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#19

Me thinks that as long as you are happy with what you finally purchased it was a right choice.

It’s often hard to pick a peripheral since there are so many to choose from in a single price bracket and if you are after ‘bang for a buck’ it’s even harder to make a ’ right ’ choice . I often struggle with stuff like that as well , taking me days to pick something , watching a lot of reviews and stuff to get THAT ONE ZE ULTIMATE BEST.

But after all if you get it and are happy with it , it must have been a right choice :slight_smile:

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#20

Looks like I ran into something already: https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=179415&highlight=hs70+noise

The headset’s left ear buzzes when plugged in which my VOID didn’t do so I’m putting in for a refund unless they can somehow fix it via software update. Probably going to start looking at new headsets again.

Now they got me looking at the competition:

Hyper X Cloud II: Cloud Gaming Headsets - Cloud Core, Cloud, Cloud II | HyperX

SteelSeries Arctis 7:

A tough choice. These were inspired by the posts here as well. I need to look at the difference between the Arctis 1 and 7, but I assume the 7 is better cuz it’s newer, but I’ll look into it more either during lunch or after work.

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