Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware and Software
Just as we saw with the Corsair Gaming HS60 Surround, the HS70 Wireless follows the exact same formula in terms of design. In fact, the headset looks exactly the same with the exception of not having any attached cables. While there are some elements that are a tell-tale sign this is not from a traditional audio company, including the same Corsair logos and imprints at the top of the headband, the whole unit looks clean and simplified. As this headset is targeted for those looking for just the essentials, the HS70 Wireless also comes without any RGB elements, which is perfectly fine with me. While it would have kept up with the trend of rainbow-fying everything, I am more than happy with not seeing these unnecessary lights, especially since you cannot see it when you wear it. Once again, Corsair sent us their Carbon Black edition, though a white and black edition is also available. The majority of the headset is made out of plastic with a matte finish and a few glossy accents throughout. Metal can be found around the headset, including the extending arms holding the ear cups in place and keeping the headband frame structured internally. Otherwise, we can see some leatherette, including the headband, the padding underneath, and the earphone cups. The whole HS70 Wireless feels very solid and light at the same time. No unexpected creaking noises are made when flexing the HS70 Wireless around, which is also a good sign of build quality.
Taking a look at the ear cups on the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless, you can see these are again the exact same as the HS60 Surround. Internally, there is memory foam padding covered over by a leatherette surface. The headset is pretty comfortable here, though it would be nice to see some different fabric of ear cups here. This fake leather can get hot especially in warmer climates, causing for sweat to build up in this location. In addition, the memory foam is still not as soft as other headsets we have seen in the past, and I would have liked to see a plushier foam lining, if not at least a bit more thickness to the muffs. The oval shape of the ears conforms naturally to a person's ear and the whole cup should be big enough to fit over most ear sizes. A thin mesh lining rests inside to ensure your ears do not touch the plastic underneath. My ears do not stick out as much as others though so as usual, your mileage may vary. Speaking of which, the drivers inside each ear cup are 50mm neodymium drivers. They feature a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz, covering the audible frequency spectrum for humans. Rated impedance of the unit is 32 ohms with a sensitivity of 111dB. These specifications are once again the same as both the HS50 Stereo and HS60 Surround, making me believe they are the same headset, if not at least the same drivers. Either way, we will see how this affects the audio reproduction later on.
The ears themselves are pretty flexible with the capability to tilt these cups back and forth. They do not move as easily as I would like, but they should move enough to conform to the shape of your ears. Unfortunately, there is no rotation on these ear cups, which means resting the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless on your neck may restrict your head movement. I personally did not find this to be an issue. Otherwise, the outer sides of the HS70’s ear cups have a metal grille with Corsair's sails logo in the middle.
At the top of the headset, we have the leatherette headband with a white stitched pattern for some style points. I have to say it makes for a subtle but eye-catching design and creates a quilted-like surface with individual pockets. Inside this headband cushion is memory foam and it feels similar to the foam used on the ears. As we already mentioned, the outer band is wrapped in leatherette with a Corsair imprint at the top. Down the side is where you will see the extending arms with an internal metal band to keep the headset sturdy. The frame is notched and marked with numerical values so users can remember how much they need to extend the headset for a comfortable fit. There is enough resistance on the arms to prevent the cups from freely moving about. As for how far the headset expands out, the Corsair Gaming HS70 Surround should fit most heads. While I personally have a pretty large head, I did not need to extend the HS70 Wireless out fully it to fit comfortably on my head, though once again, your mileage may vary.
In terms of overall comfort, I have to say the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless feels pretty light, but it is not the most comfortable headset either. It is really hard to beat some of the competition out there, but I think the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless does an acceptable job in this department. As a glasses wearer, I did not find a whole lot of fatigue wearing this headset; something that is not true for a lot of headsets. At a weight of 330g, this headset is heavier than previous Corsair Gaming HS models and this is probably due to the wireless components and battery inside. Its clamping force on my head also feels a bit higher due to its less plushy ear cups combined with the extra weight. However, not having any cable yank on my headphones is nice to see.
Both of the sides hold different inputs and outputs for the headset, so I will go through them. On the right side, we have a single power button, which is activated when you push and hold the button for a few seconds. The left side holds a bit more functionality. First is the right most dial, which controls the volume for the headset. Plus and minus signs are printed on the headset to indicate increasing and decreasing the volume, respectively. The dial is pretty loose, making volume adjustments a bit too easy. I would have liked to see a bit more resistance in the dial, as I found I would accidentally change the volume just by brushing my hand near this side. Next is a mute button for the microphone. The headset emits a small sound whenever this button is pressed, but I would have liked to see a push button like we saw in the previous HS60 Surround. Next, we have a small pin light for power and charge indication. While in use, this emits a green flashing light until it glows amber to indicate low battery. When charging, the light emits the amber until it glows green to show it is fully charged. A micro USB port is found here to charge the headset. We have a lithium ion battery inside to provide up to sixteen hours of use. Finally, we have a port for the detachable microphone. Unfortunately, there is no way to plug the headset into your computer with audio cables. However, you can charge your headset while it is in use, so at least you can still use the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless when it has run out of juice.
As for detachable components, we have two of them with the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless. The first is the microphone, which is a unidirectional one with a frequency response of 100Hz to 10kHz. Besides the fact it is removable, I really like how flexible the microphone is. Not only can it swing in many directions, it also stays in place. According to Corsair, the whole headset is Discord Certified, which means the microphone and audio has been tested for communication and sound. As the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless looks to be the same physical headset as the previous Corsair Gaming headsets, one thing that is new is the wireless USB sound card. It does not have anything else on it, other than the Corsair logo and a small white LED for activity. On the other end is a silver USB plug, which is fine since USB is a digital connection. As this builds on top of the HS60 Surround, you will also get virtual 7.1 sound capabilities in addition to other features unlocked with the Corsair software utility.
Speaking of which, Corsair packages their CUE or Corsair Utility Engine software with the Corsair Gaming HS70 Wireless, which is the same utility that works with all other Corsair products. For the HS70 specifically, as it does not have any lighting effects, there are four main things you can do with this utility. Firstly, you can change the equalizer. Corsair does have several presets, but you can also make and set your own ones too. Secondly, you can set the volume of the microphone here, or mute it altogether. Thirdly, you can change the volume of the crosstalk, which allows you to hear your own voice in the headset. You can also mute it completely. Finally, you can change the output between the default stereo or the virtual 7.1 surround sound. We will see how this works later in our audio analysis. Without this software, the headset will still function fine, though you will lose practically all of those features we just mentioned. Since CUE is so polished, the software experience should not deter you from using it with the HS70 Wireless or any other Corsair product.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
