CORSAIR - VIRTUOSO SE Wireless Gaming Headset for PC/Mac, Game Consoles, and Mobile - Gunmetal

My use case: - I use a laptop, and along with gaming/discord calls spend most of my day using my headphones to listen to music. I also have a bit of a larger head and ears, so I tend to use the most extended headband adjustment. For those looking to get these for a similar setup: - allow the Corsair USB receiver to have it's own port instead of a shared hub or next to one that will be used. I faced some connection issues due to this, so to avoid misattributing problems to the headset, it should have it's own port to power it. Verdict: - I would recommend these headphones to those looking for a simple, easy to setup/charge headset that feels premium and sounds great (provided you don't mind spending a few minutes changing the EQ). While I have more cons than pros in my list, I'd say half of them are pretty negligible in the scope of the experience you get out of them (price, portability, iCUE software and discord). Corsair did a good job here, though with the price you're paying you'd expect the software to have less hiccups. Hopefully fixes come out soon, but it's still a very solid option for those looking to buy them now. ---- Cons: - Pricey at $200-210 compared to competitors. Would recommend getting these on a sale or discount if possible - These headphones do not fold/collapse into a smaller shape to fit into bags, and instead only become flat by turning the ear cups. For those looking to streamline their carry, these headphones could take up more space than you'd like. - Out of the box, you need to adjust the EQ for these to sound good. It may have pre-set profiles that could fit your taste, but more likely than not you need to fiddle around with the EQ in the Corsair iCUE app to have them sound as good as they can. - The iCUE software has odd issues with apps like Discord, but not in ways that prevent me from being able to take calls. There can be a large 3-4 second delay on sound effects like muting, or sometimes they just don't play those effects at all. I'm unsure of how this happens, but I would like to think because forum posts suggest it's a software issue that this can be resolved down the line. - As far as I'm aware, you cannot buy 3rd party ear cushions like Wicked Cushions to get better padding/comfort to swap with these. Some may have a problem with the thickness of the cushions included. - For bigger headed people like myself, it may take time to break them in for a good fit since I had to fully extend the headband and allow for the tension/grip of the headphones to lessen over a few days of use. Pros: - This mic is probably one of the best you could be getting as part of a dedicated gaming headset. While there's a lack of adjustment options for your mic sound, the sound is pretty close to my former setup using a ModMic Wireless, which was clear and high quality. This mic is removable, and fits using a shaped and recessed port that ensures it won't slip out if you jostle the headphones around. The gooseneck style mic has a solid hold and doesn't feel flimsy in the slightest. Along with the quality, there is also an audio cue where a voice tells you when you mute + you can see either red or green for muted and unmuted. You will likely be in fewer situations where you don't know you're on a hot mic, or can prevent it altogether by taking it off the headset. - The build quality is great, and while reviews online claim these are fairly heavy (if you are used to other lighter gaming headsets) I think the weight isn't much of an issue personally for daily use. Very solid and premium feeling, and I haven't had any issues with heat in the ear cushions. I use these for upward of 8-10 hours a day with some breaks between, and haven't found there to be any issues like pressure on top of my head or heat/pressure on my ears. While I haven't dropped them yet, I feel like these are definitely capable of withstanding a drop with very minimal damage. - The connection range is great. I've been able to walk through my house and have a wall between the room the receiver is in and myself while listening/talking fine. Obviously, thicker walls or multiple walls play a role here, but what's great compared to my other wireless experiences is that the headset automatically reconnects without me having to turn it off or manually do so from my laptop. I would say the consistent connection range goes up to 30-35 feet at most (with no walls between you and the receiver), and it could get spotty from there on. Situations may vary though. - The ease of setup and charging made this purchase worth it for me. Coming from what I thought would be a nice, long lasting setup using Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT wireless headphones and a ModMic wireless, I sorely missed the ease of charging one thing with USB-C compared to using 2 micro usb chargers on both my mic and headset separately. The Corsair iCUE software, while it may cause minor delay issues in sound effects for Discord (but not the calls), is pretty much set-and-forget as far as EQ adjustment goes and disabling the RGB to prolong the battery life. If you have a phone or other electronics that use USB-C this headset works seamlessly into using minimal cables to charge everything. - The quality of the included accessories out of the box is in my opinion top tier as far as gaming headsets go. Braided USB-C charging cable, a very premium feeling and lowkey carrying bag, and the USB receiver following suit with the premium quality and feel. While one of the cons is the price, at the very least Corsair delivered in ensuring you didn't feel like they cheaped out on anything here.

This headset is built beautifully, although out of the box I did not like its stock sound signature. The pads were also uncomfortable after some hours of use. To remedy these issues, I downloaded and installed Equalizer APO and Peace APO, and found a parametric EQ for the Corsair Virtuoso (search for jaakkopasanen AutoEQ) to equalize their sound. I replaced the pads with Brainwavz Sheepskin Leather circle pads. The stock pads will need to be peeled off their ring adapters which comes off with a clockwise twist. You also need to trim around the tabs on the adapters so the leather doesn't cover them and it locks back into place. With these changes, I fell in love with this headset and it's become my daily driver. If you want good sound out of the box without EQ and comfort without modding, there are other options to consider but with these tweaks they're worth it - especially with their outstanding build quality.

Headset fits incredibly well, has fantastic sounds, and holds a significant amount of charge when used wirelessly. The only complaint I can make is that if you install iCUE to control anything RGB and EQ related, the “Enhancements” tab will be removed for this device in Windows sound settings. Very niche issue so overall an incredible headset even at the premium price.

It's like surround sound for your face! Whether you're gaming, streaming, or just pretending to listen to your boss, this headset has you covered. Plus, it's so comfy, you'll forget you're wearing it—until your mom sneaks up behind you and scares the pixels out of you! 5 stars—now I can hear the zombies groan in high definition!

Absolutely my favorite headset for gaming. It is extremely comfortable. It may be a little heavier than some other headsets but that is due to the premium materials used to make the headset. 10/10 recommend this product. I will continue to use them as long as Corsair keeps making them. Just like any headset that is used everyday for many hours normal wear and tear is expected. If you are a serious gamer then just buy best buys protection plan and you will be set!

Honestly I’ve seen a lot of reviews talking about this headsets not being very comfy and yeah they might not be the comfiest headset there is but, me being someone who can spend 16 hours in front of a computer, I like having my headset on all the time. Even when I’m not gaming, programming nor listening to music I feel great wearing them, I tend to forget that I still have them on and I do have a big melon for head. And if you have some very very sensitive ears, well you can easily take the ear cups off and just buy some 15-20 dollars cups on Amazon for the virtuoso and you’ll be good to go. Also the versatility it has for being either wired or wireless with just the flick of a switch it’s just amazing and fast. The sound is amazing as well, either you choose wired or wireless you do get some amazing sound experience out of this headset, obviously you’ll get a better sound experience if you use them wired but you gotta trust me on this, wireless sound it’s pretty amazing compared to many other gaming headsets I’ve tried. Another great feature, that at least for me was the cherry on the cake, is it’s mic. I think is one if not the best microphone there is available on a gaming headset and yeah I’ve seen that the non SE version of the Virtuoso has a slightly better mic, but I gotta admit this mic has not let me down in any way, it just sounds great out of the box. The build quality is out of this world, it’s almost all made out of metal/aluminum and just feels PREMIUM, like if you are buying a headset on this price range you kinda expect to feel the price on it’s materials and the Virtuoso has that 100% Every inch of the design of the Virtuoso SE looks and feels amazing. Overall I can say this headset is the best there is for gaming at this price range, I’m even wearing them while writing this review.

If you think you are seeing dejavu in the Pics, you are not. What you are seeing are both the Left and the Right Ear Cups not attached because the plastic clips that hold them in place have broken. I stream on a daily basis and have taken care of these headsets because of the $220 price tag at launch. What is ironic is that both sides of the clips broke withing days of each other. (06/14/2020 and 06/17/2020). I have now put electric tap around to hold them in place while they replenish the stock soon. In all honesty, i would rather get the Logitec PRO X instead. PROS of Corsair Virtuoso SE: -The Metal finish on the outer earcups is fantastic. -The headbands feels sturdy and won't break easily. -The adjustable headband and joints are aluminum and not plastic! - The microphone is the best one out of all the gaming headsets and lights up when its active or mute. - USB Type-C connector with your standard 3.5mm headphone jack. -USB-C and 3.5mm Cables have a premium finish -Premium Carrying Pouch - You can use these as your everyday headset since they dont look tacky like other "gaming" headsets. - Over the ear cups if your ears are small or medium. Larger ears will have a problem. - Volume control rocker on the headset - Pretty good acoustics except for the bass. - Wake-up device upon picking up. Now lets get into the CONs about these headsets: -Battery Life is atrocious on these headsets. Mine have never been able to hold the 24hr charge that Corsair claims. And this is with the RGB off. I usually get about 16hrs on average, probably less. - 60ft off Wireless Range? More like 15ft of wireless Range. They start to cut out at about 15-20ft. -The Bass could have been better. These really lack bass in them. Compared to the Logitech G935, the bass in these fall completely flat. Even if you tweak the sound settings in iCUE, they still fall short of what could have been. -iCUE: The software supporting these headsets could be much better and that is Corsair's fault. Their default sound profile needs much work in them. I found that buying the Dolby Atmos software in the Windows Store is the best way of getting a good sound profile out of these. -iCUE: Again? Do not profile switch rapidly in iCUE for your different keybindings. Doing this will cause your audio to crash since iCUE has to read each profile's audio every time it is switched. Even if you have the same audio profile, rapidly switching will cause iCUE to crash along with the audio. -RGB could have been much brighter on these headsets. -Can't turn off RGB when charging. The Corsair logo on the sides light up blue and cannot be turned off when charging overnight. -Headset band can get uncomfortable at times at random as well. -Lately, the dongle has started to cut out as well. Not surprised with their "slip stream" technology. -Placement of 3.5MM jack and USB-C on headset could have been switched around for better placement. -NO BLUETOOTH Capabilities for this price premium. - Conclusion: If you have money burning in your pocket and you want a good looking pair of headsets that are not for gaming but for style and you don't mind having the 3.5mm jack flopping around then sure Buy these. If you want a headset for gaming and get something else like the Logitech PRO X that cost way less than these.

Bought these for a few reasons. 1. My Astro a40’s mixamp stopped working & Astro wouldn’t take it for repair because it was out of warranty. I’d been eyeing these a while So rather than spend $130-150 on a mixamp I put in the extra $$ for the Corsair. 2. I have a lot of Corsair/Elgato products for my streaming setup & PC. 3. The SE’s are gorgeous! They look great, work great with icue & sound great w 7.1 surround. I use a blue yeti as my main mic, but I tested this one & it’s very clear. Unlike the Astro’s which for the price, I shouldn’t have so much distortion in my headset mic, overall, if you’re looking for a headset in this price point, you’re getting a beautiful, well made, quality product that is on par with the best. I highly recommend.