Corsair HS65 Wireless review: a wireless gaming headset with 7.1 sound, what is it worth?

The start of 2023 is proving to be particularly rich in gaming headsets. The Corsair HS65 Wireless was formalized in January by its manufacturer, for release in early February. If you’re familiar with Corsair headsets, the HS65 might ring a bell. And for good reason : there is already a wired version, which was released last year.

If you are looking for a gaming headset suitable for different platforms, the Corsair HS65 Wireless may therefore be of interest to you. To find out if it’s worth the detour in a very competitive market, I used it daily for two weeks. Here is my detailed verdict!

Corsair HS65 Wireless: the technical sheet

Buy the Corsair HS65 Wireless on Amazon

A Corsair headset with a very chic look

As usual, I start with a little tour of the owner: the Corsair HS65 Wireless is an aesthetically very successful headset. It has a flexible plastic headband, and part of the shell of the ear cups is also made of this material. The earpieces are connected to the headband with metal joints very sturdy, and metal grids are present on both headphones.

The Corsair HS65 Wireless exudes robustness and solidity. And as a bonus, it is also very elegant. I appreciate its sobriety: it’s not always the strong point of gaming headsets. Moreover, perhaps some potential buyers will even find it too sober! As for the physical buttons, the right headset gives access to the ignition key and the Bluetooth key. On the left we find the microphone mute button, a volume control wheel and the USB-C port.

Various essential accessories come with the helmet: there is, first of all, the usb-dongle, necessary to use it wirelessly in 2.4 GHz on a PC. It also comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable for wired use and for recharging. Its connection Bluetooth makes it compatible with most consoles on the market, but also with smartphones and tablets.

A very simple installation signed Corsair

Installing the Corsair HS65 Wireless is no problem. The USB dongle is automatically recognized by the computer and just turn on the headset and it will be recognized immediately. If you prefer to use it wired, no problem either. However, the cable may prove to be a little too short for this to be completely comfortable: it all depends on your installation.

As for the use in Bluetooth, it is necessary to identify a small subtlety. The Bluetooth button is primarily used for pairing. When the headset is paired with a smartphone in addition to a PC, for example, you must perform a quick press of the ignition button to switch from one device to another. This proposal turns out to be very practical in reality, since the headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time, and switch between them in a matter of seconds. This is useful if you listen to music on PC and want to take a phone call hands-free, for example.

This proposal allowed me to use the Corsair HS65 Wireless versatile, and this is clearly one of its strengths. Finally, on PC, the headset can be configured with Corsair iCUE software. I will come back to this a little further down.

The Corsair HS65 Wireless is a lightweight and comfortable headset

Everything is said, or almost: with a weight of only 275 grams on the scale, the Corsair HS65 Wireless knows how to be forgotten. Its circum-aural design is well calibrated so that the ear cups wrap the ears as they should. Leatherette earpads are padded with memory foama classic proposal, but which is effective.

The helmet adjustment system is particularly robust, although I would have liked it to be aluminum. The important thing is that he does his job well, and he does. Once adjusted, the helmet stays in placeand it does not exert any unpleasant pressure on the head, including with glasses.

The only point on which I have some reservations is the microphone. This is not detachable: when not in use, it must therefore be reassembled on the side. Its flexibility is not very high and when I pull it up, it tends to come up to my left eye. I’m afraid that by twisting and untwisting it, it will end up getting damaged. Apart from this point concerning the microphone, I find the Corsair HS65 Wireless comfortable to wear : the experience is therefore satisfactory at this level

Corsair HS65 Wireless, it emphasizes bass

With its 50mm neodymium drivers, the Corsair HS65 Wireless shows great sound promise. It is confirmed in practice, with all the same a point to emphasize from the outset: it is a headphone that puts particular emphasis on the bass. If you like listening to bass-heavy music, or just want to rock your head while playing games, this is a really cool model.

Being a follower of this kind of experience, I was quite satisfied with the sound reproduction of the Corsair HS65 Wireless, even if sometimes it lacks a bit of subtlety. Fortunately, the Corsair iCUE software offers an equalizer with five pre-recorded profiles, and the possibility of setting up custom profiles. This allows you to enjoy sound to your liking.

The other option is to use SoundID, a sound customization system that uses a series of comparisons between two sound styles to determine your preferences. It may sound a little like what Skullcandy offers with Enhanced Sound Perception, but it’s still different. Indeed, Skullcandy seeks to adapt to the user’s auditory perception, while at Corsair, it’s more a matter of taste.

As far as I’m concerned, after performing the test, SoundID concocted me a strong bass sound profile. When My SoundID is activated, it is no longer possible to access the software equalizer. It is, of course, possible to go back at any time. Moreover, SoundID is currently only available on Windows.

On the sound side, the Corsair HS65 Wireless is therefore satisfactory with a bonus if you like very present bass. With Dolby Audio 7.1 enabled, the headset provides a very good experience in most games. I used it with delight on Hi-Fi Rush and it clearly enhances the playing pleasure. However, it is unfortunate that these advanced functions disappear once the headset is connected to a console via Bluetooth.

On the microphone side, it’s something else. This is one aspect of the helmet that disappointed me. The microphone is basic lazy : Without optimizing the settings, my Valheim teammates hardly heard me via Discord. I had to apply the mic boost and adjust the microphone in front of my mouth to finally be audible. And even so, the sound is muffled, with an aquarium effect which is not pleasantdespite the presence of Nvidia Broadcast within iCue.

That doesn’t make the Corsair HS65 Wireless useless for communicating, but, clearly, there is better on the market. The balance leans more towards the sound quality than towards the microphone to communicate. I would have preferred it to be more balanced, but it is still possible to be satisfied with it.

Autonomy in the low average

The autonomy announced by Corsair for the HS65 Wireless is 24 hours. In practice, I had to recharge it after about 20 hours. This remains correct, especially since it is possible to use it when it is plugged in. The headset sits in the low average at the moment, however, mainly because it fails to live up to its basic promise. This autonomy appears to be similar in Bluetooth and in 2.4 GHz.

Buy the Corsair HS65 Wireless on Amazon

Conclusion

The Corsair HS65 Wireless is a headset that knows how to be satisfactory on many points. It is beautiful, its finish is impeccable and very robust and it is comfortable. On the sound side, it offers a pleasant rendering, even if it is especially lovers of good bass who will be satisfied. The 10-band equalizer helps fine-tune the sound experience and SoundID is a nice proposition. It’s a shame that the microphone is recessed and that this headset doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack, which would have allowed it to offer a fuller experience.