Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Gaming Headset - High-Fidelity 7.1 Surround Sound with Broadcast Quality Microphone - Memory Foam Earcups - 20 Hour Battery Life Works with PC, PS5, PS4 - Gunmetal

1.0 out of 5 stars | Average People

Style: Special Edition | Pattern Name: Headset | Color: Gunmetal

Great potential hampered by poor execution

Was able to get a Virtuoso SE through Amazon. Was super excited, having read Tom's Hardware review. Currently using a Steelseries Arctis 5, which is great for gaming, but limited to 48k Hz. Trying out Amazon HD, found the sound was limiting. Unboxing the Virtuoso is a master class in excitement building: Bosed very nicely in tasteful black, the headphones are gorgeous, solid and a wonder to behold. the case is plush and luxurious. The rest of the contents: USB-C and 3.5 mm cables, wireless USB adaptor and "rigidly flexible" microphone are packed beautifully, nestled in gentle foam cocoons. I already have a lot of Corsair equipment (memory, coolers, cases, typing on a K95 keyboard right now) so I was super excited. Since I had to charge the headphones, I plugged in via USB cable after assembling the piece. A reassuring voice chimed that the headphones were charging and the microphone was active. Now we're cookin', I thought. Put on Amazon Music HD-- Some Neil Young, Prince, Mozart-- Wow, it all sounded great. Soundstage is wide, bass is clear and not overpowering. Mids and highs crisp. I left the equalizer at neutral. Ok, time to jump into a game. Tried to turn on Dolby Atmos-- option isn't there! Ok, checked the Corsair boards-- "not compatible"--ok, I guess it's Corsair's propietary 7.1. No problem. Switched it on in iCue, clicked the FPS equalizer on and hopped onto Battlefield V. Sounds so far are great-- Punchy, bass without distortion, not sure if the FPS booster worked, but that could just be me. Biggest problem: MICROPHONE DOESN"T WORK!! Made sure its plugged in-- LED is on. Light is green (toggled it to mute, turns red, and back-- so cool, customizable in iCue) Checked levels, checked software (Battlefield configured correctly). Ok. exited out. Tried another game (Planetside 2)-- still no microphone. (Planetside indicated that primary input device, listed as microphone, is not a microphone ?? Tried troubleshooting-- Windows, replugging things in. Went to Corsair support-- follwed their instructions for unplugging, uinstalling and reinstalling with numerous reboots, did this 3 times -- no avail. Ok. so the Website says this is a known issue with later builds of Windows 10 and a fix is forthcoming. Well, Right now, I'm stuck with a $210 dollar set of headphones which are nice, but actually a little tight around the earpieces...and no microphone. Sorry, no time to wait around for Corsair support (3-4 day turnaround after opening a ticket). Amazon refund and return. Back to my Arctis 5 and will continue to look for a higher def, affordable headset. Corsair, there's so much good about this headset, maybe it's just me and a lack of patience, but I was severely disappointed and my faith in your typical flawless execution has been severely tested. Hopefully you can fix this so others can enjoy this great headset. As for me, I'll be content with my Arctis 5 again until something greater comes along. Thanks!

- Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019

3.0 out of 5 stars | rt

Style: Premium | Pattern Name: Headset | Color: Carbon

Use case driven review

I don't usually write reviews but I have some time to burn and am hoping my input will help someone decide whether or not the Corsair Virtuoso are a good choice for their application. BTW I got the Premium and NOT the Special Edition/SE version. (more on why I chose this below and it was not the $30 price difference) SOLID build quality. There is some satisfaction with the way these feel. Sturdy, no creaking or flexing that shouldn't exist. Good weight, not too heavy. I'm sure the SE version is also very nice with the machined aluminum. Protein leather headband and pads are comfy that I'm sure would be comfortable for many people for several hours. (would be nice if they included some variations at this price point.. maybe perforated lambskin or suede or cloth mesh, etc... changing the sound profile is half the fun of having a good set of cans) Crazy sound isolation. Put these on your head and you likely will not be able to hear much around you. Depending on your preference this could be great, these are in every way shape and form VERY closed headphones. I feel most people are right handed so the fact that the volume is on the right hand side is kind of annoying. The right hand is the primary mouse hand an should not be needed to adjust the volume. Wireless sound is adequate, very clean for the most part. As you will see I also attached an image of my EQ settings as I personally like a V curve with elevated lows/highs and a bit recessed mids. With a flat EQ "Pure Direct" they sound pretty bland IMHO, not only for games but also music and general use. Not sure how this would work for console users who may not be able to easily configure sound profiles... Microphone quality is excellent! I'm not sure if this is a known fact but the mic on the Premium is much better than the Special Edition. This is a good selling point if you like reproducing your voice to others accurately. Software is ok. iCUE has a very limited subset of options for this set of cans and only a few preset EQ settings that I would personally never use. Not to say Logitech software or other people are better but this is really not great. Biggest issue is clarity at times. Even when using the default "Pure Direct" EQ settings or my tweaked EQ settings there is sometimes a crack/pop/distortion in both certain games/music which occurs that is very unpleasant. Yes I may have received a defective pair of cans but I cannot unhear the distorted audio. 2nd biggest issue from my perspective. Pads are a bit shallow for me personally and my ears touch the inside near the driver. As per my attached image I WISH pad rolling would be easier. These pads have a ring/twist mount system (clockwise to unlock which is bass ackwards) and they would require you to destroy the original pads to get the rings out to mount a new set properly (or you could get an adhesive set of pads which meh, or even 3D print some new rings but that is too much effort for a simple pad swap) So wow, yes I like being able to swap pads for comfort/sound adjustment and these don't easily allow it. Soooooooo this may have been a long winded review that doesn't provide much insight but in short I'll be sending these back and I will continue to use my Logitech G935's (with swapped lambskin headband and lambskin angled pads) Even stock I would say they are much better in terms of value/performance/customization/etc.

- Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2019