The HS80 RGB Wireless changes the HS-series look considerably, switching from a round or oval cup shape to a quadrangle. It’s something of a mid-point in design between the HS and VOID series headsets, and looks very restrained for a gaming headset. The cups are closed-back, serving to isolate and amplify sound whilst also offering some noise reduction from the outside world.
First major change is the elasticated band rather than sliding extenders to fit the headset to your head. Band has a soft leather pad stuffed with foam. Simpler mechanism less prone to failure due to the extenders’ tracks breaking or being worn out.
Corsair have heavily reinforced the joint between headphone band and cup. Now composed of two machined aluminium pieces with a yellow metal washer between the two, they allow for two axes of restricted movement to help orient the cup parallel to the head. The slightly more than 90-degrees of freedom in the main axis also allow the headset to lie flat for long-term storage.
As a consequence of this design the wire connecting the two headset cups is exposed briefly, but has been sheathed and painted black to not spoil the aesthetics.
Just below the point at which the aluminium joint meets the left-hand cup are two control elements. The first is an on/off button, the second is a volume control dial that will also cycle the active equaliser profile when pushed. Just below that is a battery and charging status indicator LED.
By continuing around the left cup we come to the wired connector that also serves as a charging port. Corsair have opted for a USB Type-C connector deeply recessed into the frame which is more durable than the common micro-USB port, and hence more suitable for the mixed wired/wireless use case profile for this headset in particular.
Finally we come to the pose-able microphone arm. It’s integrated into the cup, non-removable and articulated to swing down to just below the horizontal. Between the arm and the microphone itself is a small LED ring that is red when the microphone is muted and white when active, although the latter mode can be disabled in software.
On the cup on both left and right side is an illuminated RGB CORSAIR logo, which are the only LEDs that have full RGB customisation options.
The headset cushions are a 2.5cm deep memory foam covered in breathable fabric, while a further fabric layer sits between the drivers and your ear. That should be plenty to keep things comfortable. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to remove the cushions without using a lot of force, but we imagine that CORSAIR do intend to make them replaceable in the long term as they have done with other members of the HS series.
The USB Type-A to Type-C cable uses a thick connector on each end and a braided other sheathe for additional durability. The cable is 2m long so should be plenty to stretch between PC and sitting location, especially if using a front-panel USB port.
The bundled USB Receiver will also take up a USB port on either the front or back panel. Its CORSAIR logo will flash red when pairing, and then glow a more gentle when when paired with a device and operating normally.
