With the Corsair HS55 Wireless Core, Corsair appears to be entering the competitive market for adaptable and portable gaming headsets. However, the brand scales it back to something simpler and significantly more affordable, in contrast to products like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Arctis Nova 7, which are packed to the gills with everything you could want from a PC gaming headset that you can use anywhere and with anything.
The Corsair HS55 Wireless Core may not be the stuff of gaming headset folklore, but it still features all the necessary components for a portable gaming headset. Its lightweight construction flattens out effortlessly for storage. It charges quickly and has a respectable 24-hour battery life. Additionally, you may cycle through four of the most important sound presets in the gaming headset scene using the on-the-fly EQ preset control.
Corsair HS55 Wireless Core review: Design
The Corsair HS55 Wireless Core is still meant to be portable even though it isn’t the most durable and well-built gaming headset we’ve tried. It has soft and velvety ear foams, strong clamping force to keep it in place even while you’re moving through a crowd, and ear cups with lots of swivel so you can lay the whole thing flat for storing in your weekender or laptop bag. It weighs only 266g, or less than 0.60 pounds.
Despite being primarily comprised of smooth matte plastic that feels lovely to the touch, the structure is generally quite sturdy. Although we can reasonably assume that it will readily fracture if it falls from a higher floor or under the weight of a gaming computer, we don’t claim to know how durable it is. However, we believe it to be sturdy enough to withstand normal wear and tear.
Corsair HS55 Wireless Core review: Comfort
The headset is nearly entirely comprised of plastic as a compromise for its modest weight. It doesn’t feel particularly flimsy or brittle, but neither does it feel particularly sturdy either. The adjustable bands contain a small amount of metal, but the yokes, pivots, and headband are all composed of plastic. The continuous stress of pulling a gaming headset off and on might eventually cause cracks, so that is always a concern. Nevertheless, this is a respectable illustration of a plastic gaming headset. When adjusting the headset or stretching the headband, or even shaking it to check its durability, there are no unsettling rattles or creaks to worry about.
The memory foam ear cushions have a faux leather trim around them. Although they have a great appearance, they only partially block outside sounds. My ears were nicely encased by their oval shape, and the pads were just deep enough to prevent contact with the driver (they measure 0.9 inches in total). The headband has a similar faux leather accent but is only about half as thick and uses softer foam.
Audio Performance
Large, 50mm neodymium drivers that are unique to the HS55 Wireless Core were created by Corsair. Larger drivers may move more air and, when tuned properly, can typically produce a more powerful, impacting sound than smaller drivers. You won’t need to turn up the volume all the way to hear enemy footsteps sneaking around the corner because the drivers, despite their massive diameter, are simple to power and may soar to ear-crushing levels. The typical frequency response range of these devices is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is nearly similar to the range of the human ear.
Corsair HS55 Wireless Core review: Connectivity
Here, Corsair has not only produced a low-cost wireless headphone, but has also given it Bluetooth hardware. Dual-mode feature extends compatibility beyond merely switching between devices for convenience’s sake. After all, a device with Bluetooth almost certainly has a USB port. As a result, you can use the Corsair HS55 Wireless Core gaming headset with just about any device. This isn’t true of many headsets, especially ones at this price point.
The Corsair HS55 Wireless Core excels in a number of areas, including 2.4GHz wireless connectivity. Its range of 50 feet (or 15 metres) is impressive for a mid-budget gaming headset when you consider that most models lose signal as soon as you enter the next room.
Corsair HS55 Wireless Core review: Battery Life
Although the Corsair HS55 Wireless Core has a reasonable amount of battery life, you’ll still need to plug it in about once a week (depending on how much you play). Corsair rates overall playtime at 24 hours. When listening at about 50% volume, we found this to be fairly accurate, but if you listen any louder than 50%, you should expect this to drop. However, the headset is quite simple to operate, and I found that pushing it up past 50% was very uncomfortable.
That battery life will give you around eight days of playtime between charges if you game for three hours every day. To inform you of the battery’s current condition, an indicator light on the right earcup will alternate between the colours green, orange, and red.
Conclusion
The headset’s audio quality is excellent across all genres and equally convincing in Bluetooth and wireless modes. Except if you have really large ears or a large head, there is nothing unflattering about the construction or style. Corsair is one of the biggest, most popular, and most respected names in the world when it comes to gaming.
They have received countless accolades over the past decade from us here at eTeknix, and of course from numerous other media outlets. And for good reason, as they continue to dominate with a truly stunning range of hardware and peripherals for a wide range of users and budgets
