When we talk about computer peripherals or consoles, we almost always have brands that immediately come to mind for good or bad reasons. When I hear for my part the Corsair brand and from the top of my thirties, I mainly knew the brand for its electronic components (RAM, storage, ...) and not for the rest of its catalog of peripherals. Well today, precisely, I'm going to introduce you to the brand's new HS55 headphones!
Simple content!
The first thing that surprised me when unpacking the package was its weight. De facto, I'm quite often used to having headphones that weigh a certain amount, in particular because of the wireless technology for the nomadic side, and there I asked myself the question of whether the headphones were present in the box (the answer is yes). The box, as well as its contents, remain extremely simple. The packaging presents the product in several cuts and on the back we find the different characteristics of the helmet.
First of all, it should be noted that this headset is compatible with most consoles that can accommodate jack technology. It has two 50mm headphones with a well-padded headband. The microphone has an omnidirectional beam with the possibility of mute by raising it on the top of the helmet (it has become quite common, but still devilishly effective in many situations). Note that the helmet is only available in two colors: white and carbon (black). On the unpacking side, it is well caulked in a preformed cardboard packaging to avoid any problem during transport and it is accompanied by a Y cable to connect both the microphone output and the headphone output.
Go further !
As I was able to say before, the helmet is for me in the lightweight category with a weight of 273 grams. To arrive at such a weight, the brand has chosen to start, for almost the entire object, on plastic materials. However, despite this choice, the robustness and the finish are there with a final product that is more than remarkable. As in the majority of helmets on the market, the microphone is placed on the left and it is however not detachable from the latter.
On the design side, the black version remains quite classic with a fairly uniform version in terms of color. If you want a slightly more different design, you will have to opt for the white version which brings a gray / white contrast to the ear cups and the headband. We find the brand logo on the ear cups and the name at the top of the headband for those wishing to wear the brand's insignia. On the comfort side, nothing to say about it, the helmet, thanks to its memory foam, fits the contours of the skull quite well without crushing the head of its user. It has 10 notches to adapt it to any head size and the base size is "small" enough for people who do not have a large head.
Good performance
You should know that the Corsair headset is in the mid-range for this type of product. With 50mm headphones and stereo technology, you should not expect to achieve a sound worthy of high-end products. The reproduction of sounds, whether bass or treble, is more than correct, but you will have a lot more trouble with everything related to the spallation of these, especially in games where it will be difficult to find the origin. certain shooting or explosion noises during clashes (tested on games like Mass Effect or Lost Ark). The headphones have a dial directly below the ear cup to increase/decrease the sound level on the fly.
Regarding the microphone, I don't know if it's due to my installation, but the sound was quite low at baseline. I had to increase the volume via the Windows settings to be really happy with the rendering, both for me and for the people I was able to talk to on Discord or Teams (+8/+10dB). Accustomed to the Jabra brand for work, I would have liked a little more technology on the headset, in particular an indicator light for activating/deactivating the microphone (the microphone is not necessarily raised until the end of the race for deactivation).
Conclusion
The headset is available in two colors (white and black) as well as with two distinct technologies (Stereo and Surround). The version we tested, the Stereo, is displayed for a price of around 70 Euros while the second is around 80-90 Euros. During the first hours, I must admit that I had forgotten that I was wearing the helmet, in particular because of its featherweight, which surprised me quite a bit. Despite wearing glasses, I did not have any specific discomfort in the ears / pads. In rendering / performance, the HS55 remains quite correct by faithfully rendering the different acoustic levels to which you can submit it. However, it will have more difficulty on certain very specific noises, especially in video games where you will not have a perfect spallation.
For price and performance, it's still a more than decent headset in this $70 price range. As always for helmets, however, I advise you to go for a walk in a store that sells it to simply see if the size / technology suits you.
