Wire Free with RGB

Gamers looking for a new wireless audio solution? With RGB?

Corsair has been on a roll lately. We’ve looked at a number of their peripherals here at PC Perspective and have consistently found them to be well-built, performance accessories for your gaming rig. Today we’re leaving the keyboards and mice behind to take a look at a different, more divisive product category: the gaming headset. Corsair’s Void Pro RGB Wireless looks great on the surface but does it have the sound and comfort to match? Let’s take a closer look and find out.

Specifications and Design

  • MSRP: $99.99 (Amazon.com)
  • Wireless: Yes
  • Wireless Range: Up to 40 feet (12m)
  • Surround Sound: Virtual 7.1 Dolby Headphone
  • Headphone Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20 kHz
  • Headphone Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1 kHz
  • Headphone Drivers Drivers: 50mm
  • Headphone Connector: USB Dongle
  • Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
  • Microphone Type: Unidirectional noise cancelling
  • Microphone Impedance: 2.0k Ohms
  • Microphone Frequency Response: 100Hz to 10kHz
  • Microphone Sensitivity: -38dB (+/-3dB)
  • Lighting: RGB
  • Audio CUE Software: YES
  • Warranty: Two years

As always, we begin with packaging. Corsair always does a good job here. We find the usual black and yellow trim with the shard background on the face, as well as our key feature callouts. You can’t see it well on the box since they went with a black and white aesthetic but both the “sails” logo and the trim on the microphone’s boom arm are illuminated, though only the former is RGB. Inside the box, we find the headset well packaged without any annoying tie-downs.

Underneath the headset’s cardboard insert, we find our accessories, as well as the warranty slip (not pictured). Included is the USB dongle, a micro-usb to USB 2.0 charging cable, and a pop filter for the microphone.

From the front (on the Corsair ST100 headset stand), we can get a better perspective on the headset. It’s clear just by looking at it, that the Void Pro RGB won’t be applying too much grip to your head as the driver housings rest comfortably without angling in. This angle also shows the thick, microfiber mesh-trimmed foam has used on the earpads and headband. Note that the microphone arm is articulating, up and down, and also flexible to be positioned right in front of your mouth.

On the left earcup you’ll find your power and mic mute controls. Each earcup also features a mix of materials, swapping from matte to a glossed surface where the RGB shines through. It looks stylish but quickly shows fingerprints, especially on this side with the power and mute buttons. The physical mute button provides some flexibility for using the mic but isn’t necessary as moving the boom arm upright also cuts your comms.

From this angle, we can also get a closer look at the metal joints holding each earcup. These allow the driver housings to tilt to better fit your head and also feel quite durable thanks to the heavier duty materials.

Swapping over to the right earcup, we find out multifunction rocker. Tapping it up or down adjusts your volume. A short press will swap between the five onboard EQ profiles. Hold it for a touch longer and you can enable or disable the Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound.

Here we also find out micro-USB charging port. Sadly, this cannot be used to operate the headset in wired mode if, for example, you wanted to increase the quality of the microphone. This is a missed opportunity to provide a quality boost for streamers and content creators.

The headband is made entirely of plastic, which raises immediate concerns for its long-term durability. At the $99 price point, I really like to see metal as a guard against cracks and breakage as the headset ages. There is a huge amount of flex without any noticeable creak, however. Opting for matte plastic also allows the headset to be lighter, however, and it’s satisfyingly adjustable to fit everything from smaller heads to gorillas escaped from the zoo.

Ear Cushions and Overall Comfort

Corsair uses a foam solution for their ear cushions, covered in the microfiber mesh. I found them to be quite comfortable even over extended gaming sessions, though they do allow a healthy amount of sound both in and out. They also dissipate heat easily and I rarely had to pause to vent my ears. When I did need a break, it wasn’t because of warmth or fatigue, even after several hours of extended use. The earcups easily turn to lie flat on your chest, as well.

Compared to the wired iteration of the Void Pro RGBs, these had slightly more grip and tended to stay in place better. This seems to be a result of a more rigid, or perhaps more dense, headband. I mention this because nowhere can I find any details on any design differences between the two models, but in a side by side comparison on a headphone stand, this wireless version unquestionably holds its shape better and feels better made as a result.

Sound Performance, Software Customization, Battery Life

The Void Pro RGB Wireless headphones feature Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound and are clearly intended to be used with this enabled. In games, this works to expand the soundstage but does fall into the “reverb trap” where certain sound cues can sound echo-y and distant. In World of Warcraft, for example, completing quests outdoors often sounded like I was inside a hallway instead of a massive valley. In other games with indoor environments, like Battlefield 1 or Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, the surround sound worked wonderfully.

Positional audio, on the other hand, was very good. In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, identifying the direction of a firefight or a fast approaching set of footsteps can make all the difference and the Void Pro RGBs performed very well for the cost.

Inside the iCUE software, you can customize and store up to five equalizer profiles that you can swap between with the push of a button. For my initial testing, I used the Pure Direct preset which flattens out the frequency bands to remove any software coloration. The 50mm drivers are tuned to give a slight emphasis to the bass on this preset, which is common to gaming headsets. Since this isn’t a “reference headphone” or one intended to compete with more expensive audiophile equipment, there’s no reason not to play around and find your preferred sound.

Of the included presets, Corsair has seen fit to provide four purpose driven alternatives to Pure Direct. Movie Theater boosts the bass to give you a cinematic, boomy feel. FPS Competition drops these lower frequencies and raises the mids and highs to bring out footsteps and gun cracks; it’s a proven formula to draw these cues out but the overall sound becomes unbearably tinny. Clear Chat and Bass Boost are tuned for comms and heavy, full low-end respectively. You can modify any one of these inside the software to create your own profiles, too.

It’s neat to be able to switch between these profiles on the fly. When you press the right rocker button, a feminine voice will announce your preset (or if you’re turning surround sound on or off). The downside is that you’re still stuck remembering which EQ is in which slot. The voice feedback is handy, but as someone who saves multiple EQs, I quickly lost track of which was which, even as she helpfully told me “Profile X” as I cycled through.

iCUE is also where you’ll control the lighting options on the headset. Given the two lighting zones, one on each earcup, the options are expectedly limited. You can make them blink or breathe or pulse through different colors. You’re free to dial in your exact hue, as well as change a few settings like the speed of transitions or blinks. Your lighting can also be easily synced between your different Corsair RGB peripherals, too, which can be rather neat if you’re running a complete Corsair desktop.

Be aware, however, that using the lighting will dramatically lower battery life. Corsair quotes “up to 16 hours;” however, to actually achieve that use time, you’ll need to turn lighting off entirely. You’ll get a little closer with an effect that turns the lights on and off, but with a steady rainbow stream, I found that use time closer to 9 hours.

Wireless range, even on a low battery, was good. In my living situation, I wasn’t able to test a full 12m away without multiple walls and obstructions between the headset and its dongle. In my testing, I was only able to achieve about half of the quoted 40 foot range before audio started dropping out.

Finally, we come to the microphone. Mic communications tend to be the Achilles’ Heel of wireless headsets and for good reason. Severing the cable means applying far more compression to the microphone signal, which often causes the vocal capture to sound thin. The Void Pro RGB is no exception but it is far from the worst on the market. Compared to a quality wired headset, the Void Pro RGB Wireless is only acceptable. It will serve just fine for chatting with friends over Discord but if you plan to stream or perhaps record a podcast, I would definitely recommend looking into a more dedicated solution.

Conclusions

At only $99, Corsair has priced the Void Pro RGB Wireless competitively. If it were even slightly more, it would be a much harder recommendation; however, at under $100 it’s placed substantially cheaper than many similar wireless headsets from competing brands. The audio delivery is quite good and the ability to swap between multiple EQs is an excellent feature, though surround sound is a mixed bag depending on the game. There is room for improvement to be sure, but the mix of comfort and functionality make this a good buy at this price point.

Review Terms and Disclosure
All Information as of the Date of Publication
How product was obtained: The product is on loan from Corsair for the purpose of this review.
What happens to the product after review: The product remains the property of Corsair but is on extended loan for future testing and product comparisons.
Company involvement: Corsair had no control over the content of the review and was not consulted prior to publication.
PC Perspective Compensation: Neither PC Perspective nor any of its staff were paid or compensated in any way by Corsair for this review.
Advertising Disclosure: Corsair has purchased advertising at PC Perspective during the past twelve months.
Affiliate links: This article contains affiliate links to online retailers. PC Perspective may receive compensation for purchases through those links.
Consulting Disclosure: Corsair is not a current client of Shrout Research for products or services related to this review.