Corsair Virtuoso RGB: audiophile quality and positional sound
Review of the new Corsair Virtuoso RGB Special Edition Wireless headphones: from Corsair an excellent product that combines quality and positional sound, at a high price.
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Special Edition Wireless is the name of the new Corsair top-of-the-range headphones, aimed at the gamers and not only. They are characterized by high-quality materials, just as the sound is of high quality.
The Corsair Virtuoso RGB headphones are not the classic gaming headphones that focus almost exclusively on positional sound, but aim to return an auditory experience that is good for any type of user, even at a very high price to the public.
The peculiarities of this headphones are the pair of custom 50mm neodymium drivers, which offer quality audio and an important power, the comfortable memory foam headband bearings, which guarantee comfort even for long gaming sessions, wireless connection Slipstream that we have already seen in other Corsair peripherals, the removable microphone for broadcast with sidetone functionality enabled by default.
Also noteworthy is the possibility of choosing the preferred type of connection between USB (the only one able to guarantee the highest quality of audio), wireless with USB dongle and 3.5 mm jack. This is a very welcome feature for the user who wants to have maximum control over the connection and use the headphones on different types of systems and through various modes of use.
The Corsair Virtuoso headphones are compatible with PS4 as well as with PC, but only in the latter case, using iCue software, they work in 7.1 surround.
Difficult to convey in words the level of quality of the audio that can be experimented with headphones of this price range, but we can say that the Corsair Virtuoso convey a high resolution 24 bit / 96kHz audio stream when they are connected with the USB cable.
When we talk about high resolution audio, we generally refer to music files that are characterized by a sampling frequency and bit depth higher than those of a CD, or 16bit / 44.1kHz. Where sampling frequency means the number of times the analog signal samples are captured in a second within the analog to digital conversion process. So as the number of bits increases, the accuracy of digital signal reproduction increases, resulting in a better sound.
The drivers used in this headphones, according to Corsair, have been specially developed and have been carefully selected so as to guarantee a tolerance of +/- 1 dB. These are 50mm neodymium drivers that support the frequency range from 20Hz to 40,000Hz.
They are drivers that are normally found in solutions aimed at audiophiles and that offer a double frequency range compared to that traditionally supported by the much shorter headphones for players.
This headphones not only provide positional audio like traditional headphones for gamers, but combine this feature with audio quality that is always very high, even when the sound source is positioned sideways.
Excellent materials, which refer to the ideas of elegance and robustness simultaneously. The memory foam leather for the pads and the upper bow is so soft that after a few minutes of use, you will have the feeling of not wearing headphones, which is particularly useful in the case of prolonged play sessions, which with traditional headphones make the sweat ears and create clutter on the head.
On the outside, in aluminum, an RGB lighting effect was also applied, surmounted by a micro-perforated part. This makes the lighting penetrate creating a particular effect, which refers to the idea of professionalism and does not make the RGB lighting as gaudy as in other cases. When RGB lighting is off, the logo disappears creating a uniform appearance.
The Corsair logo is customizable with different lighting effects through the iCue software. These include Rainbow, Color Change, Button Colors, Viewer, Rain, Temperature, Static Color and Awards and Illuminate, among others, where the latter activates the illumination with each mouse click.
The software serves to perform more ” noble ” adjustments with the possibility of equalizing the sound in the smallest details and setting presets for movies, play, chat and bass enhancement.
Inside the package, you will find the USB wireless transmitter, the 3.5mm jack cable and the USB cable with USB C connection on the headphone side and USB A on the system side. A plurality of interesting choices, with excellent support even in a wireless key thanks to Splistream technology.
The Intelligent Frequency Shift (IFS) feature of this technology ensures that the signal travels as quickly as possible, monitoring on the fly and in every situation what occurs in the various WiFi channels available.
IFS chooses the radio channel with less congestion and places the WiFi connection between device and dongle on this frequency. In addition, Slipstream ensures significant coverage in terms of extension, guaranteed up to 60 meters from where the PC or console is located.
The Corsair Virtuoso are also characterized by an advanced battery autonomy management system, as the headphones are automatically suspended if not used. The system works via an accelerometer that automatically turns off the headphones when they are not in use. Afterwards, just put the headphones back on your head to turn on automatically.
The microphone deserves a separate discussion, because it is characterized by a series of decidedly interesting precautions. Starting from the default availability of the sidetone function, or the ability to reproduce the sounds coming into the microphone in real time through headphones.
The sidetone is very useful, for example, to streamer, to always have the pulse of the situation compared to what is coming to the microphone. The microphone can be detached and is equipped with a sensitive stick.
On the latter is the button for enabling or disabling the microphone which, if held down for a few seconds, leads to deactivation (or activation) of the sidetone. The latter can also be adjusted from iCue, which allows the configuration of the volume to be able to capture more or less sound than what happens in the environment.
It is simply the best microphone we’ve ever had the chance to try in combination with a gaming headset, which is characterized by a wide dynamic range and the ability to record the voice in an absolutely clear manner, which is obviously very useful for multiplayer game sessions where you must communicate with teammates. The microphone also surrounds itself with a small RGB strip, which changes from green to red in signal the turning on or off of the microphone itself.
The Corsair Virtuoso, then, are characterized by those that the software calls ” voice commands ” : it is, in reality, a vocal signal with respect to the enabled functionality. If you connect the microphone, then, you will hear a voice (female) speak the words ” Mic on “, while at the end of the battery recharge you will hear ” Charge Complete “, or ” Surround off ” and ” Surround on “.
Obviously, the ” voice commands ” can be completely disabled through the software. Which also allows you to adjust the brightness of the lighting, the sleep mode (that is, after how many minutes of inactivity disable the headphones) and to manage the synchronization with the USB wireless receiver.
We are talking of headphones capable of restoring an important quality both in listening and recording through a microphone, with a decidedly powerful volume, controllable at any time by means of the wheel located in the right pavilion. There are many interesting features, starting from the much more elegant design than that offered by most gaming headsets.
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