The VOID RGB Wireless headset goes pro in the latest refresh from Corsair. It includes new viscoelastic foam for improved breathability and comfort, along with custom tuned 50mm drivers.
Product on Review: Corsair VOID Pro RGB Wireless
Manufacturer: Corsair
Street Price: UK: £109.99, US: $109.99
Refreshing their VOID gaming headsets, gamers will be greeted with a product that has been made from carefully selected materials, designed with durability in mind. The VOID Pro headset comes as part of a collaboration with BMW’s DesignWorks studio in California, resulting in a unique aesthetic that is both distinctive and interesting.
Addressing the various aspects of the gaming headset, Corsair have left no stone unturned. The cushioning in the earpads has been replaced with a new viscoelastic foam that is soft and breathable, helping to reduce the effects of heat and moisture build up, while improving comfort. Moving on to the audio quality, they have equipped the VOID Pro with custom tuned 50mm neodymium to deliver precision audio for an enhanced full-range stereo or Dolby Headphone 7.1 surround experience.
As we are looking at the wireless version, you can expect low-latency, long range wireless connectivity, that has a 16hr battery life, as well as featuring customisable RGB LED lighting. The VOID Pro RGB Wireless is available in Black/White or a SE version (yellow jacket). There will also be a choice of USB RGB versions available, also featuring virtual 7.1 surround in Black (or carbon) and white, as well as an analogue version available in carbon or cherry.
Overview by Corsair
Building upon the success of CORSAIR’s VOID series of headsets, VOID PRO features various significant enhancements across comfort, sound, mic quality and wireless performance designed to provide an even better gaming experience. VOID PRO resets the bar and delivers best-in-class performance.
VOID PRO’s bold and distinct look is the result of a collaboration with BMW’s DesignWorks studio in California. The outcome is an unmistakable and iconic design unlike any other currently in the market. Carefully selected materials, metal components and premium build quality ensure the long term durability that CORSAIR products are known for. Custom speaker drivers and internal acoustic tuning provide full range stereo or genuine Dolby Headphone 7.1 surround sound for an immersive audio experience. Select VOID PRO models also offer fully customizable RGB lighting and audio EQ control through CORSAIR’s exclusive CUE software suite.
VOID PRO’s bold and distinct look is the result of a collaboration with BMW’s DesignWorks studio in California. The outcome is an unmistakable and iconic design unlike any other currently in the market. Carefully selected materials, metal components and premium build quality ensure the long term durability that CORSAIR products are known for. Custom speaker drivers and internal acoustic tuning provide full range stereo or genuine Dolby Headphone 7.1 surround sound for an immersive audio experience. Select VOID PRO models also offer fully customizable RGB lighting and audio EQ control through CORSAIR’s exclusive CUE software suite.
Technical Specifications
Type: 2.4 GHZ Wireless (USB receiver)
Colour Available: Carbon/White
RGB Lighting: YES
Audio: Dolby Headphone 7.1
Driver: 50mm Neodymium
Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1kHz
Mic Type: Unidirectional, noisecancelling
Mic Impedance: 2.0k Ohms
Mic Frequency: Response 100Hz – 10kHz
Mic Sensitivity: -38 dB (± 3 dB)
Dimensions: 228mm(L) x 242mm(W) x 108mm(H)
Product Weight: 390g
Warranty: 2 years
Colour Available: Carbon/White
RGB Lighting: YES
Audio: Dolby Headphone 7.1
Driver: 50mm Neodymium
Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1kHz
Mic Type: Unidirectional, noisecancelling
Mic Impedance: 2.0k Ohms
Mic Frequency: Response 100Hz – 10kHz
Mic Sensitivity: -38 dB (± 3 dB)
Dimensions: 228mm(L) x 242mm(W) x 108mm(H)
Product Weight: 390g
Warranty: 2 years
Packaging & First Look
Corsair and the yellow on black colours are well established enough for this product to stand out and be recognisable. There is a large image of the product and a small list of primary features.
At the back there is a diagram pointing out the headsets features, along with the technical details at the bottom in various languages.
Included in the package along with the manual and paperwork, Corsair have provided with a foam filer for the microphone, along with a USB cable and a wireless dongle.
The wireless dongle will provide simple wireless connectivity to the headset, it features an activity LED light and should you need to use it, a force pairing hole (reminiscent of pin-hole reset buttons).
The headset itself retains the interesting VOID shape and is made of various high quality materials.
Closer Look
The earpads are large and angularly shaped to fully cover your ears for a circum-aural experience. As with the headband, the earpads are covered in a soft microfibre material, and feature the new breathable viscoelastic foam.
As with the older models, the earcups are adjustable by extending the length of the headband in clicky increments.
The left cup is the business side with the power/mute buttons alongside the boom microphone.
On the underside of the left earcup you will find the activity LED light as well as the USB connector for the headset and the volume/multi-function dial.
The extended boom microphone is flexible and can easily be bent to desired position, it will auto mute when raised.
Software
Performance Testing
Setup, Design & ObservationsSetting up the headset is as simple as having a spare USB port for the dongle and turning it on, however, it would be wise to allow the headset to fully charge before use. After installing the software, you may want to update the firmware of both the wireless adaptor and the headset, so ensure that the headset is plugged in to do this safely.
In the hand, the VOID Pro RGB Wireless feels good quality, the plastics and metal parts certainly feels solid, with no real flaws. The adjustment system too has the right amount of resistance to stop is from extending unintentionally. The fit on the head is very comfortable, and the strange shape of the earcups along with the large range of movement they have allows it to perfectly fit your head and have enough space to cover your ears completely. This allows it to provide some passive noise cancellation. At this point you start to realise that the headset is rather heavy at 390g, and that the clamp strength is a little too loose, so people with smaller heads may find that the headset could easily be shaken off.
The onboard buttons are easy to locate and use on the left side earcup. The power button also doubles as the pairing button when held for 10s, and there is a mute button which when held will enable the sidetone, so you can monitor your own voice. The volume dial, when pressed will toggle between the ‘up to 5’ preset EQ options which you can customise in the CUE software, and when you hold the volume dial in, it will enable the Dolby Headphone 7.1 surround. Raising the microphone boom will auto mute it, but if you mute using the button, there is a red LED indicator at the tip of the boom.
To test the wireless performance, we walked around the house and found that there was no major drop in connection, with one or two very short cut outs at certain locations (like when surrounded by brick walls), and the connection was clear to the end of our garden, which is a modest 15m away from the source (with just a window blocking the signal).
Another note is that there is no removable battery from the VOID Pro RGB Wireless, which may become an increasingly preferred factor in wireless headsets, as failing batteries in the long term tend to be a prevalent problem with wireless gaming headsets.
Multimedia
Using the Pure Direct EQ mode (flat), we found that the VOID Pro RGB Wireless presents a relatively wide soundstage with good audio separation. The bass is strong enough to create an exciting experience without muddying up the mids or treble. Toggling through the other EQ settings while listening to music shows that the custom tuned 50mm drivers respond very well to changes in the audio signature, so should you want a much stronger bass, or would prefer to enhance the mid tones, doing so with the equaliser in the CUE software will help create the ideal sound for your preference.
The maximum volume is reasonably loud without being deafening, and there was no distortion. Though we did notice a faint static sound that was prevalent continuously, this was never really distracting, but it did become slightly more noticeable once you enabled the Dolby Headphone 7.1 surround. With the Dolby Headphone 7.1 enabled, games came to life, the directional audio was fantastic, giving the sense of space and distance to many sounds, and despite the faint background static, the sounds were clear and distinctive, and so delivers a fantastic gaming experience.
Microphone
The microphone is reasonably clear and does a good job cutting out background noises, though it does sound a little nasally (as you will tell in our video). Also it could have been a little louder at maximum sensitivity.
Conclusion
The VOID Pro RGB Wireless shows off the excellent quality that people have come to expect from Corsair. As a wireless headset, it comes in very competitively priced when compared to the likes of the Arctis 7, the ManO’War, or even the Siberia 850, though, we often feel that the price of wireless gaming headsets are often bloated, especially as wireless technology is not inherently expensive. Despite that, Corsair have certainly created an impressive, good value product that gives gamers an exciting, and immersive gaming experience thanks to its awesome implementation of Dolby Headphone 7.1.
In our testing, we felt that there were some missed opportunities. Firstly, the bane of all wireless headsets, especially ones that can only connect via wireless means (such as the VOID Pro RGB Wireless, Razer ManO’War), is a waning battery life which forces obsolescence. While we haven’t experienced many headsets with replaceable batteries, we feel that it is a vital consideration, and a missed opportunity in a product that is a supposed ‘refresh’. There are a number of other considerations we need to make, including its lack of versatility, (especially when compared to the Arctis 7) as well as the faint background static. The static isn’t really detrimental to the experience, but its something that you will noticed from time to time. Adding to this, we feel that the microphone could have been a little better also.
The most notable downsides we felt in consideration to the VOID Pro RGB Wireless, is its 390g mass (making the Arctis 7 seem light) combined with its rather loose grip. This combination presents a very real risk of the headset falling off your head with any fast or sudden movements. Aside from that, if you can deal with its mass, it is a comfortable headset, and the fabric material combined with the viscoelastic foam, is breathable, cool, and does help prevent excessive heat build up more effectively than most leatherette earpads. To help us put this all into perspective, we need to consider that the VOID Pro RGB Wireless is £59 cheaper than its competitors, and that alone will make this a very popular choice amongst gamers.
If you live and breathe in the joys of wireless gaming, the VOID Pro RGB Wireless represents brilliant value and is amongst the best out there in regards to virtual surround performance.
Pros.
+ Solid construction
+ Attractive aesthetic w/ RGB lighting
+ Comfortable
+ Low Latency wireless connectivity
+ Good gaming audio (powerful 50mm drivers)
+ Excellent virtual surround (Dolby Headphone 7.1)
+ Auto mute microphone
+ Easy to use controls
+ Price
Neutral
+- Microphone could be a little louder
+- Can only connect wirelessly
+- No replaceable battery
+- Background hiss/static
Cons.
– Heavy
– A little too loose on the head
+ Solid construction
+ Attractive aesthetic w/ RGB lighting
+ Comfortable
+ Low Latency wireless connectivity
+ Good gaming audio (powerful 50mm drivers)
+ Excellent virtual surround (Dolby Headphone 7.1)
+ Auto mute microphone
+ Easy to use controls
+ Price
Neutral
+- Microphone could be a little louder
+- Can only connect wirelessly
+- No replaceable battery
+- Background hiss/static
Cons.
– Heavy
– A little too loose on the head
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