They excel in making quality peripherals for competitive gamers. Speaking of competitive gaming, audio plays a large role in that department. We doubt we need to tell you why audio is important for a competitive edge, but here’s a little refresher: If you have a decent headset that can easily pinpoint enemy footsteps, then you’ll obviously be at an advantage. Plus, it plays a big role in immersion. So if you’re looking for a great headset for gaming, we have the Corsair HS60 Pro on our hands. It uses robust materials, so it has a sturdy build quality. It also combines powerful audio, a clean low-profile look, and customizable software. Overall it’s a great package all things considered, but is it worth the money? Let’s find out.
The Unboxing Experience
First off, let’s begin with the unboxing experience itself. The box uses a combination of black and yellow colours. This is the same style of packaging and colour scheme you’ll see in a lot of recent peripherals from Corsair. The front of the box has the Corsair logo at the upper left corner, and the centre shows a picture of the HS60 Pro itself. The left side of the box informs us a bit about the Corsair iCUE software, which can be used to tweak audio settings. The back of the box labels all the parts of the headset and describes them in detail. With all that stuff aside, let’s get on to what’s actually inside. The packaging is simple and frustration-free. It’s enclosed in the usual plastic packaging that we’ve seen with most headsets before. The box contents include the headset itself, an instruction manual, warranty information, the USB adapter, and a removable microphone.
Corsair HS60 vs HS60 Pro
Before we get into the actual detailed review itself, it’s important that we differentiate between the HS60 and the HS60 Pro. This is because both of these headsets are extremely similar in a lot of ways. We think it is important to highlight the differences and improvements found in the HS60 Pro before we move on. The HS60 Pro isn’t really a complete overhaul of the regular HS60. Instead, it makes some very minor tweaks and incremental improvements. They both look the same for the most part, but the stitching on the inner side of the headband is white on the Pro version, unlike the plain black look on the regular HS60. The HS60 Pro also has two more colour options, which have either yellow or white accents. The HS60 Pro also makes a minor improvement in the comfort area. Corsair has added an additional memory foam in the HS60 Pro to make the earcups more comfortable. Corsair also claims they tweaked the sound on the HS60 Pro, although they’re still the same 50mm drivers. The two offer the same 20Hz – 20KHz frequency response, 111dB headphone sensitivity, and 40dB microphone sensitivity. The microphone impedance has changed from 2.2K ohms to 2K ohms. The improvement in the microphone definitely is very minor, but definitely noticeable. The wire is braided on the Pro version while the non-pro comes with an average rubberized flexible wire Considering both of these headsets are still going for about the same price, it’s a no brainer to go with the HS60 Pro variant.
Design and Build Quality
The HS60 Pro follows almost the same design language as the cheaper Corsair HS50 and the wireless HS70 headset. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the overall aesthetic is definitely quite nice. Speaking of which, the whole matte black look certainly gives it a low-profile, and it will please fans of minimalism for sure. At first glance, some people might think these are actually open-back headphones. Well, don’t get confused by the grill-like design on either side, these are definitely closed back. There’s also a Corsair logo on the outside of both earcups. Depending on the colour you get, you can opt for either black or yellow accents along the outside of the earcups, the inside of them, and even the headband. As for build quality, this headset is definitely well put together. Plastic is being used here for the most part, but it doesn’t make the headset feel cheap in any shape or form. The entire headset does have a bit of heft to it, as it weighs in at about 317g. The artificial leather used on the earcups and the headband don’t feel bad or cheap. On the left earcup, we have the removable mic, and just behind that, we have the volume dial and mic mute switch. Honestly, the placement of this button and the volume dial is a bit unusual, so I didn’t find myself reaching for them that much. If this had a removable cable, it would be near perfect, but the cable is braided so that’s decent enough. I did find that the cable was a bit on the shorter side. The adjustable hinge feels solid as well, and there are no creaking sounds here as you’d expect from cheaper headsets. It’s actually very impressive just how sturdy and premium it feels for the price. Overall, I have no complaints about the design and build quality.
Comfort
The Corsair HS60 Pro is basically an upgraded or “refreshed” version of the HS60. The HS60 was also an incredible headset, but it did have a few problems in the comfort department. So the question is, does the HS60 Pro improve on that in any way? Well, the short answer is a resounding “yes”. But it’s not all perfect. Let’s talk about the good stuff first. The padding on the headband is of great quality, and the stitching doesn’t really dig into your head. The earcups use the same artificial leather used in the headband, but they also utilize memory foam on the inside. The earcups do have a bit of swivel to them, so finding the right fit isn’t all too difficult. Initially, the headset definitely feels quite comfortable. I was worried that the earcups wouldn’t have much depth to them and was expecting them to be a bit shallow as some people have said. However, I didn’t find an issue in that department, as my ears did not touch the drivers whatsoever. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on head size, and obviously, preference. The only quirk I found was actually in the clamping force. There is very minimal pressure from the headband itself, so all the weight is pushing against your ears. This isn’t too much of an issue for a couple of hours, but after about 5 hours, the fatigue starts to set in. Again, not a major issue, but if the clamping force was a bit more balanced, comfort would be absolutely sublime.
Sound Quality – Music And Gaming
So far, the Corsair HS60 Pro is proving to be a worthy headset, especially for the value. But we can’t forget about the most important aspect of a great headset. Which happens to be the sound quality, obviously. Before we move on, it is important to keep in mind that a lot of the times sound signature really comes down to personal preference. Still, we need to talk about it so let’s just carry on.
The Corsair HS60 Pro has 3.5mm cable, and you can plug that directly into your PC. But if you want to actually use the mic, Corsair provides a USB adapter in the box. This USB dongle also houses the 7.1 virtual surround sound drivers. If you want to use it with a console, just forget about the USB adapter and plug the cable directly into the audio jack. Just remember you won’t be getting any 7.1 surround sound on consoles. With that through, let’s talk about gaming performance.
Gaming Performance
Since this is a headset, most people will obviously be buying this for gaming. Overall, the sound signature over here is actually quite pleasing. It’s definitely much better than your average closed-back headset. This means that, even in stereo mode, you can easily pinpoint enemy footsteps and use that to your advantage. Explosions and gunshots sound pristine with this headset. The bass definitely marks its presence with a deep, punchy and resonating kick to it. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as this is a gaming headset. But the headset definitely provides an immersive sound for gaming. Overall sound quality is quite clear, I didn’t have any trouble discerning between different frequencies. And if you’re the type of person who looks for directional audio, the separation here is quite nice as I mentioned above. But just because there is an emphasis on bass, doesn’t mean the mids get sacrificed in any way. Sure, at times the low end can be a bit overpowering, but vocals and other details sound just as crisp and clear. The highs are definitely pretty good, and they’re not bright either, which I prefer personally. In the end, it does come down to personal preference, but I think most people will be quite pleased with this headset for gaming. Before I move on, I should comment on the virtual 7.1 surround sound as well. In all honesty, I’d recommend you to stick to the stereo mode. The virtual 7.1 surround here isn’t impressive in any way, and audio quality actually takes a hit because of it. It just does not sound realistic and ruins the compression a bit. The stereo sound does just fine if you want directional audio.
What’s It Like For Music
I feel like this needs to be mentioned in a lot of headset reviews, especially when you’re talking about budget headsets. If you’re an avid music listener, or maybe even an audiophile, you honestly should not expect a whole lot from a budget gaming headset. They clearly aren’t manufactured to provide you with excellent reference-quality sound. So there is a bit of leniency to be shown here. As you can probably guess, I wasn’t exactly expecting a lot from this headset, but I was definitely blown away. All my worries about this being horrible for music were washed away once I gave them a listen. Let’s talk about the highs first. The treble on this headset is definitely very pleasing to the ears. Instruments with a higher frequency and especially vocals sound very crisp and detailed. However, the highs aren’t really all that sharp or bright. Depending on your preference, you might like or dislike that aspect. As for the mids, they aren’t exactly the best, as they can get a bit muddled. If you enjoy music with a lot of instruments playing in the back, and with distant vocals, these aren’t exactly the best for that. At times I even thought they sounded a bit flat. I’ve already talked about the bass above when it comes to gaming. Obviously, performance in music is just as excellent. If you like deep, weighty and resonating bass, it’s definitely here. However, it can get a bit overpowering at times. So does the Corsair HS60 Pro provide audiophile-grade sound quality? No, but it’s really great for what it is. The soundstage is pretty wide here as well, so you can tell all the different frequencies apart. Overall, I enjoyed my time with these for music.
Microphone Quality
We don’t need to tell you that the microphone is really important when it comes to a headset. The main reason you buy a headset instead of a pair of high-end headphones is that you need a decent mic for communication. A bad microphone will result in miscommunication, and can really break the immersion, especially if you’re playing with teammates.
The mic on the Corsair HS60 isn’t exactly the best out there, but it’s decent enough. The overall quality was reasonable, although I’ve definitely heard better, especially at higher volumes where there is a lot of distortion. It doesn’t deal with background noise in the best way either. Even after using the foam end cap (which comes in the box), it still picks up some background noise. But in all honesty, it’s really not too bad if you just want to use it for communication. It’s actually good enough that your teammates can hear you, and that’s all that matters for most people.
Software (EQ Settings)
There’s not a whole lot tweaking you can do with the software provided here, but it’s important to mention anyway. Normally, you’d use the Corsair iCUE software to tweak the sound and the lighting. Well, there is no lighting or RGB on the headset, so the only adjustments can be made to the sound itself. You can switch between stereo and 7.1 virtual surround sound in the menu. Apart from that, you can tweak the equalizer or EQ to your liking, which is a good feature if you don’t like the sound signature. It also provides you with a few preset EQ settings, which actually work fairly well. I found that these simple adjustments actually went a long way to make this headset a bit more flexible. You can tweak the equalizer however you like, and then save it to a profile in the software itself. This way, you can have separate profiles for gaming and for music as well.
Conclusion
For the retail price of $70, the Corsair HS60 Pro is actually a very competitive headset. It’s noticeably better than the headsets in the $50 range and comes close to the higher end variants, such as the HyperX Cloud II, which go for about $100. And while the Cloud IIs do sound better, the slight price difference might actually matter to you. The Corsair HS60 Pro doesn’t exactly blow the competition out of the water, but it gets almost all the basics right. If the bass wasn’t as overpowering, and comfort was a bit more improved, these would be perfect. Still, for the price, we can easily recommend these.
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