Corsair’s gaming accessories include some of our favourite keyboards and mice, while its headsets at the top end offer really comprehensive suites of options and incredible sound performance.
At the lower end of its pricing scale, though, the new HS55 represents a bit more of a compromise for those who don’t want to pay too much. It’s a solid enough headset, but its microphone leaves much to be desired.
Corsair HS55
This is a solid headset at a pretty decent price, but we can’t help but feel let down by its middling microphone and slightly skewed audio balance out of the box.
Corsair’s in the process of refreshing its lineup of headsets with new looks, and that change has now come for the HS55, which sports a very new design.
We think it’s really sleek - with earcups that are simpler and have smoother edges to them, capped with brushed reflective finishes that catch the eye but don’t demand too much attention.
The earcups have a good amount of cushioning, as does the headband, although it’s a headset that clamped our head slightly more than we’re used to for the first few hours of use.
The microphone that Corsair has gone for is a flip-away one - you may’t remove it entirely, nor is it really that hidden when out of use, but you can flick it up to be out of your peripheral vision, which is handy.
This also acts as a mute function, needless to say, and it’s a familiar setup to anyone who’s used a Turtle Beach headset, for example.
We’ve got the black version of the HS55, which looks pretty clean and modern, but there’s also a white version for those who want a little bit more of a standout design, although that non-removable microphone means you’re unlikely to want to wear this out and about, in our opinion.
Sound quality
Corsair’s headsets are reliable on the sound front, and the HS55 has proved no different in our testing - across PlayStation 5 and PC use, it offers a really solid range of performance.
On PC you can get full virtual 7.1 sound if you’ve got a game that supports it, and that does indeed make for a wide and impressive sound stage.
We mostly tested on PS5, though, where such features aren’t as available, and it’s still a capable enough headset for console gamers.
There’s a good level of warmth and bass to the HS55 that will mean you’re really going to feel bassy hits and explosions (the newDead Space remakewas pretty frightening through it).
We did find, though, that putting the headset through its paces inWarzone 2.0, it was a little muddier and harder to define exact sounds than we’d like.
Our daily driver is the peerless (and much more expensive)SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, so it has to be acknowledged that this is an uphill struggle for the HS55. However, with a voice chat to balance, we found that we had to play with our audio settings throughout a session to get the right sound signature.
That’s not ideal, especially since we found ourselves doing it in each game we played - each time, we were able to find a good balance, but having to do this manually is a bit of a chore.
So, it might be that those who want an out-of-the-box success need to look elsewhere, as the majority of the many headsets we test don’t require this level of input.
Things are also a little lacklustre in the microphone department - this is the first time in a while that we’ve reviewed a headset that made our party request a change back because we were coming through so muddily.
Part of the issue with pickup might be that the arm of the microphone is actually very inflexible despite appearances, so you don’t really have a way to get it closer to your mouth, which is an oversight.
Battery life and features
The features side of things reveals a very solid setup, thankfully, with the included wireless dongle working flawlessly in our testing on PS5 and PC, with good range and reliable connectivity.
Battery life is very decent indeed, coming in at over 24 hours and meaning that you don’t really have to worry too much about getting it on a charging cable straight after you finish playing.
There aren’t many extras to speak of if you’re a console gamer, but those on PC will be able to take advantage of Corsair’s wide software support, with iCUE compatibility.
That said, there aren’t any RGB lights here, so it’s not like you’ll be syncing the headset up with your PC’s lights or anything.
We’re big fans of the look and feel of the HS55 - it’s an impressively light headset that has a nice new design and a good amount of options for customising sound if you’re on PC.
However, its sound has been pretty inconsistent and hard to nail down, with a lot of tinkering required, and its microphone’s quality isn’t really up to our expectations.
Still, it’s a fair option for a reasonable price, and if it gets some discounts, it’ll be one to consider if you’re looking for some simple wireless audio.
