Introduction

Corsair freshly introduced two new gaming headsets, both of them wireless and both aiming high in terms of features, performance and, subsequently, price. The less expensive one is the excellent $180/€180 Virtuoso RGB Wireless (reviewed here). Then there's the "Special Edition" of that headset dubbed the Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE, which we'll focus on in this review. It costs $30/€30 more and improves upon the "regular" Virtuoso RGB Wireless in a couple of areas, but, surprisingly, not all of them. If you're only interested in what's worse, jump to the Microphone Performance section of this review, which is where you'll find out why I think the less expensive Virtuoso is a better choice for pretty much everyone.



The Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE is an extremely versatile gaming headset. It supports wireless connectivity, which utilizes Corsair's Slipstream technology for lag-free playback and communication, but also offers not one, but two ways of wired operation: digital (USB) and analog (3.5-mm). In other words, you can connect it to any PC and/or gaming console on the market. It's mostly made out of aluminium, According to the specifications, it comes with a pair of factory-matched 50-millimeter dynamic speaker drivers, a detachable, broadcast-grade omnidirectional microphone, and an obligatory RGB lighting system, as its name implies. To top it all off, it boasts about 20 hours of battery life. As far as what you'd want from a wireless gaming headset goes, the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE ticks all the boxes—at least on paper.

Two main differences compared to the "regular" Virtuoso RGB Wireless are the ear cups, which are now completely encased in aluminium, and the microphone capsule. The size of the capsule went from 4 to 9.5 millimeters, but its quality didn't improve in the process, as you'll see in the Microphone Performance part of this review. That's quite a shame as it makes hard to explain why anyone should spend additional $30/€30 to get a worse (although still very good) microphone. One final addition to the Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE is a cloth carrying pouch.

Specifications

• 50-mm factory-matched dynamic drivers (neodymium magnet)
• 20–40,000 Hz frequency response (specified by the manufacturer)
• Closed-back, over-ear design
• Detachable omnidirectional microphone with 9.5-mm capsule
• 2.4 GHz radio connectivity with Slipstream wireless technology
• 20 hour battery life
• USB and 3.5-mm wired connectivity
• Built-in volume dial and microphone mute button
• Weight: 390 g

The Package

The box the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE comes in looks and feels luxurious. It depicts the headset from two sides and points out its key strengths and technical specifications.


Inside the box, you'll find the headset itself and a set of neatly packed accessories: a wireless dongle, detachable microphone, cloth carrying pouch, and two braided cables for wired connectivity and charging. One of them is a 1.9-meter USB cable with a USB-C plug on the "headset" side, and the other is a standard 1.5-meter audio cable with a 3.5-mm TRRS jack on both ends. Corsair didn't supply a TRRS-to-dual TRS adapter, but that isn't an issue as you'll simply use the USB connectivity when connecting the Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE to your PC (assuming you for some reason don't want to use it wirelessly, of course). The box also contains a user manual.


The cloth carrying pouch is an addition you don't get with the "regular" Virtuoso RGB Wireless. It can be used to protect the headset when you want to pop it into your backpack. It even has an inner pocket for supplied cables.