Corsair HS35 stereo headset is the company’s new value option that brings some of the design and features of a more premium headset to an affordable product. Under the budget of $38, the Corsair HS35 stereo becomes one of the best budget gaming headsets in 2021.
Corsair HS35 Stereo Gaming Headset Review
The Corsair HS35 Stereo provides a stylish-looking aesthetic without flashy or obvious fingerprint magnets. Surprisingly, the sizing slider between the headband and yolk is made of metal, which is unusual for a cheap headset. That metal blends nicely into the silver Corsair logo in the center of each earcup.
The headband has a wide section stuffed with memory foam covered. The ear cups are covered with the same combination of foam and mesh. The ear cups themselves easily fit wide and large ears. Rotate and swivel with a variety of flexibility, slider lengths, and ear cups to fit a variety of head sizes.
For $38, the build quality is surprisingly good. It makes a little rattling sound when twisting the earcups, but it only needs a little space between the moving parts, not any kind of defect.
The left headphone has a port for a detachable one-way microphone, so it doesn’t feel cheap thanks to its very flexible arm. It’s easier to position than the microphone on the $329 Arctis Pro Wireless. There’s also a microphone mute toggle and a gripping volume dial on the back of the headphones.
All in all, the headset weighs 250 grams, which is light enough for the hand and light for the head. This is a significant drop over the 331g Corsair HS50, which contains metal yolks. The Corsair HS35 connects using a 3.5mm jack, so it’s compatible with almost any device.
Inside the ear cup is a 50mm driver with a frequency response range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The microphone has a frequency response of 10 Hz to 10 kHz. These two ranges are fairly standard even for more expensive headsets. However, driver sizes are very rare at this price point.
The Corsair HS35 connects using a 3.5mm jack, so it is compatible with almost any device. The package also includes a headphone/mic splitter that can be used for devices that don’t use a combo jack. The 5.9-foot cable is rubber and includes a strap to wrap it around when not in use.
My experience with Corsair HS35 Stereo
The first thing you noticed when wearing the Corsair HS35 headset was the bass. The bass is heavy and almost muddy, drowning out high frequencies. This problem mainly occurs when the volume is cranked, and these headphones can be painfully loud, so you can re-adjust the volume and balance it a bit better, but the touch base is still heavier.
I played a lot of games and found the imbalance to be less distracting. High frequencies are noticeably weaker in music. The violin and high piano notes of Of Montreal’s Spiteful Intervention do not penetrate the walls of the bass and mids. But songs like Dour Percentage that have a bit more on the bass line play fine on the headset.
While playing League of Legends, the drum cymbals didn’t get caught in the heavy steps of slipping out. So the experience was better in the game. I was able to use sound effects to keep track of where the enemy was coming from. Under the banking map of Rainbow Six Siege, you could hear the sound of enemies moving along the nearest stairway as the team faced enemies from elsewhere, keeping them in position and preventing them from being shot from behind.
In another case, I was running into the room and trapped in a Lesion mine, and I could hear the enemy moving across the room behind the door, so I could fire a few shots instead of simply getting killed. Trying to remove the needle. I’ve also played the game for hours of Dark Souls, and while the low end roared for a lot of enemy attacks, the sharp beep of unstoppable attacks sounded clear enough for me to survive.
One downside of the breathable mesh ear cups is that they have very little noise isolation. I could easily hear most of the background noise when I couldn’t hear anything through the headphones, and I could hear loud noises especially ambulances, motorcycles, thunder even while playing games or listening to music.
These audio shortcomings are no surprise at this price. What’s amazing is how good the microphone is. You are discord certified and meet your certifications. My teammates never complained about the sound. That was what I often do when I hear about using headsets that are different from everyday drivers.
Specialization of this Headset
The microphone offers some noise-canceling for background sounds, but still a little audible. I recorded the test and my voice was clear. My voice wasn’t blurry, too low, or too nasal. Background noise was heard when the car was driving on wet roads, but my voice was loud and clear. Overall, the headset’s performance is good for the price, and the microphone provides an extra boost.
Conclusion
The Corsair HS35 stereo headset packs a lot in one package for $38. It has a commendable build with compliment able quality of life features at this price, but the slightly more expensive HS50 headset is also slightly better. The audio quality is a bit disturbing, but overall it’s still a really great budget headset..
