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Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE
While many of Corsair’s gaming products stretch across a wide price range, the company’s gaming headsets have always offered decent audio and features for relatively modest prices. Now Corsair is looking to get into a little pricier territory with a new range of products. The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE costs more than double the most expensive Corsair Void headset, boasting a premium build, high-end microphone, and suite of software features.
A lot of expensive gaming headsets load up on features and stumble when it comes to the fundamentals. Does this one avoid those mistakes?
Editor’s note: this Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE review was updated on January 31, 2023 to include testing results, scores, and charts from our new testing setup, as well as new standardized microphone samples and updates to formatting..
Gamers looking to spend big on something that can work everywhere will like the Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE. At-home workers who need something that can last all day and sounds good on a Zoom call may also like this.
What is the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE like?
It’s pretty clear from the get-go that the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE is a considerably more expensive product than most gaming headsets. A lot of the best gaming headsets on the market are very affordable, but many of them are still built from cheap plastic and feel a little rickety. This is a gaming headset built like a piece of high-end audio hardware. At 372 grams, there’s a decent heft to this headset, but it’s distributed well enough that it never gets uncomfortable. The frame is built almost entirely from aluminium, with a leatherette-covered headband, and hinges that rotate to lay flat in either direction.
The headphones are similarly well constructed. There’s no creaking or otherwise reverberating noise when you make adjustments while wearing it. The ear pads are made of thick, soft memory foam wrapped in leatherette—they’re very comfortable, and establishing a decent seal is easy, though heat buildup is definitely an issue. Gamers with glasses may prefer something with velour ear pads instead, as leatherette can cause issues around the arms of a pair of glasses.
However, all that milled aluminum and plush cushioning can’t mask the fact that the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE is still a gaming headset; all the typical trappings are still here. A great big boom mic stretches out from the left ear cup, and the Corsair logo on each side is filled with colored (and customizable) LED lights. Additionally, there’s a whole host of onboard controls and ports not so subtly lining the bottom edges. If it wasn’t otherwise so well put together, this would look just as gaudy as anything else on the market.
Actually using the headset is pretty great. This wireless gaming headset can connect to your PC, mobile device, or console of choice using a 3.5mm cord, USB cord, or wirelessly with a 2.4GHz USB RF dongle (included with the headset). It’s pretty standard stuff, but appreciated all the same. Despite all the options, the headset is ultimately a straightforward plug-and-play affair.
The onboard controls are all laid out pretty well, too. Many headsets fall into the trap of having a bunch of dials and buttons that look and feel basically the same, but the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE doesn’t have that problem. There’s one switch, one dial, and one button, so no matter which you touch, you won’t be confused about what’s going to happen. The dial controls headphone volume, the switch toggles between wired and wireless modes, and the button mutes the detachable microphone—it’s actually part of the mic itself, so unplugging it gets rid of the button too.
The microphone is rather unique among gaming headsets. Corsair calls it a “broadcast-grade” microphone (more on that in a bit), and it connects to the headset using mini-USB, rather than the typical 3.5mm jack. This means the mic, and its button, is actually capable of more complex things when paired with Corsair’s iCue companion app.
In the pantheon of gaming headset software, iCue sits somewhere in the middle of the pack. It’s definitely not the best in terms of layout or options, nor is it so bad that the experience of using the headset is worse for its involvement. Installing the app brings access to a suite of additional features, including virtual 7.1 surround sound, additional EQ presets, and the ability to customize the colored LEDs on the sides of the headset. Additionally, installing the app changes the microphone’s behavior a little bit—the various beeps that indicate when it’s muted or not are replaced with a recorded voice saying the same information, and holding the mute button toggles mic monitoring.
If you’re looking for a gaming headset as a more practical solution for business done primarily over Zoom, it’s very possible none of that stuff matters to you. Don’t worry, you can easily skip downloading the app and have a perfectly good experience. It’ll act as a primer for what it’s like if you ever decide to plug it into a console.
How is the battery of theCorsair Virtuoso Wireless SE?
Corsair claims the Virtuoso Wireless SE can last up to 20 hours on a single charge, and in our testing we found it lasted 23 hours of consistent playback at ~75dB. You achieve even better results if you listen at a lower volume than that, though keeping the LED lights on will affect things too (you can shut them off in iCue). The headset has a built-in sleep mode, which you can adjust in iCue, so light users shouldn’t have to recharge it too often.
How is the Corsair Virtuoso at isolating sound?
All things considered, the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE offers some of the best isolation you will find in a gaming headset. There’s nothing approaching active noise canceling here, but the thick leatherette ear pads really do a great job blocking out midrange and treble frequencies. If you’re just gaming at home, typical sounds like the whirring of a PC or a fridge shouldn’t cause much distraction. These would even probably do fine in something like a cafe setting—so long as you’re fine with sporting a Lite Brite aesthetic in public, that is.
How does the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE sound?
The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE offers pretty accurate sound for a gaming headset. There’s nothing here that’s so far out of whack that it would seriously impact the average listening experience, though this is hardly a headset for someone chasing a perfectly accurate audio experience.
There’s notable emphasis in the bass and mid ranges around 200Hz and 1000Hz respectively, at points reaching up to 5dB—generally considered about a 50% increase in volume. There’s also a pretty pronounced under-emphasis in the high end and sub-bass range. These aren’t as big a deal in games, though.
Lows, mids, and highs
Audio output like this is great for electronic music, or music that just favors the low end more generally. In Pac-Man by the Gorillaz and ScHoolboy Q, the drum and distorted bass track that drive the song really come through clearly. However, the various high-pitched whirring sounds that build out the background of the song, as well as the more ethereal echoed string parts, are a little less prominent.
Drums and bass tones come through really clearly.
In game, frequency response like this should be perfectly fine for whatever you want to play. Playing through a large portion of Persona 5 Royal on PlayStation 4, the headset ably balances the game’s funky heist-themed soundtrack, dozens of hours of voice-over work, and rather eclectic variety of sound effects. On PC, it handles the random mix of gunfire and enemy noises in Risk of Rain 2 very well. Many gaming headsets seriously boost bass output in the name of great immersion, and explosions that make your brain vibrate, and it can be a little nice when this doesn’t.
How is the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE microphone?
Corsair claims on the back of the box that the Virtuoso Wireless SE sports a “broadcast quality” microphone. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but if any gaming headset could make that claim: it’d be this one. From a frequency response perspective, this microphone is super accurate, with a neutral output across the board. On top of that, it doesn’t suffer from the volume (or rather, power) issues that most gaming headset microphones struggle with. It’s loud, clear, and accurate—frankly, it sounds great.
I still wouldn’t pick it over a detached microphone to record something like a podcast—partly because of all the additional features they pack in, which gaming headsets skip—but if I had to settle for this in a pinch, I wouldn’t be disappointed. Listen for yourself:
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Microphone sample (Ideal conditions):
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Microphone sample (Office conditions):
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Microphone sample (Reverberant conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
How does the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE compare to the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless?
For gamers who want to save some cash, the standard Corsair Virtuoso Wireless RGB headset is available for $179—around $30 cheaper than the SE variant. Both headsets sport the same 50mm drivers, 7.1 surround sound, wired and wireless connectivity options, and RGB-illuminated ear cups. The only real difference between the two headsets is the fact that the SE version comes with an aluminum construction, with micro-perforations on the sides for the RGB lighting.
If you think about it, the extra cash you’re shelling out for the SE variant really boils down to form, rather than function. In fact, some users claim that the non-SE headset is better than the SE version for one simple reason: the microphone. The microphone of the regular Virtuoso Wireless RGB headset provides greater treble clarity when compared to the microphone on Virtuoso Wireless SE, which tends to sound more bass heavy.
Should you buy the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE
If you’re looking for something to spend a chunk of change on, the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE might be worth buying.
The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE is a great gaming headset. It’s really well built, very comfortable, and easy to use on different platforms. The headset offers solid isolation, good sound, and arguably the best microphone on a gaming headset you can buy. However, it’s also very expensive—considerably more expensive than great wired gaming headsets listed below.
Generally, we here at SoundGuys think it’s worth it to spend the money on decent pair of headphones. The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE is very much that, but it doesn’t nail everything, which means the things you really want might be better executed elsewhere. Whether it’s worth saving the $70-$100 if you don’t particularly need wireless audio or customizable lights or a microphone that’s quite as accurate depends largely on why you’re looking for a gaming headset in the first place.
However, if you’re one of the many, many people who now find themselves sitting in voice chat or Zoom calls for interminable amounts of time, you probably won’t find something that sounds better than this.
What should you get instead?
Gamers who really don’t know what to do with their money may want to splurge on the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT. It offers a virtually identical experience to the RGB Elite Wireless, but with added Bluetooth connectivity. Corsair’s premium headset supports a menu of Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX HD, so you can take it out on the town.
The Razer BlackShark V2 and Logitech G Pro X are two capable wired alternatives to Corsair’s headset. You can even get wireless ones like the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless and Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2. It’s considerably more the more expensive wireless versions of the BlackShark V2 and G Pro X, even.
Frequently asked questions
No. The EQ profiles are handled by Corsair iCue, so they’re locked to PC.
It was when we reviewed it, and it should be when you do it.
The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE doesn’t offer any particularly glasses friendly features, like the velour ear pads or eyewear channels found on other gaming headsets. The leatherette ear pads are soft, but determining if it will be comfortable really comes down to personal preference and individual head shape, unfortunately. We found it comfortable, but that doesn’t mean you definitely will.
No, the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE only supports one connection at a time.
Apart from aesthetic differences, the only real performance difference lies in the microphone. The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE features a slightly more sensitive microphone, though Corsair claims both are “broadcast grade.”
If you run into this issue with leatherette ear pads often, this won’t be any different.
The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE works wirelessly while connected to a docked Nintendo Switch. However, mic support will vary based on the game.
The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE supports 7.1 virtual surround sound through Corsair iCue. Whether that’s considered 3D audio depends on whose standard you’re comparing to. 3D audio often includes a sense of verticality to its surround sound function, which the Virtuoso can’t do. Any real 3D audio compatibility would have to forced by some other software.
None, this headset doesn’t support Bluetooth.
It’s a little heavy, but otherwise very comfortable. The headphone cushions are thick and soft, and the headphone hinges allow for a wide variety of head shapes.
While the Corsair Virtuoso SE is pricey, it’s still more affordable than the LucidSound LS50X. What does that extra expense afford you? Bluetooth connectivity (AAC and SBC), arguably better build quality, and a comfortable fit. Unless you absolutely need a gaming headset that can be taken to a cafe, we recommend the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE. Corsair’s headset has better microphone quality an equally comfortable build, and is much cheaper.
Yes, the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE is compatible with the PlayStation 5 when connected using its USB wireless dongle.
It might, but until we test or Corsair makes an announcement, we can’t say for sure. If it’s not compatible immediately, the Xbox Series X may also slowly add more compatible USB headsets as time goes on like the Nintendo Switch did.
No, the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE only works wirelessly with PC and PS4.
No. The Corsair Virtuoso Wireless SE and Virtuoso RGB Wireless use the same 50mm neodymium drivers, with virtually the same sound signature.