Corsair Vengeance 1500 V2 Gaming Headset Review

Today we are taking a look at the updated Corsair Vengeance 1500 gaming headset. Boasting 50 mm drivers, Dolby 7.1 Surround and a closed-back design the latest revision promises better performance at a competitive price point. So, are they worth the £80 asking price? Specifications: Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1kHz Dynamic Range: 95dB (A-weighted) Drivers: 50mm Cable Length: 3m USB power consumption: 250mW Connector: USB Type A Microphone: Unidirectional noise-cancelling condenser with adjustable, rotating boom The box has a transparent cover highlighting one of the ear cups. It features a clear image of the headset on the front and an overview of the key features on the back. Included in the box are a quick start guide and the headset itself Corsair have chosen to use memory foam pads with a soft cloth lining for the cups. On the outside, the cups have received a matte finish with a blue ring accentuating the design. Unlike Corsair's fans, it is not possible to replace this ring with a different color. The Corsair logo and brand name are proudly displayed on each side. The plastic arms have received a grey, brushed finish to create an aluminum effect. A closer look at one of the cups shows the brushed finish and 90 degree swivel. The headband appears to use the same memory foam as the ear cups and the leather has received a blue dotted finish to further complement the overall looks. The boom mic is non-detachable and uses a hard plastic cover at the top. The in-line controls allow users to quickly lower or increase the volume and mute the microphone. The three buttons have received a rubber finish, giving the controls a smooth and soft touch. The strips between the buttons light up blue when the headset is on and flash red when the microphone is muted. Rounding things out, Corsair have used a fully braided cable and customized USB connector. The blue connector will certainly come in handy when identifying cables behind particular busy motherboards. Out of the box the Corsair Vengeance 1500 immediately felt comfortable to wear. Fully enclosing the ear means there is no direct pressure on the ears and the headband does a great job distributing the weight evenly. However, users who move their head a lot may find the Corsair Vengeance 1500 too loose. The cloth lining offers plenty of breath-ability. Even after prolonged gaming sessions I did not experience any heat related issues or fatigue on my ears. Connecting the headphones simply requires plugging the headphones into an available USB port and allowing Windows to install the drivers. Afterwards, specific drivers can be downloaded from Corsair's website. The driver suite is basic, yet effective. Corsair provide a handful of presets for users who just want to jump into their favorite games while offering enough flexibility for those who want to tweak their settings in detail. In order to test music playback performance I used uncompressed recordings of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s album Electric Ladyland as well as a 192kbps recording of the eponymous album Alexisonfire by Alexisonfire. Using presets which focus on bringing out the lower registers did not drown out the higher frequencies. Using a ‘flat’ preset without any virtualization or other enhancements provided crisp audio at all times. Even at its maximum volume there was no distortion, courtesy of the capable 50mm drivers. Even though the Corsair Vengeance 1500 was not made with a focus on listening to music it is nonetheless very capable of producing a very enjoyable experience. In order to test gaming performance I used Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Battlefield 3. These games were chosen because Counter-Strike relies heavily on sound spatialization while Battlefield 3 on the PC brings together 64 players with an array of weaponry and a wide range of ambient sounds. More information about sound spatialization in Counter-Strike and some background on the sound design of Battlefield 3 can be found here and here. We were very satisfied with the Corsair Vengeance 1500's in-game performance. Footsteps and players reloading were easy to discern, as were subtle audio cues such as snipers zooming in whilst playing Counter-Strike. The bass is well-balanced and does not distort the audio, even at high volume levels. The boom mic performed extremely well and party members confirmed that they had no trouble hearing me clearly at all times. I used a phone to play some music (approximately 1 meter away) while I used the microphone but did not notice any significant background noise while listening to the feedback. To test the surround sound capabilities of the headphones I used the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan and The Dark Knight. Saving Private Ryan’s opening scene is a perfect way to test any surround sound setup, or virtualization solution, with its mix of explosive impacts and rifles being fired in an open field. The Dark Knight on the other hand has booming, impactful bass scenes and is a great way to test a headset’s capability to accurately produce high and low tones. Overall, the bass added to the experience, rather than distract, and the Corsair Vengeance 1500 clearly reproduced the wide range of tones during the most hectic scenes of both movies. Overall, we are very pleased with the Corsair Vengeance 1500 gaming headset. The build quality of the 1500 V2 is excellent and nothing feels like it will snap off or break easily. Keeping in line with the majority of Corsair's product ranges, the design is minimal and should blend in well with most system configurations. In terms of sound quality, the Corsair Vengeance 1500 serves its purpose as a gaming headset to a very high standard. Listening to music and watching films is very enjoyable, though there is a clear difference when compared to audiophile grade Grado or Sennheiser headphones. That said, it is important to note that music and films are not the main attraction for the Corsair Vengeance 1500. Our only concerns are regarding the in-line control LEDs and loose fitting ear cups. Users with smaller ears may find that the headset has a tendency to shift around when moving. In our opinion, the LED's can be distracting, especially when muting the microphone. The use of less opaque covers would have resulted in a higher score. Retailing for £80 inc vat., the Corsair Vengeance 1500 faces stiff competition in the sub-£100 range, though we feel it has earned its place and delivers a fantastic all round experience. Pros: High build quality. Excellent in-game performance. Impressive comfort. Cons: LEDs can be distracting when muting the microphone. May be too loose fitting for some users. KitGuru says: An excellent, competitively priced headset.

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Corsair Vengeance 1500 V2 Gaming Headset Review

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