Corsair HS80 Max Wireless
Revised mid-tier headset from Corsair has plenty of features in its arsenal
The HS80 Max is a headset that doesn’t just lead with its audio quality but has a plethora of tricks up its sleeve. The previous iteration of the HS80 was a great allrounder and had a rich warm soundstage, a comfortable headband, and a clean aesthetic. The HS80 Max is a revised version of the previous model that aims to further these points.
Other than a little more clamping force than we would like, the comfort here is spot on, just like on the previous headset. It features the same ski-band style suspended headband made of a soft fabric. You can adjust this to alter the size of the headset, unlike the traditional method where you pull down on either cup. Soft cushy earpads round off the overall comfort of the headset allowing hours of wear without issue. Weighing in at 0.77lbs, it’s not the lightest headset we’ve experienced, but it’s light enough.
The HS80’s physical controls are pretty minimal. There’s a power button and volume wheel behind the left earcup, while a Bluetooth button sits behind the right. The microphone is controlled by lifting it up to mute or down to use. One hidden and cool feature for PC users is that when the volume wheel is pressed, it opens up the Corsair iCue app. Here, you can access EQ settings, lighting options, and other general operations.
But how about the sound quality? If there’s one thing the Corsair HS80 Max is not, it’s neutral. It has a boost in the low-mids with the highs slightly rolled for a sound that can be described as warm. Now, we’re not saying this is a bad-sounding headset. In fact, it sounds good. But the flip side is it loses a lot of detail for something in this price bracket. To help further with immersive gaming, this headset supports Dolby Atmos which is accessible via the Dolby Access app. Although verging on subtle it does give a little more threedimensional space to game audio without washing it out the way some spatial audio can.
The HS80 Max steps up a gear when it comes to features. The ability to map the scroll wheel button to a whole set of functions in iCue is one of them. Another is that it supports both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity so you can connect it to many different platforms, though sadly it doesn’t have multipoint connectivity. There’s a ten-band EQ, which is much more powerful than in a lot of companion apps, along with some EQ presets. There’s also a way to create a personalised EQ or sound profile via the Sonarworks SoundID personalization giving you more control to get the exact sound you need. One final positive point to mention is the 65 hour battery life.
At $280, it’s the epitome of mid-range. Yet it isn’t as good a deal as the Corsair HS65 Surround. Having spent some time with the HS80 Max, we’d say that the price tag offers an appropriate amount of performance, comfort, and features.