Microphone Performance

The microphone of the Corsair HS35 Stereo was tested by connecting it to an integrated sound card (SupremeFX S1220), a PCI Express sound card (the excellent EVGA NU Audio, reviewed here, and the Creative Sound Blaster E1, an external USB sound card. To review the microphone's sound and compare it to other similar headsets, I used the Adam A7X speakers and Shure SRH840 headphones (both are studio monitors). I connected them to the Audiolab's M-DAC, a high-quality digital-to-analog converter that functions as an external sound card when connected to a PC. Testing was done in Discord, Skype, and Audacity, and I also used Audacity to record the sound from the microphone. The sound was recorded with microphone sensitivity set to 100% and was not post-processed or edited in any way.

For reference, this voice recording was made with the Rode NT-USB, a high-quality studio microphone:



This is the sound recorded by using the microphone that the Corsair HS35 Stereo is supplied with:




As you can hear from the samples above, the microphone quality is acceptable for a $40 gaming headset. You'll be loud and clear to your teammates over Discord or Teamspeak, which is pretty much all that matters in this price category. Your voice will lack any kind of depth and warmth, so using this microphone for stuff like Twitch streaming isn't a good idea. The microphone capsule is fairly sensitive, so if you're using Voice Activity mode in Discord instead of Push to Talk, make sure to adjust the Input Sensitivity slider to around -45 dB to ensure the microphone won't pick up any noise from the headphones.


If you listen to the samples carefully, you'll hear an occasional pop. This "explosive" sound occurs when certain speech sounds hit the microphone's capsule. At first, I thought the issue is only present on my sample of the Corsair HS35 Stereo, but then I tried a different one and it was still there. The solution is quite simple, and you can see it in the photo above: buy a cheap windscreen (here's 5 of them for $5) and put it on the head of the microphone. Here's a sample recording after applying the windscreen to the Corsair HS35 Stereo.



As you can hear, the occasional popping noises are completely gone. It should also be noted that my teammates never complained about the popping sounds when I used the Corsair HS35 Stereo to communicate with them in-game. The issue becomes more apparent only when you use the microphone to speak longer, uninterrupted sentences. Finally, comparing the microphone quality of the Corsair HS35 Stereo to that of some other inexpensive headsets (although none as cheap as $40), it becomes apparent that you can get better microphone quality if you're willing to spend $10–$15 more. On the other hand, if you're interested in a $40 gaming headset, stretching your budget to $50 or more dollars isn't necessarily something you're prepared to do.