Closer Examination, Build Quality and Comfort

In the press materials they provided with the Virtuoso RGB Wireless, Corsair mentions that one of the ideas behind this new headset lineup was to put an end to gaming headsets that look and feel like toys. Mission accomplished—this headset has the aesthetics and the build quality of a mid-range pair of hi-fi headphones. In some ways, it reminds me of my all-time favorite closed-back headphones from my personal collection, the $650 Oppo PM-3. The entire frame of the headset is made out of aluminium, including the yokes that hold the ear cups in place. There are no exposed wires to be seen here; they're all neatly hidden away within the headset's body. It all feels very, very luxurious—much more so than, say, the $350 Sennheiser GSP 670. You'll feel inclined to bring the Virtuoso RGB Wireless on your next trip as your travel headphones, assuming you own a smartphone or a DAP (Digital Audio Player) with a 3.5-mm audio jack. Once you detach the microphone, absolutely nothing separates the Virtuoso RGB Wireless from a good pair of travel over-ear hi-fi headphones aesthetically.


The ear cups are made out of plastic and are for the most part covered in a rubber-like material, which feels nice to the touch and improves the grip when putting the headset on and taking it off. I can't say I'm crazy about those glossy outer sides of the ear cups though, as they're insanely prone to collecting dust and fingerprints. If you'll want the Virtuoso RGB Wireless to look clean, this is essentially its only part that will require regular wiping. The logo on both ear cups is, of course, RGB-backlit, and the LEDs are bright and rich in color. With that being said, adding RGB lighting systems on headsets is still as pointless as ever. Just turn it off since you won't see it when using the headset anyway, and enjoy the added battery life instead.


The ear cushions and headband are covered in pleather and filled with soft memory foam. The ear cushions are very comfortable, not only because of their size—they will completely surround your ears, regardless of their size—but also because the aluminium yokes hold them in two places and give them a certain level of freedom of movement, which is why they can easily adjust to the shape of anyone's head. As for the headband, its inner side could definitely do with thicker padding. I felt some discomfort on the top of my head whenever my gaming session lasted for more than two hours, which forced me to reposition the headband forwards or backwards occasionally, something I didn't find ideal. While I wouldn't call the Virtuoso RGB Wireless uncomfortable, if your head is on the larger side, it's likely you'll run into this issue, too.


The aluminium yokes are attached to the headband by a mechanism that allows the ear cups to rotate by 180°. That means you can rest the headphones on your chest with the speaker drivers facing inward or outward, whichever you prefer. This feature comes in handy when you want to rest the Virtuoso RGB Wireless on the table, or when you're using the headphones on the go, as you can comfortably wear them around your neck. The rotation of the mechanism isn't smooth or refined at all, but at least there's no risk of the ear cups rotating left and right when they shouldn't.


The position of the ear cups can be raised or lowered by moving them along the metal frame. Corsair remembered to engrave a set of markings into the frame itself, which barely anyone does nowadays, for reasons unknown. These markings make it very easy to adjust both ear cups equally, which is important for equal weight distribution.


Although you wouldn't necessarily expect a mostly aluminium headset to be flexible, the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless can withstand quite a bit of flex. That's good news in terms of its durability. A completely rigid headset will have a hard time surviving a table-height fall on to a hard surface.


The rear of the right ear cup contains a wide (digital) volume wheel and a mode switch. The latter is used to switch between the wireless and wired (USB, 3.5-mm) operation. If the headset isn't connected to a sound source by a wire, switching it from wireless to wired mode simply turns it off.


On the left ear cup is a USB-C charging port, also used to establish a wired USB connection between the headset and the PC. If the headset is in wireless mode, the USB connection is utilized for battery charging. Close to it is the 3.5-mm audio jack you'll use to connect the headset to mobile devices (those with a 3.5-mm port anyways) and the Xbox One. PC and PlayStation 4 are the only platforms that support Virtuoso's wireless mode of operation.


The left ear cup also contains a hole for the detachable microphone. Pushing the microphone into the hole took longer than expected, to where I thought something's not entirely right as the Mini-USB connector on the microphone arm doesn't look the same as the appropriate plug inside the microphone hole. However, after a bit of pushing and pulling (and cursing), I did manage to fit it in, and everything worked as advertised. Once plugged in, the microphone securely stays in place.


At the base of the microphone is a mute button. When pushed and held for two seconds, it activates/deactivates the microphone sidetone feature. Sidetone essentially broadcasts whatever is being picked up by the microphone through the headphones—the sounds of your surroundings as well as your voice. On the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless, it functions with no perceivable delay, which makes it a pleasure to use. If you're one of many users who dislike not being able to hear their own voice when using closed-back headphones, or feel too separated from your surroundings by the passive noise isolation, you'll absolutely love Corsair's implementation of the microphone sidetone feature. The head of the microphone has a built-in LED ring. It glows red when the microphone is muted, but can also glow in any desired color while you're using it. I have no idea who'd want to keep this feature active as it's incredibly distracting. Luckily, you can turn it off in Corsair iCUE—just go to Settings, click on the headset, and check the "Disable LED when microphone is active" box.


The arm of the microphone is rubberized and manages to stay in whatever position you bend it to.