Continuing the renewal of the manufacturer’s range of gaming headsets, the Corsair HS65 Surround is positioned as a wired model that takes up some good ideas from the HS80.
The Corsair HS65 Surround gaming headset is a wired model compatible with most platforms. It comes with a small external sound card that allows you to take advantage of the advanced features of the iCue driver.
It partly takes up the new design introduced with the HS80 RGB Wireless and also emphasizes Dolby Atmos compatibility. Offered at the recommended price of 90 euros, this new model has on paper, everything to please.
Very convincing design and comfort
The Corsair HS65 Surround is built around a smooth plastic headband that features the brand’s logo. The latter is relatively flexible and is equipped with a sufficiently generous shape memory foam and covered with a leatherette covering.
If the HS80 was content with a SteelSeries-style elastic headband, this new model returns to a more classic construction that will particularly please users with a large head. The support for the ear cups therefore slides within the headband, offering generous amplitude.
The ear cup supports offer them an adjustment in all directions which logically improves the comfort and sound reproduction of the headphones. The ear cups can also be fully rotated to fit the HS65 more comfortably around the neck when not in use.
Of good width, the atria encompass the pavilion of the ears very correctly. Corsair has chosen here to use a mixture of leatherette and fabric to encompass generous memory foam. Despite the presence of a grid on the front of the earpieces, we are indeed faced with a closed helmet which does not carry RGB lighting due to its unique analog connector.
Still “due» of this analog connection, the HS65 Surround remains sparing in terms of buttons since it is content with a simple volume adjustment knob. This logically only acts on the volume of the headphones and is a tad too free and involves some involuntary activations.
The microphone, if it is not removable, nevertheless has a fairly long and sufficiently rigid shape memory boom. It pivots to come back along the structure when not in use, which will also have the effect of cutting off the capture, like what was found on the Astro A10 Gen 2.
The connection is ensured by a very classic and a little too rigid jack cable whose length could have been more generous, especially since it is not detachable. It is accompanied here by a small USB sound card which will allow the HS65 to be enhanced with some additional functionalities via the Corsair iCue driver.
Once screwed on the head, this new model is very comfortable. It can be worn for several hours without any fatigue or pain being felt. An excellent point that completes the exemplary construction and very neat design of the HS65.
iCue compatibility via an external sound card
When we connect the HS65 Surround to our machine using the small USB sound card provided in the box, it is automatically detected by iCue and therefore benefits from some additional features that are normally absent on analog headphones.
The features offered are quite basic and are limited to a simple 10-band equalizer with a few presets. On the other hand, we take advantage of a new feature called SoundID and particularly highlighted by Corsair.
The principle is quite simple: automatically personalize the sound reproduction of the HS65 Surround according to the preferences of the user. To do this, the software plays a musical piece with two different presets and asks the user to choose the one he prefers.
The operation is then repeated several times with different settings in order to obtain an “idea” of the user’s preferences and thus generate a specific profile. The idea is good, but the sound rendering obtained after the test is clearly not convincing. The technology is probably still a bit young.
An overall convincing headset in terms of audio
Corsair has equipped the HS65 Surround with classic 50mm neodymium drivers. These deliver a flattering sound, but far from being balanced. That being said, it is nonetheless pleasant to listen to and is positioned as an excellent gaming headset.
In practice, the bottom of the spectrum lacks a little power and gives a somewhat empty rendering to low frequencies which then lack roundness. The rest of the spectrum is more consistent, even if it doesn’t match the best performers in the industry.
It is possible to correct the shooting by using the equalizer integrated into iCue. The general sound reproduction remains interesting for listening to music, both sufficiently lively and dynamic, but logically we do not achieve the performance of audiophile headphones.
This is good since it is frankly not the objective of a headset like the HS5 Surround which is logically intended for gaming. For this use, it benefits from good stereophony which allows good localization of the origin of the sounds. The soundstage isn’t too cramped either and lets the soundscape of the titles encompass the user.
As indicated in its name, the HS65 Surround benefits from a well-made Dolby Atmos spatialization which extends the soundstage a little more while improving the immersion and localization of sounds. On this point, we have nothing to complain about since it does better than most of the models tested so far. Also note that the headset is compatible with the spatialization integrated into Windows.
Finally, the integrated microphone, even if it is not as convincing as that of the HS80, delivers a qualitative performance which will allow you to be perfectly understood by your playmates.
?️ Recording with microphone (normalized to 0 dB)
Price and availability of the Corsair HS65 Surround headset
The Corsair HS65 Surround headset is available at the recommended price of 90 euros.