Corsair HS75 XB Wireless review

Two minute review

The Corsair HS75 XB Wireless gaming headset for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S is one of the best Xbox headsets you can buy right now. Heck, it could easily be one of our favorite gaming headsets ever – if it weren't for those meddling Windows 10 drivers.

Of course, the HS75 XB is branded for the Xbox and says right there on the box that it is "designed for Xbox," so wouldn't it work well with a Windows 10 PC? Spoiler: no. But we'll return to that ordeal in a moment.

From a comfort, sound, and design perspective, the Corsair HS75 XB Wireless shares a lot of traits and features with the Corsair HS60 Haptic and improves upon it in many ways. On the comfort and design front, the two headsets are nearly identical and equally brilliant. The sound, meanwhile, is fantastic, and music, dialogue, and effects translate into an immersive audio experience.

The wireless connection is simple to set up – on the Xbox, that is – and is about as close to plug-and-play as you can get with a wireless accessory. It also has good range and stability.

The detachable mic uses noise-cancelling tech that lets your voice carry crisply and clearly, even in a noisy living room. The battery life is respectable and charges quickly thanks to the USB Type-C (we'd estimate two to three hours to fully recharge, and there are a number of controls on the headset that put it a cut above some of its rivals. 

But there's also some downside. For a wireless gaming headset, it's on the more expensive end of the spectrum. You could definitely argue that it's justified, but there are cheaper options out there, even if they aren't as feature-rich. 

Want to use this headset with a Windows 10 PC? Expect to pay a bit more: connecting to a PC requires the purchase of an Xbox Wireless Adapter USB dongle and carries the real risk of driver-compatibility issues that keep the headset from being recognized, which can be maddening. 

We know, we spent hours troubleshooting the problem. We finally found a driver that let our PC recognize the dongle but now Windows thinks that our HS75 XB Wireless review unit is an Xbox Wireless Controller and won't let us adjust the volume, much less use any of the headset's other features. 

In other words, your system compatibility may vary.

Still, even if you can only use it with your Xbox, the Corsair HS75 XB Wireless is one of the few – and, fortunately, one of the best – wireless headsets for the last and current generation Xbox consoles. It'll be up to you to decide if it's worth the price.

Price and availability

The Corsair HS75 XB Wireless is available now from Corsair's website and through other retailers for $159 / £169 / AU$299. 

Design

While the Corsair HS75 XB Wireless shares a number of design elements with the HS60 Haptic, fortunately the arctic camo aesthetic isn't one of them. Instead, the HS75 XB Wireless shares the same basic form factor, with plush over-the-ear cushions and a solid plastic grillwork on the back of the ear cup that lets air circulate to keep things cool.

This also means that noise does filter in from the outside, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Nobody wants to miss the doorbell with their food delivery because their buddies are trash talking.

The metal yokes that hold the ear cups have just enough swivel and give to them that taking the headset on and off, day in and day out, doesn't result in the kind of wear and tear that stiffer headphones have.

The headband is made from the same supple synthetic leather material as the ear cushions and sits comfortably on the crown of the head. The band is adjustable to fit larger sized heads, big hair, and even over the straps of a VR headset – if you can connect it to a PC.

Along the top of the headband, the Corsair logo is printed in a small, crisp, and clean font for a classy look that is matched by the smaller 75XB printed on the plastic just above the left yoke. This is really the only "flair" you'll find stamped anywhere on the headset.

The microphone is removable but it's also adjustable, so you can move the unidirectional receiver out of your way if necessary. The mic's foam cover helps keep your voice from popping but slides on and off without much effort, so be careful that it doesn't slip off and roll under the couch. 

The volume control and mic mute button are found on the left ear cup, along with the USB Type-C charging port and a tiny status LED. The power button (which doubles as a pairing button if held down for 10 seconds when the headset is powered off), is on the right ear cup along with an audio balance control, which shifts the volume balance between in-game audio and chat audio to make sure your buddies voices don't get drowned out by the game's audio or vice versa.

Performance

Of the three major performance measures, the HS75 XB Wireless is about as good as it gets. The sound quality is exceptional and even though lower range audio doesn't have quite the same feel as with the HS60 Haptic, there's still a good bit of rumble and boom to keep you well immersed in whatever it is you're playing or watching.

As far as connectivity goes, we'll admit to being pleasantly surprised. The range of the HS75 XB Wireless is pretty substantial, extending more than 30 to 40 feet without the slightest bit of loss or interference, though putting a wall or two between you and your Xbox understandably produces some radio interference. 

Perhaps most importantly, once the HS75 XB Wireless was powered on and connected to our Xbox, it stayed connected throughout and never abruptly dropped a connection the entire time we tested it.

Finally, Corsair indicates that the battery should last about 20 hours on a single charge, which is pretty in line with our experience. We didn't play Xbox for 20 hours straight to test it, but the HS75 XB Wireless would typically go about a week without needing a recharge, with about two to three hours of play time each day. 

It charges quickly, but it's just as easy to plug it into the front USB port on the Xbox and let it charge overnight when you're done using it.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

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