Corsair HS70 Wireless  Headphones Review

The Corsair HS70 look basically the same as their wired variant, the HS60. There are some minor differences, like the white stitching on the HS70’s headband, but other than that, they kept the same straightforward gaming headset design. They don’t come in any flashy color schemes and also don’t have RGB LED lighting. They come in all-black or with white accents, and have premium looking grills on them. The headband hinges are made of metal, and look quite similar to the HyperX Cloud II’s.

The Corsair HS70 SE is made from the same material as the HS60, and the padding is the same on the ear cups and headband. They have a well-padded headband that doesn't feel too tight on the head, and the ear cups are large and will easily fit around most ears. The cups are also well padded, although not as much as the headband. Unfortunately, the swiveling joints/hinges do not have a wide angle of motion, so these headphones will still give you a slight clamping sensation over time. On the upside, they are still comfortable enough to wear for long gaming sessions without much pain, soreness, or fatigue.

The HS70 have a fairly simple gaming control scheme. Most gamers won’t mind the lack of a button for call and music management and should like the available volume wheel and the mic-mute button. Unfortunately, there is no LED to indicate when the mic is muted, and the mic mute button does not provide as much tactile feedback when pressed as that of the HS60. Unfortunately, they don’t have channel mixing like some other gaming headsets. The controls are easy to use and offer decent feedback.

Like most gaming headsets, the HS70 will make your ears fairly warm during long listening sessions and would not be suitable for workouts. They have a closed-back over-ear design that fully encapsulates the ears and obstructs airflow. Unfortunately, they do not come with more breathable pads like the Logitech G433 or the Astro A50. They won't be ideal if you often have long uninterrupted gaming sessions, but they should be okay if you take a couple of breaks from time to time.

Gaming headsets are not usually very portable, and the HS70 are no exception. They have a bulky design, the cups don’t rotate to lay flat, and you can’t fold the headset in a more compact format. Also, they can’t be used without the USB dongle, meaning you’ll always need a PC or console to use them. However, it’s usually rare to be on the move with a gaming headset, so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

These headphones do not come with a case or pouch.

The Corsair HS70 SE has the same build quality as the HS60. They are well-built gaming headphones with a sturdy and durable design. They have a thick and well-padded headband and metal hinges that feel very durable. The ear cups are dense and have metal grills that make them look somewhat like open headphones, but it's more for aesthetic purposes. The boom mic is detachable, but we had issues with our unit. The mic was hard to plug in and would disconnect, even if it appeared to be correctly plugged-in.

The HS70 are fairly stable, just like the HS60. They are decently tight on the head and apply enough pressure to stay in place during light physical activity. Also, they don’t have a wire, meaning you won’t get your cable stuck on something, which would yank the headphones off. However, since they are not sports-oriented headphones, they will still occasionally slip off if you tilt your head too far back, but it's not a big deal, especially for gaming use.

• Corsair HS70 headphones
• Detachable boom microphone
• USB dongle
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Manuals

The HS70 have a good frequency response consistency. The treble range is quite consistent across multiple re-seats, but have a maximum deviation below 10KHz of about 6dB. In the bass range, the delivery is also quite consistent across re-seats and multiple human subjects. However, we noticed that having glasses could break the seal and caused a drop of about 6dB at 20Hz, which is not that audible.

The Corsair HS70 SE have a very good bass. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 14Hz, which is excellent. Low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy music and sound effects, is following our neutral target. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitars and the punch of kick drums, is hyped by less than 3dB, which is good. High-bass, responsible for warmth, is within 2dB. Overall, their bass is deep and punchy but a little hyped, without overdoing it. They have a slightly more accurate bass than the HS60.

The mid-range is great. The response throughout the range is flat and even, but slightly underemphasized. This results in a clear and well-balanced reproduction of vocals and lead instruments.

The Corsair HS70 have a good treble range performance. Low-treble is well-balanced and even. Mid-treble, which is mostly responsible for sharp sounds like S and Ts (sibilances) is rather uneven. There’s a dip around 6KHz that will negatively affect the brightness and detail of some sibilances, while the peak around 9KHz will make those frequencies piercing and sharp.

The imaging is great. Weighted group delay is at 0.51, which is within good limits. The GD graph also shows that almost the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched. This is important for the accurate localization and placement of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Corsair HS70 SE have a decent soundstage. The PRTF graph shows a decent amount of pinna interaction and activation. However, the accuracy of the activation is low. Also, there is a decent notch present around 10KHz. This, and the closed-back design of these headphones, results in a soundstage that may be perceived as relatively large but unnatural.

The Corsair HS70 have a poor isolation performance. These over-ear headphones don't have active noise-cancelation (ANC), and therefore don't provide any isolation in the bass range. This means they will let in all the low rumbling noises of airplane and bus engines. Also, in the mid-range, important for blocking out speech they achieve 2dB of isolation, which is inadequate. In the treble range, occupied by air conditioning noise and sharp sounds like S and Ts, they provide 30dB of isolation, which is good.

The leakage performance of the HS70 is mediocre. The significant portion of their leakage is spread between 400Hz and 3KHz, which is a relatively broad range. This results in a leakage that is fuller sounding than that of in-ears and earbuds. The overall level of the leakage is not very loud, though. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages at 44dB SPL and peaks at 57dB SPL, which is just above the noise floor of an average office.

The recording quality of HS70's microphone is mediocre. The LFE of 523Hz results in a recorded/transmitted speech that sounds noticeably thin and bright. The HFE of 6.5KHz is above-average and means speech will be intelligible and detailed. The response between the LFE and HFE points is decent, but it'll sound a bit too bright because of the overemphasis in the treble range. If you want gaming headphones with a better recording quality, check out the HyperX Cloud Stinger S.

The boom microphone of the HS70 is good at noise handling. It achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 26dB in our SpNR test. This means it can fully separate speech from ambient noise in most environments. However, they may struggle a little bit in extremely loud places like a subway station.

The 15-hour battery life of the HS70 is good. This should be more than enough for long gaming sessions. Also, you can still use the headset if it’s charging, which is convenient. Unfortunately, this headset doesn’t have passive playback, meaning you can’t use them wired like the HS60. You won’t be able to use them without their USB dongle. On the upside, they turn off automatically after a certain amount of time, which you can modify inside their app, to save some battery. For gaming headphones with a longer continuous battery life, see the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Wireless or the Corsair HS75 XB WIRELESS.

Update 03/29/2021: This companion app now has a macOS open beta available. We have also raised the scoring of this box from 7.0 to 7.5 to better reflect its customization features such as its graphic EQ and presets.

The Corsair Utility Engine (now iCUE) offers different options depending on the headphones. With the HS70, you get a good graphic EQ, as well as mic control and a simple surround sound option. You can also choose between EQ presets or make your own. Note that you can only update the firmware if they are plugged in. If you're looking for a wireless gaming headset with an even broader range of customization options, take a look at the Logitech G733 LIGHTSPEED Wireless, which are compatible with Logitech's G HUB software.

Unlike the Corsair HS70 Bluetooth or Corsair HS80 MAX WIRELESS, the Corsair HS70 Wireless doesn't support Bluetooth.

These headphones connect to a USB dongle, which allows for good range and limited latency. However, if you're looking for something with even less latency, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless.

You can’t use the HS70 with a wired connection. For a wired version of this headset, look at the Corsair HS60 or at HS50 for a more affordable alternative.

Update 03/29/2021: We have updated these headphones' Xbox Series X compatibility.

These headphones aren't compatible at all with Xbox One or Xbox Series X consoles.

They come with a USB dongle that is compatible with PC and PS4. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to connect the HS70 to the Xbox One.