Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT Headphones Review

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have a very similar look to the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE with a black and silver color scheme. However, they have the manufacturer's pirate ship logo at the center of the ear cup, and it has RGB lighting that you can customize via the companion software. It can be hard to see if you're looking at it from an angle, though.

These headphones are decently comfortable. The headband is similar to other Corsair products, like the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE. However, while their padding is good, the headphones are a bit heavy, and they clamp a bit on the top of your ear. You can also swap the padding, but they don't come with any additional pairs in the box.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have decent controls. There's an infinite volume wheel and a mute microphone button at the bottom, near the ear cup. There's a switch to select either a wired USB or wireless connection. Unlike the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE, they have dedicated call and music buttons for when you're connected to devices via Bluetooth. There are separate volume up and volume down buttons as well as a multi-function button. This allows you to play or pause audio with one press. Two presses skips your track forward while three presses skip the track backward, and a long press activates pairing mode. You can also press once to answer or end a call.

Both volume controls have an audio prompt to let you know when you've reached max volume on Bluetooth or non-Bluetooth wireless. There are beeps every time you change the volume in Bluetooth mode, but some users may find it annoying.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have okay breathability. They can trap in a bit of heat, which could make your ears feel warm during long gaming marathons. Although they're not for sports, you may sweat more than usual if you wear them during moderate physical activity.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have sub-par portability. While the ear cups can swivel to lay flat, and you can detach their microphone, they can't fold into a more compact form. You can see a picture of the headphones in their default position here.

The carrying pouch is sub-par. It's made from cloth materials and has argyle stitching to give it a quilted look. It also has a magnet to keep the flap closed. While it may keep dust or small splashes of water off your headphones, it won't protect them from more significant damage.

These headphones have a great build quality. They're mostly good quality plastic with a metal frame within the headband and faux leather padding. The ear cups also have a brushed aluminum finish, which makes them look sleek and high-end. They should be able to withstand a few accidental drops or bumps without taking too much damage. While we don't currently test for it, they lack an IP rating for water resistance, which is to be expected from gaming headphones.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have okay stability. They clamp onto the top part of your ears, but since they're not for sports, they can fall off with moderate movement. You shouldn't have a problem keeping them on your head if you're gaming at home, though.

• Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT
• Detachable boom microphone
• USB-A dongle
• USB-C to USB-A audio and charging cable
• 1/8" TRRRS to TRRS cable with in-line remote
• Carrying pouch
• Manuals

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have a warm but uneven sound profile. They lack a lot of low-bass, so sound effects lack thump and rumble. Dialogue and lead instruments also sound a bit veiled while sibilants like S and T sounds are dulled. Luckily, if you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have disappointing frequency response consistency. They're prone to inconsistencies in their bass and treble delivery, and you may especially notice a drop in bass if you have thick hair or glasses. You may need to adjust their fit and position on your head each time you use the headphones to ensure more consistent audio delivery.

These headphones have fair bass accuracy. Their low to mid-bass is underemphasized, so gameplay lacks thump, rumble, and punch. However, a bump in the high-bass adds a touch of extra boom, which can help emphasize sound effects.

They're prone to inconsistencies in their bass delivery, and you may experience a drop in bass if you have thick hair or glasses. The response here represents the average bass response, and your experience may vary.

The mid accuracy is good. There's a dip in the low to mid-mid, which thins out vocals and lead instruments and nudges them to the back of the mix. The high-mid is very neutral, though, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear and present.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have acceptable treble accuracy. It's underemphasized across the range, so your mixes sound dark. Vocals and lead instruments are veiled, while sibilants like cymbals are dull.

These headphones are prone to inconsistencies in their treble delivery due to their fit and positioning. The response here represents the average treble response, and your experience may vary.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have okay peaks and dips performance. There's a large bump in the high-bass, which results in extra boom. A dip in the low-mid thins out vocals and lead instruments, while a peak across the high-mid makes them honky and harsh. The uneven mid-treble turns sibilants like cymbals alternatingly dull or piercing.

Update 02/17/2022: Due to user feedback regarding the accuracy of the phase response mismatch value, imaging was retested. We noticed that there was an issue with one of our passes during the original test. When we retested imaging, we were able to match our original results without coming across this issue again. The peak across the phase response's bass range isn't audible with real-life content, and we don't expect it to be an issue for most users. We have updated our results, and the scoring of this box has changed.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO's imaging performance is decent. Although there are a couple of small peaks in the bass range of the weighted group delay, they're very minor. The rest of the group delay falls under the audibility threshold, resulting in fairly tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. However, the L/R drivers have a slight mismatch in frequency and amplitude response, affecting the placement of objects like voices or footsteps in the stereo image. While there's also a large mismatch in the phase response's bass range, it's also hard to hear with real-life content. That said, imaging can vary between units and can indicate a manufacturer's quality control and ergonomics.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO's passive soundstage performance is sub-par. While the soundstage is perceived as wide, open, and as if coming from speakers placed around you rather than inside your head, it also sounds unnatural.

These headphones are compatible with Dolby Atmos. However, you need to download the Corsair iCUE and Dolby Access app, which automatically activates the license for this feature. You also have to go into the sound settings of your computer and switch from Spatial Sound to Dolby Atmos for it to work. Note that we don't currently test the performance of this feature.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO has a satisfactory weighted harmonic distortion performance. There are a few peaks: a couple in the low-bass range and one in the mid-treble range at normal listening volumes. However, this can be hard to hear with real-life content. Most frequencies otherwise fall within good limits, resulting in fairly clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

The noise isolation performance is poor. They don't block out any of the low rumbles from bus or plane engines and barely cut down office chatter. They can reduce the high-pitched hums of an AC unit.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have a good leakage performance. The leakage is mostly concentrated in the mid-range, which sounds full. However, it falls below the noise level of an average office. If you're listening to audio at high volumes and in a moderately noisy environment, you're unlikely to bother others around you.

These headphones come with an omnidirectional microphone that's detachable and flexible.

The microphone has an excellent recording quality. Your voice sounds clear and full-bodied.

The microphone has very good noise handling. It can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, so you're heard clearly, even if you're talking from a busy street. That said, you can purchase a uni-directional microphone from the manufacturer directly if you're looking to reduce more ambient noise.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have an excellent battery performance. Although they're advertised to last 15 hours continuously, we measured over 18 hours. However, battery life depends on usage, and you may experience different results. That said, they're equipped with a sleep mode that you can set in their companion app. You can also use them passively or while they're charging, which is handy in a pinch.

Update 02/17/2022: It was originally reported that the Corsair iCUE software isn't compatible with macOS. Ηowever, this has been retested, and the software does work with macOS and Windows. The results have been updated with the correct information.

These headphones are compatible with Corsair iCUE software. This software offers a graphic EQ and presets, meaning you can customize their sound to your liking, and it has mic volume and sidetone controls. You can adjust their sleep timer, update the headphones, and change the RGB light settings.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have great Bluetooth connectivity. You can use them via Bluetooth while still being connected to your console, which is nice if you like to stream music from your phone while you game. They also support aptX and aptX HD for better audio quality, although they have high latency with all codecs via PC. That said, their latency on iOS and Android is much lower. That said, some apps compensate for latency, so your real-world experience may vary.

02/12/2021: After receiving user feedback, we've retested the headphones' non-Βluetooth latency. Ηowever, using a desktop PC, we measured higher latency (182 ms) than the original results (75 ms). When we repeated the test using a laptop, we measured lower latency (49 ms). We've updated our results and the score using this value, because it's closer to our original results.

These headphones have very good non-Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Their latency falls within good limits, so you can game without experiencing too much audio delay. However, their line of sight range isn't very long, although you shouldn't have an issue if you're sitting across from your TV or console.

12/02/2021: After user feedback, we retested their USΒ latency. We repeated the test and measured lower latency (175 ms) compared to our original result (227 ms). The results and scoring of this test have been updated.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT come with a 1/8" TRRRS to TRRS cable. They also come with a USB-A to USB-C cable that you can use to charge the headphones or use with full audio and mic compatibility.

These headphones are fully compatible with PCs, whether you're using their USB dongle, 1/8" TRRRS to TRRS, or USB-A to USB-C cable.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO are audio and microphone compatible with PS4 or PS5 consoles when using their 1/8" TRRRS to TRRS cable. You can also use their wireless USB dongle with full compatibility.

The Corsair VIRTUOSO have full audio and mic compatibility with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S via an analog connection.

These headphones come with a USB dongle that's compatible with PCs as well as PlayStation consoles. However, it doesn't work on Xbox consoles.