Corsair’s headsets have improved considerably over the last 5 years, and the Void RGB Surround continues the trend, although there’s still room to improve.
Like the Void RGB Wireless, the Void Surround shows plenty of improvement in its overall design and comfort, but it doesn’t truly shine in any single aspect either, and its software driver UI could still use some work.
Void RGB Surround USB feature highlights and specifications
Mic and volume controls are mounted on the outside and underside of the left ear cup (respectively), putting them within easy reach. The microphone is a standard swivel boom mic, and the ear cups and headband are lined with a generous amount (about an inch) of memory foam for comfort. The ear cups rotate 90 degrees so they can rest comfortably on your chest if need be.
Corsair Void Surround features and specifications
HEADPHONE
- Frequency Response 20Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance 32k Ohms @ 1 kHz
- Drivers 50mm
- Connector USB
- Cable Length 1.8m
- Ear cups rotate 90 degrees
- Ear cup mounted mic mute and volume control
MICROPHONE
- Swivel up/down boom mic
- Unidirectional noise cancelling
- Impedance 2.2k Ohms
- Frequency Response 100Hz to 10kHz
- Sensitivity -37dB (+/-3dB)
Comfort and Design
The Void Wireless Surround is generally pretty comfortable thanks to its thick, fabric-covered memory foam ear cups and generally light design.
The Void Surround provides good overall comfort; perhaps even slightly above average. The memory foam-lined ear cups and headband provide a comfortable fit; however, despite the thick padding, the Void Surround provides virtually sound cancellation–so crank ‘em up if you want to drown out the pets/kids/neighbors/etc. (Thankfully, the Void Surround can get plenty loud.)
The Void Surround uses ear cup-mounted controls in lieu of an inline remote, with a large mic-muting button on the outside of the left ear cup, and a volume roller on the rear-underside of the left ear cup. The Void Surround is also relatively sturdy, and I like the rotating ear cups—it’s not a feature I use often, but it’s always nice to have when you want to rest the headset around your neck or even hang them on a wall when not in use.
The microphone is a simple swivel microphone and it performed well in a few games of Blizzard’s Overwatch and some Skype calls. A lighted tip indicating the mic is muted would be a good addition to the Void Surround’s feature set.
Performance
The Void Surround is better designed and more comfortable than Corsair’s older headsets, and the overall sound quality has improved. However, the directional quality of the surround audio still seems weaker than some of the Void Surround’s competitors.
Thankfully, the bass is decent (albeit perhaps a tad muddy), as are the higher tones across virtually all of Corsair’s equalizer presets.
Audio quality is a subjective judgement of course—but to me the Void Surround sounded ‘adequate’ if somewhat unremarkable as a whole. Surround sound in Left 4 Dead 2, however, didn’t seem as clear or distinct as I’ve experienced in other headsets. While the audio quality itself is good, directional audio seemed much less distinct, and it was a little more difficult to ‘zero in’ on a sound and determine the direction it was emanating from.
Corsair’s driver software is still a relatively weak point for their peripherals in general, mired in an obscure user interface that is badly in need of a usability expert—or someone just smart enough to emulate more standard PC driver interfaces. It’s better than it used to be, but still falls short of that offered by Logitech, Razer, Roccat, and others.
Overall: Recommended
The Corsair Void Surround deliver is generally well designed and performs adequately across all major areas, but it doesn’t truly shine in any specific area either. Regardless, for it’s relatively modest $80 asking price, the Corsair Void Surround is a respectable contender for its price range.
PC & Video Gaming Examiner 