{"video_id":"xljryIgti3c","title":"Corsair HS1 USB Gaming Headset Video Review Linus Tech Tips","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2011-05-08T14:53:29Z","duration_s":392,"segments":[{"start_s":0.48,"end_s":6.08,"text":"In my unboxing of the Corsair HS1, which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.84,"end_s":10.16,"text":"uh was no small challenge getting it out of the box, I did promise more of an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.32,"end_s":13.36,"text":"in-depth look at this particular headset. So, the first thing I want to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.0,"end_s":17.119,"text":"touch on, you've already seen the unboxing, I hope. If you hadn't, then uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.36,"end_s":20.48,"text":"go watch it now. But the first thing I want to touch on is the overall comfort","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.56,"end_s":26.16,"text":"of this headset. Even when using it for an extended period of time with earrings","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.119,"end_s":29.119,"text":"or I had a friend who has pretty large","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.16,"end_s":32.719,"text":"uh really long ears. So, even if you have irregularly shaped ears or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.72,"end_s":37.76,"text":"earrings, they're extremely comfortable to wear for a long period of time","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":34.399,"end_s":39.84,"text":"because the ear pads are so big. Also,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":37.76,"end_s":44.32,"text":"at the top of the headset, it's quite puffy and padded, and it is completely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.16,"end_s":49.92,"text":"adjustable for a variety of different head sizes. And really, you know what?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.36,"end_s":53.44,"text":"Comfort is probably the first thing that was on Corsair's list when they were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.92,"end_s":61.52,"text":"designing this headset because it should fit almost anyone very, very comfortably","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":57.44,"end_s":63.199,"text":"for extended periods of time.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":61.52,"end_s":67.68,"text":"Another thing I want to touch on is the overall build quality of the HS1. You","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.199,"end_s":71.04,"text":"can see Corsair starts with a very nicely braided cable that's going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.36,"end_s":74.4,"text":"snagree. you're not going to have any trouble with it getting caught on things","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.56,"end_s":79.2,"text":"and you shouldn't have any trouble even if actually I have a couple cats as some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":76.56,"end_s":83.6,"text":"of my viewers may or may not know and I found that with braided cables such as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.2,"end_s":87.52,"text":"this one they have a lot less success chewing through them quickly than with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.84,"end_s":92.96,"text":"the non-braided cables that were on a pair of Sennheiser PC 350s rest in peace","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.72,"end_s":97.759,"text":"that no longer function due to a broken cord. Now this works extremely well when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.92,"end_s":101.04,"text":"the microphone is on. The lights behind the buttons are actually blue. And when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.439,"end_s":105.68,"text":"your microphone is off, the lights are orange, which is a great feature because","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.119,"end_s":109.119,"text":"for a gamer, you can quickly glance, oh, did I hit my microphone button? When no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.28,"end_s":113.2,"text":"one can hear you. And you can see without actually fumbling around with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.799,"end_s":118.079,"text":"anything whether your microphone is off. Moving our way up, we have more braided","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.96,"end_s":120.88,"text":"cable. We have a very robust uh place","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.079,"end_s":126.24,"text":"where it joins the left earphone. And then we have some incredibly strong","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.32,"end_s":132.879,"text":"feeling hinges here. So, these are capable of folding down like this for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.479,"end_s":134.72,"text":"travel. They're capable of rotating","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.879,"end_s":137.44,"text":"a great degree in either direction. Well, only a great degree in this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.08,"end_s":141.44,"text":"direction and then just a little bit in the other direction. You can see that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.52,"end_s":147.04,"text":"while they have metal caps on them, they're actually large plastic uh ball","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.319,"end_s":153.36,"text":"and socket joints just like that, just like your shoulder. Okay? And those feel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.76,"end_s":154.879,"text":"very robust. There's pretty much no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.36,"end_s":159.68,"text":"likelihood that those would be damaged in the useful lifetime of this uh of a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.519,"end_s":164.16,"text":"product like this. And moving up the product, we've got the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":162.08,"end_s":168.959,"text":"pleathery covering that's over the top of the headband, which is once again","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.28,"end_s":172.8,"text":"well stitched. It doesn't look like it's going to come apart in any way. Overall,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":171.04,"end_s":180.12,"text":"the build quality is such that I would feel confident dropping them on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":175.12,"end_s":180.12,"text":"floor and they will still work.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.28,"end_s":187.56,"text":"I did run and test that. They do still work in case anyone was wondering.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.28,"end_s":193.92,"text":"Software-wise, the HS1 is a USBon","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.56,"end_s":199.12,"text":"headset, which might be a bit of a deterrent for some people because you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.4,"end_s":203.12,"text":"are going to be limited by the chipset Corsair is using in the headset itself.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.04,"end_s":206.879,"text":"You can't go ahead and plug it into a dedicated headphone amp or into an audio","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":205.28,"end_s":211.519,"text":"receiver, which is what I normally do with headsets. And you are going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":209.44,"end_s":215.28,"text":"limited to the audio software that Corsair uses. You can't go and just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":213.68,"end_s":220.0,"text":"switch your sound card. There's a built-in sound card, but that can be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.599,"end_s":223.599,"text":"very convenient for people like laptop users where you're stuck with what is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.76,"end_s":228.4,"text":"usually a terrible onboard audio solution and anything is an upgrade. So,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.319,"end_s":234.56,"text":"something like a USB headset that is powered and run off the USB port and off","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.44,"end_s":236.08,"text":"an integrated audio chipset is very much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.56,"end_s":239.84,"text":"preferable. Microphone recording quality was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.76,"end_s":243.2,"text":"excellent. And I did play around with their voice effects feature, which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":241.36,"end_s":246.879,"text":"suggests that you modify your voice to amuse or terrify your friends when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.2,"end_s":249.92,"text":"playing games or making Skype calls. And the uh the high setting wasn't actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":248.56,"end_s":254.319,"text":"all that amusing. It was just kind of chipmunky. But the low setting was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.84,"end_s":258.239,"text":"pretty creepy and uh my voice sounded very different, very, very creepy. So,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.239,"end_s":261.919,"text":"the microphone is definitely a big plus on this headset. Now, let's get into the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.32,"end_s":266.16,"text":"audio quality a little bit. For games, it was terrific. I was able to pinpoint","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.24,"end_s":272.96,"text":"footsteps, which is the most important thing for any serious FPS gamer. And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":270.24,"end_s":277.36,"text":"what I found too was that the bass is not overwhelming. So, if there's an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":275.12,"end_s":282.96,"text":"explosion nearby or some other kind of deep noise, it's not going to completely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":280.4,"end_s":287.28,"text":"overdo itself and drown out everything else. But what that also means is that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.52,"end_s":293.12,"text":"it's at a bit of a disadvantage for music. I found that the onboard chipset","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.479,"end_s":298.32,"text":"didn't do the greatest job of maintaining a level volume throughout","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.52,"end_s":304.479,"text":"the highs, mids, and lows of a music track. And it also didn't really reach a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":301.44,"end_s":306.32,"text":"desirable loudness level on some tracks,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.479,"end_s":310.16,"text":"but with others, by the time I turned the volume up to the max, it was pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.08,"end_s":313.199,"text":"much unbearable to listen to. So, there was a little bit of inconsistency to it,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":311.919,"end_s":318.88,"text":"but I think that's the kind of thing that can be addressed with driver","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":315.28,"end_s":321.28,"text":"updates. Overall, it does what it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":318.88,"end_s":325.52,"text":"advertised to do. It's great for gaming. You have the convenience of being able","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.72,"end_s":330.4,"text":"to plug in by USB to any computer and get a consistent audio experience, which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.24,"end_s":335.12,"text":"is something that you can't get if you're using onboard audio on a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":332.0,"end_s":337.199,"text":"motherboard or especially on a laptop","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":335.12,"end_s":343.12,"text":"where most of the audio solutions are frankly just terrible.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.72,"end_s":347.52,"text":"So, in conclusion, the HS1 does exactly what it's advertised to do. It performs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":345.36,"end_s":351.68,"text":"very well for games. It has lots of great convenient features that are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":349.039,"end_s":356.639,"text":"optimized, you guessed it, for gamers, such as the color changing uh volume","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.24,"end_s":362.16,"text":"buttons, the USB port, the excellent mic. It's very wellb built, which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.039,"end_s":364.0,"text":"again a great feature for gamers who are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.16,"end_s":369.84,"text":"Yeah. Yeah. They're likely to drop their headset or spill Pepsi on it or whatever","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":367.68,"end_s":373.84,"text":"else can possibly happen. I wouldn't expect it to damage the HS1 in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":371.759,"end_s":377.919,"text":"slightest. Overall, Corsair's put together a pretty good package here, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":376.319,"end_s":383.36,"text":"I just want to give them a big thanks for sending the HS1 for my unboxing and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":381.36,"end_s":388.72,"text":"review pleasure and your watching pleasure. Thank you for checking out my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":385.68,"end_s":390.88,"text":"video review, I suppose, of the HS1. And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.72,"end_s":393.52,"text":"don't forget to subscribe to Lionus Tech Tips.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"In my unboxing of the Corsair HS1, which uh was no small challenge getting it out of the box, I did promise more of an in-depth look at this particular headset. So, the first thing I want to touch on, you've already seen the unboxing, I hope. If you hadn't, then uh go watch it now. But the first thing I want to touch on is the overall comfort of this headset. Even when using it for an extended period of time with earrings or I had a friend who has pretty large uh really long ears. So, even if you have irregularly shaped ears or earrings, they're extremely comfortable to wear for a long period of time because the ear pads are so big. Also, at the top of the headset, it's quite puffy and padded, and it is completely adjustable for a variety of different head sizes. And really, you know what? Comfort is probably the first thing that was on Corsair's list when they were designing this headset because it should fit almost anyone very, very comfortably for extended periods of time. Another thing I want to touch on is the overall build quality of the HS1. You can see Corsair starts with a very nicely braided cable that's going to be snagree. you're not going to have any trouble with it getting caught on things and you shouldn't have any trouble even if actually I have a couple cats as some of my viewers may or may not know and I found that with braided cables such as this one they have a lot less success chewing through them quickly than with the non-braided cables that were on a pair of Sennheiser PC 350s rest in peace that no longer function due to a broken cord. Now this works extremely well when the microphone is on. The lights behind the buttons are actually blue. And when your microphone is off, the lights are orange, which is a great feature because for a gamer, you can quickly glance, oh, did I hit my microphone button? When no one can hear you. And you can see without actually fumbling around with anything whether your microphone is off. Moving our way up, we have more braided cable. We have a very robust uh place where it joins the left earphone. And then we have some incredibly strong feeling hinges here. So, these are capable of folding down like this for travel. They're capable of rotating a great degree in either direction. Well, only a great degree in this direction and then just a little bit in the other direction. You can see that while they have metal caps on them, they're actually large plastic uh ball and socket joints just like that, just like your shoulder. Okay? And those feel very robust. There's pretty much no likelihood that those would be damaged in the useful lifetime of this uh of a product like this. And moving up the product, we've got the pleathery covering that's over the top of the headband, which is once again well stitched. It doesn't look like it's going to come apart in any way. Overall, the build quality is such that I would feel confident dropping them on the floor and they will still work. I did run and test that. They do still work in case anyone was wondering. Software-wise, the HS1 is a USBon headset, which might be a bit of a deterrent for some people because you are going to be limited by the chipset Corsair is using in the headset itself. You can't go ahead and plug it into a dedicated headphone amp or into an audio receiver, which is what I normally do with headsets. And you are going to be limited to the audio software that Corsair uses. You can't go and just switch your sound card. There's a built-in sound card, but that can be very convenient for people like laptop users where you're stuck with what is usually a terrible onboard audio solution and anything is an upgrade. So, something like a USB headset that is powered and run off the USB port and off an integrated audio chipset is very much preferable. Microphone recording quality was excellent. And I did play around with their voice effects feature, which suggests that you modify your voice to amuse or terrify your friends when playing games or making Skype calls. And the uh the high setting wasn't actually all that amusing. It was just kind of chipmunky. But the low setting was pretty creepy and uh my voice sounded very different, very, very creepy. So, the microphone is definitely a big plus on this headset. Now, let's get into the audio quality a little bit. For games, it was terrific. I was able to pinpoint footsteps, which is the most important thing for any serious FPS gamer. And what I found too was that the bass is not overwhelming. So, if there's an explosion nearby or some other kind of deep noise, it's not going to completely overdo itself and drown out everything else. But what that also means is that it's at a bit of a disadvantage for music. I found that the onboard chipset didn't do the greatest job of maintaining a level volume throughout the highs, mids, and lows of a music track. And it also didn't really reach a desirable loudness level on some tracks, but with others, by the time I turned the volume up to the max, it was pretty much unbearable to listen to. So, there was a little bit of inconsistency to it, but I think that's the kind of thing that can be addressed with driver updates. Overall, it does what it's advertised to do. It's great for gaming. You have the convenience of being able to plug in by USB to any computer and get a consistent audio experience, which is something that you can't get if you're using onboard audio on a motherboard or especially on a laptop where most of the audio solutions are frankly just terrible. So, in conclusion, the HS1 does exactly what it's advertised to do. It performs very well for games. It has lots of great convenient features that are optimized, you guessed it, for gamers, such as the color changing uh volume buttons, the USB port, the excellent mic. It's very wellb built, which is again a great feature for gamers who are Yeah. Yeah. They're likely to drop their headset or spill Pepsi on it or whatever else can possibly happen. I wouldn't expect it to damage the HS1 in the slightest. Overall, Corsair's put together a pretty good package here, and I just want to give them a big thanks for sending the HS1 for my unboxing and review pleasure and your watching pleasure. Thank you for checking out my video review, I suppose, of the HS1. And don't forget to subscribe to Lionus Tech Tips."}