Corsair HS75 XB Xbox headset review: A new challenger appears on console

Corsair has made plenty of headsets in the past, but never officially licensed for Xbox consoles. The new HS75 XB is designed to work with Xbox Wireless connectivity, meaning that there are no dongles or cables, simply pair and play. Their compatibility covers everything from Xbox One, to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and if you add in an Xbox Wireless USB dongle you can take them to Windows PCs as well.

Are they deserving of a spot in any of our best Xbox One headset or best Xbox Series X, Series S headsets roundups? Let's put them on and find out.

Corsair HS75 XB review: What I loved

The Corsair HS75 XB is the first officially licensed Xbox headset from the company, but you wouldn't think that from using it. This is a really solid piece of kit, and it could end up being one of the more popular Xbox One, Series X, and Series S headsets out there.

The Corsair HS75 XB sports impressive construction, with a metal-reinforced headband, and thick leatherette cushions across the cups. It also has an attractive mesh pattern on the outer sides of each cup, which gives it a distinct, albeit subtle look. There are no gaudy neon "gamer" accents here, thankfully. Just modern two-tone design that lines up nicely with both the Xbox Series X and the Series S.

When it comes to pure comfort, the Corsair HS75 XB is simply great. It feels light to wear and is well-balanced with good weight distribution. The earcups are sublime, with plenty of airy cushioning to make even the longest sessions pleasant. The headband is flexible and adjustable enough to fit virtually any head size, and with premium-feeling materials and construction, it should be built to last. The hinges on each cup reach down to the center as well, acting as a shock-absorbent buffer between your headset and the floor should accidents happen. It's thoughtful design features like this that elevates a headset to the next level.

Each cup is dotted with controls for muting, power, audio mix between chat and game sounds, and master volume. The microphone sounds clear across Xbox Live as well, with detachable functionality if you are planning to use a more powerful microphone instead (or simply prefer to play solo).

Speaking of sound, the Corsair HS75 XB has received some mixed comments from other reviewers. Everybody has different tastes, but I found the Corsair HS75 XB to sport impressive audio reproduction, with great separation. The broad soundscape and distinct channels make it excellent at implementing Dolby Atmos as well, which comes bundled in the box. While playing Destiny 2, it was impressive to hear footsteps below me, with the action sweeping around immersively.

Some other writers noted the bass profile on the HS75 XB, with some polarization. The bass on the HS75 XB is certainly more powerful than I've experienced in any other headset licensed for Xbox, even those with bass boost mechanics. I personally adore a bass-heavy headset, as it adds a real punch to explosions and environmental cues, and can add an extra flavor to music and media. Listening to some of my favorite tracks on the HS75 XB was a real pleasure. If you're not a fan of heavy bass, though, you may want to steer clear.

The HS75 XB falls short of perfection, though. Indeed, one of my complaints about this headset is that there aren't any configuration options for those who may want to tweak certain things. However, there is a solution.

Corsair HS75 XB review: What I didn't love

The Corsair HS75 XB unfortunately doesn't support Corsair's Cue software, save for firmware updates. This is a bit odd, considering most of its other headsets do come with the ability to tune EQ balance among other things. Thankfully, this headset comes with a Dolby Atmos license, which gives you access to Dolby's EQ tuning app on your Xbox console, if you weren't a fan of the bass-heavy default orientation.

However, if you weren't a fan of the headset's quiet sidetone, you can't do anything about it. At first, I thought this headset simply had no sidetone mic monitoring, but I found that I could hear it if I put the mic practically right up close to my mouth. This is fairly typical on headsets that feature sidetone, but many come with the ability to adjust the volume of the sidetone to your preference. This one doesn't, and if you're not practically eating the microphone, it's so quiet it may as well not even be there.

Finally, it's a bit of a shame that this $150 headset doesn't come with a simple 3.5mm headphone jack. Many of its competitors in this price range not only offer configuration software for tweaking sidetone, but also offer a 3.5mm option as standard. For those who don't want to purchase the Xbox Wireless dongle for PC, or those who simply can't because their tablet or notebook PC doesn't support full USB-A connectivity, it comes as a fairly glaring omission.

If all you want is an incredible Xbox headset with no frills, the HS75 XB is as pure as it gets. Great design, great audio, and great materials.

Should you buy the Corsair HS75 XB?

While the versatility may fall short of some of its contemporary competitors at $150 dollars, it makes up for that with pure premium quality. This headset has some of the most impressive audio I've used in this bracket, with a great microphone experience, in a lightweight, long-lived wireless design.

While it's certainly a shame that this headset has few tweakable software features, the experience is so great right out of the box I'm almost willing to say that it simply isn't needed. The HS75 XB is one of the best Xbox headsets I've ever used, and I can't wait to see (and hear) what Corsair brings to the platform next.