G A M E T I M E // C O R S A I R H S 5 0 + S T 1 0 0 V S V O I D P R O R G B W I R E L E S S
time where there is no meaningful
difference between dedicated audio
solutions and what is on offer with USB
headsets. It’s simply a matter of when,
rather than if.
That aside, the HS50 and the VOID
PRO RGB Wireless are two sets of cans
that clearly serve two different buyers.
These two are separated, to me at
least, by price. The HS50 is a mere
$49.90 while the VOID PRO RGB
Wireless sells for a healthy $99.99.
That’s literally double the price of the
HS50 cans. It’s no surprise then that
there’s functionality present on the
VOID PRO RGB which accounts for this
price difference.
For instance, tonally to me, these
are identical and I suspect they use
the very same 50mm neodymium
drivers. The specifications as detailed
by CORSAIR suggests as much.
Briefly that’s a 20 to 20KHz response
range and 32k Ohms impedance.
Nothing unexpected here and in line
with a host of other competing
products from other vendors.
Those numbers however don't tell
you much about the characteristics of
the audio. I could be wrong and there
may very well be tonal differences
between the two, but they are difficult to
perceive. If there were to be genuine
differences, I would chalk them up to
the input audio source for each where
the HS50 is using an external audio
processor while the VOID PRO RGB is
using its built-in audio processor. In the
interest of having as objective a
comparison as possible, I did not use
any motherboard or sound card output,
but opted instead for the
30 The OverClocker Issue 43 | 2018
CORSAIR ST100 headphone stand for
use with the HS50.
The ST100 is a simple piece of
equipment; RGB lights on a wide square
base and of course an illuminated
CORSAIR logo for those who fancy
that sort of thing. These LEDs can
be configured within CUE as you’d
imagine and matched with the rest of
your CORSAIR peripherals. The ST100
also serves as a USB 3.0 hub with two
USB 3.0 ports. Most important for this
comparison though is that it contains
audio processing circuitry allowing you
to use the ST100 as an output device. I
cannot be sure of the following, but I do
suspect that he audio controller used
within the VOID PRO RGB Wireless
is identical to the one used within the
ST100. Don’t quote me on that, but
these sound identical
and from a business perspective I don’t
think it would make much sense to use
a difference controller.
Before I move on to the actual
comparison between these setups,
note that I very much like the idea of
the ST100. Not only because a headset
stand is just useful, but as mentioned
earlier it serves a USB hub. When using
the CORSAIR ONE especially which only
has a single USB 3.0 port on the front;
the ST100’s hub is much appreciated.
It’s inexpensive at $59.99 considering
the value it has for anyone using the
CORSAIR ONE for example. Where it
could be improved perhaps is if it were
to be a wireless charger as well. The
flat base is perfect for this and it is real-
estate that isn’t being utilized for much
of anything. With this single addition it
would be even better.