Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless Gaming Headset Review: Flagship Sound, but There May Be Comfort Issues for Some

Corsair is an innovator and manufacturer of technology and high-performance gear designed for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts. The Corsair product range includes gaming PCS, monitors, PC components and peripherals, as well as a full line of accessories. Not only do they also offer streaming equipment, smart ambient lighting, and gaming furniture, but through brands under their umbrella, including Elgato, Origin, Scuf, and Drop, Corsair offers full lines of specialized gear for gaming and content creation. In this review, we look at the flagship of the brand’s wireless gaming headset line, the Corsair Virtuoso Max.

As the Virtuoso Max is the flagship of the Corsair gaming headset line, it comes with high expectations in terms of design, materials, and build quality. It does not disappoint. Everything about the Corsair Virtuoso Max reflects its place in the product line and among its competition. This is good as its competitors include highly reviewed headsets such as the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Artis Nova Pro Wireless.

It is important to note that upon receiving my headset for review, I immediately performed the firmware update to the headset and wireless adapter. This update resolved a number of noted issues and added a few features that users requested when the unit debuted.

What’s in the box

• Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless Gaming Headset
• Detachable Omnidirectional Microphone
• Padded Storage Case
• USB Type-A Wireless Adapter
• USB Type-C to Type-A Charging Cable

The Virtuoso Max comes in a handsome zippered case with custom padding designed to hold the headset securely with the earcups turned 90 degrees. As they went out of their way to design the case specifically for the headset, it is odd that no thought was given to the included USB wireless adapter and USB charging cable, which will inevitably get dropped wherever they fit.

Design

The Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless gaming headset is available in two color schemes: Carbon and Silver. In this review, we have the Carbon example, and I find its black and metallic dark gray very elegant and understated. The closed-back, over-ear design is constructed of both aluminum and plastic elements and feels solid in your hands.

The headband, earcups, and frames are all made of aluminum and allow for swiveling and adjustment without ever feeling wobbly. Similarly, height adjustments have a satisfying click at every level and stay where they are placed. The headband is padded and covered in fabric on the inside and has a convincing embossed leatherlike texture on the outside, sporting the Corsair name.

The earcups feature a matte polished metallic finish surrounded by RGB lighting. The addition of lighting is one of the features that separates this model from others in the product line. The implementation is very good and customizable within the iCUE app, but it seems to have limited practical use.

Yes, it communicates various states, such as pairing mode, and indicates when the headset has been turned on, but it seems as though the real reason for the inclusion of the RGB lighting is for customization with other hardware as well as specific game titles. This can be a very cool overall effect, but when you wear the headset, the lights are not visible to the user.

Outside of the lighting ring on both earcups are knurled aluminum rings that control the volume on the left side, while the right side ring is a multifunction control that can be used to control the volume separately and can be configured within iCUE.

By default, the left ring controls the 2.4 GHz Windows system volume, and the right ring controls the Bluetooth volume. However, after the firmware update, these are now interchangeable. The volume rings have a nice, weighted feel, adding to the premium feel of this headset.

The Corsair Virtuoso Max’s earpads are angled from front to back and top to bottom, which also determines the angle of the drivers themselves. The pads appear to be at least as thick as most, but this is a bit misleading, as the inner plastic frame takes up two-thirds of the perceived thickness from the outside. The pads are removable, but they are not swappable with pads from other current headsets.

The left cup features the power button and the port for the removable microphone, which is designed so that it can only be inserted in the proper direction. A mute button is found on the base of the mic stem. The mic has an LED indicator showing its status.

The right cup has the USB Type-C charging port, the Action Switch with media controls for skip, back, play, and pause (this is also used for answering and ending phone calls), and a custom button that defaults to toggling the automatic noise cancellation feature with a long press and cycles through EQ modes with a short press. This button has many other potential uses when configured in the iCUE app.

Comfort

The inner width is 56mm, and the inner depth is 20mm. I found this sufficiently roomy so that my ears would not touch any surface or feel pressure. At 430 grams with the mic attached, the headset is not light, but this is typical of wireless headsets, with the Audeze Maxwell coming in at 490 grams and the SteelSeries Artis Nova Pro Wireless a noticeably lighter 338 grams.

The weight and design of the headband and padding have garnered criticism online for not being as comfortable as they perhaps should be when worn for extended periods. My son, an avid gamer, tested the headset and reported that it seemed heavy after hours of use.

Perhaps my head is just the right size and shape for this design, as despite the weight and padding thickness, I found the headset comfortable for hours of use.

Compatibility

Connectivity is through 2.4 GHz wireless or Bluetooth only. Although the Virtuoso Max has a USB Type-C jack, it is only for charging, and as there is no 3.5mm auxiliary port, it cannot be used as a wired headset, as is the case with the Corsair Virtuoso Pro. The headset can, however, be charged via the cable while connected through the wireless USB adapter.

This version of the Corsair Virtuoso Max is compatible with PCs, Macs, PlayStation, Switch, and mobile devices, with the last two being Bluetooth only. There is also a separate Xbox-compatible version.

This is necessary due to Microsoft’s decision to make the latest Xbox models only compatible with its proprietary wireless technology, Xbox Wireless, which originally was only compatible with Microsoft headsets. The non-Xbox-specific version will not connect even using the wireless USB adapter.

Performance

The 50mm Graphene drivers at the heart of the Corsair Virtuoso Max deliver excellent sound for a wide variety of uses. Right out of the box, the range and depth of the headset perform very well for a variety of music types as well as watching videos. As with most headsets, fine-tuning only improves the experience, and with the iCUE app, there are a few ways to make the sound match your expectations.

The Auto Noise Cancellation (ANC) in this headset is very effective without some of the side effects that the technology sometimes brings. Sounds (like fan noise) are completely removed without significantly affecting the overall sound quality.

One of the Corsair Virtuoso Max’s best assets is its microphone; they went with an omnidirectional mic instead of a unidirectional one, and the sound quality is very good. In actual use, other players online found it to be as good as some wired gaming mics.

The omnidirectional design does mean it picks up a bit more background noise, but this can be adjusted in the app. There is also a built-in limiter, which works very well.

Battery life is 60 hours using the 2.6 GHz wireless with no RGB lighting. In fact, in actual use, I never ran out of battery and had to remind myself to charge it every once in a while. Even those who play marathon sessions should not have any issues.

The wireless range is 50 feet, and again, in actual use, the range and connectivity are so impressive that it is simply not an issue. To test this, I walked from my office on the third floor to the ground floor and outside before I started to hear any breakup. That distance is more than 50 feet and through walls and floors.

The purchase of the Corsair Virtuoso Max grants the user a license of Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio for the life of the headset. The Virtuoso Max does a great job with Atmos, and the effect is powerful, creating virtual audio surround environments in games and films. However, the multidirectional theater-grade sound only works on the PC.

iCUE App

Through the app, users can customize controls, select color schemes for the RGB lighting, update the firmware, and download a number of third-party add-ons, but the most valuable aspect is the ability to adjust the headset’s sound.

There are a number of ways that users can customize the sound of the Virtuoso Max. The equalizer has presets for Movie Theater, FPS Competition, and Bass Boost and it allows for custom presets to be saved. You can also adjust the microphone volume and sidetone, although I had difficulty using the sidetone feature.

There is an integrated NVIDIA Broadcast feature that includes Noise Removal and Room Echo Removal settings, which can be adjusted in intensity, and a recording/playback feature that allows users to A/B test the settings.

Perhaps the most significant feature for fine-tuning the headset’s sound is Sound ID, which allows users to test their own hearing and tune the performance to those results. I was pleased to see the graph showing the results and that my hearing was still very much in the normal range.

However, it is important to note that these various adjustment technologies work independently and cannot be used together. In other words, if you are using the equalizer, you cannot also use the Sound ID or Dolby Atmos.

Side Tone, or the ability to hear yourself through the headset, is an included feature that requires both ANC and transparency to be off in order to be used. I found that despite adjusting the mic volume and the Side Tone value, I could barely hear myself through the headset.

One noticeable feature that seems to be missing is a game/chat mix. It would be a nice addition to have instant access to that balance, as is found on the Microsoft Wireless Gaming Headset. That headset has two rings similar to the Virtuoso Max, but on the Microsoft headset, one ring controls overall volume and the other the game/chat mix.

The iCUE app can be configured to work with Lenovo, ASUS, MSI, NVIDIA, and Gigabyte plugins.

The purchase of an iCUE-compatible headset comes with three months of Voicemod Pro free. iCUE can be configured to sync your PC’s lighting to your game. With this added feature, users can, among other things, enhance their play with per-game settings, assign mouse buttons to actions, record and play macros, and remap keyboard buttons on the fly.

Specifications

AUDIO

 CONNECTIVITY

The wireless gaming headset market includes some fierce competition. This is no less the case at the flagship level. I found that the Virtuoso Max has many things going for it, including its excellent sound for music, games, and movies, high build quality, excellent aesthetics, effective ANC, the ability to connect simultaneously via Bluetooth and wireless, great controls, excellent mic, good battery life, and excellent range, not to mention a free license for Dolby Atmos.

The sidetone volume, the lack of game/chat mix, the weight and clamping, which can be an issue for some users, and the lack of 3.5mm auxiliary input are among the things that could be improved.

The Corsair Virtuoso Max delivers flagship-level sound, exceptional build quality, and robust features like simultaneous Bluetooth and wireless connectivity, effective ANC, and Dolby Atmos support. Although comfort might vary, particularly during extended sessions, its impressive audio performance, premium design, and intuitive controls make it an attractive choice in a competitive market. If premium audio, customization, and versatility matter most to you, the Virtuoso Max deserves your attention.

The Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless gaming headset retails for $329.99 and is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

What I Like: Excellent sound quality; Aesthetically pleasing; Effective ANC; Simultaneous Bluetooth and wireless; Excellent mic; Good battery life; Excellent range

What Needs Improvement: Price; Comfort can be an issue for some users; Side Tone volume; Lack of game/chat mix; No 3.5mm auxiliary input