The Corsair HS60 Haptic offers a new audio experience for the gamers out there, a tactile rumbly feedback.
Is this new feature a gimmick or a game changer?
Let’s take a look at the Corsair HS60 Haptic and determine if it’s worth the price tag.
The Verdict
The Corsair HS60 Haptic offers a unique audio experience, but is not ideal for most gamers and music listeners.
The Corsair HS60 Haptic offers a decent experience all-around, but does not excel in any specific area.
The headset has one of the most interesting looking designs on the market, but is polarizing by nature. The camo coloring and white cross-stitching can be off-putting for many, but also appeal to others who find it attractive.
The haptic sound is the biggest selling point, it offers a rumble when certain sounds are present and shakes the entire headset.
I found the rumble to be distracting in most situations, as it doesn’t improve your competitive edge in most online games.
I could see it improve the immersive factor of movies and story-based games. Let’s just say, it’s the perfect headset for Michael Bay films.
The build quality is not ideal. It could break if accidentally stepped/sat on or dropped from a decent height.
The headset is a great purchase if you’re interested in the Haptic sound, otherwise I recommend another option at this price point (or lower) such as the HyperX Cloud II or the Corsair HS70.
In The Box
The Corsair HS60 Haptic is packaged in a trademark Corsair yellow box.
You can tell that headset is secure and won’t damage easily when shipped which is always nice.
Inside the box, you don’t get a whole lot. You essentially just get the headset, microphone, and literature.
Here is a list of everything.
Detachable microphone: A detachable microphone is included. It has a bendy metal design, allowing you to shape the microphone to the ideal position. There is also a detachable wind screen included.
Warranty guide: Outlines the warrantly. Don’t set the headset on fire, dump chemicals on it, etc (I didn’t actually read it).
Safety info: Also didn’t read it, but I imagine it’s similar to the warranty papers.
User manual: Outlines all of the controls on the headset including how to change the Haptic settings and noise levels.
And that’s about it. Let’s discuss the headset itself now.
How Comfortable Is The Corsair HS60 Haptic?
In order to get an idea of how comfortable the HS60 Haptic is, we tried the headset of a variety of head sizes.
On Smaller Heads:
The HS60 Haptic is not a good fit for smaller heads.
Even on the smallest settings, the headset feels loose and slides around on the head. The headband tends to carry most of the weight of the headset and builds heat in that area.
The earcups don’t close all the way around the ears and there is a small gap behind the ear. This messes with the noise isolation and lets surrounding noise bleed into the headset.
If you have a smaller head, we recommend checking out a headset that fits better such as the HyperX Cloud II.
For Larger Heads:
On larger or medium sized heads, the HS60 Haptic fits well.
You can see the headset is intended mainly for medium/large-sized men, which fits the typical gamer profile.
The headband and earcups all apply equal pressure around the head and there is no gapping around the ears, which feels comfortable.
The bulky nature of the gaming headset also looks more proportional to the larger head size.
Not too many complaints here.
The only downside is the earcups feel a little warm immediately after placing it on your head.
The Comfort During Long Play Sessions
The Corsair HS60 Haptic offers an “OK” experience over long play sessions.
The ideal gaming headset feels like a cloud on your head. It’s easy to forget you’re even wearing it.
I didn’t experience that with the HS60.
Right out of the gates, you can feel the warmth that develops around the ears. The design of the earcups, while comfortable to the touch, does not offer the best breathability.
If you’re playing in a temperature controlled space, this shouldn’t be an issue for you, but if you’re trying to save on the AC bill in the middle of the summer, I would go for something more breathable.
After about an hour of playing, the ears start to feel itchy and warm. At this point, most headsets start to feel uncomfortable, so I’m not too concerned. It’s not super cozy though.
After three hours, your head starts to feel like it’s burning. I had to constantly take the headset on and off to let my ears breath between games. This is the point where the HS60 really starts to feel rough.
How Does the HS60 Feel With Glasses?
For many people out there, glasses are required to game properly.
I decided to throw on my blue-light blocking glasses and play a few games to decide for myself. With glasses on, the headset is surprisingly very comfortable.
The pressure of the headset is even distributed around my head, so there is very little extra pressure being placed onto the glasses. After an hour or so, I would need a break between games.
But most of the time, glasses are quite uncomfortable to wear with most headsets, so I’m pleasantly surprised.
How Does the HS60 Feel With Headwear?
If you’re anything like me, your home is freezing in the winter to save on the heating bill. So you’re probably curious about how the headset feels when wearing a beanie or other headgear.
I found that the comfort level with a beany is quite nice. The clamping force of the headset is a bit on the lower end, so you don’t get quite as good of a seal around the ears. This lets more ambient noise bleed into the sound.
The loose nature of the headset on top of the beanie makes it easy to forget your wearing the HS60, but if you lean forwards too much the headband starts to slide. So there are tradeoffs.
With a hat, the comfort feels the same as without any headgear.
The headband weight does feel a bit more distributed with a hat on, but it’s almost neglible.
If you want to wear the HS60 with a hat or beanie, both options should work without many issues.
The Sound Quality
When it comes to a gaming headset, the sound quality is very important.
With most headsets, you don’t expect the sound to be amazing as you’re balancing the convenience of having a microphone and headphones smushed together into one unit.
However, the HS60 Haptic has below par sound quality level when looking at headsets in this price range. For some, the novelty of the haptic sound can make up for the downsides, but for others, the sound quality doesn’t cut it.
The sound doesn’t feel very accurate when listening for footsteps and a lot of the nuance is lost inside of big explosions and the really obvious sounds.
Let’s take a look at the data and explain it further.
Frequency Response and Profile
As you can see above, the bass is highly over-tuned and will make for a rumbly and intense gaming experience.
If you like epic and loud sounds, this headset will deliver on that experience. But if you want more of a balanced profile, you’ll be better off with another option.
The headset is a great option for bass heads and those who love genres such as rap and hip-hop, but I actually would prefer something that feels a bit punchier.
The haptic vibration combined with the over-tuned bass make for an intense experience, but maybe that’s just the old man in me talking.
When it comes to sound quality there are better options out there, even at lower price ranges.
Corsair HS60 Isolation
If you game in a noisy environment, such as lots of traffic noises or a loud family, isolation will make-or-break your experience.
Isolation is responsible for blocking out the outside noise so you can fully experience the gaming sounds.
Unfortunately, the Corsair HS60 Haptics just don’t have the best isolation.
At best, you’ll be able to block out some higher pitched noises, but you’ll still hear that one car that always passes by with the kickin’ bass.
The isolation could use a little work.
Build Quality
The Corsair HS60 Haptic has decent build quality.
Made from a combination of both plastic and metal materials, it’s about what you would expect from this price range.
The ear cups and headband are made from a leather-like material with stitching that looks well put together.
The material feels soft and spongy to the touch.
The earcups and spin a little each direction and the earcups tilt in and out based on the shape of your head. The biggest downside is how easily breakable it feels.
The Twist and Pull Test
To get an idea of how truly tough the headset is, we conducted a quick twist and pull test. We pull with enough force until it feels like the headset is about to break.
As you can see from the image above, the flexibility of the headband is limited. Usually, I would like see the headset be pulled to an almost straight line, but you are stuck after a small distance.
This is wide enough to fit it on your head, but if one side gets stuck as your picking it up, you might break the headband on accident.
A lack of flexibility is a sign that the headset could break easily if dropped or sat on. So based on this testing, I would say is the headset is not the most robust.
The twisting is also limited, but is not quite as bad as the pull test.
The Style
The style is one area where is the headset excels, for some.
The camo design is a bit out there, but I like that they went for something different.
Instead of the usual branded colors, Corsair opted for a riskier design. And according to Corsair, every headset has it’s own unique camo pattern.
While I’m personally not a huge fan of camo, I could it see it appealing to a certain demographic. If you had a bunch of different gaming headsets lined up, the HS60 would stand out for sure.
The cross-stitching is an interesting choice as well. I like how it looks when picking up the headset, but once placed on your head I feel it stands out in a goofy sort of way.
This is my opinion of course, as style is subjective.
The headset looks open-backed due to the metal grill on the outside of the earcups, but it’s actually closed-back. I think the glossy metal grill adds a higher-end feel to the design which is welcomed.
I also enjoy the Corsair HS60 branding above the earcups on the headband. It shows //60HAPTIC in white text that reminds me of the root file on a computer, gives the headset some Mr. Robot vibes.
Overall, the style is polarizing, which I think is a good thing. It’s better to make a headset that few people will absolutely love instead of everyone sort of liking it.
Microphone
The Mic Test
The microphone features a detachable boom design with a wind screen that can slide on and off.
The microphone is flexible and lets you easily position it in the corner of your mouth. Overall, the quality of the microphone is pretty good.
If the microphone is positioned properly, the output sounds clean. The only downside is it sounds a bit compressed, but for a gaming headset it’s quite good.
I found if you don’t have the microphone positioned properly there can be some issues with the sound not outputting correctly.
In the software, you are able to tweak the sidetone, or how loud you can hear your own voice. I tend to keep this setting low, as it can be distracting, but it’s nice to know what sounds are getting picked up by the microphone.
The Software
Using the Corsair iCUE software, you are able to tweak a few settings on the headset.
The entire download is sizeable and bloated, so it takes more space than necessary on your computer. Not to mention the headset has no onboard memory, so you’ll need to keep the software open to change the presets and EQ settings.
In the software you can switch between several common presets for gaming, watching movies, and listening to music.
I found that simply lowering the bass and tweaking the mid-range really resulted in a better listening experience.
The software is definitely useful, I just wish it was more lean.
How Does The HS60 Stack Up Against The Competition?
As a standalone unit, the Corsair HS60 Haptic is a fun headset that offers a unique gaming experience. When compared to the competition, it tends to suffer.
The $100-150 price range is already so intensely competitive, so getting an edge at this price point is difficult. The Haptic feedback is really the only thing that sets the headset apart (and the camo design).
If you’re looking for comfort or sound quality, I would recommend checking out other headsets in this range such as the HyperX Cloud II’s or Sennheiser PC37X.
There’s just better options out there.
Conclusion
The Corsair HS60 Haptic brings a few interesting elements to the table, but accross the board, it’s a bit lackluster.
The sound quality, build, and comfort all fall a bit flat. For a gaming headset, these aspects are really important for a great gaming experience.
If you really want to experience the rumble that the Haptic has to offer, I would recommend trying the headset out for yourself. Otherwise, I would recommend checking out other options.
If you are interested, you can find the Corsair HS60 Haptic on Amazon.