Void Elite USB - no bass?

[Mazra]

I'm in a weird situation with my newly purchased Void Elite USB headset on a Windows 10 PC, and I'm not sure what the issue is, or where it lies.

 

I recently made the switch from my beloved Void Pro USB, which had the best bass sound of any of the "comfortably priced" headsets I've tried. Even in the 'Pure Direct' EQ preset, with surround and audio repositioning turned on, the bass on the Pro gave you those subwoofer-like vibrations in your stomach, which is impressive, considering it's strapped to your head. The Elite was praised in various reviews as a direct upgrade to the Pro, so I figured I'd give it a go--especially since the Pro is no longer in production? RIP.

 

When I plugged in the Elite, the experience was disheartening. I decided to set it to 'Pure Direct' and turn on surround and audio repositioning to mirror my experience with the Void, and I've never heard anything so devoid of life before. I'm neither an audio engineer nor an audiophile, so I don't know all the fancy terminology, but it sounds metallic, and there's a weird echo, and absolutely zero bass vibrations. It sounds like there's bass, but it doesn't feel like there's bass, if that makes sense. If you want to replicate the feeling, grab both ear cups and pull them ever so slightly away from your ears until it sounds like a $5 headset. There you go, welcome to my life.

 

I began a three part troubleshooting process:

 

1. I tried the equalizer presets and customizing my own preset, but I gave up pretty quickly. I have no idea how to properly balance audio, and I have no interest in learning how to. The Pro headset was literally plug-and-play. If I wanted a DIY project, I'd fork over considerably more money for a proper set of headphones. Changing the lower frequencies did give me more bass, but felt super low quality, and the overall metallic/tinny sound was still there.
    
   
2. I wanted to rule out hardware issues, so I got my hands on another Elite and a Virtuoso, but they both had the same awful sound, so I figured it had to be a software issue.
    
   
3. Interestingly, I found that if I turned off surround and audio repositioning on both devices, the Pro and Elite would suddenly sound almost exactly the same (i.e. like crap). Seemed like the surround software might be the culprit, so I tried Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos on the Elite to see if it changed anything, but it only made it worse. I also uninstalled and reinstalled iCue and the various drivers several times. And lastly I checked the Windows audio channel settings, but it was set to 8 channels, 16 bit, 48kHz. After manually updating the Elite's drivers through Device Manager, the 8 channels disappeared, and I got some more 2 channel options instead, and the sound diid get marginally better, but still nowhere near the quality of the Pro.
   

 

And this is where I've run out of ideas, so I'd appreciate any suggestions. I've spent the better part of two days trying to make these $79 headphones not sound like the world's cheapest 'conference call headset', and I'm reaching a point where it's not worth the effort.

 

Anyway...

 

Headsets mentioned:

VOID RGB ELITE USB Premium Gaming Headset with 7.1 Surround Sound

VOID PRO RGB USB Premium Gaming Headset with Dolby® Headphone 7.1

 

Headset firmware used:

Elite: v0.01

Pro: v0.17

 

iCue version used:

3.37.140

Edited March 10, 2021 by Mazra

[Corsair Albert]

Hi Mazra,

 

Do you have another PC to test the audio for any difference?

[Mazra]

Thank you for responding.

 

Now, this is interesting. I do have a laptop, so I installed iCue on it and plugged in the Elite, so I could do a side-by-side comparison, since I'm now fortunate enough to own two Elites (don't ask).

 

The Elite definitely sounds better on my laptop than on my desktop. The sound is more... oomph-y and less tinny. Furthermore, the Elite on my laptop sounds exactly like the Pro on my laptop.

 

What I also found interesting is that enabling 7.1 surround in iCue on my laptop didn't seem to have any effect on the sound in terms of equalization. When I switch from stereo to 7.1 on my desktop, there's a very noticeable change in the sound, where the bass disappears almost entirely while the treble feels emphasized, and the overall volume goes up a few notches.

 

Edit: I should mention that I've checked for USB port issues on my desktop. I've tried front and back ports, 3.0 ports and 3.1 ports, and there was no change.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Mazra

[Corsair Albert]

Thank you for responding.

 

Now, this is interesting. I do have a laptop, so I installed iCue on it and plugged in the Elite, so I could do a side-by-side comparison, since I'm now fortunate enough to own two Elites (don't ask).

 

The Elite definitely sounds better on my laptop than on my desktop. The sound is more... oomph-y and less tinny. Furthermore, the Elite on my laptop sounds exactly like the Pro on my laptop.

 

What I also found interesting is that enabling 7.1 surround in iCue on my laptop didn't seem to have any effect on the sound in terms of equalization. When I switch from stereo to 7.1 on my desktop, there's a very noticeable change in the sound, where the bass disappears almost entirely while the treble feels emphasized, and the overall volume goes up a few notches.

 

Edit: I should mention that I've checked for USB port issues on my desktop. I've tried front and back ports, 3.0 ports and 3.1 ports, and there was no change.

 

Appreciate the update, Mazra. Have you tried reinstalling USB/audio drivers to see if there's any change in the audio quality? Do you also have any other audio software that may be interfering? I would also double-check that Windows has the headset's format quality set to its highest option available (DVD quality, most likely). This can be checked by searching "Sound Settings">Sound Control Panel>Select VOID RGB ELITE USB, click properties>Advanced.

[CrackBerryAddic]

I am also having issues with poor audio quality on my Void RGB Elite USB headset. I purchased the exact model three or four years ago (albeit with Dolby Surround Sound), and they were working great until my cat chewed the wire. The audio quality was excellent. Despite my new pair supposedly being the exact same model on the exact same PC, the audio quality sounds much more tinny and cheap. I cannot return them due to COVID-19 policy at the store.

 

Did Corsair change the hardware since then?

Edited March 13, 2021 by CrackBerryAddic

[Mazra]

Appreciate the update, Mazra. Have you tried reinstalling USB/audio drivers to see if there's any change in the audio quality? Do you also have any other audio software that may be interfering? I would also double-check that Windows has the headset's format quality set to its highest option available (DVD quality, most likely). This can be checked by searching "Sound Settings">Sound Control Panel>Select VOID RGB ELITE USB, click properties>Advanced.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I tried uninstalling the Realtek drivers and reinstalling them, although, I'm pretty sure those only affect analog connections. Didn't seem to have any impact on the sound either way.

 

Windows sets the headset audio quality to 8 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz, probably to simulate surround. I can change it to 2 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz, but it doesn't change the quality, and it resets itself to 8 channels once I reboot. I don't have any physical sound effects enabled, like Sonic or Atmos.

 

Anyway, I think it's just a matter of how aggressive the binaural effect is coming from the Void. The Void seems to blend the left and right channels a lot more, creating a fuller bass sound at the cost of directional sound effect. The Elite has a much more aggressive binaural functionality, which is great for video games. Even with surround and auto audio repositioning turned off, there's a very noticeable surround effect happening even while watching, say, YouTube videos, which definitely takes some getting used to.

 

Turning off surround and auto audio repositioning has brought the overall quality up to a level where I can enjoy music, movies, and video games without having to fiddle with EQ profiles, so that's good, and I'll consider the case closed.

 

Thanks for all the help.

[Corsair Albert]

Thank you for your reply.

 

I tried uninstalling the Realtek drivers and reinstalling them, although, I'm pretty sure those only affect analog connections. Didn't seem to have any impact on the sound either way.

 

Windows sets the headset audio quality to 8 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz, probably to simulate surround. I can change it to 2 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz, but it doesn't change the quality, and it resets itself to 8 channels once I reboot. I don't have any physical sound effects enabled, like Sonic or Atmos.

 

Anyway, I think it's just a matter of how aggressive the binaural effect is coming from the Void. The Void seems to blend the left and right channels a lot more, creating a fuller bass sound at the cost of directional sound effect. The Elite has a much more aggressive binaural functionality, which is great for video games. Even with surround and auto audio repositioning turned off, there's a very noticeable surround effect happening even while watching, say, YouTube videos, which definitely takes some getting used to.

 

Turning off surround and auto audio repositioning has brought the overall quality up to a level where I can enjoy music, movies, and video games without having to fiddle with EQ profiles, so that's good, and I'll consider the case closed.

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

Thanks for the update, Mazra - it's greatly appreciated.

 

I am also having issues with poor audio quality on my Void RGB Elite USB headset. I purchased the exact model three or four years ago (albeit with Dolby Surround Sound), and they were working great until my cat chewed the wire. The audio quality was excellent. Despite my new pair supposedly being the exact same model on the exact same PC, the audio quality sounds much more tinny and cheap. I cannot return them due to COVID-19 policy at the store.

 

Did Corsair change the hardware since then?

 

 

Do you remember if you had customized any audio settings on your previous headset?