My new HSA1 - I love them!

I came home from seeing a movie and my girlfriend said the dogs pulled your headphones behind the couch. Um they were still plugged in when I left. I found the remains of the connector with the wire dangling over the side, and my computer half off the edge of the computer cart.

 

I really loved my old set, but hey that's too bad. Now they're broken and I need a new pair. Why not upgrade right?

 

The biggest thing for me is comfort. I wear glasses and need a set of headphones that will not cause pain or discomfort after any amount of use.

 

I spent a long time looking for a decent set of headphones over the past week. I was not going to spend mad money for the super high end. Wanted to keep it around or below $100. $150 max.

 

It seemed review after review said the Corsair headphones were super comfortable. Not the same for others.

 

Unfortunately, at the same time many reviews complained about the sound. Many forum posts were saying the same things.

Low volume, no bass, ear killing highs, etc. Basically the sound quality was not very good. Note I said many and did not say all. Some sites I found were giving much praise to the headsets. This left me unsure about buying or not. I really wanted the Corsair set for the comfort. I began wondering if those who said the quality was not very good just had super high tastes. Wondering if those who rave about the sound quality know something everyone else doesn't? I should just buy them and hope they're decent.

 

After much searching, I found a foreign site that for some reason had me sold instantly. They said to purchase a specific sound card along with the HS1A. I did just that. The card has a built in headphones amplifier and using the HS1A enables you to turn on dolby headphones in the sound card's driver. You can also pump up the volume to ear shattering levels. Hike the bass through the roof if you want. Change all kinds of things.

 

For anyone who's complained about the bass, I had to turn it down in some games. Tank's mortar landing next to me was giving me a heart attack.

 

I admit, when I first plugged them in and fired up music..... absolutely terrible. Horrid in fact. However, this is just a pair of headphones. The rest should be up to the sound card to tweak settings. I was skeptical and spent a decent amount of time tweaking settings.

 

Then.....viola! Yay they sound great! Alright, so the music sounds good. I am ready to try out a game.

I loaded up BF: BC2. Awesome....just awesome. I love it and am super happy. Played a surround sound movie. Excellent. The combination of a dedicated headphone amp(non-usb, as usb does not have enough voltage to give decent volume) and driver options such as dolby headphones has really made this user a very happy new Corsair product owner. So that's my two cents.

 

Out the door of my local computer superstore I spent(with tax) around $104. $70 for the headset and $30 for the card. That hit my budget right where I wanted it.

 

Yes I read the forum rules. I am just unsure if this is considered competition, since Corsair doesn't make sound cards. The recommended sound card is a Xonar DG.

 

I'd love to be able to afford the more elite models, but I can't and I no longer have the coveted certain super awesome 5.1 speakers I use to have, so it wouldn't do me much good anyway. Besides, my new headphones ROCK! This is day two of using them and I am 100% pleased. So HS1A users, get a true headphones amp, some decent sound card driver settings, and you should have much enjoyable time with this Corsair product.

The HS1A does have a problem but its never talked about in any of the videos where Corsair talks about this product. They never once say "it requires a headphone amp" or you will have poor sound quality.

 

That's like a car mfg showing off a new car and how fast it is, then not telling the customer that you must spend x amount of money on aftermarket parts to get it to perform like that. (they call that deceptive advertisement)

 

Even on this message board none of the staff members say or recommend a sound card with a headphone amp to get the sound quality they claim this product has.

I feel for others like me who fell for the bs in all the videos talking about this product, thinking it would work fine if you already have a sound card. (turns out you need a sound card with headphone amp or the HS1A will sound horrible)

 

Glad to see you like it and don't mind spending more money to make it sound like it should out of the box. ;):

I do understand how you feel. :(: If I had just gone out and bought the headphones and plugged them in... I'd be pretty unhappy. :mad:

 

However I never just "take their word for it" when I purchase things, basing my purchase on what a manufacturer says. Someone trying to sell you a product is not going to say anything negative about their product. That should be common sense. I'm also not one to go out and buy something as soon as it hits the shelves. I do my research first. I let others figure out the pros and cons of things.

 

Before I bought my Corsair headset, I researched all headsets thoroughly first. Every day for at least a week. I learned all the pros and cons of just about every make and model available, in my target price range. I don't have money to throw away, so the time is well spent for me.

 

I can't fault Corsair. Corsair is an excellent company and these headsets are new products for them. The first headsets they have ever made. For their new product I feel they have done a decent job. Would I release a headset that sounded the way mine did out of the box?

No. But I don't run Corsair.

 

There is room for improvement, and it'd be a safe bet that they'll improve their products down the line. When I first got into computers I tried many other memory brands. Problems with all of them. Then I found Corsair. I've not had a single machine that hasn't had Corsair RAM since, and in turn have also never had a DOA or a stick die. Maybe I'm just lucky? I currently have two computers both with Corsair memory power supplies. Solid as a rock.

 

Now I have their headset. It is the analog version. This relies on my hardware to deliver what it needs to sound great. I have provided that and am happy.

 

If I'd purchased the USB version and they didn't sound good, I'd have gone straight back to the store and gotten my money back. I knew what I was getting into before I pulled out my wallet. I was willing to spend more to get exactly what I wanted. A headset that I feel is the most comfortable, and sounds great at the same time.

Even on this message board none of the staff members say or recommend a sound card with a headphone amp to get the sound quality they claim this product has.

First claim of it needing an amp that I've seen. I've read a review or two and haven't seen that mentioned either, but can't say I've seen anyone specifically test that need either.

Wired:

 

I haven't seen any blind people today. Of course I haven't left my house either. And even if I walked around the block, I wouldn't consider that a representation of the number of blind people in my area. Not trying to be mean. Just making a point. It's like if a friend purchased a new whatever and said "hey you need to get one of these because they're so great!". I'm not going to buy something based on what one person says. I want lots and lots. Or on the other hand maybe a friend said "hey don't buy this whatever because it's junk!". I need more than that to base a decision on. Maybe they got the one bad one, or the one good one? I don't know.

 

So I read as many reviews and forum posts as I could find about the two Corsair headsets. I could guess at a number, but honestly I have no idea how many I read. A safe bet would be over a hundred reviews/forum posts. Could be a thousand. I have no idea. I know I spent an entire week+ checking into about every headset model from every manufacturer I could find.

 

Mostly what I read about the Corsair headsets was around 50/50.

Half saying the headsets sound awesome. Half listing the things they don't like about them. That is not counting the mass number of sites that all say the exact same things the manufacturer says.

Those aren't reviews. Those are ads. Sales pitches don't get me to buy anything. A true user's experience does. And not just 1, 2, or even 3. I want to find as many as it takes for me to be fully convinced one way or the other.

 

Spending a few minutes using google(properly) will bring up links to several real reviews if you look closely enough where the product is used and fully tested. I found enough negative user experiences with the "HS1" that I was not going to buy the USB model. Sure there are plenty of reviews etc stating how great the USB model is. I have not used the USB model, so I do not know first hand. However I found enough unhappy USB variant owners that I sure wasn't buying it. That's a personal decision. Sorry Corsair. That's life. I've given you enough money over the years, so don't get upset lol.

 

In my case, I found what I felt was a good bet with some information listing enough users all saying that the combination of card+headset made them very pleased. When I tried the headset with the new card without using the amp settings, which means it was off. There was not near enough volume for me and what I heard initially was 100% terrible. Turning the amp on and tweaking some setting made all the difference. Could I have some super sensitive hearing which caused me to dislike what I initially heard? Maybe, but I think my girlfriend would disagree, since I say "what?" to her enough that she yells at me daily for it.

 

Spending a few minutes looking at a handful of reviews, which may or may not be legitimate, is not being a wise consumer. The information, positive or negative, is out there. You just have to look. If I weren't able to get any improvements from changing settings with how my headset sounded initially, I'd have returned them immediately. If you were able to have heard what I did then you would agree with me on that. I assure you. I've heard far better from my girlfriend's $5 ear buds.

 

My research paid off and I am happy with my purchase. Even if I weren't, I checked to make sure the two items I was buying were at my local computer superstore, where I could get a full refund if I was not 100% happy. Do I know for sure if I would have needed the sound card? Nope. I skipped a maybe and went for the best bet. Besides, the sound card was an upgrade for me. And even if I weren't happy, the store is almost right down the street and there's a Starbucks close to it. It would be my excuse to get a triple venti caramel mocha. Yum! So I could have just purchased the headset and tried them out first. I didn't feel like driving back, so I got the sound card.

 

I am thrilled with my headset. My main concern was comfort and due to the extra time I spent looking at other users experiences, I also have a headset that sounds fantastic. I have no issues spending a few extra dollars to get exactly what I want. I don't care if I possibly burned $30 on a sound card. I wanted something I wouldn't have to go through some hassle with after purchase. Mission accomplished. Man, I'm getting pretty long winded. I guess I'm getting old.

I agree to a point.

If you can do hands on shopping, certainly that is best. Unfortunately with a lot of high end PC gear, that's not an option. There also aren't a lot a computer stores in all areas where someone can go in and try out a product for themselves, or return a product if they aren't happy.

 

There are three main points I want to make sure I make with the HS1A.

 

1) This headset is dependent on the signal your hardware can provide. This must be taken into consideration when judging the headset. One could say that with the potential the headset has, it is not actually flawed at all. This is a pretty big point. However, don't put all your eggs in one basket. People will only put up with so much.

 

2) The comfort of this headset is fantastic. This falls into the realm of personal preference, however I think it's safe to say this is one superbly comfortable headset in general.

 

3) With number 1 in mind, there is a caveat. While I understand the point you were making with the Harley example, there is an issue with that. My girlfriend has a $5 headset she got on sale at a office supply store. Her headset sounded many multiples better than the HS1A did out of the box. This isn't personal opinion. It's fact. There is no getting around it. The headset the HS1A was replacing was a $40 set I got about one year ago. That headset also sounded many multiples better than the HS1A did out of the box. Before that, I had a high end set which cost around $190 from a company that starts with an S. That headset, same deal yet better than any other. Same hardware providing the audio signal.

 

That said, I feel there is room for improvement in how the headset sounds with general hardware, out of the box. I know with my on-board sound, which actually gets pretty good reviews for quality, I was not able to make improvements with driver settings/options. That is me making a suggestion.

 

At the same time I am also saying I'm extremely happy with my Corsair headset. And I've stated how I achieved the excellent quality. My hope is that what I've said on this forum accomplishes a few things. Helps some owners get good sound from their headset. Gives feedback to Corsair where they can in turn make improvements. And just in general say I am a happy Corsair customer.

Cheers

Defining and gauging "sound" is extraordinarily subjective at best using the naked ear and especially so without proper test equipment. What really matters is what your ear drums think of the sound. On paper, we met a rigid set of very specific design criteria and so far, a vast majority of people that I have spoken with really like the sound quality of the HS1s and HS1a's .

I agree. Everything has it's limits as well.

 

Like any other headset or speakers it depends on the source. Bad source. Bad sound. Also, if the source is not appropriate for the load, bad sound again.

 

If I have a 6" speaker connected to a 15 watt source. Then I decide I'm going to connect an 18" subwoofer and expect to get the same results, then I have another thing coming.

 

If I connect a 6" speaker to a 1000 watt source set to output around 80% of peak and expect it to perform like an 18", wrong again. I can stop there, as you should get the point.

 

My personal experience is, the headset works as advertised. Meaning, you provide the proper source and they sound great. When you do not provide the proper source, you may find they sound worse than an alternative product. This is not something that needs to be stated on product packaging. It's also not subjective.

 

Also, for as many people that say the sound quality is great, it isn't hard to find just as many who would disagree. Especially regarding the HS1.

 

HS1A, the sound out-of-the-box should be better on average hardware. Sounding like the quality emitted from an ancient car stereo, or one of the first headphones ever made out-of-the-box isn't what I'd be shooting for. That is what I experienced. Maybe I purchased one of the super special units that just "happened" to sound that way? How would I know different? Take your word for it?

 

I do know that I let twelve people listen to the headset I purchased. These individuals were also given four other headsets to listen to. This was done with my system exactly how it was before any changes were made. All came to the same conclusion as myself, once I let them listen again with the proper source for the HS1A. With the change in hardware and audio settings, the HS1A was able to provide audio beyond acceptable. Rather than terrible. The original source provided by my hardware was not flawed. It was simply not adequate to achieve quality sound from the load, the HS1A.

 

Considering the fact that the HS1A headset does have the ability to sound fantastic, the HS1A are not technically flawed. They simply rely completely on receiving the signal they require. That goes for any headset. The needs are just different, and beyond others. I have seen it for myself. Others have as well.

 

Pretty easy to find people saying the exact same thing all over the internet. As you pointed out, there are people who say the headsets sound great. So do mine, after changing my hardware to provide the signal the HS1A require, which other headphones do not.

 

I could try and argue with things I've said, however the problem is what I say holds water and this isn't a debate. This is how it is with the product I pulled out of the box with Corsair printed on it. It's also what many others have said. That isn't made up. It's provable.

The HS1A does need the correct signal to have the best sound quality, i agree with anamenotinuse 100% on that. Onboard and most stand alone sound cards do not have a headphone amp to give HS1A the correct signal to make everything sound like it should.

 

I tested it with my HT Omega claro+ sound card (it doesn't have a headphone amp) and no matter what settings i tried, i couldn't get the sound quality to make it worth keeping.

 

The build quality of the HS1A was nice, it's what i would expect from a company like Corsair. The only issue i had with the headset was the poor sound quality out of the box. The headset would of probably worked fine for my setup if it had 40mm drivers instead of 50mm.

 

The headset i have now (different brand) most people say it has better bass with a headphone amp, but the sound quality it produces out of the box is good enough for me.

I'm no expert on drivers, not sure if the info below is the reason why.

(I don't want to break the forums rules, feel free to delete the info below if i have)

 

(different brand)

Headphone Frequency Response 10 Hz - 26,000 Hz

Headphone Input Impedance 150 Ohms

 

HS1A

Headphone Frequency Response 20Hz–20KHz

Headphone Input Impedance 32 ohm