Today, we will be reading about the Corsair HS45 vs HS50 gaming headsets. As you might know, Corsair is a famous brand in the gaming segment. They have been producing sublime units in the market.
Corsair is known for two things. One is the durability of the products. They come with the solid build quality. Two is the audio performance of their units. It is quite unbeatable. The Corsair HS45 unit is almost similar in design and features to the likes of the HS35.
But, unlike many users calling it a replica of the HS35, we did not feel that way at all. It comes with its own set of features and specifications. The Corsair HS35 is an affordable gaming headset like the HS45 and came with sublime properties.
The HS45 is cheaply priced, and you do not have to pay an arm for purchasing it. Having said that, we felt that the HS45 unit also comes with a stunning design and build quality. It never flatters, and you can dump it inside your bag and move around with ease.
It is pretty lightweight, and you can connect it with several devices and gaming consoles without much hassle. The main difference between the HS45 and the HS35 would be the USB connectivity. You can find the USB connection on the HS45 gaming product.
We forgot to say that it is an entry-level headset coming with outstanding features infused in it. Likewise, we have a Corsair HS50 gaming headset. This is a fabulous unit that comes with spectacular design and built quality.
We can compare it on par with top-end models that are sold in the market, like the Sennheiser units. They come with immense durability and stunning audio performance. We found that the HS45 has a similar design to that of the HS60 unit.
The elegant design and the looks were terrific. Its comfort level was beyond any compromise, and the maker has done a stunning job designing it. You can wear them for several hours. Its microphone also performs well, and it comes detachable.
The isolation quality was alright, but it does not have the USB adapter that is present on the HS60. It means the unit does not work on the Corsair iCUE software. It comes with no latency issues meaning you can hear crisp sound when listening to music or watching videos.
Without further ado, let us read on to find out more about the gaming headsets.
 |  |
|---|---|
| CORSAIR HS45 | CORSAIR HS50 |
| PROS | PROS |
| The gaming headset comes with a sleek all-black matte design. The unit is extremely comfortable to wear for long hours. It has flexible connection compatibility. It comes with a microphone that can be detached. The product is priced under $50, making it cheap. | The product has a robust build quality. It has 50mm neodymium speaker drivers. It comes with easy access to all the buttons. The headset has a sublime microphone capability. The unit is quite reasonably priced under $100. |
| CONS | CONS |
| Users have to buy a Microsoft 3.5mm adapter. | Its customization options are few. |
| SPECIFICATIONS | CORSAIR HS45 | CORSAIR HS50 |
|---|---|---|
| Name | HS45 SURROUND Wired Stereo Gaming Headset | HS50 Wired Stereo Gaming Headset |
| Brand | CORSAIR | CORSAIR |
| Sound Mode | Stereo | Surround |
| Connection Type | Wired | Wired |
| Built-In Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone Fit | Over-the-Ear | Over-the-Ear |
| Adjustable Headband | No | Yes |
| Warranty | 2 years | 2 Years |
DESIGN & COMFORT
The Corsair HS45 gaming headset comes with sublime design qualities. Corsair is known for its exceptional comfort too. You do not want to wear something that seeps inside your head, and you feel it may fall down when you move around slowly.
The Corsair HS45 comes with an outstanding soft pad on the ears. You can feel the sublime support that it offers. You can wrap it around your head with the lightweight nature of the headset.
Coming to the design of the unit, it has a detachable microphone. You usually find this kind of feature on the top-end model. It also comes with a quick reference guide. We were quite satisfied going through the manuals.
There is no square earcups design that can be slightly annoying for few gamers. At times, it can seem slightly smaller for large ears. Moreover, some gamers also think that the head tends to bend down due to its weight.
Weighing in at just 260 grams, it is one of the most-lightest headsets available in the market. Thanks to the cloth covering on the earcups, it makes it resistant to heat. You can wear it for few hours without feeling any discomfort.
There is ample ventilation happening around your ears. This is unlikely when the earcups come made of leather material. The Corsair HS50 gaming headset comes with a top-notch design. Gamers have said that it is similar to the HS60 unit.
It comes with an over-the-ear gaming design without the RGB light or LEDs. This can be a slight miss for some users. But when you use the green or the blue tone for playing on the console. They come quite close to using on the design found on the HS60.
The earcups do not cause any discomfort on your head. You can wear them for those lengthy gaming sessions effortlessly. The earcups are quite big and can fit on large ears too. We did not feel any problem in moving our heads in any direction.
BUILD QUALITY
The build quality of the Corsair HS45 gaming headset is second to none. As we said in the introduction segment itself, this is an entry-level product. It comes with drivers offering you with a frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz.
Some users have commended it due to the excellent build quality coming for a low price. You can also notice the metal band that enhances the rigid build. You can see it comes with a steel band that connects both the earcups.
You can also look at the hinges that feel quite sturdy. Though the plastic material is used, you can notice how elegant it appears. The padding on the earcups is also durable and should be able to take you few years at least.
The Corsair HS50 gaming headset is another outstanding device coming with robust build quality. It has a simple and efficient design. The headband is nicely padded, and the metal frame comes with thick pads too.
This ensures that it is a durable gaming headset. It has metal grilles that are quite strong and robust, to say. We found that they do not get broken due to the accidental falls. Since the swiveling hinges, you can see that the earcups and the metal frame are sublimely designed.
But we felt that the metal hinge is slightly thin. It does not come with a good range of motion that can cause it to break. You can use it for gaming and jogging if you want. It can slip on your head when you haven’t worn it properly.
AUDIO PERFORMANCE
The Corsair HS45 gaming headset has the spectacular audio quality for the low price that it comes for. It can easily walk away with the 50mm drivers. We were quite impressed with that. Usually, for budget headsets, they come with 40mm drivers.
But this unit had 50mm drivers meaning that your music performance is not compromised. Its audio was good for the price. This unit came with a 20Hz-20kHz response. We noticed that the lows and highs were spot on.
On the other hand, the Corsair HS50 gaming headset came with consistent audio quality. Our tester wore glasses and found that it causes a massive drop in the bass. So, if you wear glasses or have long hair but fond of bass, then you may want to look elsewhere.
The bass delivery also depends on the fit. We loved the mid-range we got from it. The sound performance was flat and even. It resulted in a crisp and well-balanced reproduction of the lead instruments and vocals.
MICROPHONE PERFORMANCE
The Corsair HS45 gaming headset has a good microphone capability. It comes with the mute button and volume wheel located on the left side. That means you can control it effortlessly. There is no need to fumble around with it.
It does not matter what kind of clothing you are wearing during the winter season, mainly because you may find it difficult to search the control. It is detachable. You do not have to keep wearing it when not using it.
The microphone on the Corsair HS50 gaming headset is stunning. It comes with excellent recording capability. We also felt that the microphone’s sound quality is quite suitable for under a $100 budget.
We noticed that the LFE comes at a 523Hz that is quite good for transmitting sound. Likewise, the HFE is of 10KHz. Your speech is detailed, and the person at the other end can hear you quite clearly.
You would be delighted to know that the response time between the LFE and the HFE is exceptional. Few gamers said that the sound was bright. Maybe due to the overemphasis in the treble range.
It was outstanding in noise handling. The results came in a speech-to-noise ratio of 31dB. The score was good because the ambient noise and the speech could be easily separated even in noisy environments.
COMPATIBILITY
Corsair was known for its top-notch compatibility. You do not necessarily have to face any issues when connecting it with other devices and consoles. We liked the way both the units worked with the units presented to them.
The Corsair HS45 gaming headset has a 3.5mm jack, enabling the product to work utilizing the HS45 Surround sound. It works nicely in stereo mode. Our tester loved how the music sounded. You can plug it on your PS4, Nintendo Switch, and your PC.
Of course, you can also do it using the Xbox One with the help of the adapter. Likewise, you can connect your PC using the adapter. You can choose whether you want to listen to the traditional way or use virtual 7.1 surround.
The Corsair HS50 gaming headset is not compatible with the Corsair iCUE software. Besides, this unit does not come with customization options. This can be a huge put-off. Not to mention, the wired headset does not come with Bluetooth compatibility.
Users have to make use of them with the wire. The latency is not there, meaning; you can do your gaming and video watching with ease. There is no distancing faced when the audio and video show up.
It does not come with a base or dock. You can hear the sound performance just like you want. The good news is that the wired HS50 can work splendidly on the PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, smartphones, and your Xbox One.
Users can utilize the audio and microphone support with the 1/8” TRRS connector. All in all, both the gaming headsets come with exceptional headsets that enable you to use them sublimely on any device of your choice.
PRICE
We often come across a situation where we have to compare two products of the same brand. But here we are discussing about their prices. The Corsair HS45 gaming headset is priced under $50, making it the ideal entry-level unit.
This is an entry-level headset that comes with decent features. The Corsair HS50 gaming headset is priced under $100. On the other hand, the HS50 is priced slightly higher than the HS45, and we were stunned by its performance.
The gaming product comes with everything that can make any gamer happy. Our tester felt that they come with exceptional features making it a sublime product. The design, build quality, and audio capability can put a top-end model to shame.
VERDICT
We have come to the end of our comparison review of the Corsair HS45 vs HS50 gaming headsets. They both come with their features and specifications. We were quite satisfied with what we have read in the above review.
The Corsair HS45 unit is quite similar to the HS35 unit. Most of the features found on the unit are got in here. The design is relatively light, and so is the build quality, besides the similar frequency response.
When you are reviewing entry-level products, you tend to look at them with disdain. That does not have to be the case with the HS45 gaming headset. The unit comes with its own set of unique features that is capable of doing remarkable things.
However, we like how Corsair has managed to bring the change in the gaming headsets for consumers. It won’t be fair to claim that the HS45 is the same as the HS35 unit. They both come different in their way.
We felt that the comfort, audio quality, and overall build of the gaming headset were good. The Corsair HS50 gaming headset is an exceptional unit coming with excellent features infused in it. The unit has a stunning audio reproduction to listen to audio, videos, and gaming.
We found that the design was slightly large, which is good in a way. However, you might not want to consider using it outside. Users will be happy that they can detach the microphone. They do not block the ambient noise as you want them.
They can get some heat inside when worn for a long time, which can be frustrating. We did not find any latency issues, and they come outstanding for entertainment usage. However, users might want to consider the cable length.
Sadly, the models do not work with Corsair iCUE software, which can be a major handicap. On that note, we have decided who the winner was in this comparison review. The winner of the review of Corsair HS45 vs HS50 is the Corsair HS50 gaming headset.
Of course, the Corsair HS45 gaming headset is a good unit when your budget is low. However, when you expect outstanding features from your product, then you might want to choose the best from the Corsair product lineup.
James Smith has always been intrigued by electronic products since his childhood. After his post graduation in electronics from a popular university, he decided to pursue a career in the electronics sector. But his calling for writing about these marvellous pieces of work got the better of him. That is how UBG was started. With a writing career spanning more than 12 years, James has worked on several hundred product reviews. During his free time, he like to spend time with his pet dog and relax in the swimming pool.