It has been a good five years since Corsair created the Virtuoso in gaming headset, which lives up to its name. In our test at the time, it received the coveted Platinum Award. However, the brand’s headsets with the corsair ship have always had a lot to offer in recent years. Now, the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is back with a new attempt and an absolute flagship model with active noise cancellation, dual wireless connectivity and much more. Our test clarifies whether it’s worth buying.
Technical data
| The product | Virtuoso MAX Wireless |
| design | over-ear |
| driver | 50 mm (Graphene) |
| Frequency range (headphones) | 20 – 40,000 Hz (wired); |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, wireless (2.4 GHz), |
| Microphone type | omni-directional, with noise suppression |
| Range (wireless) | Approx. 15 meters |
| Battery life | 60 hours |
| Charging time | 1.5 hours |
| Weight | 430 g |
| price | € 269.99 * |
Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless review: Elegant design meets excellent workmanship
- Outstanding workmanship
- elegant, appealing design; RGB lighting
- mixed wearing comfort
The Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is undoubtedly one of the highest quality gaming headsets I have ever held in my hands. The metal and synthetic leather construction is not only extremely robust and high-quality, but also looks very classy.
The new model takes up the design of the other Virtuoso variants and uses round ear pads with a wide frame and shiny silver details. The Corsair logo is set off in silver on the transition to the headband, while the lettering is sewn onto the top of the headband.
Here, the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless lives up to its high price and appears noticeably more robust than the beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro (our test), for example, which is at home in a similar price range.
Of course, a gaming headset should not be without attractive RGB lighting. The Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless has a ring on the outside of the ear cups, which is divided into three zones – for each side – that can be individually adjusted within iCUE.
With a weight of 430 grams, the wireless headset is anything but lightweight and this is also reflected in the wearing comfort. This makes it even heavier than the excellent Audeze Maxwell (our test).
However, the problem is not so much the high weight as the overly hard ear pads. However, it’s not actually the padding that’s the problem, but rather its thickness. The padding itself is not even 10 mm thick before it merges into the hard frame. This in turn has 25 mm of space before it reaches the inside of the ear cups.
Unfortunately, this very quickly creates quite uncomfortable pressure, especially for larger ears. Even though with 62 mm x 62 mm there would actually be enough space available.
Features and operation
- Radio and Bluetooth can be used simultaneously
- No jack connection
- (very good) active noise suppression
In terms of features, the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless leaves nothing to be desired. The wireless gaming headset connects via 2.4 GHz radio without latency, Bluetooth and even via cable. Top: It is even possible to use the wireless and Bluetooth connection simultaneously, for example to enjoy the game sound on your PC and listen to music on your smartphone.
It’s a shame, however, that Corsair doesn’t provide the headset with a jack connection, which naturally limits connectivity somewhat. However, the competition in this price range usually offers this. Corsair disadvantage. Unfortunately, unlike Audeze, the high-resolution LDAC Bluetooth codec is also not supported. Just as little as Multipoint.
Also included is active noise suppression and transparency mode, which effectively masks or amplifies ambient noise to enable conversations with the headset on.
Gaming headsets with ANC are no longer a novelty. The Sony Inzone H9 or the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid have been offering this for a while now, but the ANC on the Virtuoso MAX Wireless is the best I’ve seen so far in the gaming headset sector – although a slight background noise is perceptible. Although they can’t hold a candle to real (and good) ANC headphones, they are still a really successful addition.
Operation of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless
- somewhat overloaded button operation
- not all settings are self-explanatory
- pleasantly grippy, but somewhat stiff, volume dials
I don’t like it when the operating concept of a headset is not immediately clear to me or without the help of the manual. Unfortunately, this is the case with the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless, as the headset is somewhat complex on both sides in terms of operation, so that without instructions (which can only be found as a QR code in the packaging) not everything is clearly understandable.
For example, how to set the active noise suppression and what the right-hand dial is supposed to be for remains completely unclear at first.
But let’s start with the basics. On the left-hand side, you’ll find the USB-C port for connecting the microphone and the power button, which can also be used to activate Bluetooth pairing. On the left-hand side, there is an additional button with a rocker switch for media control and a freely configurable button.
The volume is controlled by turning the pleasantly ribbed ring on the outer left-hand side. But what is the same ring on the right-hand side for? A glance at the instructions reveals that this is where the volume of the Bluetooth connection is adjusted.
And what about the ANC? A look at the instructions reveals: The custom button – which is freely configurable in iCUE – must be held down to switch between ANC, transprency mode and normal mode. This takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually works well. However, the two volume wheels should be a little easier to turn.
Further settings can of course be made in the iCUE software. The usual settings are available here. These include adjusting the RGB lighting, adjusting the control elements or using the equalizer to influence the sound.
The equalizer comes with four presets: Pure Direct is the balanced mode, Movie Theater reduces the mids a little, but boosts the bass a little. FPS Competition is certainly the most interesting choice for competitive gamers, as the bass is lowered slightly here. And the Bass Boost does exactly what the name suggests.
However, if you like, you can (and should) work on your own preset to further improve the sound. It’s worth it, as the sound could definitely do with some fine-tuning. But more on that later.
Battery life of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless
- Up to 60 hours of battery life
- Quick charge function
The Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is well positioned for a modern wireless headset in terms of battery life. Up to 60 hours are possible in pure 2.4 GHz wireless mode. This is absolutely sufficient and a really good, albeit not record-breaking value – the Audeze Maxwell, for example, lasts another 20 hours longer.
With a dual connection with wireless and Bluetooth, the runtime drops rapidly, of course, but many of the competitors run out of steam much sooner. The quick-charging function is also particularly practical, allowing the headset to be pressurized for a further six hours of use in just 15 minutes.
Audio and microphone quality
Perhaps the biggest weakness of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is… unfortunately… the sound. This is despite the fact that the manufacturer uses generous 50 mm graphene drivers and achieves a quality of 96,000 hertz.
But even the first impression of the sound is sobering. The Virtuoso MAX sounds like a gaming headset from around 10 years ago. Enormously bass-heavy – even if you reduce the low frequencies. The mids in particular are noticeably reduced, which means that dialog in particular, but also important acoustic cues, suffer.
Don’t get the wrong idea: For immersive and large single-player titles, the headset sounds really full, powerful and downright thrilling. For competitive shooters and other games such as League of Legends or similar… I don’t like the sound here at all. The bass simply masks too many audio cues that are crucial to the game.
The equalizer presets don’t help much here either: In the FPS Competition profile, the bass is noticeably reduced and the upper mids are boosted slightly, but there is still a lack of brilliance, especially in the important lower highs (at around 8,000 – 9,000 Hz).
You can get even more out of this with your own custom EQ profile, but competitors such as the beyerdynamic MMX 300/330 Pro or the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless (our test) sound much better. Whether in competitive games, single-player titles, listening to music or watching movies.
Ironically, I even like the sound better in Bluetooth mode, as the over-present bass is noticeably reduced here and the mids come into their own better. However, there is no substitute for a good pair of headphones.
Another problem: your own equalizer settings cannot be saved on the headset and are therefore only available on the PC with iCUE. But not on the PlayStation or Xbox console.
What you should definitely do, however: Take your time and run the SoundID sound personalization test in iCUE, which takes around five minutes. This will make the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless sound much better.
Volume bug
And then there’s a strange bug with the playback volume. I have no idea what it is, but the volume is incredibly inconsistent. Even at the set maximum of 100 percent (I usually play with the beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X at 70 percent volume), I would like to have 10-15 percent more. It’s just a touch too quiet in my eyes.
It also happens that after you switch the headset off and on again, the volume is much lower than before – even though it is still set to 100. Very strange.
Interestingly, the volume is significantly higher when you exit iCUE. But then the equalizer no longer works and the excessive bass is back. Hopefully Corsair will quickly release a firmware update to fix the problem. And yet these are things that are hard to get over at such a high price.
Microphone quality of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless
The microphone of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is plugged into the bottom left side via USB-C, so the headset can also be used as headphones without a microphone. The mute button is located at the bottom near the USB port, while a status LED at the front indicates whether the microphone is active or muted.
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The omnidirectional microphone scores with really good sound quality. The maximum volume is also impressive, even though the microphone boom is relatively short. Nevertheless, you don’t have to shout into the microphone to be heard clearly by your fellow players.
If you like, you can also install NVIDIA Broadcast on your PC via iCUE to influence the sound, for example by suppressing noise or reducing echo.
Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless sound test and settings:
Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless microphone test recording:
beyerdynamic MMX 330 Pro microphone test recording:
Audeze Maxwell microphone test recording:
As you can already hear in the comparison, the microphone of the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless delivers a really good sound and also copes well with plosive and sharp S-sounds. However, the wireless version cannot offer the quality of a wired headset, such as the MMX 330 Pro.
Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless Test: Conclusion
Maybe I’m a little spoiled, but for me personally, the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless is a bit of a disappointment. With a headset for more than 300 euros, I also expect a thoroughly convincing quality and unfortunately the Virtuoso MAX cannot offer this completely.
What I really like is the appealing and elegant design, as well as the excellent build quality. For me, there is currently no other gaming headset that looks and feels better.
The feature set is also absolutely amazing: the active noise suppression does a really great job, the simultaneous connection and use of wireless and Bluetooth are a really successful special feature and I also really liked the microphone quality for a wireless headset. Even with a battery life of 60 hours, the headset is really well positioned.
And yet there are some things I don’t like. For example, the wearing comfort. Why are the pads so thin? I get uncomfortable pressure on my ears after just a few hours. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the operating concept either, it seems a little overloaded and reacts a little sluggishly in places.
Then there’s the sound quality and here I have to say that the Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless doesn’t live up to its price. Of course, it doesn’t sound bad and the bass-heavy sound is certainly nice for single-player titles – but the headset is hardly suitable for competitive titles. Here, the aforementioned competitors from SteelSeries, Audeze or the HS80 Max from our own company do a better job.
In addition, there are annoying bugs such as the inconsistent volume or the fact that the equalizer and settings are not saved on the headset and you can only get the best sound on the PC with the iCUE software.
Corsair Virtuoso MAX Wireless
Workmanship
Wearing comfort
Sound quality
Recording quality
Features
Value For Money
84/100
Extremely elegant, robust and high-quality wireless gaming headset with strong ANC, good battery life and a good microphone. However, the wearing comfort is not at all convincing and it also falls far behind in terms of sound.
