Corsair Vengeance 2000 Wireless 7.1 Headset Review @ [H]

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Corsair Vengeance 2000 Wireless 7.1 Headset Review - Corsair's newest PC USB gaming headset shares a similar appearance and feature set with some of its older siblings, but this new model features wireless connectivity. Today, we will tell you if wireless could be the way to go when you choose your next gaming headset that also does a very good job with movies and music as well.
 
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Here is what I want to know. Keeping the mount of money spent relatively constant (+/- ~$20), would you buy it, the V1500, or a pair of headphones + good sound card?
 
Disappointing. If it were up to me it would not be legal to put 7.1 on the box of a pair of stereo headphones, whether there's a software emulator or not.

About the article, I don't think that these games not having channel selection options means they are stereo only, only that they are surround by default if the sound card is currently in 5.1. It's true though that 7.1 is rarer.
 
Corsair consistently makes aesthetically attractive products, and functional ones at that. If my headset ever dies, this is on my radar.
 
It's disappointing to see the range is only average with these. I've considered getting a set since my g930's keep breaking. The G930 has about a 50 foot range through walls, but will disconnect near a running microwave or other interference.

I may still spring for a set of these and keep the g930 as a spare since the whole family uses them, and now I'm looking at sending back another set for broken pivot point cover. the Vengance 2000 looks to have a better build quality for sure.
 
I have major concerns re:reliable signal considering my experiences with wifi adapters, and wireless / bluetooth mice in a room that has up to three computers. Hell I have issues with constant dropouts and skipping with my Razer Orochi and MS notebook mouse even with the USB receivers three feet away. The only type of wireless device I've found reliable is my 360 controller's PC receiver.
 
I agree with that to an extent, but the headset gives the best reproduction of multi-channel sources with 5.1 and 7.1 input. Left 4 Dead 2 was much better in 7.1 than just simple stereo. John Carter was as well, but Max Payne in true 7.1 on both a sound card and a gaming headset did not offer true 7.1. Max's voice came from the surround channels as well as the center and action did not pan as naturally as it should have, front to back and side to side.



TheBuzzer said:
too bad windows doesnt see it as 7.1
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You will notice very little (if any) difference between 'True' 7.1 and Virtualized 7.1. You may lose some small increase in directional audio but still gain better overall sound quality. Instead of trying to cram 5 or 7 tiny drivers into a set of headphones, a larger pair of drivers are simulating the surround experience quite well.

I own the Sennheiser PC 360s, attached to a SoundBlaster X-fi Titanium Fatal1ty sound card and I can tell you that the virtualized surround gives me very accurate directional cues in all PC games. Paired with a Astro Mixamp, they also produce excellent directional audio on my Xbox.

I'm not sure how well the Corsair audio processor works, but I wouldn't let the fact that these are not 'true' 7.1 stop you from buying them. If/when I get sick of rolling over the cord for my Sennheisers, these will be at the top of my list.
 
Biggrich76 said:
You will notice very little (if any) difference between 'True' 7.1 and Virtualized 7.1. You may lose some small increase in directional audio but still gain better overall sound quality. Instead of trying to cram 5 or 7 tiny drivers into a set of headphones, a larger pair of drivers are simulating the surround experience quite well.

I own the Sennheiser PC 360s, attached to a SoundBlaster X-fi Titanium Fatal1ty sound card and I can tell you that the virtualized surround gives me very accurate directional cues in all PC games. Paired with a Astro Mixamp, they also produce excellent directional audio on my Xbox.

I'm not sure how well the Corsair audio processor works, but I wouldn't let the fact that these are not 'true' 7.1 stop you from buying them. If/when I get sick of rolling over the cord for my Sennheisers, these will be at the top of my list.
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I don't think he means "true 7.1" as having 8 speakers inside the headphone cups, but rather that you have the adjustability that comes from having software process the sound. Much like you can do with Dolby Headphone and Creative's competing solution.

To be honest, this is the entire reason I bought a sound card. If "audio quality" is my goal, I'm going to use my receiver powering much larger speakers with more separation. When I'm wearing headphones I'm doing one of two things, 1) Gaming where quality isn't as important as directionality, or 2) watching porn where all I care about is discretion.

That said, I'd still like an answer to my original question.
 
BigJayDogg3 said:
I don't think he means "true 7.1" as having 8 speakers inside the headphone cups, but rather that you have the adjustability that comes from having software process the sound. Much like you can do with Dolby Headphone and Creative's competing solution.
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So it sounds like more of a software/audio processing issue then, in which case I can't comment because I don't know what Corsair's software is capable of. I stumbled across this thread where people are having driver and software issues. Some are even recommending not installing Corsair drivers and use the native W7 drivers instead for better directional audio http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=107730

BigJayDogg3 said:
Here is what I want to know. Keeping the mount of money spent relatively constant (+/- ~$20), would you buy it, the V1500, or a pair of headphones + good sound card?
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What sound card do you have now? A 'good' gaming card is going to cost you $75-$100 or more. Add a headset to that and you'd be well over the $150 cost of the V2000.
 
Anyone know if these are more or less durable than the break me fast Creative labs WOW wireless gaming headsets?
 
I'd be interested in seeing how these compare in sound quality to my Nokia BH-905i's
 
Biggrich76 said:
What sound card do you have now? A 'good' gaming card is going to cost you $75-$100 or more. Add a headset to that and you'd be well over the $150 cost of the V2000.
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Not necessarily. If all you care about is using headphones, you can get a Xonar DG for around $20 (has a dedicated headphone amp), and then get a pair of audiophile headphones for probably around the same price as the V2000, but with WAY better audio quality.
 
Another website did a review and actually called Corsair about the battery. Corsair states the previous User Manual was in error when it said the batteries are replaceable. The batteries are not replaceable (except from Corsair doing repair/warranty work) and the newer manual has already been corrected to reflect this. That's about all Corsair would say about it.
 
MavericK96 said:
Not necessarily. If all you care about is using headphones, you can get a Xonar DG for around $20 (has a dedicated headphone amp), and then get a pair of audiophile headphones for probably around the same price as the V2000, but with WAY better audio quality.
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I have used the Xonar DG, and I really do not agree that its audio is "better" than the Vengeance 2000. it is more flexible in terms of playback and recording sample rate and bit depths, but its sound is not at all vastly superior. They are two different beasts altogether. There is also no provision for wireless audio in what you were saying, so again, the Vengeance 2000 brings a lot to the table.

The Vengeance adds value because you can use it on any desktop or laptop PC with a simple driver install. You are not going to be ripping your Xonar DG outside of your machine and carrying it to a friend's house, nor can it be used with your laptop. The Xonar DG is I must say one of my favorite value sound cards ever produced though. :)
 
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Biggrich76 said:
You will notice very little (if any) difference between 'True' 7.1 and Virtualized 7.1. You may lose some small increase in directional audio but still gain better overall sound quality. Instead of trying to cram 5 or 7 tiny drivers into a set of headphones, a larger pair of drivers are simulating the surround experience quite well.

I own the Sennheiser PC 360s, attached to a SoundBlaster X-fi Titanium Fatal1ty sound card and I can tell you that the virtualized surround gives me very accurate directional cues in all PC games. Paired with a Astro Mixamp, they also produce excellent directional audio on my Xbox.

I'm not sure how well the Corsair audio processor works, but I wouldn't let the fact that these are not 'true' 7.1 stop you from buying them. If/when I get sick of rolling over the cord for my Sennheisers, these will be at the top of my list.
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Really? Only a barely noticeable difference? Do you have a first hand account of this? As in, have you made direct in-game comparisons between fake surround and real surround? Because I have, and for about 5 years in fact using some of the most high-end stereo cans possible, and I can say this is a load of rubbish. We're talking night and day, there is simply no comparison possible.
 
How does this compare to Razer's Megalodon headset? Both about the same price and both are fake 7.1 I believe.
 
EarlKeim said:
I have used the Xonar DG, and I really do not agree that its audio is "better" than the Vengeance 2000. it is more flexible in terms of playback and recording sample rate and bit depths, but its sound is not at all vastly superior. They are two different beasts altogether. There is also no provision for wireless audio in what you were saying, so again, the Vengeance 2000 brings a lot to the table.
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With the DG it also depends heavily on what pair of headphones you use. So it's kind of hard to make a blanket statement like that IMO.

But yes, The V2000 is wireless and self-contained so that's a plus. :p
 
Off the back of this review I've ordered 2 sets, his and her's so to speak, as our dog is getting a little old and my current 5.1 sub sends him scatty when BF3 starts up.

Looking forward to having the BF3 experience described in the article and allowing the dog to go back to sleeping 98% of the day :)
 
Anisotonic said:
Really? Only a barely noticeable difference? Do you have a first hand account of this? As in, have you made direct in-game comparisons between fake surround and real surround? Because I have, and for about 5 years in fact using some of the most high-end stereo cans possible, and I can say this is a load of rubbish. We're talking night and day, there is simply no comparison possible.
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Don't kid yourself buddy. I own an Audio Technica ATH-A900 Headset, and plugged into my SoundBlaster X-fi sound card it sounds wonderious for 3d surround sound and music!

I have a nice set of 5.1 Logitech speakers, and the positional sound doesn't sound near as precise. I also have a nice Yamaha system with an HSU sub, and High end Polk audio Monitor 70's and 90' speakers for my home system, so I know what good sound sounds like.

For the PC I prefer the virtualized surround sound. You don't say what high end system you tested against, please specify before spouting off.

My question is can the Corsair 2000 be as good as the wired setup I have now, the games only detecting 2d sound sketchy and incomplete to me for 3d positional sound?
 
ol1bit said:
My question is can the Corsair 2000 be as good as the wired setup I have now, the games only detecting 2d sound sketchy and incomplete to me for 3d positional sound?
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We took that with a grain of salt because of the lack of games on the market with 7.1 or 5.1 surround options. Thus, the Left 4 Dead 2 test. When a game or movie had 5.1 or 7.1 sound options available, the experience was excellent.
Thermaltake's TTEsports Shock One had virtualized surround as well, but sounded poor in 7.1 and 5.1 modes, Corsair's did not.
 
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I went out and bought a pair of these after reading this review.

Going to return them tomorrow because for me whenever they are in use by a program (say teamspeak 3 or while a youtube video is paused) they have terrible static that is consistent and even and makes wearing them unbearable after a while.
 
QuiteSufficient said:
I went out and bought a pair of these after reading this review.

Going to return them tomorrow because for me whenever they are in use by a program (say teamspeak 3 or while a youtube video is paused) they have terrible static that is consistent and even and makes wearing them unbearable after a while.
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Is this a defective headset problem or just an overall issue that will happen with all of them?
 
EPOQ said:
Is this a defective headset problem or just an overall issue that will happen with all of them?
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I just posted on the Corsair forums and it seems to be a problem some people have and some people don't, with no apparent fix.
 
I've had this set for almost a month now and I love them. The drivers however are awful. Having mainly purchased them for the surround sound I felt completely let down and actually requested an RMA from newegg the first day I tested them out. As a last ditch effort before I boxed them back up I uninstalled the driver and ran them on the basic windows driver with bass boost and enhanced surround sound enabled. I booted up Battlefield and was floored by the difference. If I were forced to use the default Corsair drivers I would have returned them a long time ago, but without them the set simply sounds amazing.
 
dramatika said:
I've had this set for almost a month now and I love them. The drivers however are awful. Having mainly purchased them for the surround sound I felt completely let down and actually requested an RMA from newegg the first day I tested them out. As a last ditch effort before I boxed them back up I uninstalled the driver and ran them on the basic windows driver with bass boost and enhanced surround sound enabled. I booted up Battlefield and was floored by the difference. If I were forced to use the default Corsair drivers I would have returned them a long time ago, but without them the set simply sounds amazing.
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And do you still get positional audio like that? I mean the reason I want to buy them is for gaming/the occasional movie, I have a good pair of wired cans for when I want to listen to music.

Also is the battery user replacable? Or is this another great product with planned obsolesence in mind? I was considering the Razer ones even tough I can't bring myself to consider a razer audio product as decent because they had replacable batteries.

Edit: Also I must have wireless, I completely smashed my Sen's PC 360 (which sound great) by rolling over the cord / tripping on it. So whatever I buy next I want it to be wireless... this why I am interested in these.
 
I have a question about these for people that own them:

I already have a 5.1 setup, with kick butt speakers. I use these in all Sp games.
BUT, recently I have been playing co-op games with a buddy.
I use my old old Medussa stereo headsets for co-op, for the mic, and so we dont wake up the wife and sister.
All I have to do is plug the 3.5 jacks into my front 5.25 bay jacks, and my sound card detects the headphones, and puts me in stereo mode.

If I got these (I am tired of having wires, and my mic is goin out on me), could I switch from the usb driver to the sound card easily? Is it just a matter of unplugging the usb dongle?
Or, will the 2 seperate sound drivers conflict with each other no matter what is on (speakers/headphones) or plugged in or not?

Thanks.
I didnt see this addressed in the review, but did see it requires its own drivers for the usb.
 
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The Vengeance 2000 headset can co-exist quite well with your onboard or dedicated sound card.

Simply right click your speaker icon in the system tray and choose playback devices, when the playback tab displays your audio devices, right click the one you wish to use and choose "set as default."

We left the USB dongle plugged into the back of the machine the entire time we had it and simply switched between it and our own dedicated sound card.



Dave3d said:
I have a question about these for people that own them:

I already have a 5.1 setup, with kick butt speakers. I use these in all Sp games.
BUT, recently I have been playing co-op games with a buddy.
I use my old old Medussa stereo headsets for co-op, for the mic, and so we dont wake up the wife and sister.
All I have to do is plug the 3.5 jacks into my front 5.25 bay jacks, and my sound card detects the headphones, and puts me in stereo mode.

If I got these (I am tired of having wires, and my mic is goin out on me), could I switch from the usb driver to the sound card easily? Is it just a matter of unplugging the usb dongle?
Or, will the 2 seperate sound drivers conflict with each other no matter what is on (speakers/headphones) or plugged in or not?

Thanks.
I didnt see this addressed in the review, but did see it requires its own drivers for the usb.
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Sweet.
Thanks Earl.

Another quick Q:
Do any games get messed up, by trying to use the different drivers (like, going from 5.1 one session, then stereo the next?).
The main co-op games I am playing right now is Borderlands, dead island, and dcuniverseonline.

Thanks.

EarlKeim said:
The Vengeance 2000 headset can co-exist quite well with your onboard or dedicated sound card.

Simply right click your speaker icon in the system tray and choose playback devices, when the playback tab displays your audio devices, right click the one you wish to use and choose "set as default."

We left the USB dongle plugged into the back of the machine the entire time we had it and simply switched between it and our own dedicated sound card.
Click to expand...

Edit:
I hope not.
Just ordered them.
:)
 
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Woot.
Very easy to change devices (I didnt install the corsair software at all).
No hiss, no crackles.
Pretty dang heavy though compared to my medusa headset, and my sennheiser wireless headphones (at work).
Great mic. WAY better than the medusa was.
Only thing i wish they had was a wall charger and mic on/off.
Otherwise, great headset.
 
Dave3d said:
Woot.
Very easy to change devices (I didnt install the corsair software at all).
No hiss, no crackles.
Pretty dang heavy though compared to my medusa headset, and my sennheiser wireless headphones (at work).
Great mic. WAY better than the medusa was.
Only thing i wish they had was a wall charger and mic on/off.
Otherwise, great headset.
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Mine's sitting on the doorstep waiting for me to get home from work. Any reason why you didn't install the software? Planning on installing it to see if there's any difference or reasons why you should/shouldn't use it? I'm assuming you can't get the virtual surround without the software installed.

PS - I believe raising the mic up auto-mutes it. Is that what you meant or did you want to fully power it down?
 
Got my Vengeance 2000's last night. Played some CS and BF3 and they work extremely well. No complaints so far. Not planning on using them for music or movies due to the fact that I have a very nice bookshelf speaker/receiver/x-fi titanium set up but for games the Corsair headphones sound great. No distortion or hissing of any kind and the microphone works great with no feedback that any of my friends could hear in Vent. Very pleased with the purchase thus far. I installed the drivers and they are very stripped down and easy to use. Not a lot of options, threw on the "Reference EQ" setting and everything sounds great. Did have to charge them for a bit before I got my first usage out of them though. Coming from Sennheiser HD 558's + headphone amp I can say that there is no quality difference in terms of audio in a game. Music and movies may be totally different but like I said, I came in with realistic expectations that this set was going to be my gaming headset and they work beautifully in that department.
 
I just bought these with a good deal from Amazon and next day shipping for dirt cheap. I have tested them out so far just for skype. I also have the Logitech 930s. Overall I think the Corsairs are better for Skype and more comfortable. The cloth pads do seem to get a bit warmer than the leather pads though. The mic works great, the sound is great so far and I don't get any of the static that was reported earlier in this thread. I still have yet to really put them through their paces for surround gaming though, that will happen this weekend. Mainly I get these for using at LAN parties and for Skype. My Skype I use on a separate machine than my gaming machine mainly.
 
I am in the market to replace my SB WOW Headset that lasted 2 years after they broke just by putting them on my head. (that's ridiculous how they broke)...

I'm in the market for a wireless headset (unless someone convince me that there is a better wired headsets than the best wireless out there) and was wondering how the 2000 were vs Logitech 930 vs the Recon3D with their Tactic 3D headset?

Also, the fact that the Corsair aren't detected as a 7.1 like Logitech 930, could this be fixed via a firmware upgrade or a decent windows driver?

Thanks!

Edit: I forgot to mention that I have a laptop for gaming...
 
I don't know about the build quality of this version but I thought I would post that I have been very disappointed with my Corsair v1500's. I bought them back in February and in 2 months I had to RMA them for fraid sleeving and cracked band which weren't a big deal but also the sound went out in the left ear cuff. I RMA'd them and got the replacement which wasn't much of hassle and that part was nice but a month ago the left ear cuff sound went out again and then last week the mic went out. Also the sleeving is very fraid again but that isn't a big deal. So going to have to try RMA'ing them for a 2nd time in a 6 month period. :(
 
Does anyone know how this headset compares to an ATH-AD700 + Zalman mic setup? I play mainly SC2, but now that CS: GO is out I want to dabble a bit in that which is what I'm mainly concerned about.
 
If you want to hear footsteps and positional audio cues in general more clearly, ATH-AD700 are your best bet. if you want a great all-around movie, music, and fun gaming headset, the Corsair Vengeance 2000 is probably a better choice.
 
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