Corsair Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Headset Review

Corsair is a company that has certainly come a very long way. What started as a developer of cache modules has evolved to a company specializing in RAM modules and today has global presence with tens of series of retail products. During the past decade, Corsair has diversified into many segments of the market, offering everything from RAM, SSDs, cases, PSUs and cooling-related products. They have also released several gaming peripherals, such as keyboards, mice and audio devices. Today we will take a look at such a product, the Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Gaming Headset.

Specifications and Features

The Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Gaming Headset is currently the best and most expensive gaming headset that Corsair offers. As the name suggests, their most prominent feature is that they are wireless, which essentially is their only vital difference from the slightly less expensive Vengeance 1500 Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset. Inside the fancy, partially clear packaging, we found four leaflets, the USB dongle, the charging cable and a USB extension cable. The extension cable allows you to extend a USB port to the front or top of your desk, in case the headset will not operate properly with the dongle inserted inside a rear USB port. We find that unlikely to happen, as in our case the headset would operate normally as far as a whole room away, yet it is good to have such a handy item available.

Specifications (Courtesy Corsair)

Headphones

• Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz
• Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1kHz
• Sensitivity: 105dB (+/-3dB)
• Drivers: 50mm
• USB power consumption: 500mA
• Connector: USB Type A
• Wireless range: up to 40 feet (12m)
• Battery life: Up to 10 hours

Microphone

• Type: Unidirectional noise-cancelling condenser with adjustable, rotating boom
• Impedance: 2.2k Ohms
• Frequency Response: 100Hz to 10kHz
• Sensitivity: -37dB (+/-3dB)

Product Tour

The Vengeance 2100 is a large headset but not overly heavy, despite the addition of features, battery and wireless receiver inside the phones. It tips the scales at 375 grams, which is not really heavier than most other comparable high performance headsets. The design is astounding, to the point that one could describe the Vengeance 2100 as a work of art.

Corsair’s logo can be seen on the sides of the headset, on the plastic end of the top frame. The lower frame looks metallic and has a brushed dark grey finish exterior and a black interior, but is actually all plastic. There are no large metallic parts on the Vengeance 2100, which is a good thing when it comes to weight and comfort. Still, the frame is very broad and exceptionally sturdy.

While the left side is practically plain, the right one holds all of the headset’s features. This includes the microphone, a volume knob, the power/connect button and the charging port. The presence of the charging port implies that the battery is also present on this side. It is likely that the wireless receiver is in the left side, to balance the weight of the headphones.

The broad microphone is more than just a great addition to the overall design, it’s actually very sensitive and has great recording quality. Of course, the microphone is meant to be used primarily for chatting, especially in games. However, its level of clarity is such that it would most likely surpass most cheap stand-alone karaoke microphones. The microphone may be bent in order to come closer to the user’s mouth. There is no switch to mute it, but it will turn off automatically once the user swings it all the way upwards.

Despite their suede-like appearance, the extra thick padding of the speakers are made of fabric. Blue fabric also covers the 50 mm drivers, keeping them clean and creating a great visual effect.

The top part of the frame features a very thick and comfortable leather cushion. The bottom side of the cushion is plain, but the top side is perforated for the cushion to breathe. They are stitched together with blue thread.

Software

Corsair offers a simple software package alongside the Vengeance 2100 Wireless headset, which may be downloaded from their website. The software is straightforward, offering equalizer adjustments, volume level adjustments, allows for the creation of profiles and implements a microphone test feature. It also allows the user to select between different source types; 2.0 stereo, 5.1 surround and 7.1 surround. Once the source audio type has been selected correctly, the headphones will adjust to virtualize the surround effect. Although the effect is definitely not equivalent to that of a true 5.1 or 7.1 surround setup, it is far better than standard stereo in all relevant applications, such as games and movies. For listening to music however, you will want to go with the standard 2.0 mode.

Performance

After testing the Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Gaming Headset for several days and a couple of long gaming sessions, we found it very comfortable to use, even for prolonged periods. However, its merits are not limited on comfort. We used the headset for gaming, listening to music and watching an action movie. During gaming, all sounds were crystal clear and of accurate depth; in games with well-made audio engines, it is not difficult to assess the direction and distance of the sounds after you get accustomed to them. Unlike other headsets that strongly lean towards low frequencies for deep bass, the Corsair Vengeance 2100 is very well-balanced. Although this might disappoint audiophiles who enjoy listening to heavy bass audio tracks, during action scenes in both gaming and movies, heavy explosions and other low-frequency sounds would not wash away other sounds and dialogue. It also increases the volume level that the headphones may attain before there is sound distortion that, in the case of the Vengeance 2100, is painfully high, reaching levels that would certainly cause hearing damage in a short time period. Finally, the headset does an excellent job at sealing out environmental noise, which was especially apparent when we tried listening to a soft music track at low volume.

Battery Life

Corsair claims that the battery life of the Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Gaming Headset is 10 hours. We timed our headset twice and we got 14.2 hours the first time and 11.4 hours the second time we charged it. That does not mean that the battery lost 30% of its capacity over a single charge; the battery life of the Vengeance 2100 strongly depends on the volume levels and whether the microphone is on or off. During our first run, we used it for gaming and music but kept the volume level relatively low. The second run was for gaming and watching movies, at significantly higher volume levels and with the microphone open. So, depending on what kind of user you are, you may be able to squeeze more than 10 hours of use out of the battery. If by chance you do run out of battery, you can still use the Vengeance 2100 with its charging cable attached.

Final Thoughts

To summarize, the Corsair Vengeance 2100 Dolby 7.1 Wireless Gaming Headset is an excellent, very high-quality headset, for either gamers or everyday usage. It is comfortable for long-term usage and offers great sound quality. The MSRP of the headset is $129.99, a reasonable price for its quality, features and performance. However, Corsair is currently having a sale at $99.99 via their own website, which is a great deal for such a headset.

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– Justicar