The iCUE unified app, in common with most modern CORSAIR peripherals, is the foundation of software and driver support for the HS80. This headset will work straight away out of the box if required, but realistically you’ll want to download and install the latest version of this software to get it humming optimally.
On installation iCUE prompts for a firmware update (v5.6.39 in our case) to the headset. This requires it be plugged in directly rather than flashed wirelessly, also giving the opportunity to give the headset its first charging cycle.
Once installed the Wireless Receiver and HS80 headset appear as separate devices on the iCUE Home Page alongside other iCUE compatible peripherals. The page will also indicate the charging status of the headset, as well as the current active EQ profile. Both devices each have their own configuration page, although the amount of config. tools available will vary significantly.
The Wireless Receiver has a very basic configuration page designed to manage wireless device pairing and firmware updates. As a Slipstream Multipoint receiver it can manage communications with multiple Slipstream-compatible devices, the pairing of each being handled sequentially when in Multipoint mode. Alternatively it can be set up in a single-pairing mode best used for Playstation support (which is also its default configuration).
Clicking Device Settings checks for Receiver firmware updates and prompts the user to make one if recommended.
Moving to the headset’s page, its configuration tools are split into three distinct sections.
Lighting Effects is straightforward enough, allowing you to set a static colour of the CORSAIR logo or apply a basic lighting effect to it; left and right cups are treated as a single lighting zone however and so cannot be configured separately.
Alternatively, you can gather compatible iCUE devices together with a Lighting Link, spreading a particular lighting effect across multiple devices. Effects include Colour Pulse, Spacial Rainbow and Colour Wave, and might be most effective when the headset is hanging from a stand close to the rest of your peripherals. CORSAIR don’t currently have a means of positioning each device within a 2D virtual space to ensure all timings and relative orientations match up, but it’s still not a bad selection of effects.
The simple nature of the lighting available on the headset makes more complex effects redundant but we would have appreciated the ability to configure a custom light spectrum to cycle through rather than just alternating colours.
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The Equaliser section presents basic equaliser controls and a handful of preset, as well as master volume controls for both Microphone and Sidetone. More EQ profiles can be added and modified as desired, while the dial button on the headset itself can be used to cycle through the preset profiles. Unfortunately there’s no way to selectively disable an EQ profile from that cycling process without deleting it entirely.
If Windows 10 is operating in a Spatial Sound mode (right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and mouse over Spatial Sound for options) the EQ options are unavailable. Similarly, the microphone needs to be in an unmuted position to set volume levels for Mic and Sidetone.
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Last but not least, the Device Settings option for the HS80 brings a new window to the fore that contains settings that don’t easily fit elsewhere. They include wired/wireless and charging status, battery level (if not charging), CORSAIR logo LED brightness, and the ability to disable the microphone LED when the mic isn’t muted. Each will be important for tailoring your experience with the HS80 to your own needs, particularly some very specific features like voice notifications that could easily be turned off by default.
If we’re honest here, the options available in CORSAIR’s software seem limited or not fully fleshed out in this instance. Why, for instance, is there no option to disable the microphone when in a muted position, which might be preferable when streaming or to save battery power? Shouldn’t the Brightness slider also be replicated in the Lighting section? Disabling EQ profiles seems like a no-brainer, as does being able to associate an EQ profile with a particular application. But it goes beyond that.
Other major oversights are that there’s no option to Boost microphone dB levels, set audio quality, or activate spatial sound configurations including Dolby Atmos, through iCUE. Each are features that the HS80 is sold on, but the level of control and access CORSAIR’s own software offers is minimal to non-existent. Perhaps this is down to the Windows 10 API restricting access to these features, but fundamentally it’s the anthesis of our quality expectations from this manufacturer.
One of the more frustrating aspects of using the software is that sometimes it’s not clear whether the headset is operating wirelessly or with the wired connection when plugged in. The only way to ensure that the wired mode is in use is to select it from the Speaker taskbar icon or Windows Sounds device selection screen. Again, given that 24-bit 96kHz audio quality is available exclusively through a wired connection, a simple toggle or automated switching that prioritises wired mode would be useful.
And finally, the HS80 disappears from the iCUE Home Page and the configuration page closes when the headset goes into wireless standby/powersaving mode. It’s a tiny niggle, but it’s happened enough times for us to be a little annoyed by it.
All told, the HS80’s iCUE software is serviceable, but there’s clear scope for improvement in the long run.
