Corsair has been a brand that many many PC builders, benchers, overclockers, and gamers have come to associate with quality. For years Corsair has been providing high quality PC components that have been recommended many times over by a significant number of people who know a thing or two about PC hardware. Recently Corsair has launched a new line of gaming peripherals which range from keyboards, mice, and headsets dubbed “Vengeance”. The Vengeance line, when announced, had many wanting to get their greedy little hands on what Corsair was offering.

A few weeks back we had a chance to test out one of the products in the new Vengeance PC peripheral family, the Corsair’s Vengeance 1500 Gaming Headset. Seeming to be the Vengeance flagship gaming headset, the 1500 impressed us with its extremely good clarity, easy to use software, and stylish design. There was however a bit of an issue we had with the headset’s bass output. However if you read our review (shame on you if you didn’t) you’d see why the bass output wasn’t such a big deal overall, and we declared the Vengeance 1500 to be a very good gaming headset.

Today we get a chance to grade another member of the Vengeance family, the little brother of the headset clan if you will, the Vengeance 1100 Communication Headset. Now off the bat you should notice that Corsair is using the word “Communication” instead of “Gaming” within the 1100′s name. A logical assumption would be that this headset is meant to be used with things like VOIP, Skype, etc. However Corsair is indicating that the headset is great for gaming as well as voice conferencing, and other application used primarily for voice transmission.Let’s see if Corsair is on the money with their claims.

Asthetics and Packaging

The Vengeance 1100 comes in a familiar hard plastic case used by many companies to house their mid level to lower tier headsets. This is not a bad thing as this packaging style does its job in protecting its passenger, and of course allows you a protected sneak peak at what the headset looks like which is always a good thing in our eyes.

After taking a few minutes to free the headset from its packaging confinements, via scissors, we are treated with our intended target. Black in design with selected areas trimmed in blue, the 1100′s are a bit of a looker we think. The design of the headset is not your average over the head model, but rather the behind the dome fitting version. For some unfamiliar with this design it may take a few minutes to get use to but its nothing to go “WTF?!” about.

Also found when opening up the casing is a black travel bag with the Corsair logo. Now we don’t know about you, but we tend not to use these included travel bags for the headsets they come with, but it’s a cool bonus to have especially when you find other things to put into the bags. : )

The top of the headset’s headrest showcases Corsair’s logo which just enhances the style. Got someone behind you standing there for an inexplicable amount of time just staring at te back of your head? They aren’t looking because of the new haircut you got. Its the logo. : ). The headset itself is made of a hard plastic which is pretty durable. It can definitely survive a few rages. Just don’t go full blown Hulk on them.

The ear cups, or cans if you prefer but in this case ear cups seem more suitable, sport the Corsair logo, and follows the black, and blue color scheme of the headset. The cups themselves are constructed out of the same hard plastic material the majority of the headset is made out of. Again strong enough for Banner, but not for Hulk. Green, Grey, or Red.

The speakers are protected with black cushioning which are kind to the ears.

The mic doesn’t try to be the odd part out in regards to color. Again it stays with the color scheme theme of the headset we have been mentioning so far. Maybe mentioning it a bit too much? (Jeopardy theme song playing in our heads)…Naaaaah!. Oh did we mention the Vengeance 1100 is black with blue trim? Hey guess what? The headset is black, and blue. Duuuuuude! Black and blue is what the headset color scheme is. BLACK AND BLUE, BITCHES! Uhhhhh Huuuuuuuuuuh! (Trembledust is forced to take his medication).

Moving on, the mic is adjustable in regards to moving it up and down above, or below your head. The default position of the mic to us felt a bit too close. The fear of getting a mouth full of hard plastic while downing some Hot Pockets was very real. Thankfully our fear was quelled as we discovered the mic can be bent away from your mouth. Actually being able to almost be bent 90 degress, but we wouldn’t recommend it. 45 degrees, or less we feel is sufficient. I mean honestly any further and you just might a well just take off the headset all together, or just move the mic above your head.

The Vengeance 1100 comes in two types of connections. USB, and analog. By default the connection is USB, but by removing the included adapter which connects the USB to the analog connection you have access to old reliable pink and green.The cord itself, which is braided, measures, per Corsair, 1.8mm. That might not sound like much but trust us. You’ll have plenty of wiggle room. The cord also comes with a Velcro strap for cable management.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the Vengeance 1100 comes equipped with a Volume Controller which, like its bigger brother the Vengeance 1500, does not have a clip which can be attached to your person. Like we mentioned in our review of the 1500 headset (again if you haven’t read it…shame on you) we feel this is a good idea as clips to us on Volume Controllers should go the way of the dinosaurs. The controller features a volume up and volume down wheel, and a mute switch. The design is simple, and to us that is a good thing.

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