CORSAIR TC500 LUXE Premium Gaming Chair in test – Super comfortable, but with minor weaknesses.

With the TC500 LUXE, Corsair aims to close the wide gap between gaming chairs with a racing seat design and expensive high-end office chairs. During the design process, the focus was on comfort and flexibility and you can read in the test whether the chair covered in breathable fabric can do more than just be comfortable.

While Corsair’s first chairs were mainly trimmed to a sporty design with a “race look”, the TC200 was more oriented towards comfort. This was also a success, but I thought it was a shame that they had opted for a very simple rocker mechanism. Unfortunately, the new TC500 LUXE didn’t have a proper synchronized mechanism either, but a lot has been done with its big brother. Without beating about the bush any more, let’s take our colleague out of its box for the time being.

 

Unboxing

As is usual for seating furniture, the TC500 also arrives at the customer as a “kit” in a monstrous cardboard box.

However, the space is well utilized and all the individual parts are stacked scratch-proof in the box in the best Tetris style.

By the way, there are no printed assembly instructions in the box, instead there is a QR code that leads to the assembly instructions.

Removing the foam and plastic film from the individual parts felt like it took just as long as the complete assembly.

Let’s take a closer look at the components. The base is made of sheet steel and makes a solid impression.

The opening for the gas pressure spring is cleanly designed, so nothing will tilt or jam.

The mounts for the rollers are also welded cleanly and acceptably.

Let’s stay right on the ground. Unlike the TC200, the castors are not equipped with this “automatic stop”, which I actually welcome, as this had made the castors of the 200 relatively loud.

Somehow it’s almost disappointing that the “rims” come without integrated iCUE lighting, isn’t it? A little fun aside. The material of the castors is relatively hard, and the ease of movement is somewhat less than that of the Quersus Icos or Recaro RAE.

The Class 4 gas spring is the same model that was used in the Vertagear PL6000. It makes a solid impression in terms of feel and has not yet made a negative impression on the Vertagear chair mentioned above in the period from February 2022 to the present day.

The rocking mechanism also immediately struck me as familiar. I would almost put my hand in the fire that this was taken from the Maxnomic aka Need for Seat shelf. Which is not a bad choice per se, because this mechanism is clearly superior to the simple version of the TC200 and has caused absolutely no problems with my old Maxnomic chair for over 7 years now. However, a synchronized mechanism would have been even better, which is what many buyers expect at a price of around €550.

The wide seat comes with pre-assembled armrests.

When I unpacked the chair, I noticed that the armrests were very far apart and I was actually surprised that they were already pre-assembled at the “narrowest” level.

Overall, the cover makes a very high-quality impression. The fabric feels very good and there is nothing wrong with the seams either.

Let’s come back to the armrests. Although they can be adjusted in a variety of ways, they are much too far apart and too far forward for my taste, and as a 1.88 m/110 kg “colossus” I can say that. I’m curious to see what the two more petite test subjects will say about this later.

After some initial skepticism, the upholstery is okay, but unlike the rest of the chair, it doesn’t look really high-quality.

The backrest of the TC500 is a completely different story: with its sporty shape and elegant quilted pattern, the design of the chair immediately won me over.

The fabric looks quite similar to matt artificial leather and is very pleasant to the touch.

You would expect a hard, cool and smooth feel here, but it is actually a soft fabric – very pleasant!

The embroidered logo adorns the “headrest”. A magnetic headrest cushion can be attached here as an option.

Also nice: the fabric cover can be opened with a zipper and is therefore at least replaceable. I couldn’t find out quickly whether it is “washable”.

The back has a simple design and doesn’t scream “gaming”, so the chair would also fit in well in the ambience of a modern living room or office.

I found plastic covers in the first small box:

And of course the necessary screws and a hexagon socket are also included.