Just over a year after Turtle Beach gave whining teenyboppers a
decent Xbox 360 headset to annoy mature gamers with, the outfit is hitting back with the third-generation. We should caution you that these are far from a major upgrade, but those just now looking to take the plunge into cord-free bragging should find plenty to appreciate. The Ear Force X41 cans claim to handle Dolby 7.1 channel surround sound, but given that there are precisely two ear cups here, we're somewhat (read: tremendously) skeptical of said claims. At any rate, the RF-based headphones now sport a dedicated Digital Signal Processor along with a feature that will likely entice young brats and frighten those with actual jobs: Chat Boost. As you can imagine, this enables users to automatically jack the volume of the Xbox Live chat as the game gets louder, which -- in our experience -- is probably
not a good thing. Those with the patience of Job can buy in anyway for a nickle under $200.
[Via
TG Daily]
posted August 11th 2009 6:03AM
Thank god for private chats.
I can only imagine what some little kid would do with a pair of these. The last thing anyone on Live needs is to hear high-pitched chatter in a higher volume.
-MD33
They slightly boost voice-volume to cover for explosions and gunfire that would normally drown out the people who tend to mumble and talk quietly online. If somebody is already talking loudly it doesn't boost voice from what I have noticed with mine. Also, what do you think in-game mute is for?
God, I hate that word "tween."
teenage twins? woudn't you need 2 pair of headphones?!
*snicker*
LOL, just ordered this on amazon for 50% off last night
Link!?
On the subject of Turtle Beach. Are the X1's any good?
Skip the X1's and pick up a pair of the X3's they are the best bang for the buck IMO and you can find a new pair on ebay for relatively cheap compared to retail
Yeah you may aswell just get X3's. Since they are only a little bit more. If you buy it from the official site refurbished its even cheaper. I have a pair and they are pretty great. You can hear like everything! Plus they are wireless.
I have a pair of 6-channel (5.1) Ear Force headphones from Turtle Beach that do, in fact, have four speakers in each cup (front, mid, rear, and sub). Obviously each individual element is smaller than if it were just one large element in each ear cup, but it isn't a trade-off at all: they still produce a full range of sound and I can distinctly tell the difference between "right" and "back right".
They're great for gaming, great for music, and great for movies.
You seem to have failed to mention that these aren't just for game chat, they are also wireless game volume headphones. I have a pair and I love them because they're great for gaming later at night when you have thin walls and neighbours to consider and you still want to be able to hear every detail in the game. I actually find it easier to pick up small sound details like grenades bouncing or reloads which can give you that small advantage in a game.
Also, don't be so quick to dismiss the "surround sound" whereas it is obviously not true surround, they actually do a very nice job at distinguishing between front and back and you can easily tell whether that pesky zombie is behind-left or behind-right.
The one thing I hope they have improved and the only problem I had with my current headphones was the bass booster was a little lacking. Other than that I found these to live up to the investment as I have gotten a TON of use out of them at nights.
I'll go along with the rest and say that those 5.1/7.1 headphones, if designed properly, do a great job of providing 3d positional audio. Don't think you're gonna watch a 5.1 Dolby Surround movie with them and get the same effect, but they're fine for gaming. I actually have a pair of Tritton AXPCs, which are similar I believe to these TBs, just not wireless and they're for a pc instead of 360.
Thank you for that vivid rendition I'm sure we all required to fully understand the realities of Xbox Live player chat...
A few questions to the masses on these:
Is it possible to turn off the in-game sounds, and just have the chat channel through the headphones?
Where abouts is the mute/unmute button located on these?
Unlike most, I'm perfectly happy with my 1st generation generic MS wired headphones, but they're on their way to the grave. I've tried the official wireless headset, but it's very uncomfortable, and the new wired MS headphones have the mute switch in-line, which is a nightmare to find during a game.
About disabling game sounds through the headset, all you'd have to do are disconnect the red and white AV cables from the stand and plug them back into your TV or sound system.
Actually it's easier than that as there are separate dials for game volume and voice volume, so YES you can have no game volume and just voices. There is a built in control on the plug in for the microphone with a mute switch as well as a volume dial. These are very comfortable to wear for long periods of time (3-4 hours before you feel the need to hear outside volume again lol). Basically, it's very easy to adjust voice volume or turn it off on the fly even when in a round.
Ohh, I was looking for something like this - I want to be able to play the Xbox on the projector whilst the Mrs watches the telly on the err.. telly. Trouble is, being both in the same room, only one of us can have sound, but I'd be quite happy to have the 360 via headphones.
You got that Turtle Beach money right? TB$
usb right? so they can easily connect to other devices such as pc and dvd player?
Ye ri have astro A40's there just better thanks
astro's are better but i want wireless
They're better than an unreleased product you've never tried?
You don't say...
I'm sure your ears get hot while wearing the earphones and they have to be heavy...that is a deal breaker for me.
I can't vouch for how warm they are to use, but they were surprisingly lightweight the time I went to pick up some X3's. I doubt they'd get much heavier, as that's part of the comfort.
Being lightweight is a feature, and the TB line seems to be pretty feature rich.
Compared to other surround headphones out there for the same price, these are crap. I tested mutiple sets, cheaper and more expensive and ended up buying Tritton's AXPRO. I use them on both the PC and 360. Multiple speakers per earpiece, mic and adjustable volume for each zone right from the cord. They support full digital and analog surround. They also come with a module which allows me to connect external speakers at the same time. No need to keep switching plugs on the PC/360. Only addon I did was to buy a cheap six dollar manual three port optical switch and two extra optical cables, total cost about twenty dollars US. The AXPRO's are under $180US. Supposedly Tritton is working on a wireless version which I'll buy when they release it.
I have to say that if you get TRUE surround headphones, you'll never go back to anything else. That simulated stuff is crap. Get the real thing and you won't be disappointed.
Man, I must be sensitive this morning because this whole article irks me: the snide-not-snarky tone, the implication that it's just for tweens, and the baseless skepticism about performance. For an actual review of the older X4 and newer X41 check out Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5039612/lightning-review-earforce-x4-xbox-360-wireless-surround-sound-headset
http://gizmodo.com/5333898/the-ear-force-x41-improves-upon-the-best-xbox-360-headset
Come on Darren, just a little more effort and a little less resentment toward those high-pitched, COD4-playing tweens.
I completely agree with you, Maurice. Darren must get paid per snide remark and not for understanding the product he is commenting on.
I get the same feeling. When reading his articles Darren appears to me as an angry person. I hate Giz though, especially Jesus Diaz.
The Astro A40's are better
is Turtle Beach still alive? O_O
I remembert the ol' good times of the "sound blaster vs adlib vs roland vs turtle beach."
I have the X3, and it's all-around very nice, except for the fact that the signal is sent from the console to headset in infra-red form, and as such is subject to interference with noise emitted by my plasma TV across the IR signal band. It's audible in the form of a faint static when there's a lot of bright imagery on the screen.
Having that issue addressed by moving to RF band would be great, but $200 is kind of steep, given the fact that you can buy a whole damn Xbox 360 Arcade for that amount of money these days.
Love this preview of concerns without any evidence of getting their hands on the physical product.
Some game reviewers such as John Davison, previously of 1UP/EGM and now What they Play, actually uses this brand and had mentioned it favorably on the now defunct 1Up Yours podcast.
I'm on the fence about them. Previous models have been reported to have a slight hiss at high volumes and line of sight is required for functionality...but then again, why wouldn't it?
This post though seems more like a denouncement than a product announcement.
1upyours is now listenUP, which he still does.
Also the change to this 7.1 version of using RF instead of IR removes the hiss and line of sight issues.
NB it also removes the joypad-based volume control, meaning it'll plug into a chat pad.
I recall a friend (who works at EB Games) telling me that in one day, a customer had to exchange three Turtle Beach headsets....doesn't give me much confidence in their products to be honest.
Love my X4s, I might give them to my nephew and upgrade to these new X41s.
i had turttle beach for awhile but then i got the new MLG astro headphones i got them last week for 125 dollars they were originally 200 dollars so i sold my turtle beach to my firend the astro headphones and shit is so much better no offense to turtlebeach they were gud till i got the astros.
At the moment, i'm trying out the sharkoon and how it compares to the ear force x1. It'll be great to get your feedback on this. http://myshoppingonline.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/sharkoon-review/