TurtleBeach
Latest
Wireless Wii headphones from Turtle Beach
There's really nothing here that's Wii-specific at all, but we'll play along anyways. Turtle Beach just launched its new Ear Force W3 wireless headphones, which include an audio splitter cable for routing audio to the AC-powered wireless transmitter. The headphones run on a single AAA battery, include a few Wii design cues and retail for around $60. That audio splitter is a nice little addition to make home theater integration less of a pain, but otherwise these Turtle Beach headphones are Wii ready only so far as they're trying to cash in on the Wii's success. And who can blame 'em?
Review: Ear Force X2 Wireless Headphones
After questioning the usefulness of the X2 wireless headphones when you still need to tether them to the controller for Xbox Live play, Turtle Beach kindly offered me a pair to review, assured I would change my tune. They were right ... and a little bit of wrong. The headphone quality is exceptional, but I still have reservations about the headset functionality. Read on for my full review of Turtle Beach's Ear Force X2 wireless headphones.
Ear Force X2 headset is wireless... sort of
After complaining about the lack of a decent wireless headset for the Xbox 360, we got tipped off to Turtle Beach's horribly named "Ear Force X2" wireless headset. We should qualify "wireless" however: the XBL functionality of the microphone and earphones still uses a cable attached to the controller. The only wireless part of the unit is the ability to transmit the system sound to the headset from the console, useful for those of you who live in a one-room apartment with a baby crib located just next to the television. I suppose the argument is that the controller is already wireless, so who cares about a little cord? Nerds, that's who! We know it's possible, we already have better headsets, both wired and cordless. We want to see two things: A third-party adapter that connects to the controller, has volume and mute support (preferably the button-style like the original Xbox) and a standard headphone jack for our wired headsets. Secondly, a third-party Bluetooth adapter that connects to the 360 controller, offers volume and mute controls, and sends audio wirelessly to and from a wireless Bluetooth headset. Why has nobody made this yet? If you're still interested, the Ear Force X2 begins shipping March 20 for about $100. [Thanks, Doug]
