Does the monster Turtle Beach TBS-2180-01 work on PC? It says available USB Port, but thats vague.
I haven’t used turtle beach headsets but I have a 7.1 surround sound headset from steelseries for my pc that works great. Awesome sound quality.
I must admit that I’m not an audiophile, but I have a set of the x12s and they work great for gaming!
Yeah, a very important quote from that link:
“To hear surround sound game audio you need a sound card that supports Dolby Digital Live and has optical out. In order to use the mic you need a PC Bluetooth adapter.”
So it defeats the wireless part due tot he cord and the 7.1 surround due to reliance on your own soundcard.
I just (yesterday) got myself this for my PC:
http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Surround-Headset/dp/B006ZS5ATM/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359131996&sr=1-7&keywords=Plantronics
It’s not wireless and doesn’t have the DSS addon, but it’s 7.1 surround, new and costs $10 less. Much better deal for a PC owner.
I purchased the X41 for XBox 360 when it was on sale here, last. The sound quality is great. Optical input directly from the 360 to the base station. Wireless audio, but not wireless chat. Only down side, the chat doesn’t work. Not sure what’s going on with it. Mic shows connected, but no audio is picked up by it. It’s pretty silly, but now I use these headphones strictly for audio while I have one of the cheapo headsets around my neck for chat. It works, but it’s far from ideal.
They just have multiple different small speakers placed in precise positions in the headset. They really do create 5.1 or 7.1 sound.
I have two pairs of turtle beaches, one for home gaming and one for work. They are high quality sound and very comfortable. I STRONGLY recommend this brand.
Headphones marketed as “Dolby Headphones” are - except in very rare cases - nothing more than Dolby-licensed two-channel headphones. The use of 5.1 or 7.1 to describe these headphones is more than a little misleading. Dolby Headphone processing is not native to the headphone, but to its processor, which is included in most modern sound cards. But don’t take it from me, take it from Dolby, who licenses the technology (and its logo):
“All of this information is combined by the Dolby Headphone processor into two encoded channels that deliver the spatial properties of the original audio, with more natural sounds that actually seem to be ‘out-of-head.’”
Read more about Dolby Headphone in the Gamespot Headphone FAQ.
Happy gaming,
Boz
I got the x11s with the decoder the last time around. Pretty happy with the decoder, but the x11 headset is garbage.
Explosions are washed out because it can’t handle even mid-range bass. The mic is also overly sensitive. Sadly there is no way to adjust outgoing volume and you need to whisper into it to avoid screaming at people and be content with it picking up the mice farting in the walls.
The highs aren’t too bad but it leaves the experience lacking because of the low end drop off and distortion.
On the plus side, it is wired so you don’t have to deal with Turtle Beach’s famous RF static.
Overall, worth it for the decoder but don’t expect much from the headphones.
I’ve been running into the mic drop problems often and I don’t think it is actually the fault of the headsets. After the last update from microsoft my chat channels have been a bit borked.
When you remove the cable while in game and put it back in, it should reinitialize the chat channel. If it doesn’t then you may want to try testing your mic on the PC and see if you get any audio levels out of it. If not, then yeah, the headset has an issue(or the wire.)
Hope it helps.
I’ve been looking at the PX5s or equivalent for a while now.
Anyone have any advice concerning the “refurbished” status of the headset?
It usually goes for 270 on their site, or 199 new at amazon.
I have the Ear Force Delta’s. Totally wireless for the xbox. No wire at all and sounds AWESOME. Just get a set. If you’re playing with TV sound or even stereo sound, you don’t know what you are missing. You can shoot people in COD through walls just because you hear them. It’s that accurate.
Guaranteed to give you more kills in FPS.
Battery life is excellent too. I get about 10 hours of play out of 2 rechargeable AA batteries.
This would work for Audio on a PC or anything else with an Audio Out set of plugs, however the mic will only work with the xbox.
Can pair with your iphone or android via bluetooth so you can take calls while you play. The game is the main audio and the chat gets replaced by the phone conversation until you switch back with the push of a button, or hang up the phone.
I purchased the X31s a few years ago and was very disappointed. I’m not a huge audiophile, but I like my sound. Sound quality was average at best and there was constant background hiss that was definitely not coming from the input. Not what I had been expecting from all the hype.
To top it off the build quality was cheap. I had to return the mic cord three times to get one that worked, then that one stopped working after a few months. I treat my stuff with great care. The headphones have been hung on a hook whenever not in use, so the headphones themselves are still in one piece, but I’m betting the average user will break theirs within a year. As they have aged the adjustable headband has started to show its age, rattling and alternating between stuck and so loose it wont stay adjusted. I only use mine when I’m folding laundry at night and want to listen to music… But now I have a smart phone, so I probably won’t even do that.
The one thing I will say for them is that they are pretty comfortable. The cloth pads are much better than the cheap plastic that covers most cheaper sets of cans (of course these aren’t cheap). That doesn’t really matter when you can’t plug in the mic and the audio quality is worse than $20 ear buds.
TLDR: Other brands will give you better quality for your cash. I’ve dropped Turtle Beach and never looked back.
After 2 sets of $120 Turtle Beach 5.1 headsets broke, I decided to try something different. Bought a Rosewill 5.1 headset for $45 on Amazon and was very pleased. I felt that the overall quality of Rosewill headset was superior and the sound was just as good (better IMHO) than the TB’s which constantly hissed (even with the sound turned all the way down). I could go into great detail, but this doesn’t seem to be the place for that. Let’s just leave it at: you owe it to yourself to check out alternatives.
turtle beach SUCKS why do you think these are all refurbished? a month after i bought them i couldnt hear the game anymore, just chat! boooo
I’ve owned/used both the X12’s and the X11’s. I’m an audio engineer (I make my living from recording and editing audio) so take that into consideration if you want.
The X11’s are what I have day to day experience with. They’re good at the price you see them here, but I wouldn’t have paid the premium 60 or 70 dollars when they were the new thing.
Obvious mid scoop sound to them, with embellished highs and lows. The lows are all there. At least using them through a PC they are. I have no experience with these on an Xbox. Explosions gunfire etc are on par. I suppose you could add some low end via EQ if you really want some head rumbling action. Dialogue is clear, music is even ok through them.
As for the mic, it does its job well. It’s one of the clearest in the price range you can get. Trust me if you’re tired of being “that guy” in the guild or group with the really crappy mic, this will take care of you.
As for it being too sensitive? Try bringing down your outgoing signal.
The X12’s are pretty much the same with a color change. The mic sounds exactly the same to my ears. However I did notice a tighter low end with a better response. Explosions and bass in general on the X12’s are a bit more focused and punchy than the X11’s to my ears.
They’re great pieces, and at that price the only way you can beat it is by finding a decent used pair on ebay, and we all know that’s a crap shoot.
EDIT: Thought I’d say I DO NOT work or Mix with these. Would not recommend them for that purpose. These are only used for gaming purposes.
Except you can’t adjust any of the signals when using it on the xbox as intended.
The most you can do is drop the bass boost (from the DSS if you’re using it.)
Outgoing signals cannot be changed unless you have another means to process it. (This shouldn’t be necessary.) As the headset was designed for the xbox 360 and it is designed to connect to the controller for the mic, this was a complete failure.
Works on a PC? Whoopy. There are many headsets that do, and they do it better. This headset was designed for a different system and should work flawlessly on it before being considered for other systems.
Audio engineers should know better if they are going to make appeals to authority.
I don’t understand how you feel they don’t work “flawlessly” for the 360.
As for my appeal to authority? That was more about my ability to judge characteristics of loud speakers in general, not the lack of functionality when using the product with a certain device, but thanks anyways.
Perhaps I’m not well versed in the PC gaming head set universe but all my gaming buddies just use turtle beaches because it works for both 360 and PC and they just swap out accordingly.
Outgoing signals being able to be changed from PC is a plus, but it isn’t necessary. Honestly I don’t know a single person who has the “it’s too sensitive problem”. Yes I’m well aware a lot of people write reviews that say as much but honestly think about it; the mic on these things more than likely have a cardioid polar pattern which basically means if you want it to pick less of the source, simply point it away from the source accordingly. Just a thought.