Is there any turtle beach happy customers out there?
I picked up the COD:MW3 Ear Force Bravo wireless one the last time it was offered. I had to return it. The sound would cut out/turn choppy as if I was across the house from the transmitter, when in fact the headset was less than 24" from the transmitter at all times. And it wasn’t the battery; I left it wired for power about half the time and the problems persisted whether I had it plugged in or not.
It also required voodoo and/or rain dances for the microphone to work with Mumble… different actions required each time. Since I can’t lick my elbow and my “pat head while rubbing tummy” skills are subpar, I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.
The sound quality was fine when it wasn’t choppy, and the 'set was comfortable. I might do it again, but not with the same kind I tried before.
If you don’t mind wires, this one works great for the price. 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
Nice surround sound effect and you can easily adjust game vs chat volumes independently. Very comfortable on my noggin. I haven’t had any complaints from others regarding the microphone’s ability to hear me and filter out background noise.
Overall, pretty good headsets with everything from casual to serious gamers in mind. Especially for those looking at XBOX360/PS3 headsets. The only thing I would note is regarding the wireless variations. Many of them use a 2.4 RF transmission which is often subjected to interference from other RF device (mice, keyboards, etc). From my experience, this can cause crackling, sound loss, and other strange issues. For that reason, I would probably recommend sticking with a corded version unless you can’t live without the wireless (which is what I use currently).
I have a pair of X12s that I got through refurbish on Amazon, I think at the time new they were ~50 USD, picked mine up for 30. They are phenomenal. Adjustable bass so you can control how much you want your noggin rattled, good noise canceling mic, and the talk back function ensures you won’t be yelling because you can’t hear yourself.
I agree with the above, snagged the X12 from woot on a previous sale for $40 and I couldn’t be happier about them. I had considered getting a wireless headset, but it’s just not worth it with all of the interference you’re likely to kick up with the other electronics in your household.
The only very minor gripe is that there’s automatic playback from the microphone to the headset. It’s useful to a certain point (i.e. talking without hearing yourself is strange), but sometimes I’m sitting there wishing that I could disable it. (NOTE: If I can, please tell me how dumb I am. Thank you.)
I am a single dad gamer who has my kids most of the time. These are a must have. This was my third pair. Not because the other suck, but just because all of the improvements that have been made since the first wireless ones that I got back in 2006. I have not seen any interference from other wireless devices the only thing is once out of range there is crackling.
Plus watching movies at night with these on is fantastic! The 7.1 surround is amazing.
I bought my Deltas a few months back from woot when they were about $140 and am undecided if I would do so again.
First off, when I received them from woot they were missing a part necessary for them to be wireless. I exchanged SEVERAL emails and woot basically offered me a small credit and told me I would have to purchase the piece on my own. After over a month of emails, I was finally able to get the refurb company to send me the $30 piece that should have come with them in the first place.
As someone else said, there is a TON of interference, even if the transmitter is right next to the headphones. I can tell when someone in the house is on the internet as my reception turns poor.
I have also recently noticed that regardless of what batteries I use, the unit will simply shut off. No “battery low” signal or anything. Once in a while I will hear the notification and then the unit powers right off.
The sound quality however is very good and I do believe if not for the issues they would be worth the money. If I had a better experience with customer service, I would probably try and swap them out and see if I simply got a defective unit.
Actually… after typing all of this, I am starting to realize this may not have been the best deal…
Can any of the Xbox360/PS3 sets be used with a PC? What are my options for 7.1 (or the best otherwise) on a PC?
Yes, but as someone who owns the XP500’s I’d never recommend using them in Bluetooth mode. They have some kind of serious issue with popping crackling and such which the manufacturer response is basically Deal with it. The audio quality for the Xbox game play is great and they are comfortable as heck for long sessions but the Bluetooth “dual pairing” feature which was a selling point for me buying them new when they were $250 ( I think that’s what I paid but everytime I think about it I get a bit woozy) was not worth it. For 99$ though if you just plan on using the XBOX (I can’t speak to PS3 as I never used mine on my PS3) or just listening to audio via the transmitter hooked up to the PC rather than Bluetooth (I do that) and don’t plan on pairing the Bluetooth at all to the PC, then its worth it.
FYI Amazon has the X-Ray on sale right now new for $99.99. It is basically the XP400 with the talkback cable instead of the bluetooth adapter.
Slightly less convenient as you have a single wire to deal with (controller to headset) but the voice quality is much better than with bluetooth adapter on the 360.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00886XQNQ/ref=ox_ya_os_product
x42 and xp400 both have 5ghz so those would be the sets you would want to look at on this list if you want wireless.