Hmm … wireless …
Do you like to play games with the
sound turned up high, but you have problems playing games at night where you
have to have the sound close to mute for fear of waking up your
parents/spouse/kids? Well, if you answered yes to that question, or just like
playing with and using new technology, then Turtle Beach has created the perfect
product for you. It is entitled the Turtle Beach Ear Force X2. Read on to find
out why you should purchase these quality headphones when you have the spare
cash.
When I first opened up the package I
saw the headphones, the X2 base, and several cables. The best thing about this
packaging as it is very easy to figure out what goes where, especially if you
are not very “tech savy.” You can have this package opened and the product
operational in five to ten minutes flat.
One question that I wanted answered
when I saw these headphones is how do they feel? If you are going to play a game
for a couple of hours, you definitely want something that is very comfortable to
wear, and basically becomes “one with your head.” Well, after several intense
gaming sessions, with both online and offline games, I am able to say with great
pride that the headphones remain really comfortable to wear and after a while
you will even forget that they are even attached to your head.
The sound quality, while it isn’t
pure 5.1 surround sound, provide a very nice and crisp sound for those intense
gaming moments. Then add in the fact if you are playing online you have the
microphone to “trash talk” various opponents. Thankfully these headphones do
both jobs like a champ.
One thing that I have really
disliked about many of the headphones that have come out thus far for the Xbox
360 is that they do not come with the device to mute, like the official headset
has. Well, the people at Turtle Beach have seen this error on behalf of many of
their comrades and it does come with a mute button function on the microphone
cable that plugs into your headset to the controller.
What is nice about these headphones
is that you can use them for more then just your Xbox or Xbox 360. It comes with
an adapter that lets you use these headphones for just about anything. I was
able to hook these headphones to my home theater system and a variety of other
places. Since you do not have to worry about talking in the microphone you will
not ever worry about a cord.
The only bad thing about the entire
setup is that it uses infrared technology to transmit the audio information from
the receiver to your headphones. Infrared is more of a point-to-point or line of
sight technology. What this means is that you can not go around the house to
listen to what is going on; you have to be in a really short radius of the base.
While I understand why the makers of this device did this, because in theory you
will be real close to the TV and receiver while you are playing a game, but if
you are listening to music or anything else, you have to be in same room as
receiver. While this is not a bad thing, it is a disappointment nevertheless.
The price for the Turtle Beach Ear
Force X2 is $99.99
Pros:
What is not to like about this? First of all being able to mute TV and hear
everything just from a set of headphones is a great feature for many gamers out
there that want to play late at night and still be immersed by the sound. Also
the fact that this is 90% wireless (other then having to plug the microphone
cord into the controller), makes this a perfect buy you if you are trying to
make everything wireless nowadays.
Cons:
There are only two things I can put in the “con” category. The price might be
steep for some gamers. The other is a marketing problem. This is featured as a
wireless headset, yet you still have to plug a cord into the Xbox 360
controller, so you still are confined by a wire. Hopefully Turtle Beach will
come out with another product that will make it 100% wireless in the future.
Verdict: 8.9
I really enjoyed the Turtle Beach Ear Force X2 wireless Xbox headphone set for
playing late at night or even using on home theater system. This is a great
device that many people will enjoy having in their house. Even though the price
might seem a bit steep, it is worth the price of admission.
