Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
- Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Pro Logic IIx with Digital RF wireless technology (up to 30′ range) CD-quality pure-digital sound transmission Digital input “pass thru” allows the X41 and a home theater system to be connected simultaneously
- Volume control on ear cup Independent game & chat volumes Built-in mic monitoring Mic mute Bass Boost (button on ear cup) Oversized ear cups Fabric mesh ear cushions Removable mic with flexible boom Headset powered by AAA batteries (over 20 hours)
- Transmitter powered by USB (no AC adapter) Includes headphone output on transmitter (second set of headphones can be used simultaneously or in place of X headset) Chat Boost feature automatically increases incoming chat level as game sound increases
- 50mm oversized speakers for deeper bass response
The X41 is the third generation of wireless headsets from Turtle Beach for the Xbox 360. The X41 combines XBOX live chat with wireless game sound so you can hear the game sound and the voices of other players in the headset. That means you don’t need your XBOX communicator headset or external speakers. By hearing the XBOX Live chat in the center of your head rather than in one ear, you can communicate better online. By eliminating speakers you can turn up the game without disturbing others. A
Rating: 
(out of 182 reviews)
List Price: $ 199.99
Price: $ 149.54
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Review by Jordan G. Roselle for Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
Rating:
Some readers may remember me from my X4 review. Here we are a little over a year later and I am once again tearing into the box of a shiny new pair of Turtle Beach headphones. I liked the X4s, so why did I invest another $200 on the X41s? Because the X4s had some issues, common issues included sound glitches at certain frequencies (press the B button in Shadowrun), interference from other IR sources (like the Wii sensor bar), and a noticeable hiss when using the voice function. These issues did not ruin the X4s, in fact they were still one of the best gaming centric headphones, and THE best wireless gaming headphones, but the issues could be annoying. Thankfully, the X41s claim to fix everything wrong with the X4s and add some new features to boot. Do they live up to the hype or have hidden issues?
For the rest of my review I will be doing some comparison to the X4 in every aspect of these X41 headphones, as well as comparing them to the other options available. I may leave out some details that I already covered in my X4 review, if something doesn’t make sense or you would like more detail check my X4 review to see if I covered it there. In this review I will mostly be pointing out what has changed from X4 to X41. Finally, I personally own 6 pairs of gaming headphones, from the aging AX360 to the Astro A40 and X4. I will be giving my opinion of the X41s performance compared to my experience with most of the other competitors on the market.
Headphone design and feel:
The X41s really shine in this area, like the X4s they are extremely light and comfortable. In addition, they have added a new type of breathable fabric to the pads which keeps your ears cool and comfortable through hours of play. They have also increased the size of the space for your ears. The end result is headphones that are easy to forget exist. The headphones are well built in every other respect. The Bass boost switch is now a button, the headset is black rather than grey, most of the other changes in this area are minor. The X41s are an improvement over the X4s and one of the most comfortable of all the headsets I have used.
Audio Quality:
One of the big draws of the X41s is the new DigitalRF which claims to increase sound quality while decreasing interference and hiss. This claim is completely factual; the X41s have excellent sound that rivals even top level wired headsets. In addition, the X41s have fixed all of the X4s sound glitches, no more will you hear disturbing static or interference when a certain frequency is played. In my experience the X41s reproduce the game sound perfectly without any degradation from being wireless.
On the other hand the extremely low level hiss is still present in the X41s, though perhaps even quieter than the X4 ambient hiss. As I said in my X4 review this constant hiss is impossible to hear if any game sound is playing, and is probably mostly amp noise created by the 50mm speakers an inch from your ear. It is nearly impossible to engineer something like the X41s and completely remove this type of hiss. Thankfully, the X41s do remove the increased hiss when using voice chat that was present on the X4 headset. With the X41s you cannot tell the difference between having the voice chat hooked up and not using it. With the X4s as soon as you plugged in voice chat the normally unobtrusive hiss would double or triple in volume and become quite noticeable. This is a pretty major improvement for the X41s, as the hiss while using voice chat was a common complaint of the X4s.
The X41s have also enhanced their Dolby DSP to handle up to 7.1 surround sound and PL2X. This is not as noticeable as the Digital RF but it is an improvement. The excellent surround sound from the X4s is made even better, and it is even easier to pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from. The surround sound here is really fantastic, don’t believe the hype about “true 5.1″ headsets that have multiple speakers in each ear, this Dolby processing creates a better surround sound experience. In addition, because there is only 1 speaker per ear the speakers are much larger which makes the excellent audio quality possible. Comparing the X41s to my Tritton headsets is really one sided, the X41s are hands down better in every way when it comes to audio quality. Bottom line, 2 great speakers and Dolby Processing is far better than 8 tiny speakers.
The short version here is that the X41s are a worthy improvement in terms of audio quality. They have fixed essentially all of the major problems the X4s had and added some new features as well. The X41s perform very well when compared to wired headsets also, for the same price you could not find a 5.1 headset with better audio quality than the X41s, and the X41s are wireless.
Other Features:
The X41s don’t change very much in this category from the X4s. You still get the excellent voice chat implementation, which will balance voice and game audio so that you can always hear everything clearly. As I already mentioned the noticeable hiss while using voice chat has been removed, so that is a major improvement here.
One notable change to the X41s is the new talkback cable that is now free of the puck. This new cable is simply 2 standard mic connections with volume control and mic mute on a little box in the middle of the wire. This cable uses heavier wire than the old X4 cable, and seems like it will resist the rigors of use more efficiently. In addition, because they did away with the puck the X41s are now compatible with any headset connection. This means with the right USB adapter and cables the X41 voice chat can be used with a PS3 or PC as well as the Xbox 360. This is really a pretty awesome addition, and one that is not touted on the box.
The X41s also have a headset jack for a wired headset with its own volume control. This headset receives all the Dolby Processing and the same sound the wireless one receives. This is nifty if you want to have multiple people listening to the same audio on headphones, and is a better option than the X4s “buy another $100 headset” approach.
The X41s are now powered via a USB cable, which you can hook to your Xbox or any other powered USB port. Not sure if I find this positive or negative, but it is a change from the X4s.
Overall:
The X41s are a worthy improvement over the X4s. The decision to upgrade is something each individual will have to consider, but if some of the X4s flaws or glitches have been bothering you the X41 does a great job of solving those issues. In addition, the X41s add a lot of great features, from Digital RF to the new talkback cable. These features make an already excellent headset even better. As far as gaming headsets go the X41s are among the best. The implementation of voice chat is second to none, and since the X41s eliminated the loud hiss found during voice chat on the X4s, this feature is nearly perfect. The sound quality is excellent, and the Digital RF really does rival wired headsets, and is completely free of audio glitches. You no longer need line of site, and the signal seems very robust and interference free even around multiple wireless networks. The X41s are also significantly more comfortable than the X4s, and the new fabric for the ear pads makes a noticeable positive difference in keeping your ears cool and comfy. In the end, for anyone looking for a gaming headset that incorporates voice and surround sound, the X41s get my unwavering recommendation. They really are the best gaming headphones available right now.
I have rated the X41s 5 out of 5 stars, compared with the X4s 4 out of 5 stars. I would not say the X41s are perfect, just surprisingly close.
Update (Roughly a year later): After a year of using the X41′s, with hundreds, or perhaps thousands of hours of play across all platforms. I just want to reaffirm that I still think they are an amazing pair of headphones, and the best wireless sound solution for gamers. A few things that I have noticed in the last year.
First, when the batteries die the headphones often make a violent crackling screech noise (for perhaps a second, very short). This is annoying, not something I find bad enough to reduce the score, but I hope in the next iteration Turtle Beach fixes this, even if it means I get 30 minutes less battery life. I would rather the headphones beeped at me when the battery was low, or perhaps some indicator on the base station could show when the batteries are getting down there. Then when it got critical just make the headphones power off gracefully, rather than dying in a screech and crackle of rage.
Second, they are actually susceptible to interference from 802.11G wireless. In general they work great, but if you position stuff such that some wireless device (be it a router or a wireless client) is closer to you than the base station you can get interference. In general this is easy to fix, for instance I put my wireless devices on the opposite side of the TV from the base station and interference is a thing of the past. It is something to be aware of though, depending on your situation, especially in an apartment or dorm with tons of wireless everywhere, you could have trouble avoiding interference. To fix this perhaps Turtle Beach will switch to the 6 Ghz spectrum and use something similar to DECT. This would increase range, and should completely eliminate interference.
Finally, a quick tip on hooking these up. I found that the best way to hook the headphones up to any modern TV was to plug the X41 power USB cable into the USB slot on the TV (generally used for displaying pictures or similar features). Then use the Optical out on the TV as the connection to the X41 base station. Then you just plug all your devices in with HDMI cables and you can enjoy Dolby Digital on every device without any switching or special adapters. Plus, when you turn the TV off the base station goes off, turn it on, base station is on. In my opinion it is pretty much perfect, and is a joy to switch from watching TV with DD5.1, to my Xbox 360 or PS3 or PC, simply by pressing the source button on my TV remote.
If anyone has any specific questions feel free to comment on my review, I generally try to answer questions posted in comments.
Review by Audiophillia for Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
Rating:
I just purchased a pair of Turtle Beach x41′s off Amazon. Here’s a little review, based on my limited experience with them.
The Good:
+ Easy to setup. The instructions are somewhat abstruse, and not detailed. I had to sort of fill in the blanks, but overall it was quite easy. I think anyone can do it.
+ Comfortable. The headset is lightweight, and has decent padding. It does begin to hurt my ears after a couple hours.
+ Features. The x41 offers a ton of awesome features, including RF technology and Dolby Digital 7.1.
The Bad:
- The transmitter cannot be connected to my LCD HDTV via the optical port and still get Dolby Digital surround sound. You NEED the Xbox 360′s AV/Optical plugs in order to access DD 7.1. Most new Xbox’s don’t include this cable, so it’s an additional expense if you want to use this headset. No point in buying these instead of the x31′s if you can’t get Dolby.
- Occasional scratching, popping, cutting. Nothing destroys immersion and distracts me more than when the sound pops and cuts in the middle of your game. This is not associated with the chat cable’s notorious scratching and popping. This is due to a bad RF connection or interference or something. The problem is enhanced if you’re downloading anything via a nearby wifi. The headset will often pop so loudly, that all audio is cut for a few seconds, and gradually returns. The pops are occasionally so loud and abrupt, that I wouldn’t be surprised if it damaged someone’s eardrums.
- The volume turn dials are awkward and poorly designed. The volume dial on the headset won’t register any volume until it’s turned about 3/4 of the way to MAX. From the 3/4 mark, it increases RAPIDLY. The chat volume dial is even more sensitive. This makes fine tuning a ridiculous chore, and quite impossible.
- Can barely hear myself talk. Turtle Beach purposefully dialed back the monitor volume of the x41′s. When I talk into the microphone, it feels as if I’m deaf or underwater. The microphone has other issues with pickup. Sometimes my team mates can’t hear me, and other times they say my voice is too loud (because I have to talk loudly in order to get the microphone to pick up the sound). There is no consistency. Also, the microphone causes a steady hissing sound whenever it’s attached. When it’s not attached, there is still a noticeable buzzing hiss when the game or movie gets quiet.
The Ugly:
– This is the reason I returned this headset. The volume in the left ear cup is louder than the volume in the right ear cup. This is the case with every game and movie I’ve tried. I thought I may have installed it wrong, so I re did the installation and setup. Didn’t work. I tried changing out the brand new AAA batteries, nothing. I tried changing the setting on my Xbox, nothing. I contacted Turtle Beach, but they haven’t been able to help at all.
In every game with background music (all games?), I can only hear the drum and bass in the left side. I tested this with every game, and even audio CD’s. I also did a test on Xbox Live with some friends. In Modern Warfare 2, I had a friend stand a few meters in front of me and fire off his automatic rifle in the air. It sounded as if the gun was somewhere to the left. When he stood directly in front of me (1 inch from my face) and fired, it sounded as if it was coming from below me and to the left. Then I had him stand a few meters off and fire clips in the air while I stood in one place and spun around in circles. I was hoping the sound would be “circling” me, but instead it sounded as if it was coming from above/below me when it was supposed to be on my right side. Later in another match, I was approaching a doorway, and I heard someone reload on the left side of the doorway. So I watch the left corner when entering, but in turned out the guy was on the right side of the doorway. Because the headset was louder on the left side, it sounded as if the guy was to the left of me.
I put the headset down, and hooked up my $14.99 Microsoft one, and I guess that says it all. I wish this headset worked. I paid $170 for it, but the lop-sided volume is killing it for me. It’s unbearable, and surely less than what I expected for the price.
And don’t assume I have a hearing problem in my right ear. I’ve had several people verify that the left side is noticibly louder. Plus when I reverse the headset, the left side will be louder on my right ear.
I’m giving this headset 1 star, as I feel it’s defective. I’m exchanging them for a working pair, and will update this review when they arrive. Besides the negative things I’ve listed, I like these headphones. If the volume wasn’t lop-sided and utterly unbearable, I would’ve kept them and given them 3 or 4 stars.
***UPDATE***
I just received a replacement pair of Turtle Beach X41′s from Amazon. I set them up exactly the same way as the previous defective pair, however, these one’s seem to work. The lop-sided volume I experienced in the first set is no longer an issue. I can actually hear the Dolby surround sound in effect this time.
It’s not all sunshine and daisies. This pair comes equipped with a host of new problems. Before purchasing the first pair, I had done some research on the Turtle Beach website and forum. It seems that a lot of x41′s are experiencing a similar problem where the in-game audio will cut, pop, scratch, etc. So it wasn’t a total surprise when my replacement pair started exhibiting these problems. This audio-cutting is a lot worse on my replacement pair, than it was on my original defective pair, for some reason. The “popping” is much louder than the first pair. I was watching a DVD and when the audio “popped” it actually hurt my eardrums. The popping happens suddenly, and is much louder than the volume of the game or DVD, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it caused someone ear damage eventually.
And the volume is another issue. My original defective pair seemed to have adequate volume levels. This new pair, however, has a very low maximum volume level (when it’s not popping). This is another wide-spread issue expressed on the Turtle Beach forums. From the Turtle Beach support guy, I’ve deduced that Dolby, in collaboration with Turtle Beach, decided to “dial back” the volume on the x41 so as not to damage the user’s ear drums. There’s an inherent problem with this. While the volume on several games are adequate, the volume of most DVD’s are certainly not. I tried several DVD’s in my Xbox 360 and only one had an acceptable volume level.
For example: I wanted to test out the difference in audio volume levels between games and DVD’s. I played Modern Warfare 2, and the volume was decent. At MAX volume, it sounded about 90% as loud as I would have liked. I can accept that, knowing it’s saving my eardrums. Then I popped in the DVD “Shoot ‘Em Up” to gauge the volume level of DVD gunshots in comparison to videogame gunshots, and it’s maybe 60% as loud as I’d like. I then tried several other DVD’s, including loud action epics, and softer comedies that are filled with spoken-volume dialogue. Both genres offer inadequate volume levels. In the action movies, the loud explosions are not as “exciting” as I’d hoped they’d be. In comedies and dramas, the dialogue isn’t loud enough to be enjoyable. If I was listening to DVD’s via my home theater system, I would set the volume much louder than I am able to in these headphones.
That’s the problem. I don’t understand why Turtle Beach would limit the maximum volume levels when they know that many DVD’s and games have differing audio levels. Sometimes the max volume is perfect, and it seems Turtle Beach did their homework. Most of the time I wish I could turn the volume up a little or a lot, depending on whether I’m playing a game or watching a DVD. There’s no reason to not give us the option to increase the volume beyond Dolby’s recommended level. In fact, that argument is flawed, as I have a 5.1 Dolby surround sound system that certainly is MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH louder than these headphones could ever be.
Another issue I have with these x41′s is the low level hiss. If you’ve looked at the Turtle Beach forums, you’d be well aware of the low level hiss complaints. This seems to be another wide-spread issue with x41′s. When you turn the set on, you’ll hear the hiss. When the game or DVD audio is quiet, even for a second, you’ll hear the hiss. This is not a huge problem during most games, as there is usually constant ambient noise to mask the hiss. But with certain DVD’s, the low hiss will be unbearable. Movie dialogue is a low level hiss extravaganza. This, coupled with the low volume levels, make watching certain DVD’s a chore.
Nitpicking:
I would be nice if you could pair more than one x41 headset to the transmitter. When I have friends over, I wish we could both enjoy Dolby quality audio while we play co-op games or whatever.
I wish the x41′s were noise canceling. While the headset volume is quite low, you can hear it quite easily from across the room. So if you’re like me, and you occasionally play games in close proximity to a sleeping girlfriend, then you assume the risk of waking her up and consequently having an angry girlfriend.
But don’t think that the x41 is all bad. The x41 sound quality, when it’s not popping or hissing and when the volume level is adequate, is excellent. The ergonomics and comfort are also very good. The build quality and materials are good and bad. The leather top band is adequately padded and comfortable. The chat cable, on the other hand, is made with the same quality as the $14.99 Microsoft headset. Actually, it’s worse, since the Turtle Beach has annoyingly sensitive volume controls.
I really tried to tackle every flaw the Turtle Beach Ear Force x41′s have. For a $170 headset, I feel it should stand up to even the harshest scrutiny. But in the end, I’m keeping this headset, flaws and all. It’s certainly not perfect, but what is? Hopefully Turtle Beach will examine the x41′s flaws and take steps to improve the next iteration.
Take this review with as many grains of salt as you need.
Review by VillageVidiot for Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
Rating:
I purchased the Turtle Beach Ear Force X1 wired headset nearly 2 years ago; I love them even though they’re wired and hurt my ears after several hours of gaming. I though tried upgrading to the Ear Force X3 wireless headphones about six months ago, but they were HORRIBLE. Infrared technology should only be used for a TV remote. Any time someone walked in front of me or I turned my head the wrong way they’d stop working…. they were immediately returned. When I saw the Ear Force X41 headset at a local electronics store and read “7.1 surround” and “RF technology” on the package I couldn’t stop grinning… until I found the price tag.
With a great deal of hesitation I purchased the $200 Ear Force X41 headset… I took a bit of coaxing to convince my wife it was a worthwhile purchase.
COMFORT: The x41 is slightly more comfortable than the old EarForce x1. The earpiece is slightly larger, more circular than the old X1 – X3′s by Turtle Beach, and they’re also padded with thicker foam and cloth; rather than the old thin foam and leather-like material. They still press a bit tight against the ears, like the old X1/X3′s, which cause a bit of discomfort after a few hours of game play. (the top “headband” is well padded, and the leather like material is far superior to the old headsets.) The boom mic placement is a bit further away than I’d like too. Overall I’d have to say they’re SLIGHTLY more comfortable than my old Ear Force X1 headset.
BUILD QUALITY: The x41 is fairly impressive as far as build quality goes. The plastic used is much thicker and feels more sturdy than previous Ear Force models. The boom mic is removable, the arm of the boom mic is made of a flexible metal, and the mic is much nicer than my x1′s. The Volume, Bass Boost, and power buttons are extremely easy to access and won’t require you to remove the headset to locate them.
The transmitter base is very nice. It’s sturdy, not bad to look at, and doubles as a stand for the headphones when they’re not in use. The transmitter accepts standard left/right (white/left) audio input, as well as digital optical input… it even has a digital optical out which is necessary if you use the optical output on the Xbox 360′s HDAV pack.
SOUND QUALITY: When I first turned the X41′s on there was a noticeable hiss. I turned the volume down all the way and it was still there. It wasn’t BAD, but I did notice it. When audio is being played through the X41′s it’s impossible to hear the hiss, which made me quickly forget there was even a hiss to begin with. Even during quiet sections of certain games I didn’t notice it, but since I do hear it when I first turn them on before playing a game, I thought it would be necessary to write about it.
It’s also notable that when the boom mic is connected, you can hear ambient noise as well as your own voice being amplified by the mic. If you hate hearing your own voice through the headset, or are playing a single player game, I strongly recommend removing the boom mic from the X41′s.
The first game I played was a Samurai/anime title on my Xbox 360 with the X41. The dialogue sounded a bit hollow and it echoed a bit… it didn’t sound horrible, just a bit odd. I popped in an old movie that has one of my favorite THX intros for my second test. I was surprisingly impressed. I could rewind the intro, close my eyes, and tell exactly where the little robot repair guy was while he was flying around the THX logo performing his repairs… I could even here subtle clacks, clanks and tings during the intro that I couldn’t hear before when using the Ear Force X1′s.
While playing an extremely popular first person shooter I was floored by the surround reproduction. I could hear bullets whizzing by my head, could tell which direction the shots came from, and hear the footsteps of my enemies slowly creeping up behind me… I can honestly say that I now have a slight advantage over any one of my friends who use standard stereo headphones to play during our late night online gaming sessions… I’m not sure the advantage was worth the price tag on the X41′s, but it’s pretty darn close.
CONCLUSION: The X41 is wireless. This headset isn’t infrared (IR) like its predecessor, these bad boys are 2.4 GHZ wireless digital RF! What this means is that you don’t have to sit directly in the line of sight of the transmitter! (It’s about time!!!) I was able to wander out on my back porch and to the kitchen to grab an adult beverage without any interruption in voice chat or game audio.
One feature I was pleasantly surprised by is the ability to connect any pair of stereo headphones, or in my case my old pair of Ear Force X1′s, to the transmitter/Dolby decoder and share the 7.1 experience with a friend. (Yes, standard headphones will sound like full surround speakers when connected!)
They’re expensive, they’re not as comfortable as I would have liked for my 3-4 hour gaming sessions, and the playback of sounds from the mic through the headset is a bit annoying…. but… the improvements over previous Ear Force headphones, 7.1 surround, and 15 hour battery life far outweigh these small annoyances. I would absolutely recommend these to anyone that has an extra $200 burning a hole in their pocket!
Review by Semiautical for Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
Rating:
I spent hours researching Tritton AX Pro, Astro A40 system (w/ mixamp), Turtle Beach Ear Force HPX, Sennheiser PC350, and the X41s–all for use with the Xbox 360 Elite console. I finally settled on the X41s.
They arrived, quickly, thanks to Amazon.
Out of the box the product looks like a toy. Turtle beach uses bright, primary green coloring on packaging. Graphics look cartoonish. Both the headphones and transmitter are made of light weight plastic–the kind I find on my son’s remote control cars–suggestive of toy land gaming instead of high end, high performance audio. The power button, volume control, and on/off bass control all sit on the left can. Each control felt brittle to the touch. Each rattled in its socket. Again, little different than the controls lodged on kid’s toys.
I handled the headphones gingerly. The build just seemed to demand it.
Set up took under three minutes. Stunningly simple plug and play. Popped these on my head and played. No wires–wireless controllers, wireless headphones. At the end of a late night session just hang the phones on the stand, close the cabinet and you’ve got a pristine living room. Simple and clean.
I play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 almost exclusively.
Sound was . . . decent. True 7.1 surround sound. Unsophisticated though. Low end bass present but distant. Tried the on/off base function. No discernible difference. Mid and high range sounds are indistinct, at times garbled. Loud, though, loud. And enveloping. Orders of magnitude better than TV speakers and even my Klipsch audio system.
Critical to COD: MW2 is the sound of footsteps. In recent days, I’ve logged a couple of killstreaks using audio alone. But not using the X41s. Read on.
The X41s registered footsteps–from all directions. I could not pinpoint direction. Sounds trickled in both cans but couldn’t tease out footsteps from background sound effects.
Not a subtle sound quality but surely loud from all directions.
Forgot I was wearing the headphones at one point and wandered into the kitchen to respond to wife’s questioning. Nasty hissing, crackling, and popping erupted in both ears, loud and immediate. I laughed and returned to the 15 foot radius. No further problems . . . until about the tenth day.
Put the kids to bed. Wife plopped at her computer. Turned out the lights and sat down to play. Ungodly, painful cracking, hissing, and popping penetrated my skull. Sound dropped mid game, came back, morphed into cracking, condensed into several loud pops then returned. Intolerable. Absolutely intolerable. I replaced the batteries. No effect. Tried to reach support forums at Turtle Beach. Forums under construction–no access.
That night I re-packaged them for return to Amazon.
Absolutely intolerable to be aurally assaulted by a $200 toy during the sole 90 minute time slot I carved out to play. And, intolerable for merely decent sound. Decent, mind you. Decent.
There were red flags. A smattering of posts/reviews mentioned the popping sound but I dismissed them as probable anomalies or user error. An audible hissing appeared when I first connected the headphones. Slight but sharp pops occurred when moving between screens using the console. The nasty interference appeared when out of range and when batteries ran low. I dealt with all as idiosyncratic quirks.
But, sudden melt down with no fix? No go.
I run a wireless home network. We rely heavily on it, primarily for my wife’s consulting business but also for media streaming. We live in an apartment building. Twenty odd neighbor SSIDs float around our unit. The phone is wireless. The Xbox controllers are wireless. The microwave emits it’s beams. Its a real live operating household we have here.
The X41s couldn’t handle it. The interference disrupts the radio signal.
Much like the infrared X4s the X41s work . . . almost. Wireless unit that functions randomly in a wireless environment? Untenable catch-22. Intolerable flaw at any price.
I am no pro gamer nor an audiophile. I loved the simple set up and kick-back wire free gaming. They stowed quickly so no hassle from the wife for my toys laying around. The transmitter had a jack for wired headphones so friends could connect too. Nice. But . . . flawed, painfully (literally) flawed.
I skipped the Tritton AX Pros–too fragile. Scads of reviews mentioned wire nests and breakage. I veered clear of Astro A40–too expensive, too hyped. Checked at Sennheiser PC350–too serious, no support for Xbox 360 without a mixamp, and too pricey.
Ultimately, I sucked it up and bought the A40s. Did it the same night I re-packaged the X41s. Spend high dollar to get quality right? Naive?
I worried about all the wires, about the fact that I’d now have to sit within wire length of the console, tethered like a pet. I worried about they over-hyped sound quality. And the price, the price.
Turns out, I love the A40 mixamp. Skip the A40 headphones– they do pump out beautiful, clear, distinct mid-range sounds. Bullets snap and whine. Foot steps, weapon reloads, the hum of machinery is all clear. Stand by a computer in an office building and listen to the whir. No kidding. All muted, though, oddly distant. Audio mavens call it the “sound stage”. A40s place you in the back third of the theater seating in my opinion. And the low end bass is downright wimpy. So, I will be returning them.
The Astro mixamp supports 3rd party headphones. Purchased the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPXs ([...]) after reading more reviews.
The Astro mixamp + HPX provides the solution for me. Metal and substantive matte black plastic comprise both the headphones and the mixamp. They look adult, professional. Astro packaging is stunning (I know it seems trivial but there’s a strong relationship between packaging and performance. Believe it.) Mixamp comes with a host of wires/adapters. Fear not. Simple to set up.
Current system generates outstanding, vivid, directional quality. The sound is immediate. Puts you in the opera boxes. Until I improve, the few killstreaks I manage come from audio alone. Its fantastic! The direction, even the angle of approach is discernible. I tracked down a sniper listening solely to the report of the .50 cal–as useful or more useful than the red radar blips the pop up when some one is firing. Super helpful in hardcore mode without the radar. Stand on the other side of a wall while listening to a firefight. You know exactly where the other players fall. Puts a grin on your face and a couple more kills toward a streak when the winner stumbles out the door and you blast him.
My current set up is all wired. I am tethered. Buy the 12 foot optical cable. The mixamp USB power cord extends 8-9 feet. The longer optical cable + long power cable let you place the mixamp right next to your seat. The short Xbox voice cord connecting controller to mixamp and the short cord from phones to mixamp prove no problem. Sit anywhere you want within the radius the longest cable provides. Ok, the wire nest does cover the floor. Wives and children pose a threat to the nest. So, you’ll have a little clean up. So what? C’mon.
My conclusion: despite the hype, wired connections still trump wireless–both for sound and reliablity. In my opinion, wireless audio remains adolescent all claims to the contrary. And, digitally simulated Dolby surround sound still, somehow (not a tech audio super engineer), weirdly pales in comparison. It is sophisticated but thin or wan–a photo-shopped model on a glossy page just not the real thing.
The HPXs have five–count ‘em–five speakers in each can. Mechanically complex. I am sure they’ll fail. I am sure digital software tech will far outstrip them leaving me at Dolby 5.1 instead of Dolby XX.1 released within the next few nanoseconds.
All said, you know what? At $80 with the Astro A40 mixamp they’re the answer. Today. And they’ll work–all day.
By the way, I connected all three head sets to my iPod to check out music quality. Gaming headsets are just not set up for high-end audiophilia. No luck. They’re better than the iPod earbuds, true. Oh, faint praise. Get the high-end Sennheiser’s (HD650) for music uber-listening. I suspect they’d work well for gaming too.
Review by C. J. Madson for Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)
Rating:
The Turtlebeach X41s are the only wireless dolby-equipped headphones I could find. I went back and forth between getting the 31s or 41s and decided that it was worth it for the extra clarity. There are some good comparisions of why Dolby isn’t necessarily great on AVSForums and I won’t cover that here, however keep in mind that your 360 isn’t capable of putting out 7.1, it’s a 5.1 device only. The packaging is nice, and the RF antenna/amp runs off of USB. The port on the back of the 360 is always on so I’d suggest using it. The other nice thing about this set is it actually comes with all the cables you need to run it! One thing that is a “gotcha” was the little caps on the TOSLINK. The plugs will fit in the hole with them still on, and you’ll spend a minute or two trying to figure out why they don’t have sound. Other than that, it’s pretty much plug and play. You have to set your xbox to use Dolby 5.1, and it’ll get on it. Remember, if you use HDMI you either have to use your TV’s TOSLINK out or do the Composite cable hack to get TOSLINK to work. Overall, this thing was one of the easiest electronic devices I’ve setup in awhile. Refreshing!
Now a review of the sound. It’s great! The sounds are clear, crisp, and there is no hissing if you setup your microphone per the instructions. I was getting some popping every once in awhile, it was due to the RF antenna being hidden behind my TV and not having LOS to where I was sitting. Besides that, I could hear direction of movement as people walked around me and it shifted accurately enough that you can move your virtual head with it. Awesome!
Downside, this thing is ridiculously overpriced. I’m sure it’s mostly because it is a dolby 7.1 rated device. I had a really hard time wanting to spend the money on this. I think a better price point would be 129 or 150 max. The only thing is, it is the cheapest dolby wireless headset you’ll find around. So, if you’re trying to keep your family sane as your pwn noobs in COD4; I’d recommend these headphones. The sound is clear, crisp, and the wireless makes it kid friendly. I can’t say that these are necessarily better than the 31s, but it was for me.