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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program About 2 years ago my fiance was complaining about the noise from my surround receiver and my gaming habit. I took the plunge and bought the Ear Force X41 and couldn't have been happier... except for the near constant popping and clicking I heard. Moving the receiver away from my wireless router fixed some of this, but still, I would get the pops at random intervals and it could be quite annoying. Don't even try to use the microwave if you have the X41s turned on and on your head!
I then received a Steel Series Spectrum 7xB via Vine and did a comparison to the X41s. The 7xBs were only marginally better at keeping down the interference and the extra features over the X41s really didn't make me want to move into using them day to day, so I went back to the X41s not long after my review for the 7xB.
Now I'm comparing the XP400s to the X41s and I think I'm going to be sticking to the XP400s this time around.
First, there is NO interference to be heard on the XP400s. You read that correctly, NONE. I put the receiver almost on top of the wireless router that caused all my issues with the X41s and the 7xBs and not once in 4 hours of playing like this did I hear even a faint pop or click! I even tried to use the microwave and... still, no pops or clicks! For many people this alone will be the single best reason to upgrade from previous Turtle Beach models.
Pairing to the wireless controller communicator was done at the factory, so it really was a matter of: charge the headphones, plug in the receiver to the 360 (I used optical and replaced the X41 receiver), plug the headphone puck into the controller and power up the headphones. Powering up the headphones also turned on the wireless puck.
You can control the volume of game chat with buttons on the right headphone, mute is also on this headphone as is the Bluetooth pairing for cell phones. Being able to pair via Bluetooth is also how this headset also works with the PS3. PS3 chat isn't bad, but not as nice for me as the 360 chat, for which these headphones seem to have been designed. I paired this to my phone and made a few calls everyone thought I sounded OK, just a little tinny.
Another nice feature is the mic gain control. This is what changes the mic sensitivity. With it turned all the way up, I hear a near constant hiss and those in my party commented that they could hear a lot of background noise, such as the heater running and family members talking in the background. I dialed this down, which eliminated most of the hiss, if not all, and my chat partners all commented that I was then quite clearly heard, however, I was still described as sounding "tinny."
One feature I really liked about the X41s was how no matter what volume I had the game volume set to, I could always clearly hear my party's conversations because they had some algorithm to figure out and volume match in game audio and raise chat volume when explosions and other loud audio is heard in game. The XP400 do as good a job as the X41s, which means it's quite a solid experience to hear conversation clearly as well as in game audio. The 7xBs had a similar feature, but it would actually audibly turn the volume down of game volume, which was kind of distracting, which was another reason I went back to the X41s.
The detachable microphone is nice, and seems to be about the same as the X41, though the XP400 is a bit thicker and beefier. The connection seems to be the same, though I haven't yet tried swapping mics between the two. I preferred the 7xB due to the retractable mic, but that feature alone wasn't a big enough reason for me to use them all the time.
In terms of sound quality, since the XP400s can use digital audio output from the 360 (and it can also take analog, that red and white connection), you get very clear audio and darn good surround sound as well. In terms of the X41 vs the XP400, I think the XP400 has a little bit of an edge in terms of sound quality. In game surround just sounds better with the XP400s to me. The XP400 also has the ability to change the surround configuration to 4 different presets, all changing how it mixes each "channel" of audio in headphone. I've tried all 4 presets and each does change surround configuration subtly. I find the original surround mode works best for my ears.
Another nice feature is the preset "equalizer" modes. You can enhance nothing (what comes from the 360 is what you hear), you can enhance just bass for bigger explosions, you can enhance just treble for some dialog enhancements and other higher pitched sounds and then you can enhance both. I find I prefer the "both" option as it makes the audio sound a bit richer. All of these settings sound better, to me, than the 7xBs.
There is one feature, however, that I am completely not happy with on the XP400s. The battery is rechargeable, which is good, however it is built into the headset. It is NOT user replaceable! This means that in 2 years or so, after many recharge cycles, I'll either be forced to buy another pair of headphones or send these to Turtle Beach to pay a fee to have the battery replaced. I absolutely hate this about modern day electronics. Absolutely detest it built in obsolescence so that people have to spend more money with the company releasing the product. iPad, iPhone, many Android phones, other MP3 players, etc. It's a huge load of horse patoot in my opinion. I like the X41s because I can field replace the AAA batteries on my own. 7xBs, same thing, replaceable batteries. Not so with the XP400. Thankfully you can still use the headphones while they are charging, however this means they aren't always wireless. Nothing is more annoying than having the headphones die mid game and then have to plug in. Of course, this isn't a completely different experience over having to replace the batteries mid play either, just different. I understand the need for a more powerful battery given the added features Bluetooth eats battery, being completely wireless eats battery and so on. Just because I understand the need for more power than a few AAAs, doesn't mean I like having to have planned obsolescence and not being able to purchase and replace the battery on my own.
One thing that is an improvement is the XP400 actually gives you beeps to tell you the headset needs to be recharged. There was nothing more annoying with the XP41s to have them just die mid game, especially during multiplayer fighting as you stop hearing game audio AND chat when this happens. At least now I have about a 10 minute warning before the battery completely dies.
Turtle Beach claims 10 hours of battery life on a single charge for "normal" use and 15 for "optimal" use. What I've found is I can actually pull off about 12 13 hours if I turn off the Bluetooth function and just use it for game audio when I'm playing on my own. Adding BT and chat all the time and I'm down to around 11 hours.
Over all, the XP400s are a great improvement in every way to the XP41s in everything except for the battery being non-replaceable by the end user. Of course, the MSRP on the XP400 is about $20 higher than the X41s so there is that to remember.
Pros:
Great surround sound
True surround sound, not simulated when using optical audio
Chat and game audio equalization (chat isn't covered up by in game sounds)
Completely wireless
No interference
360/PS3 compatibility
Can be paired to your cell phone and used while gaming no fumbling to put headphones down to answer a call
10+ hour play time
Can be used w/ third party controllers (see Con below)
A step above the X41s
Adjustable microphone gain if you want to hear yourself louder in the headphones, turn this up. If others in your chat can't hear you clearly, turn this up
BT pairing to cell phone
Cons:
Tinny chat sound during party chat on 360 according to those in my parties
Battery isn't user replaceable
Third party (or 1st party wheels) require a cable for chat, which is NOT included (THOUGH THOSE w/ THE X41s, the cable that came with those headphones DOES work)
Pricey
Why 4 stars? That battery thing does really annoy me. IF you don't mind not having the ability to replace the battery and don't mind the price, these are a solid 5 stars.
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I was able to snag these on Amazon a few days ago for $180, which was a STEAL! I mainly play MW3 (XBOX) so here is my review for now, I will update my review in a week or two with updates on the Surround Sound Angles.WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
XP400 Wireless Headset
XP400 Transmitter
Digital Optical Cable (approx 4 feet)
Headset Charging Cable (12 feet)
Bluetooth Chat Adapter (PS3 & XBOX Compatible)
User Guide
Turtle Beach Sticker
WHAT'S NOT IN THE BOX?
XBOX Live TalkBack Cable
CONSOLE COMPATIBILITY:
XBOX
PS3
PC
FEATURES:
Bluetooth (BT) XBOX Live Chat or optional Wired Chat. I've tried both and the Wired Chat sounds better and breaks up less obviously, but I wanted to be completely wireless so I went with the Wireless BT. BT for cellphones so you can receive, deny or end calls via the headset which is awesome. *Note, the TurtleBeach XBOX Live TalkBack Cable is NOT included.*
Mic, the mic is removable and it has a "mic monitor" dial which is awesome. I turn it all the way up so I can hear myself so I don't scream.
Battery, it has a built in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. I'm not too sure how I feel about this yet, as being able to replace batteries can be nice it can also be very inconvenient. You can also charge the headset while playing with no popping, hissing, humming, etc which was great.
Surround Sound Angles, it comes with 6 surround sound angles, I have yet to find one I like best but they all work surprisingly well. Better than the older X41s and XP500.
Surround Sound ON/OFF Button is also nice to hear the difference.
Blast Limiter, I thought this was awesome. It allows you to "limit" the sound of background blast and gun fire to focus on the soft sounds such as footsteps, which I rely on heavily since I use Dead Silence in MW3.
Tone Presets, it comes with 4 tones presets, flat, bass boost, treble boost, and bass & treble boost. I prefer Flat myself.
SOUND:
Bass/Treble/Mids Amazingly clear and loud, they sound better than the X32's I returned for these.
BUILD: Awesome build, not as cheap as the X32, overall a much better build quality.
COMFORT:
The headset is very comfortable. The ear cups also are comfortable around my ears and they don't put pressure on my head so they don't give me headaches which is nice. They are slightly too big for my smaller head however, but they fit good enough.
HAVE A WIRELESS ROUTER:
I have a Netgear Dual-Band router with a total of 10 devices connected wirelessly, 7 on the 2.4GHz spectrum and 3 on the 5GHz spectrum and I have NO issues of any popping, hissing, humming, buzzing, etc.
HAVE LOTS OF WIRELESS DEVICES:
I have had 2 iPhones, an iPad, Roku, Roku2, iMac and PC laptop connected wirelessly at the same time while I game with NO issues. Keep in mind my Xbox is the only thing I have hard wired. I also have turned the microwave on two rooms away and still have NO, I repeat NO issues.
WIRELESS ROUTER IN CLOSE PROXIMITY:
I also have my headset no less 8 feet away from my router and STILL DO NOT have any issues. This is an amazing headset.
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Coming from the X41s, I had high expectations of the XP400s.-Pros-
Surround processing is very accurate and detailed.
Bluetooth wireless chat.
New Dual-band radio eliminates nearly all interference for my setup.
-Cons-
Chat. Others complain it sounds like I'm talking through a coffee can.
Non-replaceable battery.
EQ modes very limited.
Blast limiter seems like it is always enabled, even when turned off.
Product Features
"Dolby Surround Sound Immersive 360 degree audio lets you pinpoint the direction of every sound"
This it does, and does very well. No complaints here. It even seems improved over the X41's surround processing.
"2.4/5GHZ Dual-Band Wi-Fi Selects the optimum frequency in the 2.4GHz/5GHz spectrums, virtually eliminating interference"
BIG upgrade over the X41. I used to get tons of interference from the microwave, video baby monitor, wireless... pretty much anything that plugged into the wall. Now I just get an occasional drop out... about once every hour or two.
"Dual-Pairing Bluetooth Answer mobile phone calls while gaming"
Great feature, albeit unnecessary. Good if you miss calls because your headphones are too loud.
*update 4/27/12 this feature has come in handy and works very well. It is slick being able to answer the phone mid-game and not have to wrestle around with the phone and headset.
"Wireless Xbox LIVE and PSN Chat Enjoy complete wireless freedom without the need for chat cables"
GREAT idea, but something isn't right. I've seen others mention the thin sound, like in a tunnel. I can hear them fine, they sound great... but they have a hard time understanding me. I've had quite a few friends complain about how I sound. "what's wrong with your mic?" "are you in a tunnel?" "are you chatting through a soup can?" "What did you say???" For this price, this shouldn't happen. I am currently working with turtlebeach to see if it is an isolated case, or just some shortcut they took on the mic itself.
*update 4/27/12 Worked with turtle beach. Did everything they suggested with no improvement. They kindly offered to RMA the boom itself, and I may decide to try it but I don't have much confidence it will change much. I say that based on the many other comments about the chat.
"Rechargeable Battery Provides up to 15 hours of uninterrupted gameplay and can be recharged while gaming"
This SOUNDS like a great idea, but it has 2 major flaws. If you need to charge while playing, it defeats the purpose of a wireless headset. The charging cable they give you is quite long, so you aren't strapped 4 feet from your 360. Also, at some point, that battery is going to wear out. LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries have limited charge cycles. Time will tell the quality of the cells, and what options we will have in the future.
"50 mm speakers; 2.4/5GHz Dual-Band Wi-Fi"
Speakers sound great, read on for my sound complaints.
*update 4/27/12 The sound really is good. It sounds better than the x41s did, as well as better than my sony and sennheiser headphones.
"Digital and Analog inputs as well as a digital optical connection"
Connectivity is simple if you already have an optical audio cable coming from the 360.
"Dolby Surround Sound with adjustable surround sound angles"
This is where I nit-pick. I don't fully understand the point of adjustable sound angles. Dolby surround is VERY specific about ideal speaker placement, and the surround sound processor should stick strictly to that in order to maintain 360 degree, positional sound. See The first surround sound angle option out of the 6 is the one that seems to be set for the correct speaker angles. The other ones all made the sounds to the side and behind seem like they were coming from incorrect angles.
"Dual-pairing Bluetooth Chat wirelessly on Xbox 360 and PS3 and answer mobile phone calls while gaming"
Already been covered. Cool, possibly useful, but a creature comfort.
"Separate equalizer and stereo expander presets can be combined for different gaming situations"
Once again, This headset loses some points for me. Yes, there are 4 EQ presets. Normal, Treble boost, Bass Boost, and Treble + Bass boost. Here's the problem. The normal mode is very flat. Very little bass. Treble boost is way too bright. almost ear piercing. Bass boost alone is just rumbling. Then the bass and treble boost is the least of 4 evils I guess. Still too much bright and too much bass. There really needs to be a happy medium. Right between normal and bass and treble boost would be ideal.
"Dynamic Chat Boost. Chat volume automatically increases as the game volume gets louder."
This function isn't noticeable, so in my opinion that means it is working. It took a day to really tweak the chat volume level but now that I got a good comfortable setting, it is fine.
"Ear Guard(tm) with Blast Limiter. Limit the intensity of deafening game sounds like gunfire and explosions."
Another great idea, but it seems flawed. I understand they don't want you to blow your eardrums, but it seems like it is always on, even when in the "Off" setting.
All in all, I guess I am happy with them. I don't plan on returning the headset, but I do think you should get a little better bang for your buck. Especially the chat mic sounding horrible. I understand that from a $5 generic chat headset, not a $220 set of high tech headphones.
Honest reviews on Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset
I've had and been playing with this headset for about 2 weeks now and I must admit, TurtleBeach finally got it right. Last year I bought the PX5 which I had to return due to background noise and crackling sounds, plus interference with my 2.4GHz router. So this time around, I was a bit hesitant, I've been looking for a decent headset to use during late night hours, so I don't keep my wife up. I looked into Razer, but heard complaints from many gamers about the overall comfort of the headset, so I kept on looking. Finally, I stumbled upon these cans and the first thing I noticed was that it now works at a 2.4/5GHZ Dual-Band WiFi frequency, which is a big plus, specially for those who have a standard 2.4GHz router. I will go into more details..Package contains the following:
1 XP400 of course, 1 receiver, 1 VERY cheap optical cable, 1 bluetooth chat receiver for the 360 controller 1 set of instructions. What I wish we had gotten: replaceable batteries instead of built-in, a better quality optical cable and a stand for the headset
Now the features and performance....
Frequency:
As I already stated, these cans have a dual band frequency, which so far has done its job. I have not experienced any of the issues I had with the PX5, the sound is clear, crisp and there's no background hiss or noise. The headset will chose the frequency that best suits the environment; if you have a wireless network with a standard 2.4 router, then you will benefit by getting the XP400 instead of XP500 which uses a single signal frequency at 2.4GHZ, which is the same as last year's PX5 that had the same crackling and interference issues. Anyway, back to the XP400... these use a dual bluetooth signals for voice, meaning, you can place/receive calls while gaming; one of the chanels opens up and the other closes while the call is ongoing, once you hang up, the chat chanel re-opens, making the entire phone call private. Nicely done.
Design:
The design is exactly the same as the the PX5 and now the newer XP500. Padded head strap & ear cups, plastic construction. The receiver is about the size of a dish washing sponge. The mic. as with the other models, can be removed. Also, the cups can be swung side ways, so if you must rest in between sessions, no need to take these cans off, simply put the cups on their sides and let them rest on you. It includes a wireless chat adpater, which uses Blue-Tooth signals, both the chat and headset come already paired; if this is not the case, pairing is explained and simple to do. The receiver also comes paired. Chat quality is clear and I did not notice any signal drops. There's an option to have wired chat, in case you use the Xbox chat pad, which can't be used (won't fit) with the wireless option. You will need an OPTICAL output from your Xbox, PS3 or whatever you are using these for. An optical cable is included, but its quaility is questionable. Get a regular quality 6 footer instead.
Sound Quality:
Much much better than previous models, you have 3 pre-setttings, bass, treb and bass+treb tweaks. So you can chose to have more bass, treb or both. I like the latter one personally. I tested games such as Max Payne 3, 50 Cent (for bass purposes) and BF3. I was quite pleased with the results, directional sound wasn't 100% accurate, but I'd say 90%, but then again, it also depends on the game you are playing. I did however, noticed that the max volume wasn't as loud as other models, I guess after years of blasting my surround sound system, I was expecting higher levels. Still, the sound from these cans, is superb. The receiver has options to turn the surround on/off and it also comes with surround paramaters, 6 in total; the instructions booklet explains them more in detail, they're basically positional parameters (side, rear, etc). By the way, the sound tweaks can only be done from the headset itself and the surround from the receiver only. All in all, the sound is great, however, consider this: this cans have only ONE driver in each cup, wich is used for all aspects (bass, treb, etc), so don't expect surround sound system quality.
Pairing with the PS3.
The XP400 does not come pre-paired for chatting with the PS3, you must do this from the PS3 menu, pairing is easy, but the signal output was a bit tricky to get. I have a home theater system, so if you do, make sure that in the PS3 audio options you chose "Dual Chanel Output", or you won't hear anything on your XP400. Once that's done, they work flawlessly.
The headset however, has its flaws and here they are:
First, built-in battery, so if the case that yours die after numerous charges, you can't replace it without sending the whole unit in to Turtle Beach.
Second, NO STAND. nothing. I would've settled for a stick with a hook on it. You must leave this cans wherever you can think would be a safe place, so your kid, your cat or mother nature won't knock it off and smash it on the ground. A simple stand with no connections would've been fine. But instead, we get nothing.
Third, as with the PX5, the signal on these puppies dropped at a range of only 20 feet, there's a half wall where I was standing, so I wasn't at the other side of my house. The signal starting to crackle and finally dropped. This time around however, once I got back in range, the signal came back on its own without any issues. Unlike the PX5 that would suffer from signal hiss and popping.
In conclusion, you may be tempted to get the XP500, because honestly, its base does look great, but it doesn't have the dual band that the 400s have, which can be a major performance factor in a wireless network. And, just as I said on my previous review of the PX5s, the XP500's reciever has only 2 digital plugs. One in, one out and at that price, more should've been included.
So that's my experience so far with the XP400s, so far they have exceeded my expectations. With it's dual band frequency, improved sound and comfortable design, this headset delivers where others lack.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset
I have the equivalent xp500 model and like many others who have at worst a moderately modern level of tech within the house, the set was useless with constant drops, cracks, whistles, the nine. The base unit on their 2.4 ghz line just stunk up the place, I spent hours adjusting positions and everything to get a clear, non-interrupted signal to no luck.I constantly upgrade my router to the latest tech but have been going the dual band route for the better part of the last few years so I was sort of skeptical on the addition of the 5ghz band on the xp400 but after trying it, I was pleasantly surprised, it worked like a absolute charm. My current router is the top of the line asus rt66u that just came out and I have mutliple devices residing on both bands so I am asking quite a lot of the the xp400 but so far, I haven't gotten one interruption, it's been flawless. For people in my boat, it's worth a try, the new base seems considerably better in tech so far.
As far as flaws, I would say just like the other models, the bass is extremely underwhelming as compared to other companies. That hasn't changed, it's still the same speakers. The xp500 had a lot of buttons on it, I can imagine people complained about that. The xp400 has a more streamlined approach but a few of the buttons have been moved to the base which was silly in my opinion. The surround angles button being on the base just didn't make sense to me. The xp500 had RCA jacks which was nice as you could hook up a system thru the optical wire then go RCA jack from the tv to listen to tv thru them. While possible on the xp400, it involves getting a RCA to 3.5mm adapter. Conversely, the xp400 has the xbox360 transmitter included where the the xp500 required an additional purchase. Only other difference is the xp500/px5 had preset and configurable sound modes that aren't on the xp400, but those sound modes where so pointless and horrible sounding, it just not a flaw to not have them.
I also have a Logitech 2.4ghz headset that has always worked flawlessly regardless of router being used. They are more sound isolating so the sound is much more immersive and bass heavy but as others have stated, the turtle beach line really does do the high frequencies to a level of quality you just don't get in other sets. End of the day, it's a pick your poison. From a technical sound standpoint, the speakers in the xp line can't be matched on the wireless sound front. On a 'I need a punch' standpoint, there are a few out there that really do it much better. End of the day, it's a preference. I love sound isolation for music, but for tv and games, I think prefer not to have sound isolation so for me,the xp400's are the best wireless gaming headsets on the market.
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