First, let me say that I have a bit more experience with 5.1 headphones than the average consumer. I have owned many, made by everyone from Kinyo to Zalman and Tritton. With this knowledge it carries some weight when I say these offer some of the richest and clearest sound of any of them. I hear details in the sound and a wider range than with any of my previous headsets. The 5.1 is also quite good, I can pinpoint where sound is coming from pretty easily, and the sound fields sound a lot more balanced than with something like the Tritton AX360. Finally, the bass is very good even without the boost enabled, with it on it can almost be overpowering. The sound continues to impress even when watching movies or TV, and the Pro Logic 2 is nice when you only have a 2 channel source. The X4's are easy to hook up, with Optical in and RCA in you can easily hook up any audio source for use with them.
Overall, I would say the sound is some of the best I have heard from a 5.1 headset. That isn't to say it's perfect, there is a very slight hiss at all times when the headphones are on. You can only hear it when there is no other sound so it's not detrimental, as you don't notice it while using them, but it is there. Honestly though, I'm not sure if it is really anymore prevalent than the hiss found in most of the other headphones I have tried. It seems like they all had this to some extent. As for the wireless, it works very well and I haven't had any problems with it, the hiss doesn't really seem to be associated with the wireless, because if I cover the receivers on the headset I get different white noise.
The headphones themselves are very comfortable, easily half the weight of the AX360 and don't make my ears get nearly as hot. It is easy to forget they are even there.
The thing that really sets these headphones apart is not the great sound or comfortable design; it's the expert implementation of voice chat. Unlike the AX360 and every other 5.1 headset the X4 allows you to adjust the chat volume independently of the other sound. This works very well, you can clearly hear people talking even over a cacophony of other noise. On the AX360 I would have to turn the in-game music off, and lower all the other sound to be able to hear the other players reliably, the X4 takes care of all that. The microphone for speaking to other players is good and clear, it is easy to remove and attach. Additionally, some of your voice is transmitted back into the headset, so you can more easily hear yourself speak, and thus speak normally unlike with other headphones.
However, as great as the voice is, it also is not perfect. When you hook the voice up the hiss I mentioned before intensifies significantly, I attribute this to the controller putting out some white noise, but it is noticeable. It won't bother you while you are talking and playing, but I found myself unplugging the voice when no one was talking because the hiss was a bit disruptive. I wouldn't call this a deal breaker, but it is a minor imperfection and worth mentioning. Even with that small problem, the X4 is easily the best implementation of voice in a 5.1 headset, and a must own if you plan to play multiplayer while using your headphones.
Overall, the X4 is a very good attempt at a gaming centric pair of 5.1 headphones. The wireless is great and does not seem to degrade the audio. The headphones are comfortable and provide clear and rich sound, with good sound fields for the 5.1 support. The voice implementation is the best found anywhere, and works great aside from some slight background noise. I would recommend the X4 headphones to anyone wanting a great pair of headphones for use with their Xbox 360 and other game consoles and audio sources. With gaming in mind they are the best solution available. However, if you do not own a 360, I can't really recommend the X4 over other headphones, because the thing that really sets them apart is the voice support. They are very good headphones in their own right, but for less you could get a similar pair of headphones for movies and music and such without the voice that would sound just as good.
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I will first mention that I have the Earforce X3's and had an issue with hissing that was attributed to the microphone feedback "feature" which allows you to hear how loud you are talking. The amount of feedback is not user adjustable so I sent them back to Turtle Beach to be tweaked. When I got them back the hissing was decreased but still present (I would have preferred they turn off the feature altogether).I bought the X4's hoping they would have addressed the hissing and they had not. That being said the X4's have very good 5.1 sound. The hissing is at its loudest when the cable from the puck is plugged into the headphones. If I'm playing single player games I do not plug it in and they sound great. Even with the cable plugged in the hissing is only detremental when there is no game sounds or in a lobby and hardly noticeable in the heat of action.
A nice feature is the fact that I can receive 5.1 surround on my X4's and X3's at the same time which is nice for watching movies with the wife and not waking up the baby (and yes the X4's do sound better than the X3's in a side by side comparison over 5.1). Another nice feature is that it has an optical out so if I want to play the sound through my receiver and surround speakers I just turn on the receiver without rewiring.
Bottom line is for the price and the fact they work flawlessly through xbox live these are a great wireless option.
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I have been a user of Turtle Beach headsets for a long while now. I love the Ear Force X1 headset for my PC so i decided to try this headset for my 360.I received this in the mail yesterday and was completely blown away by the product. The earcups are very soft and comfortable. The setup took all of about 5 minutes from start to finish (You just need to remove the plug from the "Digital In" port on the receiver which took me about 2 minutes to figure out... yeah, I'm not too bright! :P) Of course, if you only have an analog A/V connection, you can work with that as well but the digital input is the way to go
I decided to break this in with another new investment I made: Guitar Hero III and let me tell you I was in awe by the sound! I then decided to watch my Wrestlemania 24 DVD and the 5.1 sound was crisp and clear. In fact, you could say it was too good as I completely lost track of time and before I knew it, it was after 11pm!
There is only 1 drawback I have noticed so far, you need to be in a clear line to the receiver otherwise you hear a little interference (Like white noise) in the right earphone. Once I turned the receiver, the interference promptly stopped.
Of course price is a factor ($200 is quite an investment), but this is quite possibly, the last headset you will EVER have to buy! I wholehearted recommend the Turtle Beach Ear Force X4 Headphones!
Honest reviews on Ear Force X4 Dolby Digital Wireless (Headphones) - Xbox 360
I have used the Ear Force X1, X2, X3 and now the X4's.Each new model offers needed and welcomed enhancements over the previous. The X3's were nearly perfect to me. So I figure why not try the X4!
Pros:
-Earcups are more comfy than the X3
-If you are watching Dolby Digital, Pro Logic, Headphone profiles they will enhance the sound.
Cons:
-The Stand, it can ONLY stand up. And the little headphone holder sticking out of the top can NOT be removed
-For anyone watching Movies that are in DTS, or pretty much anything on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, these will not do a thing for you besides give you stereo. Audio can ONLY be in Dolby formats, but not Dolby HD that is on new bluray and HD-DVD.
-The sound is not very noticeably different than the X3's.
For half the price, go with the X3 and get equal quality.
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I bought these so I could game without disturbing others or be disturbed. Nothing worse than not being able to hear your teammates online at a critical moment. These headphones were all I'd hoped for with just a few minor annoyances which I'll list below.Pros -
1. Sound Quality. Great sound, especially when hooked up to the digital output of my xbox. (minor problem with hiss, see cons). Playing games with these headphones seems almost unfair. Hearing the location of the competition without seeing them is a huge advantage and leaves them clueless on how you got the jump on them.
2. Chat Function. Game chat is near perfect, greatly improved over the standard headset. Chat is clearer in both directions and the auto volume level helps keep chat intelligable over loud game audio. The separate chat volume is great for fine tuning. The plug/puck for connecting to the xbox headset is a great design, puts the mute switch and volume control right on the controller within thumbs reach and the jack stays connected, unlike the standard headset plug.
3. Comfort. Headset is very comfortable with a few minor issues (see below). The ear pads are very soft cloth and the head band is well padded. There are a few small issues. First, they are a bit heavy and you will notice this after long periods of use. Second, the pressure applied to hold them to your ears is a bit to much for my liking. Would have been nice to have a little adjustment, also they won't adjust small enough for children to wear at all.
4. Good design and well built, other head phones feel like they might break if your to hard on them, these feel very solid.
5. Range. You can go just about anywhere in the room and keep a good signal as long as you maintain line of site. My family room is good sized and no issues at all. One minor issue is the transmitter needs to be high up. I originally had it down low (less than 1 ft. above floor) and if you tip you head back the signal degrades and you get a loud hiss in you ears. Placing the transmitter higher than waist level helped quite a bit.
Cons -
1. Price. At $180 they are very expensive. I'm happy I have them, but feel they are over priced and the X3's may have been more cost effective.
2. Hiss. There is a constant hiss from the IR transmitter which is very noticable when game sounds are absent and the volume is high. When game sounds are active you don't notice it so much. Some people will be bothered more than others by this. I find it very annoying and will actually play games at a lower volume to reduce it as much as possible. For the $$ they should have addressed this.
3. Isolation. Whether by design or not, they do not block out ambient noise very well. I can still hear sounds in the room very easily. This is a con for me, maybe a pro for others?
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