There has been a lot of talk lately about Turtle beaces so i am going to try and get reviews for a few of them (x41's, x31's and x1's)


x1:

This is not my own review, but i hope it helps:

Overview:
Ear Force X1 amplified headphones give serious gamers the ultimate competitive edge by combining Xbox Live chat and stereo game audio into an immersive sound experience.


X1's integrated design overcomes the limitation of communicator headsets that block game sound from one ear and eliminates voice chat interference caused by the headset microphone picking up sound from external speakers.


High-quality, comfortable, amplified headphones with a built-in microphone for game audio the way it was meant to be heard.

Boosts the sound level for a spectacular gaming experience. Features a game audio volume control and microphone mute.

The included 'puck' lets you connect the amplifier unit to the Xbox controller, so you can communicate with friends and foes during your gaming session. Xbox Live chat volume is also adjusted from here.

The included splitter cable lets you keep your existing speakers (or TV) plugged in, so you can easily switch between speakers and headphones.

What I used to test this item with:
Burnout Revenge,
Call of Duty 2.
Built-in Music Player:
Jazz, Techno, 80s Ska & Standard Chart Music.

Installation:
This is pretty easy, just a matter of putting the splitter cable between your red and white phono jacks, connecting the headphone cable to the splitter cable; then you need to plug the USB cable from the headphones into the extension lead and slip it into your Xbox. Now all you need to do is plug the puck into your controller and into the amp.

The thing that really hits you at this moment is the number of cables that these headphone require. However once setup the only cable seen is the headphones cable depending how you set them up.



The Headphones:
The headphones themselves have a very long cable and feature a very comfortable sponge head bar which is continued onto the ear pieces and is made of a light grey PCV material and surprisingly do not make your ears sweat after a long periods of playing.

Now for the sound quality of the headphones themselves. I first hit the music player and played some Jazz through them and was quite impressed with the depth of sound, although the midrange could have been better.

Next up was some Techno and I have to say this is where these headphones really excel. They pickup the bass levels extremely well giving you a truly head in a bass bin effect. I then went onto the 80s and Chart stuff and the headphones sounded pretty good, but some background hiss can be heard when a lot of vocals and not much actual music is playing.

Onto the game testing and first up is Burnout Revenge and right from the off these headphones performed very well even on the intro cut scene. Once in-game they truly blew me away, using the provided amplifier to tweak the volume up every minute.

You hear every single sound in perfect clarity and the way these headphones pickup the surround sound is mind blowing. As I said a little earlier these headphones pickup bass very well and in Burnout they really do excel. By the time I had the amplifier at 3/4's I could feel the air around my ears throbbing and pulsing with every explosion or impact.

So onto Call of Duty 2, again they sound pretty good watching the start cut scene. Now this is a great game to test for surround sound and I have to say these headphones performed very well indeed, even making me nervous once inside buildings as you hear footsteps above you.. NOO, beside you to the left, to the right.. Ahhhhhhh. Dead! : /

I found myself getting a little trigger happy and nervous at first as every sound is so close and clear. But this is a good thing and once you get use to it certainly gives you the edge.

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The Mic:
Now is the time to test the microphone, I was testing this with a few friends and they said I sounded clearer than normal. But when you have the amp cranked up quite high it can be a little hard to hear what people are saying due to loud music, game sounds and voices in Burnout.

When testing the microphone with Call of Duty 2 online it performed much better with no problems hearing other players, this is pretty much due to the fact there is no in-game music and the in-game sounds tend to come and go rather than be constant.



The Puck:
The Puck is the widget that plugs into the back of your controller and these feature a volume control for the mic only as the mute button is located on the amp. Unfortunately the Puck does not come across as good quality and although I have had no problems with it at all it does not seat itself on the controller that well. (See the picture below) And I really would like to have the mute button on the Puck.



The Amplifier:
The amplifier is located about a foot below the headphones on the cable and is not only small and lightweight it also looks and feels of good quality. The mute button is located here for the mic along with an LED to indicate whether the mic is muted or live. Personally I feel the mute button could stand out a little more making it easier to switch on and off, especially considering its located on a cable hanging from your ears. For the size of this little amp it really does kick out some amazing sound, very impressive.




Summary:
The Ear Force X1 headphone are among some of the best sounding headphones Ive used for gaming and no matter how loud I tuned up the amp they kept feeding me with crisp, loud and snappy sounds that not only heightened game play but also had an amazing effect on the air inside the headphones. Midrange could do with a tweak for general music playback though.


The Mic is of a high quality, much better than Microsoft's and I really could not find fault with them. The Puck on the other hand was the biggest let down in this package, the quality leaves a lot to be desired and it really needs to be redesigned a little to fit the controller a lot more snugly. But having said this I had no problems with the Pucks function at all.

I feel the quality of the speakers in the headphones makes this package as they really do knock out some very impressive sound with the included amp, especially for the shear size of it and left me and several friends quite amazed. The only thing I would like to see improved here is to either move the mute button onto the Puck or make it easer to switch the mute on and off.

x31:
This is not my review and is only here to help you make your decision:

The headset setup is straightforward and involves a few simple steps. First, insert the 3.5mm plug on the included X31 audio cable into the back of the RF Transmitter. Then insert the Xbox RCA plugs into the piggyback-designed RCA plugs on the X31 audio cable. The other end of the X31 RCA plugs can be connected to your television or audio receiver. The piggyback design of the X31 audio cable enables listening to television or headset audio without having to change connections. In order to continue using the HDMI video output along with the X31 Headset, I had to use the Xbox 360 HDMI Cable adapter, which includes an RCA audio adapter to connect the audio output to the RF Transmitter.


The Turtle Beach Ear Force X31:

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To power the RF Transmitter, just plug the USB into an available socket on the Xbox 360. The headset itself is powered by two AAA batteries, which should last somewhere around 20 hours of play, but Id definitely suggest using some rechargeable batteries, as that time can fly by after a few extended gaming sessions. The headset is designed to automatically turn off after five minutes of silence, so you dont need to worry about draining the batteries if you forget to switch them off. Another cool feature is that the mic also shuts itself off if you arent talking into it.

Upon placing the X31s on my head, I immediately noticed how comfortable they were. The ear cups are cushioned nicely and the cloth material feels softer than leatherand it will more than likely hold up over time better as well. During the last week, Ive spend a good bit of time with them on my head, and at no time did I feel the discomfort or tension that Ive noticed with other headsets Ive tried, such as the Pioneer headset I also currently have. No headaches and no sore ears with the Ear Force X31 headset! The microphone is attached to the headset by a wireframe design that enables the user to adjust its placement with optimal control. This is a much better setup than a mic that is on a fixed arm that simply swivel up or down from your face. With the Ear Force X31 Headset, you can tweak the mic with greater flexibility. To utilize the voice chat, the headset plugs into the Xbox 360 controller.

Contents:

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Designed specifically for the Xbox 360, the X31 Wireless Gaming Headset features a crystal-clear, digital RF wireless connection that performs better than I had expected. With the Pioneer headset, the signal is dependant on line of sight. Meaning, if something or someone gets in between the headset and the receiver, you can expect a drop in sound. The Ear Force X31s RF signal performs much better and is not dependant on line of sight.

Other than my home wireless network and wireless home phone, I dont have too much interference to worry about, and I was able to enjoy a continuous signal without any lag or drop from the X31s. This is because the RF technology of the Ear Force X31s uses advanced frequency-hopping, which scans for the best signal path to provide a reliable, lag-free connection. Thats not to say the headsets wireless signal cant pick up interference if you have a lot of 2.4GHz wireless devices nearby, so its generally a good idea to keep other wireless devices at a reasonable distance to minimize any potential for interference. In the time I spent moving around the room, I was able to maintain a consistent signal in the 15-20 foot range.

x41:

There has been a lot of talk lately about Turtle beaces so i am going to try and get reviews for a few of them (x41's, x31's and x1's)

Please note this is not my personal review but i hope it helps people make their decision:

The latest Surround Sound headset from Turtle Beach is the X41. They take all of the best features from their X4 headset and combine that with RF Technology to bring you a premier headset worthy of the pros.

They feature 7.1 surround sound and Chat boost technology to name a few of their features.

I have put these through their paces on all different types of games for this review, from FPS to Driving games and watched movies and listened to music through them.

Headphone design and feel

First and foremost this headset is light. So light in fact that you almost forget you are wearing them and feature a breathable fabric cup for your ears to prevent them from getting sweaty, this is very handy for those long gaming sessions.....

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The main draw for me with this headset is that everything you need is right there on your left ear. Volume, Bass Boost, Mic cable input and the power button, it just feels natural the way Turtle Beach have engineered them.