What aftermarket headset?

Swanny32

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I'm stumped and looks for some help lads and lasses.

I've never used an aftermarket headset, always used the official 360 headset for chatting and just had the audio through my TV like normal, despite all my friends swearing by turtle beach headsets.

A few weeks ago, after barely 2 months of use and not being mistreated in the slightest, my official Xbox One headset packed up. A new one was sent out by MS but I've decided to get a decent headset.

My demands:
£150 budget
Wireless from console, don't mind having a cable from the controller to the headset but I can't have a cable from the console to the headset as I have a dog and kids who will no doubt trip over it and break something.
Surround Sound - Decent quality sound too

Would be nice:
Ability to stream music to the headset

So far I have been looking at the new XO7's but after speaking to a TB rep this afternoon on email he confirmed they were a wired headset. Also looked at the upcoming Polk headset but the cost of fixing these outside of warranty scares me a bit and no parts are available for them t would seem, also the Astro's but not sure if Astro are going to have access to an X1 adaptor anytime soon.

What would you guys recommend to me?
 
What also worries me about the Polk (despite me really liking the look of them) is that people have said that the Melee (same as the Polk but 360 version) was a bit quiet on voice chat due to the position of the mic.
 
My understanding was that all headsets designed for the X1 were wired into the controller then no further wires. Are you sure the TB rep had the right end of the stick?
 
I explained it to him pretty much the same way I have here and he said "Sorry, the XO7 is a wired headset" I then emailed him back and asked him to confirm if there was a cable running from the headset to the console and he hasn't bothered to respond.
 
Right, I have loads of headsets, mainly turtle beach ones and now some Tritton warheads (xbox 360 only)

My current TB's work like so.

I have the XP500 bluetooth wireless ones.
The base unit plugs into the xbox one via usb and the optical cable port is also included.

When using the xbox 360, there is a wireless adapter that plugs into the 360 controller to allow you to party chat. On the xbox one controller the design is different so they are making adapters as we speak but wont be ready until the first quarter so March time, hopefully sooner.

For the time being you can chat through kinnect until the adapters become available, the headset will still work fine and dolby 7.1 surround when gaming.

This headset is scarily customisable, you can change the way your voice sounds. There are 8 presets for gaming, so if you want to hear footsteps louder in any fps game you can press a button on the headset and scroll through.

The best thing is, for me anyway, as soon as I turn them on, they connect to my phone and macbook if my bluetooth is turned on either device. So if im gaming alone and waiting in a lobby or playing forza, I can play music from my laptop or phone to play along with the game sound.

Even better, when im playing online and someone phones me, I can answer via the headset and it mutes my chat and I can play online and talk on the phone without any hassle.

Worth every penny, just keep the base unit a good 6ft away from your internet hub or you may get slight feedback, I know the bt hubs are the same frequency as the base unit.

They were £269 when I wanted them but got a bargain on amazon or a mistake and paid £135 for them, I think they are £169 via TB or £10 cheaper on amazon.
 
Right, I have loads of headsets, mainly turtle beach ones and now some Tritton warheads (xbox 360 only)

My current TB's work like so.

I have the XP500 bluetooth wireless ones.
The base unit plugs into the xbox one via usb and the optical cable port is also included.

When using the xbox 360, there is a wireless adapter that plugs into the 360 controller to allow you to party chat. On the xbox one controller the design is different so they are making adapters as we speak but wont be ready until the first quarter so March time, hopefully sooner.

For the time being you can chat through kinnect until the adapters become available, the headset will still work fine and dolby 7.1 surround when gaming.

This headset is scarily customisable, you can change the way your voice sounds. There are 8 presets for gaming, so if you want to hear footsteps louder in any fps game you can press a button on the headset and scroll through.

The best thing is, for me anyway, as soon as I turn them on, they connect to my phone and macbook if my bluetooth is turned on either device. So if im gaming alone and waiting in a lobby or playing forza, I can play music from my laptop or phone to play along with the game sound.

Even better, when im playing online and someone phones me, I can answer via the headset and it mutes my chat and I can play online and talk on the phone without any hassle.

Worth every penny, just keep the base unit a good 6ft away from your internet hub or you may get slight feedback, I know the bt hubs are the same frequency as the base unit.

They were £269 when I wanted them but got a bargain on amazon or a mistake and paid £135 for them, I think they are £169 via TB or £10 cheaper on amazon.

Dexy, I was looking at getting a pair of XP500's and seen that you can send your X1 headset to a guy on ebay and he'll connect a new cable to the adaptor so you can use them for X1 controllers, only £18.99 as well. I've been told that they suffer from interference though and as I use a BT Hub5 do you think this would be an issue for me, the hub is in a different room but it's directly behind me meaning that the wireless signal to my xbox would go straight over the top of me.

Also, I'm told with the XP500's the bass level isn't very good, what do you make of it?
 
I explained it to him pretty much the same way I have here and he said "Sorry, the XO7 is a wired headset" I then emailed him back and asked him to confirm if there was a cable running from the headset to the console and he hasn't bothered to respond.

A turtle beach marketing person on their forums is saying that the only wire is between headset and controller.

I think ALL specifically designed X1 headsets will work like that. They plug into the controller directly and sound is processed on X1 and sent wirelessly to the controller.
 
A turtle beach marketing person on their forums is saying that the only wire is between headset and controller.

I think ALL specifically designed X1 headsets will work like that. They plug into the controller directly and sound is processed on X1 and sent wirelessly to the controller.
I thought this would be the case, seemed odd that the rep who emailed me said it was wired.

That being said, are the XP500's going to be better than the XO7 as the XP500's can stream music. Ok, I have to buy an adaptor from ebay to use them but that isn't going to result in me losing any features is it?
 
Dexy, I was looking at getting a pair of XP500's and seen that you can send your X1 headset to a guy on ebay and he'll connect a new cable to the adaptor so you can use them for X1 controllers, only £18.99 as well. I've been told that they suffer from interference though and as I use a BT Hub5 do you think this would be an issue for me, the hub is in a different room but it's directly behind me meaning that the wireless signal to my xbox would go straight over the top of me.

Also, I'm told with the XP500's the bass level isn't very good, what do you make of it?

Im also using the home hub 5 for my setup, I used to have it beside the base unit but moved it to the other side of the tv maybe 4 feet and I have no interference at all now.

I did the headset mod myself also, I purchased a turtle beach talkback cable for £9 and chopped one end off and soldered it into the xbox one headset puck, it works perfectly but Im waiting for the bluetooth transmitters to be available. As of now, gaming with the headset can be done wireless and chat you need the cable from headset to controller, or use kinect, it wont be long until the adapters are out. In fact turtle beach are giving away a free adapter with 4 types of headset, you should go and read up on their site, I think you can go into game and buy turtle beaches and just put the receipt number into the TB website and claim a free adapter.

As for the bass, ok so its not punching my head off but its suitable for me just now. Worth trying a few sets if you can.
 
Thanks for the help fella, quite tempted by the XP500's really, I like the idea of streaming music to them and don't think this is possible with the new XO7's.

Does anyone know the major differences between the XP500's and the XP400's?
 
Does anyone know the major differences between the XP500's and the XP400's?

I think, IIRC, the XP400 are 5.8ghz and have a rechargeable lipo battery included, whereas the 500's are 2.4ghz and standard alkaline batteries.
 
I thought this would be the case, seemed odd that the rep who emailed me said it was wired.

That being said, are the XP500's going to be better than the XO7 as the XP500's can stream music. Ok, I have to buy an adaptor from ebay to use them but that isn't going to result in me losing any features is it?

Possibly. The issue is when will MS enable DD through optical?

X1 specific headsets this won't matter for, but older models, it will.
 
They might as well be speaking Japanese on that page! Seems as though the 400's are better than the 500's though

The 400's came out after the 500's, hence the better battery and gHz option, so even though it's a lower number it's in fact a later/better model.
I was looking at the 400's when I decided to upgrade from my X41's, but opted for the Tritton Warheads instead due to the "completly wireless" set up and a bargain price that'd I'd found.
Just keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to use them once again with the X1 !!
 
I'm going to hold fire, see what the reviews are like for the X1 models that come out (XO4, XO7 and 4 Shots), if I'm not sold on them, I'll wait for the adaptor to come out and pick up a set of 400's or 500's.
 
I have recently bought some XP500s which are working fine in stereo, but now TB has announced the X1 specific headsets will support DTS, and there being no recent updates on MS supporting DD5.1 through the optical output, I'm wondering if any lobbying from TB might stop.

Maybe it will all be fixed in the rumoured March update, but maybe not.
 
xp500/mw3 deltas/blops 2 tango's are all the same headset, my tangos (still on the 360) will go to the one eventually but for now due to the chat issues with no bluetooth puck etc out my deltas are rigged up

OP have u still got the duff headset by any chance?? seriously want to do the chat mod but cant bring myself to do it to my own headset that belongs nicely to the day 1 edition i own
 
I have recently bought some XP500s which are working fine in stereo, but now TB has announced the X1 specific headsets will support DTS, and there being no recent updates on MS supporting DD5.1 through the optical output, I'm wondering if any lobbying from TB might stop.

Maybe it will all be fixed in the rumoured March update, but maybe not.

Microsoft did say they would be adding optical DD, but as new headsets will support DTS and MS like doing u-turns, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get it after all. I would love for it to be in next week's X1 update or the one before Titanfall's release though.
 
xp500/mw3 deltas/blops 2 tango's are all the same headset, my tangos (still on the 360) will go to the one eventually but for now due to the chat issues with no bluetooth puck etc out my deltas are rigged up

OP have u still got the duff headset by any chance?? seriously want to do the chat mod but cant bring myself to do it to my own headset that belongs nicely to the day 1 edition i own
Yeah still got it, wanted to keep hold of it just in case I picked up a set of 500's and needed to send off an adaptor to an ebay guy to solder in a new cable, which my uncle has done and said that the cable the guy used is better quality than the TB cable!
 
Yeah still got it, wanted to keep hold of it just in case I picked up a set of 500's and needed to send off an adaptor to an ebay guy to solder in a new cable, which my uncle has done and said that the cable the guy used is better quality than the TB cable!

lol

originally i was selling my mw3 deltas (xp500) and ultimately still will eventually
 
Found a description of next week's update. No mention of optical 5.1, but the battery meter and storage management will be useful.

Anyone feel like early adopters are just beta'ing the One for MS?

On February 11, the first update will be delivered to customers who sign into their Xbox One. It features many new improvements – including lots of behind-the-scenes updates for developers building apps and games for Xbox One, several new features we believe Xbox fans will love, stability and product updates to improve the customer experience, and continuous improvements to the quality of Kinect voice so commands become more fluid and responsive over time. While we won’t be going into all of the details of the product updates today, we will be sharing more information soon.
Some of the features you can expect to see on February 11 include:
  • The ability to see and manage your storage space. With this update, you will find it easy to find how much space your content takes up and better manage your content. You can also control your install lineup and more easily manage your download queue. We’ve separated My Games and My Apps into separate lists, so you can easily create separate queues for both. Now you can pick the order in which you want your content to load and we’ve added a boot progress indicator so you can better track updates while they load.
  • The battery power indicator is back! You can see it right on the home screen, so you can easily track how much battery life is left on your controller.
  • And, you will be able to use your USB keyboard with your Xbox One.
 
they are just a few of the things they are adding marc whitten said that there are other things that have not been annouced
 

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