As we mentioned earlier, the Ear Force X4’s are created to take effect of the Xbox 360’s optical output, to get the full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound effect, but the base unit also features an old school analog input for those people still living in the 80’s (or for multiple device inputs). The base unit rounds out with a few indicator lights and tweaking buttons on the front and back of the casing, all easily accessible. This was one of our favorite changes from the X3 headset, which featured a very small base unit with a miniscule amount of features on it (troubling infrared connection issues as well); we’re glad to report that the X4’s suffer from nothing of the kind. The triple-A batteries that the headset runs on last a decent amount of time and can be replaced fairly easily by opening a small panel on the side of the earpiece.
Each and every time we tested the headset, whether we were sitting on the couch or at our desk or in the Lazy-Boy recliner, our connection or audio quality never waivered. It was one of those times where you call all your gaming buddies to come over and check out the newest video game, except this time it was a freaking set of headphones. Playing through a couple chapters of Gears of War at 2:00 in the morning without having to worry about waking up the wife/girlfriend is the single best reason to own a set of these. We have been using our set of X3’s for the past couple months and to be honest the two headsets are not even comparable when it comes to the audio experience. Next-gen gaming is meant to be epic and the Ear Force X4’s make sure that happens no matter what time of the day (or who is in the room) you are playing your 360.
To say we were skeptical about a wireless headset that claimed to output unprocessed Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound would be a massive understatement. The X4’s smashed all doubts within twenty minutes of booting up our first test session. Bullets whizzed by our head and people’s voices came from the left side if they were supposed to, or vice versa depending on the in-game situation. The bass-booster function is hit or miss dependant on the taste of the user; some people will go for the higher audio quality over using the bass-boosting feature. We also used the headset to watch a couple HD-DVD (yes we still own a few) movies and the amazing Dolby effects moved over to the cinematic experience with ease. If we had to find one complaint to nick-pick it would be the echoing effect the X4 gaming headset has when using the Xbox Live microphone. This is tough to fix though because both voice and sound is coming out of the earphones, and could have possibly been fixed had we had all the people we were playing with online turn down their units.
At the end of our time with the test units Turtle Beach provided, we were so overjoyed with them we ran out to purchase our own set that day. At a suggested retail price of $199.99 some people may think too expensive for a set of headphones (with microphone), we walked away with the exact opposite feeling. The Ear Force X4’s could realistically replace an entire surround sound audio system worth anywhere from $500 to $1500 dollars; making the headset a bargain. Everything Turtle Beach touted to us that the X4’s would do they did, and the wireless 5.1 Dolby Digital experiences they provide are unbeatable by anything else on the market. We have found ourselves waiting until well past midnight to boot up a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 just so we can use the X4’s. There is just something special about having that full surround sound effect right in your eardrum, the sounds virtually booming out of all places. Turtle Beach is known for their audio excellence and the quality shines through from every aspect of the Ear Force X4 gaming headset; go pick it up.
Final Overall Score: 9.5/10.0
