Xbox One Stereo Headset

I bought this during Cyber Monday for $35 along with an Xbox One controller for $39 with same day shipping for an extra $5.99.

WHY I BOUGHT IT: I have one of those old school vent/heater/AC thing on the floor in the living room next to my “man chair”. When she blows, sounds from my uninspiring LG 3530 Sound Bar are…..uninspiring. I threw away my old headphones thinking I’ll never need it again because I’m committed to fitness and living an organic life now. Well…that New Year resolution was canceled by February and I’m back to developing my curvaceous physique and thirst for interactive entertainment.

Initial Impression:

1. Box was elegantly designed with simplicity. It was easy to open. When opened, headphones was there presented like a crowned jewel. You don’t have to wrestle through cardboards and plastic like before. Nice to see MS packaging starting to come close to Apple.

2. The box came with a USB cable, controller adapter and the headphones themselves. They all have a feel of decent quality material and construction. All black of course.

3. The ear pieces are comfy enough but definitely not the most comfortable. The construction of the headphones is plastic and fake leather outside. However, the inner part of the bracket that goes over your head is metal. I don’t feel like it can easily break. Feels very durable overall.

USAGE IMPRESSION:

1. First thing you noticed is as soon as you plugged it into the adapter and hit a button, the xbox prompts you to download software for your controller. It took a few minutes and I’m back to gaming.

2. The sound quality isn’t the best but for $35, I cannot complain. In fact, I would rate this as a little above average overall. The most impressive part about the sound is the bass. There is simply nothing in this price range that match the bass response on this set.

3. The microphone is tucked away on the left side of the headset. It does not get in the way. It is not adjustable like the old XB360 mic. It’s a fixed plastic piece that can only go up or down.

4. The headset goes completely around your ear. It does a good job of isolating the noise from the vent next to me. However, I can still hear my girlfriend nagging in the background. Fortunately, it’s mostly muffed and she can easily be ignored by turning up the volume.

5. Putting on the headset does not mute the TV or sound system. To me, this is a good thing. I use the HDMI pass through on the Xbox so my TV sounds are transferred on the headphones as well.

PROBLEMS:

1. Sound can sometimes get choppy. Connection problems? I’ve had it happened twice where it asked me to reconnect the controller since I’ve used this headset. It’s weird because I’m only 10 feet away from the xbox with no obstruction besides an foot rest.

2. Battery life will be drastically reduced. I will come back with this later once my battery runs out. I use 2x Eneloop 2100 mAh.

3. The top of the headset is a little low for my head and rests a little harsh. When I tried to adjust it, I discovered a major design flaw. When you extend the headset, it normally extends up as does this headset. But that’s when the headset is not on your head. When it is on your head, the extension is angled more towards the side. So I needed more room on top, but I got very little top room and a lot of side room. Now, the headset as a huge arch on the side and I look extra goofy. What if a sexy NSA agent is watching me through my Kinect? I don’t want to look so goofy.

4. The headphones overall is very large. I’ve had other similar headsets, not for gaming but music, that goes over the ear and doesn’t look as large on your head. Granted, at $35, this is roughly $170 less than what I paid for other headphones. I really can’t complain much here and this is strictly for Xboxing in my underwear with the blinds closed and no cares permitted.

CONCLUSION:

For $35, it is a solid buy. I can’t ask for a better headphone at this price. It’s actually not bad for listening to hip hop music due to the heavy bass. If you’re an audiophile, you won’t be impressed with the sound quality. I’m sure everyone can agree that it’s a deal at under $40. The adapter by itself usually goes for $30-35. If you buy other headsets, you’ll have to buy the adapter first. So the official Xbox One headset offer a pretty good value for your bottom dollar. If I were to go the Turtle Beach route, it would cost me far beyond the $100 mark.

As of today, a day later, Tuesday Dec 2nd, the price is $49.99. At this price, I’m a little hesitant but I think it’s still a great value compared to what’s out there. At $70 like it used to be priced, it would be a tough sell. The only way I’ll buy it then is if I can’t afford a Turtle Beach.

This was one of the best Cyber Monday deals. It’s official. I’m official. I finally found a decent Black Fri…Month Deal. Xbox official headphones, headsets, controller, Day One/Zero Edition AAA games since Dec 2013 baby! I’m living la vida loca…or whatever they say. It doesn’t matter. My life is complete for December. But next year, I will be serious about my fitness and health. I’m selling everything Jan 1st.

The headphones are great and of sturdy quality. The sound especially is great. Though the adapter that comes with it is very slightly damaged what i observed. Otherwise its working great. Highly recommend this original xboxone accessory

A lot of reviews focus on sound quality and the other standard things you need to know about headsets, but I wanted to add some detail about this headsets and a few competing products. I am going to focus on comfort and sizing, since not a lot of reviews cover these in depth. My ears stick out a bit, and it has been quite a journey trying to find headsets with a good ear cup size that remain comfortable over longer gaming sessions. Still, my overall rating on the product does reflect the general opinion I have on these headsets, and I will cover a few points on how I decided on the rating.

First though, a word on the measurements. Instead of the good old American Freedom units, I’m going to use metric units since they are a little more granular. Feel free to use google to convert them to numbers you might understand. I measured everything by hand, so these measurements may not be 100% accurate, but they should be within a millimeter or two.

Microsoft Xbox One Stereo Headset:

The Microsoft Xbox One Stereo Headset weighs in at 246 grams, or 254 grams with the cable. It is the lightest of all the headsets I tested, and also the simplest. The ear cups are massive on the outside, and the internal dimensions are as well at 62mm tall and 42mm wide. The ear cups are uniformly deep, but at a reasonable 23mm. The padding is fairly comfortable, and the head band is not too tight.

Overall, sound is fairly good, and the design is pretty good. However, the retractible boom mic is a somewhat short, and this can make you sound a little far away. A friend with this headset often sounds quiet and distant unless he pushes the ear cup onto his cheek so that boom mic is closer to his mouth. However, this headset is a pretty good value since it come with the headset adapter, and is fairly comfortable overall.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Elite 800X:

The 800X weighs in at 374 grams. It is the heaviest unit I measured, but at least that is an “all-in” weight since it doesn’t have any dangling cords. It is definitely a noticeable amount of weight when turning my head, but I wouldn’t say it’s too cumbersome. The band feels a little tighter than most other headsets, but it is necessary to keep them secure since they weigh a bit more. Still, it’s not too uncomfortable or noticeable over time.

The ear cups measure in at 58mm tall and 40mm wide internally. The ear cups are mostly the same depth all around, but there did seem to be a minor difference with the front side depth being about 17mm and the back side depth being about 18mm. The ear pads are made of a leather type of material, and are meant to seal out noise for the headset’s noise cancellation feature. I found them to be quite comfortable, although after longer gaming sessions heat and sweat did start to build up inside.

The reason I didn’t rate this higher is due to the mic performance and battery life. With the most recent firmware updates, friends in the Xbox live party chat still all claimed that I sounded a bit distant, muffled, or like I was on a speakerphone. Since my primary use for them is for Xbox Live party chat, this was not ideal- even though it technically affects my friends more than it affects me. I also found the buttons to be a little sensitive, and without tactile feedback, it can be hard to quickly and confidently find controls like the mute button while in the heat of battle. Furthermore, with a 10 hour maximum battery life, it isn’t quite enough to get through those occasional long days of gaming. The combo charger dock and transmitter is super convenient though- it’s really nice not having to manually connect a charging cable. Sound quality was good, and there are many EQ settings that will work for various media and game types. Still, for a premium price, they leave a lot to be desired in terms of comfort and functionality.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Stealth 500X:

The 500X weighs in a 302 grams. This includes the boom mic, but like the 800X this headset doesn’t need any additional cords so this is an all-in weight. Overall, the weight is not noticeable, and is spread between the ear cups and headband well enough to feel balanced. The ear cups are the biggest problem for me, at 59mm tall and 42mm wide internally, with a uniform depth of only 16mm all round. These are the shallowest ear cups of all the headsets I have tried, and thus press on my ears the most. The padding of the ear cups is fabric, but is soft to the touch and pretty comfortable. Over longer gaming sessions, the fabric ear cups breathe and help regulate sweat and heat a little better compared to the leather of the 800X. The head band doesn’t feel as tight, which makes the unit feel lighter than it is, but at the same time the headset will move a little as you turn your head quickly.

The tactile buttons work well, and the dual volume wheels make it easy to “set and forget” the volumes of the game and chat independently. I would have liked the mic arm to work as a mute switch when raised, but the actual mute button isn’t too hard to find quickly. There aren’t as many audio EQ settings compared to the 800X, but you probably won’t miss most of them. The 800X has a nice touch where the audio mode is announced as you select it, whereas the 500X only beeps a different number of times to indicate which mode it is in, forcing you to remember the corresponding mode and beep count. Still, sound quality is very good, and the boom mic sounds crisp and clear to other Xbox party members.

Unfortunately, this headset doesn’t come with a stand (although Turtle Beach sells a universal one) and the mini USB charging cable needs to be plugged in manually each time you are done playing. Another downside is that the receiver unit doesn’t have a USB port for the charger cable to pass through, so you may need to use two USB ports on the Xbox – one to charge and one to connect the transmitter. The transmitter also has blue LEDs- which is not a big deal, but I wonder if this is a cost saving measure with the PlayStation units, since it obviously does not match the green/black/white colors of the Xbox brand. Although not as sleek as the 800X, the tactile buttons, boom mic, true wireless audio/chat, and up to 15 hour battery life make this a strong contender for my goto headset, but unfortunately the ear cups depth makes my ears warm and irritated after long sessions. Mini rant: This is why exclusive partnerships for accessories are bad for consumers. My ears are apparently not Turtle Beach sized, and thus I have to compromise on comfort or wireless freedom. This is like Nike getting the contract to make shoes for the NBA, but then only making shoes that are a size 8.

Astro A50 Wireless Headset:

The Astro A50 weighs in a 366 grams without the cord. This headset is wireless for game/tv/app audio, but requires a cord to be connected to the controller for chat functionality. I didn’t have the cord handy when I weighed them, but it doesn’t add a noticeable amount of weight (probably around 10 grams). The A50 is the second heaviest headset, but for some reason it doesn’t feel as dense as the Turtle Beach 800X. I think it has to do with the ear cup size and weight distribution around the band. The A50 ear cups are deep in the cavity where your ear sits, but the rest of the ear cup which houses the drivers and electronics are not that deep compared to the 800X. This makes the A50 sit closer to your head overall, so you feel less weight/force when you turn your head quickly.

The ear cups on the A50 measure 61mm tall and 43mm wide internally, and are more of a box shape than rectangle.They are tapered as well, so the front of the cup is 20mm deep, while the back is 26mm deep. This is smart, since human ears generally start out flush to the head in the front, and fan out somewhat toward the back. There is also some room behind the ear cushion, so it is actually even a bit deeper underneath the cushion where the outer edge of your ear would slide in- although it was hard to measure that depth. The padding on the A50 is a very soft fabric- almost velvet-like in feel, and it is very comfortable and breathable. Overall, the ear cups feel very roomy, and the headband weight and tightness feel very comfortable. Over long gaming sessions, the band did seem to slip ever so slightly allowing the ear cups to lower- but it was extremely minor, and it may have more to do with the fact that these are a few years old at this point. Still, it was noticeable, although easily fixed every couple of hours.

The sound quality is great on the A50, and the mic seems to be very good, although not as great as the Turtle Beach 500X. There aren’t as many EQ settings, but honestly this is not something most gamers are going to mess with. The mic does mute when raised up, which is a nice feature to have. Setup can be a little tricky since you have to mute the game audio that comes through the controller (since it is redundant with the system audio coming from the xbox optical cable). Otherwise, you will hear a slight game echo. However, once you realize what is going on, it is an easy fix. This is a limitation of the headset receiving the game audio wirelessly and then the game audio AND chat audio through the controller cord. You have a set of controls on the headset (made for PC game and chat mixing) and the ones on the controller adapter which serve the same purpose. The one benefit of having the mixer on the headset and the cord for the chat is that if you are gaming by yourself, you can connect your phone to the chat cable and pipe in audio from your phone. You will still receive the game audio via the transmitter, and you can control the volume from the two sources independently.

The A50 does come with a nice stand that holds the transmitter and the headset when not in use. In addition to the port that connects to the Xbox, the transmitter does have a USB port that is used to connect the charging cable to the headset. The means that you only need one free port on the xbox to power both the transmitter and the charging cable for the headset. Overall, this is a fantastic headset for the PC, and it’s pretty good for the Xbox- although you’ll always have that one cord tethering you to the controller if you want to use party chat. The chat cable can be removed from the headset completely if you are just watching tv, although that makes it one more thing that you could potentially lose. Still, this is definitely the most comfortable wireless headset for me compared to the Turtle Beach 500X and 800X.

Sennheiser G4ME ONE:

The G4ME ONE, henceforth referred to as the “Game One” for readability, is a wired PC headset. It weighs in 270 grams for just the headset, but weighs a total of 308 grams including the super long cable. The ear cups are massive on this headset- with an internal height of 69mm and width of 37mm. They are deep as well, at 19mm in the front and 26mm toward the back. Like the A50, there is also some more depth behind the ear cushion as well. The ear cushions are also a velvety fabric that is extremely soft and comfortable. The band is very comfortable as well, with just the right amount of tension for my head.

The Game One is an open back headphone design, which means that people around you will hear the sound coming from them. It also means that you will be able to hear things around you- for better or worse. However, the sound is great, and the open back design allows for the most breathability of any of these headsets, so long term comfort is great. Sennheiser does have a closed back design (the G4ME ZERO) that is similar, but I believe it is designed to use an external amp so the xbox controller may not have enough power to properly drive the speakers.

The Game One is an example of a PC headset that is compatible with the Xbox One, but not optimized. For instance, there is a volume wheel on the ear cup which is great for easy access, but is somewhat redundant with the chat pad controls. However, I suppose this might be a good thing for the newly announced controllers that have the headphone port built in, although I don’t think we know how those will control the audio volume and mixing yet.

Back to the super long cord- It is extremely long (3m/10 ft). It is so long that it comes with a velcro wrap that can be used to tie up the excess cord. You will probably end up wrapping the excess cord about 3 or 4 feet from the headset so that it doesn’t weigh down the headset, but then you will likely have this little bundle of weight sitting on your lap or sitting beside you. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it is definitely noticeable. The cord also comes with the split 3.5mm connectors- one for mic and one for audio, and you will need an adapter to combine those plugs into one in order to fit it into the chat adapter. So while the headset is great, it comes with a lot of baggage. According to the site, there IS a console version that comes with a shorter cord- which is good, although neither one has a detachable cord so you’re stuck with whichever length of cord came on the version you bought.

The construction is beefy though, and the mic sounds fantastic and apparently features some noise cancellation tech- although that is harder to judge as the owner. It also has the ability to mute the mic when the boom mic is raised, which is intuitive and useful. Overall, this is a great headset, and probably the most comfortable one overall, but the cord and required cable adapter give it a little ball and chain that you’ll have to live with.

Tried on xbox one, phone. The headphones are just amazing. Stero headset adapter and a usb cable is included.
Set up : plug in the adapter in the controller with the headset attached to the adapter.(no light on he controller will be displayed till the controller is updated).By doing the above set up now update the controller.
I played call of duty aw. I hear gun reloading exo moves and footsteps near me. Dont by if you are afraid of too much sound. If you are shot in a shooting game then you will get a shock beacause of loud noise.