Decent 5.1 headphones for Xbox 360?

[mr_sockochris]

Having recently moved in with my girlfriend we're a bit short of space so I'm having to sacrifice my 5.1 setup so I thought of getting some decent 5.1 headphones instead.

Can anyone recommend a decent pair around the ?100 or less mark? Are the Turtle Beach ones any good? I remember them being talked about a couple of years ago. I play online alot so ones that double as a headset for chat would are what I'm after....

[SuperBeatBoy]

Turtle Beach are suppose to be good. Been hearing good things about these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Turtle-Beach-E...item53e6c28cc5 but they are a bit out of the price range though. Probably worth it for the wireless & its 7.1.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Also Swaain is selling a nice piece of kit too.

http://www.ntsc-uk.co.uk/showthread.php?109035-FS-JVC-SU-DH1-Surround-decoder-for-headphones

Worth checking out and you can just plug any old headphones in that.

[Family Fry]

I got myself a pair of Turtle Beach Ear Force DPX21 for ?96.85 on Shopto.net, they are the wired version of the Dolby Digital 5.1/7.1 wireless ones.

Bought some myself about a month ago and have been loving them since, nice and clear sound, mic can still be used and it has a mic boost so you can hear people over the sound AND it also picks up and plays your own voice in the headset so you don't shout when talking of course. Dead Space 2 was some crazy action, Halo Reach and Battlefield Bad Company 2 play completely different with a pair of these personally, you can just hear so much surrounding you generally gives you a good advantage.
Oh and can be used for PS3/360 and PC via optical in

[mr_sockochris]

^ Sounds exactly what I'm after, thanks! How do they connect to the 360? How long is the wire? And could I use them with a DVD player too?

[Spatial]

Any hissing with those Turtle Beach ones? I've got the Astro 40 system with a set of decent headphones and there's a hiss in the background whenever there's noise.

[Family Fry]

I have noticed a small buzzing noise when there is a Play n Charge kit in adjacent USB socket, when you turn it down low you can hear a constant buzz. Generally when the sound is up over a certain level it goes away, I tried it with and without the play n charge and it's noticeable as soon as you plug the kit in.
I haven't tried a different usb though.

[Spatial]

Try powering it separate from the 360 (via a USB-AC adapter). Been reading round the problem with the Astro A40 today and powered it off the mains instead of the console - et voil? no more crackle or hissing

[Family Fry]

Ohhhh I will give that a go kind sir, will report back.
Buzz is still present on dash when it's turned to max volume, think it's to do with the the mic/mic boost. Isn't that bad though only hear it when it's silent so I can live with that.

[Daragon]

So is the buzz still present when powered off AC? I'd quite like to know whether or not there's a point to me buying a new cable for my X41.

[nonny]

I used to have the X41s and always got a buzzing (hissing) noise when using the default optical cable. I've since switched for a more heavy duty one and that has made the whole sound much clearer.

I also caved in and got the new turtle beach PX5 models when I was over in the US a few months back. With the exchange rate as it is this was a no brainer. The biggest upgrade from the X41 would be they now incorporate bluetooth for PS3 support and have custom presets you can upload to the headset to mix the sound output. They have PC software coming soon to tweak this to your hearts content and game companies can provide their own mix preset for certain games. Dead Space 2 I believe is one of the first to use this.

Anyway the biggest plus for me over the X41s (apart from them being black now and matching the rest of my equipment) is the build quality. These are far better, feel sturdier and the ear cups are angled and seem to clasp your head much better without being tight. Basically you can feel the difference straight away and I've been switching between the two for comparison.

Next up the sound is definitely better. It's hard to pinpoint precisely why but even on default presets it's clear and has great directional output. I always found the X41s to be good at this but the PX5's seem to offer that bit more clarity in the output which makes it easier to pick up the surround effect at play. I am sure with the custom presets you'd then be able to refine this even more with some practice to suit your preference. They also now have warning indicators and voice-overs for button selection. So you press the presets button an a voice tells you which one you're on... and battery warnings tell you when to swap out.

If there are any downsides the battery life lasts around 15 hours but notably these take two AA now (not AAA) or around 20 hours with bluetooth turned off. The other negative for 360 users is whilst the whole headset is black for some reason they packed in a white mic cable same as the X41 ... why!?! I do note there is a bluetooth dongle coming in June for the 360 controller to make it completely wireless.

Also I note IGN slated this headsets output but seriously I cant believe they're so harsh, it's up there as one of the best and better than the X41 on my own playtesting. I've tried a mates Astro A40 which is superior but I need a wireless solution personally and I dont like Astro's wireless take on their headset as it has a cord and mix-amp... kind of defeats the purpose IMO.

Edit... oh and another thing. You can synch your phone to BT on the headset if you want to take calls whilst playing. I've done this a few times, sit there chatting on the headset to the mrs whilst in the middle of a game. Quite handy!