Ear Force X2 Wireless Headphones… Wired Wireless

When can something be wireless yet still have wires? When it is a set of the Turtle Beach Ear Force X2 wireless headphones.

Confused?

The Ear Force X2 wireless headphones are wireless in that they do not have wires running to your game system, but they are wired in that you have to plug them into your controller. These headphones differ from the stock Xbox Live headset for the 360 in a few ways. Their true advantage is having two earpieces and advanced sound dynamics, so that you can simultaneously hear the game and voice chat through the headphones, unlike traditional headsets where you can only hear voice chat.

While the base unit and headphones are white, to match the 360, the headphones can be used with any game console or stereo playback source with analog RCA jacks. If you use the headphones with your TV or stereo, you do not need to have them connected to your controller. The microphone, however, is only compatible with Xbox 360 or Xbox.

The sound quality is pretty good for not being Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The headset features master volume control, while the controller connection cable includes a microphone mute switch. The microphone boom adjusts so you can put the microphone out of your way when necessary.

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Since the headphones use infrared to transmit the signal, you must maintain line-of-sight with the base station or you will lose all audio. Unlike the audio consistency issues found with the stock 360 headset, people are not having a problem with my voice cutting out as long as I remain within the line-of-sight restriction.

The headphones are powered with two AAA batteries and are comfortable and sturdy. When your batteries start to go, the game audio will remain, but you’ll lose team chat audio. Batteries last about 40 hours, if you do not forget to switch off the power on your headphones after each game play session. The base unit requires connection to a 120 Volt AC electric outlet.

Overall, I think the Turtle Beach Ear Force X2 wireless headphones are a nice development in the Xbox Live world. At $70-$99 a pop, they aren’t the cheapest on the market, but isn’t it priceless to have family members quit nagging you to turn it down during late night gaming sessions?

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