Headset That Mo-Thumps!

For several months I've used the Plantronics Audio 480 headset. It consists of two separate ear buds with a mic attached to one. These are lightweight, the sound is awesome, they are stereo, the inline control seems durable and they come in a nice leather carrying case. These were designed with laptop users in mind. They also come with a variety of earpieces to custom fit to your ear. Retail is somewhere around 70 or 80 bucks. I caught them on sale for $50.00. Not a bad product and they seem very sturdy even though they appear delicate. That said, let me voice my one complaint.

Okay, Ears like a Vulcan here. Huge ears that look funny and they ring at around a 1000 hertz tone. ALWAYS. It's called tinnitus and it has driven people crazy. I know that to be a fact. Some say I am over halfway to crazytown. After researching tinnitus on the net it is absolutely amazing how many people have this frustrating noise buzzing around. But, I deviate. My complaint is that after 35-45 minutes these become uncomfortable and will at random fall out of my Spock like ears. I love them for the quality, but they are now in my laptop bag where they belong.

Months of research had me looking at the Sennheiser 166's and the Turtle Beach Ear Force X1 model. The reviews on New Egg rave about the Sennheiser product and are mixed on the Turtle Beach set. Found the Turtle Beach set locally at Circuit City and decided to try a pair since they could be returned in 14 days. They won't be returned. Why did I decide on purchasing a headset with poor reviews? Because of the biggest complaint. Folks kept saying they have too much bass. C'mon is this really possible? To have too much bass? Don't think so. This inspired me to try them. Also, down through the years the beach house has used other Turtle Beach sound devices with great satisfaction and, damn it all, they just have a really kewl name!

Brought this bad boy home plugged it in, adjusted some settings, made sure the fit was comfortable on my elephant like ears and then took several interesting aural trips. First, Guild Wars. This is an online game that is truly a work of art. Immediately there was a plethora of information never before apparent. Just phenomenal!! Then I switched to some mp3s and after a variety of tunes decided they are great for music listening. Then onto the net and YouTube. Again nothing but great clarity and the most bass ever heard in a headset or headphone. Some perspective here. My normal headphones for the beach house media system is an AKG K-240 Monitor headphone from Austria that I have owned for years. Cost was plus plus at the time purchased, but well worth it. The Ear Force X1 is equal in bass performance! Might even be a smidge better when gaming, lol.

Since they are designed to work with XBox 360's chat function that all but assured me the mic would suffice. After use on TeamSpeak and Google Talk they have passed the mic test with flying colors. Great sound, great microphone and great comfort. They don't quite make it over my ear lobes, but the design is such that there is no pressure in that area. The inline control is easy to use and seems sturdy. Not often do I recommend a product this quickly, but these are a great buy. Even with this horrible had to make a clinic trip ear infection they press gently against the affected area. And using it behind the ear in mono mode is comfortable.

Check out this awesome product that works with both PCs and XBox 360s at TurtleBeach.

"Quality is not expensive, it's priceless!"
~Greg O'Quinn