Best xbox gaming headset?

KLC

Senior member
Jun 30, 2007
258
2
81
I hope this is the best forum for this. I've got two teenage boys who regularly play CoD on xbox live. Our xbox is connected to an AV receiver via HDMI and the receiver to the flat screen tv. We're thinking of getting a better headset for them for Christmas. Any suggestions or recommendations?

I don't think we're going to spend $100 plus for some of the headsets I've seen but $50 is in the ballpark and at that level I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be best.

Thanks for the help.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,574
6,407
126
ive use that turtle beach one that covers both of your ears. my brother had it setup so one speaker was sound from the game and the other was voice chat, so that he could play this late at night. since the game sound was in mono i was not impressed with them at all, and the sound quality was not that great IMO.

personally i use the wireless one and love it.
 

fatpat268

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2006
5,853
0
71
I got the wireless turtle beach x31's. They're out of your price... they're normally $100, sometimes $80. I balked at the price at first, but they were a really good investment for me. Most wired headsets that fall in your range need a multitude of wires and they need to be plugged into the back of the tv. Pretty messy.
 

YoungGun21

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2006
2,546
1
81
I just bought the Turtle Beach X31 from Amazon and won't get it til earlier January. Good luck getting a pair of them before Christmas.
 

fatpat268

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2006
5,853
0
71
I just bought the Turtle Beach X31 from Amazon and won't get it til earlier January. Good luck getting a pair of them before Christmas.

If time is an issue, my best buy had about 6-7 in stock when I bought mine a few months ago.

It may be different now though, that it's holiday season. But, if you're looking to pick up some for a present, check there.
 

pmark

Senior member
Oct 11, 1999
921
1
81
I love my Turtle Beach x31. I even use them to watch tv/movies when the wife is sleeping.
 

KLC

Senior member
Jun 30, 2007
258
2
81
Thanks all for the help. I'm rethinking the price range after fatpat's comment about wireless vs wires.
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Does the X31 support surround? I am hearing a lot of people talking about how headsets let you hear people coming near you better. Better than what? I have a 5.1 speaker setup. Would the headset be a drastic improvement? Also, when you set it up, do you have to play cable swap every time you want to switch between your receiver+speaker setup and headset? That can get annoying I imagine.
 

bunker

Lifer
Apr 23, 2001
10,572
0
71
Does the X31 support surround? I am hearing a lot of people talking about how headsets let you hear people coming near you better. Better than what? I have a 5.1 speaker setup. Would the headset be a drastic improvement? Also, when you set it up, do you have to play cable swap every time you want to switch between your receiver+speaker setup and headset? That can get annoying I imagine.

I can't speak to the xbox, but on my pc I had a 5.1 set up and I could definitely hear folks sneaking up on me better with my headphones. They didn't even have to be surround headphones, the positional audio in the game (call of duty 4) seemed to handle it just fine.
 

rancherlee

Senior member
Jul 9, 2000
707
18
81
Does the X31 support surround? I am hearing a lot of people talking about how headsets let you hear people coming near you better. Better than what? I have a 5.1 speaker setup. Would the headset be a drastic improvement? Also, when you set it up, do you have to play cable swap every time you want to switch between your receiver+speaker setup and headset? That can get annoying I imagine.


I have a medium/high end 6.1 setup and I actually prefer using my X1 headset for gaming. Its AMAZING the stuff you can hear with a good headset. the X1 and X31 are Stereo only but its a HUGE difference over the surround sound system. To get the same "definition" out of the 6.1 I really need to crank up the sound to catch the little sounds that give away someones position. My K/D ratio went up 15-20% after I got my X1 headset, and over 50% higher in Search and Destroy.
 

chorb

Golden Member
Oct 7, 2005
1,272
0
0
got the X1s, they're pretty good, definitely rival my old 5.1 setup. Plus I can turn it up loud and the bass kicks pretty decently.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Why anyone who owns a surround system (5.1 or better) would give up the immersion factor found there for some stereo headphones is beyond me. Just get an earpiece like the Wireless headset from MS or something. At least then you get to hear the 5.1.

I didn't setup a surround sound system with my consoles to use headphones.
 

YoungGun21

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2006
2,546
1
81
I have the TB X31s and they sound much better than my surround sound system did. They only really work for FPS games though, I tried them for Rock Band and while the music sounded great I couldn't hear the lyrics (I was drumming so I didn't matter much, but still annoying). They have improved my MW2 play tremendously.
 

dfnkt

Senior member
May 3, 2006
434
0
76
I have used the turtle beach X3, X4, and X41's as well as the Tritton AX360 which is hard to find but is my headset of choice.