For a while I’ve been looking for new headset for my Xbox 360. I wanted a headset that included a microphone and after reading a few reviews I decided to buy the Ear Force x4. At first I was put off by the price but if I didn’t spend it on a headset I would probably blow it on poker anyway. Before I got the headset I was reading a few web pages that said you couldn’t use the Ear Force x4 and the HDMI cable in conjunction unless you have the Xbox Elite. So when I got it back I flipped both my Xbox’s their side to find to find no differences at all. Well after a while I worked out its got nothing to do with the machine, it’s do with the cable that comes with the Elite and not with the normal Xbox. To save people some time I’ve included a picture of the lead below. The lead that comes with the normal Xbox 360 is too large to sit side by side with the HDMI cable.

Xbox Lead

Ok so now 1 hour later which would have probably took a sober guy ten minutes, I’ve got picture but no sound. The next problem came with getting the optical lead to stay in the Turtle Beach docking station (input 1). 2 hours in and I’m almost ready to call it a night and I noticed there were two small plastic protective caps on both ends of the lead. FFS how could I be so retarded.

 Optical Lead

Anyway here is the set it up:

Setup

 Overall:

8 out of 10. One thing everyone can agree and that’s the Ear force x4 is ridiculously over priced. If you can get your wallet past the £130 price tag there is some real amazing sound quality. The first game I hit up was GTA IV and within the first minute I I could hear a noise I’d never heard before. It was a fire burning in one of the oil drums surrounded by some bums. There were so many noises that I obviously couldn’t hear through the speakers of my TV. This was just the start of a new level play. I then took a helicopter for a spin while shooting my AK47 and no word of a lie it was like firing an AK in my house. The surround sound brought every game to life and gives you that extra edge especially with any FPS. It advertises that you can play all hours of the night without waking anyone up. Well that’s bullshit because wherever you’re the pilot of a jet or dogging bullets on the beaches of Normandy. You still end up shouting because you feel you need to shout over the sounds of gun fire and jet engines but I guess this is something I need to learn to control.

In September they are releasing x4.1 with 7.1 surround sound and some other features. See their offical site Turtle Beach for details.