[AVSFORUM101]

I could not find a dedicated sub forum so moderator please move if appropriate but as headphones are speakers this seemed most relevant.


I had reviewed these two headsets and decided to buy them both and test them for myself. People mainly into gaming will be aware of these two products although I felt they deserved recognition for other Home Entertainment use as well. I do accept that an audiophile may look elsewhere.


Turtle Beach DX11 - (wired version of X41)


These are a wonderful headset for gaming and watching movies. Set up was straight forward, I was play Black Ops within 5 minutes of opening the box. My initial thoughts were that they looked and felt lacking in build quality, probably 2 1/5 out of 5. I couldn't help but think that the volume controller may break at some point. There is a bass boost on the amplifier, which is needed to be set to max to get a reasonably balanced sound through the range. That said the sounds were very clear and crisp. It was in those silent moments playing Call of Duty when I could hear footsteps coming and could pin point the direction which made realize how good they are for gaming. Last night I watched Full Metal Jacket on Blue Ray and again the sound was very clear. However I had to turn the volume switch to almost max. I had connected the optical cable straight to the Blue Ray player rather than the tv. Overall I am impressed with the sound quality of this headset but listening to the movie I realized there was not enough depth to the sound which I personally want from any surround sound speaker system. I mean while the sound was crisp, it wasn't strong enough and did not have enough bottom end. I am not a bass freak either but I do like to 'feel' what I'm listening to.


Tritton AX Pro


The AX Pro's were also a straight forward set up and again was playing with 5 minutes. Initial impression was that build quality was 3 1/2-4 out of 5 for build quality. This headset rests a little heavier than the Turtle Beaches which were amazingly light, with the Trittons you know you have something on your head. They are a bit more rugged and to me they seemed that they would last. I owned a pair of AX 720's last year for a few months and overall was quite happy with them. The AX Pro gives you control of the surround sound stage which is great, but for me slightly confusing as I was always trying to find the best set up - but that's just how I am. The DX11's does not have that functionality and I liked that as they seemed perfectly balanced, except for the depth of bass. As I understand it the Turtle beaches are 2 speakers while the AX Pro's are 8, giving true 5.1 surround sound.


In terms of sound the AX Pro's offer a lot more volume and bass. They may not be quite as bright as the Turtle Beaches but the range is still very good. If I was strictly a gamer and didn't need to use a headset to watch a movie I may have stuck with the Turtle Beaches but given that I just got a new Sony 32" EX400 and Sony's entry level Blu-Ray Player BDP-S370 I'll be watching quite a few movies over time and I want the best viewing/listening experience and for me that has meant opting for the AX Pro's. The AX Pro's also offer a second S-Video connection for another headset. The Turtle Beaches have one 3.5mm jack so I am not sure if you can put a splitter in or not and how that may affect the sound.


Overall you will not be disappointed with either headset and if I had the money I would probably have both....just another subjective view on Tritton vs Turtle beach.

 

[AVSFORUM101]

I did not try the Turtle Beaches for music however I have used the Trittons this evening and tested them with Bocelli and Nora Jones so far; I do not recommend for music listening. Can you believe neither my tv or blu-ray have a headphone jack??? No problem I'll get a phono to 3.5mm jack lead for my stereo headphones.


In the meantime I'll start saving for speakers and amp...

 

[GenesisGod]

As an owner of both headsets, I figure I might as well chime in here with my $0.02 as well.


First off, I have been a Turtle Beach user from day 1. When Tritton announced the AxPro, I admit that I bit right into the hype and pre-ordered off Amazon, even though I had an X4 and X1 at the time. Well, when I got that set, I was nothing short of disappointed. In fact, I forced myself to use them for weeks on end simply to justify spending $175 on them. What I found was with bass-heavy games such as Gears of War, the low end would become distorted way too easily. Even worse, the overall sound quality is nowhere near what you'd expect out of a headset in this price range. I found it to be rather hollow. It's also difficult to match each speaker as I feel the volumes were never truly "even". Plus, it was nearly impossible to accurately gauge each "step" that you raise/lower the speaker volumes on the fly. You literally have to stop what you're doing in order to get it right. Also, the setup was horrible. Why Tritton was dumb enough to release a headset that required TWO AC adapters is beyond my understanding. Thankfully they remedied this in later runs, but it was just a bad idea from the start. As far as comfort is concerned, the headset itself is pretty heavy--you KNOW it's on your head. The ear padding is actually not oversized either, it's the same as the X1 in fact. Newer headsets all seem to use oversized ear padding that let the headset rest on your head and not the ears. Definitely gets fatiguing pretty quick. Oh and, the last thing that bothers me about this headset is that the main cable is only 12' long. My couch is exactly 13' away from my TV, so the only way I can use the AxPro is to sit all the way forward on my couch with the cable suspended in midair, which completely tugs at the headset itself. In other words, the cable should have been a few feet longer so that those of us with larger man caves don't have to worry about where we sit.


Anyhow, I upgraded my X1 to the X11 several months ago and have recently added a DSS surround sound dongle to it. Basically, I put together what Turtle Beach sells as the DX11--same as what the OP is reviewing. In all aspects, this is a superior product to the Tritton's. Though the sound quality isn't spectacular, it's definitely better than the AxPro. For the $105 or so that I spent on the two components, this is much MUCH more reasonable with all aspects considered. Comfort-wise, it's significantly better too, especially the weight, which is much less. Plus, the fact that the DSS can be used with any set of headphones as well is a plus, versus the proprietary approach that Tritton took.


The biggest difference between the two is the TYPE of surround sound. When you use four speakers in each ear, certainly you can hear sounds 360-degrees around your head, but the problem is that you can't hear how far away they're originating from. This is a HUGE disadvantage to the AxPro when compared to other headsets because it's literally a 1990's technology. All new headsets use Dolby Headphone, which is much more detailed because it gives you the 360 degree positioning with depth perception as well. (Obviously we're talking about headsets here and not home theater).


So basically, for anyone trying to decide between the two, I would very much recommend the DX11 over the AxPro. All advantages are in Turtle Beach's favor here.

 

[brucku]

I want to chime in here too. Thanks to best buy's awesome return policy I have had the ability to test the Triton XP Pro, Turtle beach X41 and Dx11 in one week. Here is what I found:


The Tritons are heavy but feel very cheap to have on your head and move around. The wiring that runs out of them is nothing short of clunky and is a pain to have resting underneath the controller while you're playing. I would probably deal with all of this if they sounded great - instead they sound horrible. I have $90 AKG headphones that blow these things away - $200 for horribly tin-y sound, no thank you. Returned them without any regrets.


Next up was the Turtle X41. I liked these a lot better than the Tritons but something about their sound didn't feel "natural". Even though I couldn't find a specific sound that wasn't making it into the headphones, I found an overwhelming lack of warmth/mid-low end from them. That coupled with the occasional static while turning or tilting my head made them a little aggravating when I looked at their price tag. Don't get me wrong, they sound much better than the Tritons and its great to have them be wireless, but again I was disappointed in the sound quality. (in game music was disappointing, and gun fire in black ops felt very "mechanic") The X41 are also more comfortable than the Tritons. I am starting to think Wireless Audio is not worth its cost.


Then I tried the DX11 last night. They fit my head better and weigh less (no batteries) than both the X41 and Triton XP Pro. In addition while they are wired, they aren't wired to the controller (usb connection does this)... so you have a different kind of freedom that you don't have with the X41's which wire to your controller.


They sound SO much better than the X41s. The missing warmth from the other 2 headsets is all there. I was very impressed with them in comparison. By themselves, I'm still wondering why we can't get great Gaming audio from a company that cares about audio quality. At this point based on the DX11 design, Turtle Beach could hire anyone to manufacturer and design the equipment inside the (Stereo Only) headsets they are selling and everything would just improve. But until then, at $125 - these are the best.


Also worth noting, if you pick up a nice pair of headphones when you're not in the mood to chat while playing, you can plug them into the DSS from the DX11's and you'll have fantastic sound. Can anyone recommend a great stereo headphone set for this type of use? (I found my AKG's to sound too Muddy for gaming)