Turtle Beach announced some of the new XBOX 360 and PS3 gaming headsets at CES this week, one of them, the XP400. It’s Turtle Beach’s flagship gaming headset, featuring adjustable Dolby 5.1 virtual surround sound, a non-AD2P dual-pairing Bluetooth radio for picking up phone calls during gaming sessions, a 15 hour rechargeable battery and dual-band 2.4/5GHZ built-in WiFi. The actual over-the-ear pieces have a much better layout from previous models, though there are almost as many buttons as there are on the controller with volume up / down, chat volume up / down, mute, Bluetooth pairing, limiter button and tone buttons. The included dual-band WiFi adapter that connects to your gaming console of choice is small and pretty minimalistic in design. The adjustable surround angles feature is a nice edition.
The XP400 has a crisp and loud sound, and noise-cancellation also worked well. Turtle Beach also announced the XP300, a stereo version of the XP400. They’re essentially the younger siblings of the company’s PX5-rooted XP500, featuring a similar design with totally wireless connection to the Xbox 360, thanks to TB’s Xbox Chat Adapter, and a dual-pairing Bluetooth radio for taking calls while gaming. Both headsets improve upon the XP500’s in a few key areas including better button placement on the earcups, a new 2.4/5GHz dual-band WiFi 2.4GHz transmitter to avoid interference from nearby wireless devices and an included 15-hour rechargeable battery.
While both headsets feature customizable EQs, the XP400 has tweakable Dolby 5.1 simulated surround sound. It’s the first headset from Turtle with the ability to adjust to different sound angles. This means you’ll now be able to customize the placement of the virtual speakers to your preference, rather than being stuck to Dolby Headphone’s usual preset parameters. Both headsets will be available in earlier 2012, with the XP400 priced at $220 and the XP300 at 50 bucks less.
Check out the video and the press release…
CES 2012: TURTLE BEACH ANNOUNCES EAR FORCE® XP400 AND
EAR FORCE® XP300 FULLY WIRELESS, PREMIUM GAMING HEADSETSFully-Wireless Bluetooth Chat and Reduced Interference via Integrated Dual Band Wi-Fi Technology, Deliver Premium Performance for Xbox 360
Elmsford, NY, January 10, 2011 – Turtle Beach, the market leading pioneers of the console gaming headset category, today announced the introduction of the feature-packed Ear Force XP400 and XP300 premium wireless gaming headsets. Optimized for wireless game audio and chat on Xbox 360® (and also compatible with PlayStation 3®), these headsets debut 2.4/5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi RF wireless technology that virtually eliminates interference with wireless networks in the home. The XP400 and XP300 can be seen along with the full offering of Turtle Beach products at the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 1 – Booth #21327, during the International Consumer Electronics Show from January 10 to 13, 2012.
The Ear Force XP400 and XP300 bring the wireless Bluetooth chat of the acclaimed XP500 headset, add the ease of rechargeable batteries and introduce premium features that once again push the limits of gaming headset technology. With the exclusive introduction of groundbreaking 2.4/5GHz dual-band WiFi technology, these new headsets avoid the crowded 2.4GHz band used by wireless networks, phones and other devices in the home to deliver interference-free game audio. By automatically switching between the 2.4 and 5.0MHzbands and working within the WiFi specification, the XP400/XP300 headsets navigate around other radio signals and coexist within the same spectrum as wireless networks, delivering optimum signal performance.
“Interference from common 2.4 MHz wireless devices like game consoles, routers, telephones and other gadgets is now a thing of the past with these new headsets.” said Michael Arzt, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Turtle Beach. “Not only have we jumped to the 5GHz spectrum, completely avoiding the crowded 2.4GHz band, we’ve also adopted the Wi-Fi specification so our headsets can coexist within the wireless-LAN spectrum rather than search for free space around WLAN signals. Adding dual-pairing Bluetooth chat from the XP500 and a rechargeable battery makes these headsets perfect for Xbox 360 owners who want premium performance and convenience.”
Equally noteworthy, the Ear Force XP400 also introduces Turtle Beach’s new post-processing system for Dolby® Surround Sound. This technology allows for fully adjustable speaker angles that enable a user to change the positions of the virtual 5.1 speakers by selecting between six different speaker angle settings to optimize the surround sound effect. Now even more gamers can hear subtle directional details on the battlefield with 360 degree accuracy, from enemy footsteps to weapon reloads.
The Ear Force XP300 is a stereo headset that includes the same 2.4/5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi game audio, Bluetooth chat and rechargeable battery at a lower price. XP300 owners can eventually upgrade to the same Dolby Surround Sound technology of the XP400 by adding the new Ear Force DSS2 Dolby Surround Sound Processor, also introduced at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.
Ear Force XP400 Wireless Dolby ®Surround Sound Gaming Headset
Key Details:• Dolby® Surround Sound: Immersive 360 degree audio lets you pinpoint the direction of every sound
• Adjustable Surround Sound Angles: Alter the positioning of the surround sound angles for the best audio experience for every gamer
• 2.4/5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi Wireless Digital Game Sound: Uncompressed digital RF audio signal delivers CD-quality sound by auto-selecting the optimum frequency in the 2.4GHz/5GHz spectrums.
• Wi-Fi Friendly: Easily coexists with wireless networks and WiFi devices
• Dual-Pairing Bluetooth: Chat wirelessly on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and answer mobile phone calls while gaming
• Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery: Provides up to 15 hours of uninterrupted gameplay and can be recharged while gaming
• Equalizer (EQ) Presets: Multiple EQ presets include the bass, treble and midrange boost combinations
• Blast Limiter: Reduces the effect of loud game sounds so you can turn up softer sounds.
• Digital Optical Connection: Delivers the highest quality of digital surround sound
• Dynamic Chat Boost: Chat volume automatically increases as the game volume gets louder
• Variable Microphone Monitor: Hear your voice in the headset while speaking and adjust the level.
• MSRP: $219.95
• Available: Q1 2012Ear Force XP300 Wireless Amplified Stereo Gaming Headset
Key Details:• 2.4/5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi Wireless Digital Game Sound: Uncompressed digital RF audio signal delivers CD-quality sound by auto-selecting the optimum frequency in the 2.4GHz/5GHz spectrums.
• Wi-Fi Friendly: Easily coexists with wireless networks and Wi-Fi devices
• Dual-Pairing Bluetooth: Chat wirelessly on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and answer mobile phone calls while gaming
• Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery: Provides up to 15 hours of uninterrupted gameplay and can be recharged while gaming
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• Equalizer (EQ) Presets: Multiple EQ presets include the bass and treble boost combinations
• Sound Field Expander Presets: Boosts the level of sounds on the left and right sides while lowering sounds in the center.
• Dynamic Chat Boost: Chat volume automatically increases as the game volume gets louder
• Microphone Monitor: Hear your voice in the headset while speaking and adjust the level.
• Auxiliary Input: Listen to your favorite songs while gaming by attaching an MP3 player to the XP300 transmitter along with the game audio.
• MSRP: $ 169.95
• Available: Q1 2012For more information, please visit www.turtlebeach.com.
