Customer Reviews

Microsoft LifeChat ZX-6000 Wireless Headset

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I expected this to be working with my xbox 360...

b/c it looks the same with the 360 wireless headset.
The problem(for 360ers) is that it doesn't have sync button to use with controller.

wondered why this, even with the receiver, could be cheaper than the wireless headset for 360...

the bundled receiver works for wireless 360 controllers on computer though.

just wanted to warn you guys not to make the same mistake that I made.
I'm struggling installing the driver on my computer.

Amazon should make this product not show up at xbox 360 section.

I want a wireless headset for Skype and maybe some gaming. I thought the ZX-6000 was it, but it's not. Not even close!

First, the sound can get really bottom out. Sometimes my Skype friends sound like gurgly lagoon monsters, hungry and ready to feed. I can't hear the mid or high ranges of their voices. And the connection seems unstable, causing pops and drop-outs. So I take it back, lagoon monsters may be more coherent. Initially I thought this was a Skype problem but I plugged in my wired headset and I could hear them clearly.

I like the headset design, but it doesn't feel comfortable on my ear. I imagine if my grandma took out her dentures and sucked on my ear I could get the same sensation. It's OK for a few minutes, but after that, I can't take it anymore....wearing the headset, that is.

Volume levels are fine and the volume buttons work, as does the power button. The call button, on the other hand, is an anomoly. It does nothing unless you use voice on Windows Live Messenger. And even then, you have to install software. The button doesn't work for Skype or Yahoo. But what annoys me the most is that button would serve much better as a microphone mute button. This headset does not have a mic mute! Volume and mic mute controls are essetial on any headset! How could you not have mic mute!

So those are my big gripes. A few other things that annoy me:

1) The USB receiver is large considering the dongles that come with mice and other peripherals are pretty small nowadays. It also has a cord, which is good if you want to set the receiver on your desk, but I prefer just a small USB dongle that plugs directly into my PC. I bought a wireless headset to...forego wires, not take one off the headset and add it to the receiver.

2) It would be nice if the headset was Bluetooth so I could use it with my cellphone. As it stands, it just works with PCs. I know, I'm probably asking too much seeing how Microsoft overlooked some of the more basic elements like a MIC MUTE!

I want to use a wireless headset, but there's not much to like about this one. I regret purchasing this headset. I just hope my $[...] rebate comes through to soften the blow.

I needed a new headset to use with Ventrillo, online voice chat for gaming, and I needed two requirements: 1. must go through the USB port because my mic port is broken, and 2. must be wireless because I constantly trip over the wire on my Logitech headset when making quick trips from the computer to the kitchen... which is why my Logitech headset broke in the first place.

This Microsoft headset fits both requirements, so I bought it. Unfortunately, the sound quality is HORRIBLE. It sounds like you are talking over the phone, like someone calling in to a radio show. It is NOT crystal-clear sound at all. My guild mates on Ventrillo laughed at me so much that I put this headset aside and slapped my Logitech headset together with masking tape.

Well I bought this headset with the expectation of being able to speak with my friends in Ventrilo on our gaming sessions. The headset is comfortable to wear, light and the battery lasts for hours.

I agree that the sound quality could be better, but since I want it to hear people speak and not to listen to the 5.1 version of Dark Side of the Moon it serves it's purpose. My friends hear me and understand me perfectly and I hear them and understand them as well.

So as I stated on the title... Working as Intended

I've seen many people run into the issue of the headset not syncing to the receiver, which really eliminates the plug and play aspect of this device. Due to the poor documentation that comes with device I thought I would share what I discovered to fix this common issue:

Once everything is installed to the point where the XBox360 receiver is showing in the Device Manager (not under the sound, video, and game controllers section) I did the following,

*Pressed the sync button on the USB receiver to where the green light started blinking.
*Pressed and held down the power button to turn on and force my headset to sync.

Once I did this the headset was detected, the four flashing lights turned solid, and an extra audio device showed up under the sound, video and game controllers section of the Device Manager.

I was then able to follow the following instructions, starting from Step 2, to setup my OS to use the headset: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935748


I hope this helps out others experiencing this issue and if you are thinking about purchaing this headset, it would do it from some place where you can return it. You may not find the sound quality to be any good.

I like the design of the headset. It is lightweight. The way the headset hangs to your ear might feel a little weird from time to time, but if you are playing a game in your pc and using this device for voice comm you would probably ignore the awkward feeling in your ear after you get sucked into the game.

Unfortunately, for me, this device did not deliver what it promised:

1.- when you connect the device Windows will use it as the preferred sound device. So when if you are trying to play a game and you are using other comm software to chat with your teammates, instead of using your primary sound device for the game and the LifeChat sound device for the voice, windows will switch to the LifeChat sound device for all sounds, which, in my view defeats the purpose of the headset. You can get around this by selecting your primary sound driver from the windows settings menu, but this is a pain.

2.- The sound is VERY low and muffled. The mike has a buzzing background noise, a lot of feedback and echo. I have had problems trying to understand what my team mates say and they can barely understand me. The POOR sound quality renders this device useless.

I wished it was different... generally speaking, I like MS products, but this one really disappointed me, specially since I was looking forward to get it for so long.

When I started out with this headset I completely agreed with every single one of these reviews and was ready to junk the thing. Although I decided to call Microsoft and at least hear them out. When I spoke with the tech on the phone he stated that this is a decent headset you just have to make sure you are setting it up correctly.

1. Allow the headset to charge for 4 hours.

2. Make sure it is plugged directly into a usb 2.0 port. (not a hub or anything like that)

3. Hold down the power button until the lights on the headset start scanning back and forth (after I did this it started to work great..not sure if it is recalibrating or what), when they stop and resync with the reciever you should be good.

One thing I was doing was trying to run the headset from a virtual environment and that was no good because the resources weren't there to support this hardware. I could hear one out of every 5 words the person on the other end was saying. So with this in mind if your computer is running slow to begin with..this probably isn't the headset for you. When I installed this headset on a fresh install of windows xp with the above steps. It worked awesome. My only complaint is the ear piece gets a little uncomfortable after a while.

I travel extensively for work and use this headset for Skype calls, other VoIP activities and also for recording training material. I love the portability of this headset and it has worked extremely well for me. I love the convenience of not being attached to my laptop during VoIP calls. The headset is a bit uncomfortable when you first put it on your ear, but that quickly fades away. Call quality has always been great. I highly recommend this headset for road warriors.

Microsoft LifeChat ZX-6000 Wireless Headset- This product works well and I am very pleased with it.

Please note: I don't use it for gaming.

That being said, it does exactly what I need it to do. Provide clear communication via video conferencing when experiencing mild to moderate ambient noise interference. Charge while sleeping, use for 6-8+ hours.

Only downside...for me...is that it's difficult to sleep with it on your ear.

Overall: I dig it.