Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Wireless Headset

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is the most comfortable headset I've worn - I even forget it's on my ear it's so light. You mute by pressing the middle button on the ear piece (one quick press)which is quick and simple to do. To remind you you're muted a tone beeps every 30 seconds or so (I haven't exactly timed it.)Another quick press turns off mute. All button touches sound a tone so you know it worked. A steady press turns it off (or on)- again with a longer indicator tone.
Sound is excellent - and volume can also be easily adjusted by two curved buttons on either side of the middle on/off/mute button - but once I set it I haven't had to touch it since.
My voice comes over loud and clear - and surprisingly mine has not picked up any room noise at all. Even when one of my cats jumped up beside me and let out a loud meow the mike didn't pick up the sound.
I have used the stock headset (very annoying fit) and a wired ear bud with mike which would become extremely uncomfortable after an hour and actually irritate my ear that it'd be sore the rest of the day. This headset does not have this problem. I literally wore it 5 hours straight playing Black Ops and hardly was aware I had it on.
The one problem is it does have limited range. If I wander off to the next room it'll start to break up - go into the next room (the kitchen) and it loses connection completely. We're talking only a matter of 17 feet. Once it loses connection and you return in range most times you don't regain the connection. I have to turn off the headset completely - then back on. And often it still won't connect and I'll have to try again before it re-syncs itself.
Despite the limited range I still give it 5 stars because it is the best 360 headset I've used. Being wireless it is very convenient and it's completely unobtrusive.If I venture off to the kitchen I now just take off the headset and set it next to my controller now that I'm aware of its range.
Power lasts about 8 hours for me. I recharge via the USB plugged into my computer and it takes a few hours to fully charge. You have to charge it when you get it so that will give you a general idea of how long it'll take.
The black color is subdued and I can answer the door wearing it and it doesn't call attention to itself.
I likeit so much I picked up another for a spare. (On sale.)

This is my second Xbox 360 wireless headset- My first was nearly identical, with the exception of being the silver Halo: Reach version. When I first got my original headset and was raving about it to my friend, his reply was, "Yea.. but I heard they're super prone to breaking." He was correct: Within a month it was unable to charge, and soon thereafter became completely non-functional. Just Google it, you'll see this is a widespread problem.

So why did I order another? Well, mostly due to a lack of alternatives, but also:
+It's lightweight and far more comfortable than the standard wired mic. In fact, I forget it's even there while I'm playing.
+The mute yourself button (which I use frequently) can be pressed easily without looking.
+So are the volume buttons, but it rarely needs adjustment (unlike the standard mic), which is a big plus.
+I read in someone else's review that they didn't like the mic being far from your mouth... This is a good thing to me. People can hear you just fine, and you don't have a foam ball directly in front of your mouth being a distraction and preventing you from eating, smoking, etc. And I've never once heard anyone online complain about picking up ambient noise from my end.
+Most importantly, being able to set my controller down and walk to the kitchen while you're still communicating is a luxury you can't live without once you get used to it.

So yes, I begrudgingly recommend this product, but you should probably do some quick research before you purchase to determine if any good alternatives have been released since this review was written.

I don't have the black wireless headset, but I do have the Halo Reach edition of this, which is the same item with a different paint job. I have 2 issues with this item.

One is that the audio tends to cut out at times. It gets its sync back pretty quickly, but it's irritating to have the voice switch to the speakers and then back into the headset every hour or so. I don't know if there is something in my area that is causing interference or not so I'm not going to call it a major flaw.

Second, is the fit. It only comes with 2 ear loops, one has an M on it for medium and the other has an S on it for small. I use the medium and I have a hard time getting it on, not to mention after a while it feels like my ear is being pinched and it gets uncomfortable. Why they didn't think to include a large size is beyond me. This thing would be nearly perfect for me if they had. My ears aren't abnormally big, I can use most bluetooth headsets without any problem, but this thing feels like it was sized for a 12 year old.

im so glad this headset came in black to match the new xbox360 slim , the wired headset that comes originally bundled with the 360, i think picks up voices better than this bc it is wireless however it does a decent job,there are no annoying wires and it's not as fragile as the headset that comes with ur xbox360. fully charged it last me around 2-3 days. love this product and it's a lil cheaper here than it is @ local retail stores.

Works better than the one that came with my Xbox. I hear clearer with this than my corded one.

Big improvement over the cheap flimsy headsets. After that one broke I got this wireless one. People sound more clear and louder and I've been told my voice is much clearer on the other end. Battery life is great as I never have problems playing for 2 or 3 hour sessions.

I got this for $30 shipped before Christmas. It could have a better mechanism for attaching to the ear, but the performance is great.

I have had this headset for 2 years. Everyone I talk to says I sound great. The only downfall is sometimes it is hard to put it on my ear (it just hangs there). Sound is great reception is great, a must have.

UPDATE 2 (11/17/11): Last night, the mic disconnected as normal because I went out of range while wearing it. When I returned, it tried to reconnect, did so briefly (as indicated by the mic symbol on the XBox Live party menu) and then disconnected. However, the single light remained on, indicating a connection. Turning the mic off and back on did not fix it. Turning the entire CONSOLE off and back on also did not fix it. I have yet to try it again.

I am hesitant to give up this mic for anything else because I really do like its small packaging and lack of cumbersome over-the-head band or bulky earpieces. Also, when it does work, it works rather well. However, the amount of time that it does work is continually diminishing. This is clearly a buggy mic and I don't think I have a defective product...I think that Microsoft has released a poorly tested device. I'm considering the new bluetooth version in hopes that some of these issues have been fixed, but would rather not drop the money just to end up with another product that behaves exactly the same.

UPDATE (11/09/11): While this mic still performs well much of the time, it seems to be malfunctioning with increasing frequency. Often, I will be telling my friend a story over the mic, only to have him cut me off with "Yeah, you're cutting out." This sudden choppy interference will occur randomly and does not seem to be related to cell phone usage, nearby vehicles with CB equipment, or any other factors that could commonly cause frequency interference.

Furthermore, I played one evening in which the mic disconnected itself over and over again, without warning. Unlike prior instances, however, in which the mic simply turned OFF, in these recent cases the mic remained on, with a single LED lit (indicating that it was still connected), and still caused "voice" effects to bypass the TV speakers, but was unable to send OR receive audio. Basically, I would notice that my friends had stopped talking, think nothing of it for a while during a frantic game, then ask them a question and get silence in return. I would then turn the mic off, turn it back on, reconnect it, and hear "What happened? I was talking to you and you didn't respond."

This type of problem is fairly significant and worth keeping in mind if you intend to buy the mic. In fact, this lowered my review to 3 stars.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I have used various wired 360 headsets over the course of time and while they all worked reasonably well, my biggest complaint was that I could never eat or drink while wearing them, without flipping the mouthpiece up and out of the way. I would inevitably attempt to sneak a bite of pizza around the mouthpiece, only to brush it and end up with marinara sauce on the foam mic cover. A secondary irritation was that in order to grab something from another room, I would have to either tell my friends "hang on, I'll be right back," or attempt to carry the controller with me, which is quite cumbersome.

I am aware of the various aftermarket wireless and wired headsets which offer a plethora of premium features, but these also come at a premium price. Since my sound system is quite sufficient, I don't need game audio transmitting through the headset, so I decided upon the official Microsoft wireless unit.

In terms of solving my basic problems with the wired headset, this mic is great. I can now eat and drink, walk about my apartment, set my controller down, and more, without any trouble. I no longer have issues with the mic cord getting in my way. What's more, my friends assure me that compared to the wired mic, my voice is clearer.

Other positive features of this headset include unique "beeps" to indicate the muted and unmuted conditions, a bank of lights to show that the mic is connected, charging, or fully charged, and easy USB charging...I didn't even bother to remove the twist-tie from the bundled cord, and instead just let the mic dangle in front of my XBox while it is charging. The mic is so light that this puts negligible strain on the cord.

The mic is not free of minor problems, however. For one thing, the mic picks up a lot more sound than the wired version; I would estimate that it falls somewhere between the wired mic and the Kinect in terms of environmental sound collection. I sometimes play some riffs on my electric guitar while waiting in game lobbies; with my wired mic, my friends cannot hear this at all. With this mic, not only can they hear the guitar, but when I got a new and improved amplifier, my friend commented that he could "easily tell the difference"...and he isn't even a musician. Most of the time, the sound pickup is not a problem; in fact, it can be a benefit. However, if I wish to play some music in the background while I am gaming, I have to switch to my wired mic, as this tends to be annoying to people on the other end.

The mic's range is also not very good, and decreases with obstructions such as walls. Depending on which route I take to my kitchen, my friends may or may not be able to hear me continue talking. My bedroom is entirely too far away, and the mic disconnects if I walk that far. However, for the purpose of merely sitting down and playing games, the range is a non-issue. It's not like anyone is going to spend most of his time playing games several yards away from the XBox.

I have also noticed issues with the mic connecting. Most of the time it connects to the controller remarkably well, after the initial [easy] sync. However, sometimes when I walk out of range, causing it to disconnect, and then return, the mic will merely blink all 4 lights over and over again until I turn it off and back on. More often, however, it does reconnect seamlessly. I have also experienced the mic randomly disconnecting for no apparent reason in the midst of a normal game session. This has only happened to me twice, so I can't really consider it a major issue.

Other minor issues include the awkward rubber ear loop, which I did not find to be particularly "natural" at first, but am now fairly used to. I am also not a big fan of the beep every 30 seconds reminding you that mute is activated. I can quickly check whether or not mute is on by pressing the mute button and listening for the tone. Sometimes I like to keep things muted for various reasons, while still being able to listen through the mic, and the beep interferes. However, this is again not a major issue.

I have had this mic for a few months, so I cannot comment on its long-term durability. So far, however, aside from the few minor issues I mentioned, it has worked remarkably well. To summarize, the mic is a great replacement for the wired version, being more comfortable and less intrusive. However, it does pick up a lot of environmental sound, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the situation, and it does suffer a few minor connectivity issues from time to time.

Overall, I would highly recommend this mic if you are tired of the basic wired version and are looking for a relatively inexpensive alternative to high-end aftermarket wireless headsets.

This is a decent headset but i have 2 major complaints...u cannot wear this headset for over 2 hours without it totally destroying the back of your ear..you ear will get very very sore after long ours of play becayse it wont fit your ear right. ECHOOOOOOOO..this mic has crazy bad echo. i cant even have my headset at a comfortable volume without all of my friends complaining about feedback and echo....i would probably reccoemend a different headset