13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Good mic that could have been Great.....
The wireless 360 LIPS microhpone mics are extremely well made. Alot fancier then the standard USB microphones used in Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Karaoke Revolution games. They sound better as well. Less distortion then the USB mics. The mics are comfortable and have flashing lights to give them a little bit of flare. Thats personal taste. But I thought it was nice...
48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
Beware of Lag issues with Rock Band games
First thing's first: On 9/25/2009, an update was released to enable functionality of this microphone with all Rock Band games (thus, previous reviews mentioning that issue are now moot). I can confirm that the mic now does "work" with all Rock Band games.
However, the functionality of this microphone is utterly horrid (with the Rock Band games). In short:...
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
First thing's first: On 9/25/2009, an update was released to enable functionality of this microphone with all Rock Band games (thus, previous reviews mentioning that issue are now moot). I can confirm that the mic now does "work" with all Rock Band games.
However, the functionality of this microphone is utterly horrid (with the Rock Band games). In short: there is a very noticeable lag when singing into the microphone. The lag causes you to hear an echo when singing in game and causes your timing and pitch to go out of whack - making it near impossible to play songs on harder skill levels. In order to confirm that there was definitely an un-fixable issue with the wireless microphone, I did a little test and played a specific song on both the stock/corded and wireless microphones (both multiple times). Each time, I got double (sometimes triple) the score with the stock/corded microphone. It appears that the lag introduced by the wireless microphone is throwing off the timing, and it may have an issue with the pitch as well (however, I can't confirm the latter).
Let me stop for a second and state that I have exhausted all avenues of trying to correct this problem. I've tried calibrating the audio/video lag in the Rock Band settings, and I've tried switching audio sources (from TV to receiver). This lag issue is a result of a poor wireless connection between the microphone and the game console - meaning that no in-game setting can fix the issue. It should also be noted that numerous users on the Rock Band forums are complaining about this very same issue with both the wireless microphone and the "Lips" microphones.
Is this something that can be corrected through a future update? doubtful. First of all, the issue is likely hardware related. If there is just a laggy connection between the microphone and the xbox, then no software can fix that. Further, it took about 8 months since introduction for Rock Band to issue this update (on 9/25) so I highly doubt that their development team is going to jump to fix this particular issue. Plus, the microphone still "functions" - it's just a much worse experience than using the corded microphone.
So in conclusion, I absolutely recommend against purchasing this microphone. At $50, you're paying a lot of money to remove the wire from your existing microphone. If the thing doesn't work just as well as your corded mic, it's certainly not worth $50. Also, if you're really into getting high scores through the vocal sections, you will encounter nothing but frustration with the timing issues. Personally, I rarely even sing and I couldn't deal with the lag and the echo, so I know that it'll really irritate the hard core singers.
If you absolutely must go "all wireless" with your Rock Band setup, I'd advise you to wait and see if Rock Band officially announces a fix. If not, make sure you have an easy means to return the mic in the event that the lag affects you.
Happy gaming!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
The wireless 360 LIPS microhpone mics are extremely well made. Alot fancier then the standard USB microphones used in Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Karaoke Revolution games. They sound better as well. Less distortion then the USB mics. The mics are comfortable and have flashing lights to give them a little bit of flare. Thats personal taste. But I thought it was nice.
So why are these mics good and not great...well they have flaws. The system of turning the mic on and off is honestly rediculous and confusing. The system of connecting your mic with the xbox 360 is equally rediculous and confusing. They use LED light indicators to show when a mic is on or off, when the batteries are running low. Things of that nature. But I'll be darned if I could totally figure it out. They did it this way to avoid putting buttons on the Mic. I can understand that...but it makes it a royal pain to get it up and started.
The next flaw is of course game compatibility. Most games that this works with, it works with perfectly. LIPS of course, flawless. The Beatles Rock Band, flawless. Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero almost flawless, however sometimes they have trouble recognizing the mic. You may have to go into the options and make sure the mic has been selected or it won't work. Not hard but it sometimes happens. Then we come to Rock Band 2....ok...heres the thing. They added the online patch for Rock Band 2, as reviewers have noted, you need that patch. If you can't connect to Xbox Live to update. You won't be able to play these on Rock Band 2 right out the box. The next thing is...the lag...the lag is not necessarily as bad as I thought it would be. In fact it doesn't really sound as much like a lag, more like a background echo. It depends on what type of person you are...I can tolerate it. But if your a perfectionist. It could be annoying. You can try some fixes, lowering your mic volume will reduce the echo. You'll barely be able to hear yourself. But you should still perform well on the game.
Overall I found the mic worth it. But I enjoy LIPS alot...which is what its made for. If you want to buy this just for Rock Band 2 for an all wireless setup. Wait awhile. Because its not perfect. If you want to buy this for several music based games however. I saw go for it. Its a good mic, but it does have flaws which prevent it from being great.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
I actually love this Mic and if it weren't for some key features I would of returned since it currently has not been patched to work in Rock Band 1 or 2. Hopefully by the time the Beatles Rock Band comes out this will be working.
Pros:
Battery Life lasted about 3 weeks and has a sleep mode when not being used.
Material is nice to feel and it's pretty durable.
Wireless works fine and it's range is a lot more then I ever needed.
Looks great with the lights but they only really come into play with the game "Lips" by Microsoft.
A lot better then the standard Mics that ship with most Rhythm games.
Has a motion sensor in it which some games take advantage of.
Cons:
A little tricky to sync at first but after that I never had a problem.
Does not work with Rock Band yet. (apparently this shouldn't be an issue by mid-late September.)
The top of the microphone twists off so you can put in the batteries. It locks in but always feels loose.
The base is little thick. If you use a Mic stand make sure you have a Microphone clamp to hold it.
Happy with my purchase overall but I really want to test this thing out in Rock Band.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
This wireless mic works very well. I purchased it with the original Lips bundle to use with multiple music games. So far I am very pleased with the performance in all the games that I own. I have tested it with Lips, The Beatles Rock Band and Rock Band 2.
I was concerned after reading some reviews on here saying that the microphone has lag issues with Rock Band 2. When I first connected I noticed that there is a bit of an echo and there did seem to be a bit of a lag that was affecting gameplay. I calibrated my system and tried again. Once I had calibrated it to my TV I no longer had any lag issues. There is still a bit of a delay when playing your voice over the soundtrack. I turned down the mic volume and it works just fine.
I decided to take it another step to see if there was any noticeable lag as compared to the wired usb mic that comes with Rock Band 2. I signed in under two different profiles and connected both mics. I started playing a score duel with myself singing into both mics simultaneously. The result was surprising. I scored nearly exactly the same on both mics. The wireless microphone didn't show any significant lag and provided almost the exact same result.
All in all I would recommend this Mic if you are wanting to take your whole set up wireless although I would suggest shopping around to but it in the original bundle with the Lips game and an additional Mic. I was able to find it for 49.99 and I plan on eventually selling the game and one of mics online.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
In Short:
Unusable/Incompatible with Rock Band (even with the update patch). Does not detect tambourine mode and turns itself off during extended periods of not singing, such as during guitar/drum solos.
My Experience:
I was leery about picking this wireless microphone up due to the poor reviews but I wanted to go completely wireless with all my instruments and had a couple of friends that said they had no problem with their wireless mics. As soon as I got this expensive 360 mic, I tested it with Rock Band 2, Rock Band Lego, and Rock Band Beatles. Their is a slight delay but no more than what you would find with the standard wired mic the comes with the band bundle (tested it with the Beatles multi mic mode). My wife and I tried out this wireless mic and my only complaint initially was that the wireless mic has trouble picking up claps or taps when lines became dots that indicated to turn the mic into a tambourine; but I could have lived with that.
I recently had a get-together with a bunch of friends and we decided to end the night with some Rock Band. This is when I discovered that songs with long periods (30 seconds) of not singing and/or in tambourine mode, such as in instrument solos, the mic interrupts the song by pausing and giving you an error message that reads along the lines of not detecting anything spoken into the mic and if you want to turn it off. It did this with a number of songs and eventually it got so annoying that we switched to the wired mic, thus creating the 360 wireless mic unusable for Rock Band games. I asked my friends with the wireless mic if they had this problem with their 360 wireless mic but that is when I found out that they had a different one, the one by Lips.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
First off, the quality on this mic is quite good. I feel that it is superior to the mics that come with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and is wireless to boot. I haven't played with these mics in the Lips game yet, but the video that shows how the lights work is very cool. Not only do they respond to music in the game, they also serve as indicator lights (On, Connecting, Low Battery, etc) so that you only need the one button on the mic.
However, I think it is beyond ridiculous that ONE mic is more expensive than TWO mics and a GAME! [...] get a second mic and a game. Don't need a second mic or the game? Take them to Gamestop or sell them online, or just keep it as a spare. I personally bought the dual mic package so that I could add them to my single wired mic to sing the 3-part harmonies in The Beatles: Rock Band.
Mic Quality/Cool Factor: 5
Price: 3
Overall: 4
Don't buy this single pack, buy the Lips bundle pack. You won't regret it!
EDIT: It appears Amazon has since raised the price of the Lips bundle, and lowered the price of this single mic. Therefore, I've given an extra 2 points to the overall rating but haven't raised it to 5 because I still feel the price is too high.
For those reading other reviews, these mics do in fact work with Rock Band 2 IF AND ONLY IF you get the patch that was released today September 25, 2009. This patch adds many new features that you can read about on the Rock Band forums. There's no reason not to buy this mic now (except the price)!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
Ignore the previous reviews on this product. Harmonix released a patch on 9/25 which allows the microphone to be compatible with Rock Band 2. This is now the best microphone on the market for the 360.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone (Accessory)
I personally own two of these and have no problems with lag whatsoever. :) I'm sorry to see that Mr. Hunter is having problems with his setup. Rest assured that this is NOT a universal problem.
Connecting:
It connects just like any other wireless controller - you put the xBox and the mic into into pairing mode and they just sync right up. (To put the Mic into pairing mode, hold the mic's button for 5 or more seconds. The LED's will blink to let you know it's waiting to sync.) Be careful when turning the mic on and off so as not to hold the power button too long and place it into pairing mode ;). Just like the wired microphone you don't really even know its connected until it's time to sing. The LED's don't do anything particularly special other than the occasional blink to let you know it's on.
Quality:
The mic itself is top quality - quality you can feel. Batteries last forever (haven't had to change ours yet) but your mileage will probably vary depending on use. The pickup seems right on as we do just as well with this mic as we do with the standard wired mic. This is MUCH more than I can say for the MadCatz mic... good god, stay away from that POS. =P
Cons:
I'm giving it 4 stars, not really for any fault of its own, but because the built in features don't work with Rockband. Who knows who's really to blame for this, but the motion sensor and the color-shifting/beat-blinking capabilities of the LEDs don't work in Rockband. Booooo!
So that's it really. It's wireless and it works. If that's what you're looking for, this is it!
UPDATE: Again, we use this regularly with rockband and experience no lag, at least not enough to matter. I admit that, if you haven't calibrated your audio settings correctly there IS some echo, but it's not bad and not present when calibrated. The lag that's left just sounds like a very slight echo.
We've also noticed that the sensitivity is a tad off - sometimes it feels like it's not hearing you 100% of the time. We simply removed the foam from the bezel and it seems much better. Maybe it's all in our heads, but at least for now we're satisfied.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
