Review: Turtle Beach XO Seven headphones

Gamers, life has been hard since the launch of the Xbox One. A lack of proper headset support means we’ve had to listen to ten year old kids calling us poofta n00bs through our television speaker systems – alongside game audio, to boot — rather than piping both through the intimate setup of a nice pair of cans.

If that wasn’t bad enough, we’d be forced to tell the child to go and f*ck off through the Kinect, of all things. That is, unless some of you were brave enough to use that awkward, cheap built-in Xbox One headset.

My friends, times have changed. We’re now back in the golden age, arguing with online idiots while getting sniped by some dude who’s played the latest FPS for far too long already. It’s partially in thanks to Turtle Beach’s purpose-built XO Seven headset for Xbox One.

Joking aside, Stevivor’s been trialling a pair of Turtle Beach Ear Force XO Sevens alongside Titanfall and changes to the Xbox One’s Party and Friends systems, and it’s been a great ride.

The XO Sevens pretty look like every Turtle Beach headset on the market, but come bundled with the new Xbox One headset adaptor. That little device plugs into your Xbox One controller – and prompts you to update firmware if required – and from there, the headset plugs into the adaptor. That’s it.

Setup complete, game and chat audio are passed wirelessly from your console to your controller, and via the cabled connection to your headphones. A removable microphone can be plugged into the headset itself to allow you to speak with those in a game or your own party.

Though it’s not a Turtle Beach peripheral, the Xbox One adaptor is incredibly important to the mix. Available for $40 AUD separately, the device theoretically will allow you to use your old headset with your new console. It’s got a massive mute button in its centre, with chat & game and volume up & down buttons on either side. Honestly? It’s a bit confusing.

At first, I thought I had to press the game audio button on the left, followed by the volume up or down buttons on the right to set levels. In actual fact, both sides of the device essentially work as volume. Hitting the game button brings game audio up louder than the chat audio – and vice versa – while the actual volume buttons on the right control overall sound levels.

The adaptor is light and doesn’t affect the weight of the controller, but in the end doesn’t support the full range of old headsets that may be cluttering up your closet. Take my Razer Chimeras, for instance. They use a smaller audio cable, and therefore, won’t work in this new frontier. I lamented this for a very brief period of time.

Turns out, the Chimeras are pretty heavy and always caused my temples to throb when wearing my glasses. The Turtle Beach XO Sevens don’t get uncomfortable. They’re soft and light, which meant I could wear them for hours on end levelling up in Titanfall. They’re remarkably good at noise-cancellation too, much to the chagrin of my partner; he really wanted me to get some chores done this weekend, but alas, I couldn’t hear him reminding me.

The XO Sevens sound fantastic as well, delivering crisp, clear in-game audio. Chat is high-end Skype quality thanks to (what I suspect is) a combination of hardware and Xbox One software. The headphones also come with an interchangeable mobile cable, which mean they work and sound great on your handheld device too.

In fact, that mobile cable also plugs into your PS4 controller. While chat’s not going to work, game audio certainly will, and in the same way as on the Xbox One: plug the headphones into the controller, and voila. It’s quite handy for those with both consoles who also want to save a bit of cash, provided you don’t want to chat with others that often. Similarly, if you don’t mind keeping the controller nearby, the XO Sevens are great to watch blu-rays or other media — on either device – without blasting content through your TV speakers.

The XO Sevens aren’t the cheapest headphones on the market, retailing for $229.95 AUD, but their flexible nature makes them a better bargain than my aforementioned Chimeras. With my previous (more expensive) headphones, I was limited to using them at one TV, chained to the base station they were connected to. With the XO Sevens, I’ve quite frequently moved from Xbox One to PS4, to my Xbox One in another room, and every combination in between.

Best yet, because they draw any power they need from your controller and not a base station setup, they’re ready to go when you are. They’re ideal for the gamer who wants to get into the thick of things as quick and as painless as possible. For those on a tighter budget, the XO Four model features the same Xbox One adaptor and basic form factor, but without swappable speaker plates and the noise-isolating ear cushions. The XO Fours go for $149.95 AUD.

I might not be as technically-minded as others in the team when it comes to audio quality, but I know what sounds good and is effortless to use. The Turtle Beach XO Sevens are like a well-oiled machine that will suit your Xbox One setup (and more) pretty much perfectly.

• Review: Turtle Beach XO Seven headphones