Nothing beats a good 5.1 surround sound setup, but for cost or location reasons a setup like this isn’t always an option. That is where the Ear Force AXT headphones from Turtle Beach come in. You’ll get simulated 5.1 sound along with a built in microphone for Xbox Live play all at a reasonable price. With great sound quality and nice overall design, the Ear Force AXT headphones are a worthy purchase.
Design and Features
The Ear Force AXT headphones feature large padded ear cups that completely cover your ears. You’ll look a little funny to passers by (these things are seriously huge), but they block out most outside noise and provide a perfectly positioned platform for the four speakers on each side to broadcast straight into your skull. Two large plastic loops connect the two ear cups and give the unit a very sturdy and strong feel but there is also an adjustable padded head piece that conforms to the top of your head. Overall, the unit is pretty comfortable over long play sessions. Everything that needs to be soft is soft and everything that needs to be solid is solid so it feels just right. The microphone is mounted on the left side and is easy to position thanks to a swiveling base and completely flexible boom that puts the microphone right in front of your mouth. The cord for the unit is also on the left side and there is a volume control and Xbox Communicator cable about two feet down before continuing on to the audio hook ups and power plug in several feet later.Setup
Setting up the Ear Force AXT is pretty easy. You just have to plug in the power cord to a wall outlet and the red and white sound cables into the corresponding outputs of whatever device you are using. You actually have a few options for hooking up the sound. You can use the included male to female adapters to hook the headphone audio directly to the audio cables on your Xbox or you can simply plug the headphones into the open audio output on a system selector box. System selectors typically have two audio outputs so this allows you to use your headphones when you want but also have sound from your TV without having to switch a bunch of cables around. It also lets you easily use the headphones with more than just your Xbox which is a big plus. Once you get everything hooked up you are good to go. The only thing left to do is plug the microphone cord into your Xbox Live Communicator module and you are ready for some Xbox Live goodness. One important thing to note is that you will have to adjust your Xbox Live settings so that you will be able to hear both the game sound and voice chat through the headphones but this is an easy step.Continued on Page 2 ...
