Ear Force DPX21 Headset and 5.1/7.1 Channel Dolby Surround Sound

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List Price: $149.99
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I wanted to hold off on writing a review for this headset for a few months before writing a review, mainly because I had heard that some of these gaming audio devices don't hold up over time. Unfortunately, this was the case for the Turtle Beach DPX21's.

The good things first.

They truly sound great. They don't have the absolute best sound on the market, but they DO greatly enhance the level of immersion in games, and they do provide a great advantage in popular competitive games such as COD/Battlefield, etc. They don't have true surround sound (they offer simulated surround sound) but that doesn't mean that you don't have a sense of directionality besides left vs. right, quite the oppositeyou'll be amazed at the level of 3-dimensional precision that these headphones add to your sense of perception while playing a game.

They're lightweight, and confortable, so no problems there.

They are very easy to set up. Just plug a couple cables here and there, turn a couple scrolling wheels to adjust the bass, and you're good to go. The cable that connects the headset to the DSS box is long, so it allows for quite a bit of freedom, and the excess length can be easily coiled up to keep it compact.

The microphone works great. It's very flexible, and your voice will go through outstandingly clearly, and with zero to very very little background noise.

Now for the bad...

As great sounding as these are for the price, they are very poorly constructed. The part where the swiveling section of the headset connects to the actual ear cup is pitifully fragile. The two sets of these that I owned broke at the very same spot. The ear cups are ultimately connected to the rest of the headset by a very small (about 1/4" in diameter) concealed plastic cylinder that carries the wiring to the speaker in each ear cup. This small cylinder is the part that fractured in both of the pairs of DPX21's that I purchased, despite my taking VERY good care of them (when you're in college, you get stingy about every dollar that you spend) so you can imagine my disappointment when my first pair broke, and then the replacement that I got broke in the exact same way, in addition to a faltering sound quality that started presenting itself a couple weeks before the headset fractured.

Once my second pair's sound started to give out, and ultimately broke like the first one, I decided not to deal with Turtle Beach again, so i decided to look inside the headset itself just for the heck of it. Now, I'm not an expert when it comes to electronic hardware, but I have done some work in a couple of my classes, and I can tell you that the soldering inside the headset's ear cups and volume control was very shoddily done. It was truly unacceptable how poorly done it was considering that this piece of equipment is so expensive.

I really didn't want to "badmouth" a product on a review, but that is what they are forto inform others of the quality of the product, so there you go.

I'm giving this product 3 stars because it really is a helpful and outstandingly enjoyable accessory, but is very poorly constructed, at least in my experience.

You can go ahead and purchase this Turtle Beach headset and just hope that yours holds out longer than the two that I owned did, and that I just happened to get two defective ones that were poorly constructed. And I honestly hope that that was the case, because I don't want thousands of people to spend this much money for a product that is likely to break on you or will simply start to deteriorate in performance so quickly.

Good luck.

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This pair of headphones has a truly spectacular frequency response range. Despite the fact these are headphones, you will FEEL the bass reverberating between your ears! The fact that these work with pretty much any audio source you'll run across from stereo analog input to digital fiber optic is pretty sweet.

I've owned many headphones. Be it from cheap stereo to "pseudo-surround", such as the Plantronics Gamecom (pseudo-surround) and I even have a pair of the mid-line SHURE headphones (they have reasonable bass response), this pair will blow them away.

Sound is crisp in the mid/high range as well. For the price, you certainly won't be dissappointed! If you're a SHURE headphone fan, these will really impress you.

The only downside to these are the MASSIVE amount of cables that accompany them. It's not that there's many, it's just that they're really LONG (which is GREAT in most cases!)... Just remember you're going to have to bundle them if you're going to use them on your PC (as I do) so they aren't strewn across your entire desk.

Overall, best headphone purchase I've made to date. Turtle Beach really knows their audio!

Buy Ear Force DPX21 Headset and 5.1/7.1 Channel Dolby Surround Sound Now

I never write reviews. In 12 years on Amazon, this is the second one I believe; but, I had to share my experience with these fantastic headphones. I'll be brief don't worry about price; cost (rather than price) implies value atop price, and let me tell you the added value is well worth it. Besides the 5.1/7.1 ability (separating it from the lower tier model), is the fact that it is usable on X360, PC, and Mac, which is fantastic for me since I game on literally every modern platform. My PC gaming sessions, audio/video work on Mac, voice chat/calling, has been as great an experience as on my preferred gaming platform, PS3. I mention this because I've played with dozens of headsets over the years and nothing comes close. As far as making calls over Google Voice and Skype, the good news continues. The cords are quite long (at least 15 feet I'd say), which works well in my large living room. Set up was a breeze for me and will be for you. I mean, if you've connected a modern home theater set-up...come on, this is child's play.

The over the ear design is extremely comfortable and I barely notice having them on after several hours of listening. I love the independent controls for chat vs. the game, important for team play during multiplayer matches and MMO's. The bass is quite prolific and easy to control. Other reviewers likely couldn't figure out that you just need to lower it on the main unit, so you can adjust accordingly on the other control unit that you keep close to you during matches. From a gameplay standpoint the channel separation is just fantastic and it really does help in picking up attacks vs. a non-surround set-up like my previous 3 channel soundbar. I had a 5.1 setup in my old house and I can tell you that now that I've gone DPX21, I would never go back to gaming with a traditional 5.1/7.1 external speaker setup. It's just needlessly disruptive for those around you and totally unnecessary. The experience with this headset trumps any setup I've experienced in my home or in any friends' homes. I don't know what it is, but I usually feel underwhelmed in some way by most setups either by weak sound, inconsistently delivered volume on separate channels, or when they're properly powered and loud the reverberation in the wall or some other factor takes the cleanliness from the sound, not to mention it's usually bugging someone somewhere. I really can't say much else, other than to buy this gem of a product and you'll be happy (as will housemates).

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WOW as soon as I put them on I was blown away. My friend uses G35's on his PC and even he was impressed. Sound quality while playing games is incredible, you can hear every tiny sound and know exactly where it is. The mic is very clear and the separate chat controls are great for when a screaming 13 yr old joins your game, and you need to slam the volume down to save your hearing. I don't know how I ever played without them.

PROS

Light.

Sound while playing games is great.

Can't really do much better for the money.

Bass blows you away.

CONS

The bass can interfere with other sounds when listening to music(wobbly sounding vocals but it only happens on really bass heavy songs).

You can knock the controls but its no biggie.

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First time reviewer, long time gamer. I've been reading all the reviews, just as you, regarding these two headphones. We do this because of the hefty price tag, and I now feel that, having purchased both and then taken one back, it was time for a review to help. Running on PS3, so...

Originally bought the DPX21's, loved the comfort, ease of set-up (if your buying these, your not going to have a problem setting them up) and the wiring is LONG. I have dogs, and I set about 8-10 feet from the 61" while playing, plenty of slack and no problems let. Took them back to major outlet store because DSS was cutting out on me. This, in hindsight, was probably owner error I would recommend you don't even open the fiber optic cable, its garbage. I was using a Monster Cable optical which has a larger head on it, which was pressing against the power connector, which when moved, would stop the cut out phase. Again, owner error.

I then traded up (was only an extra $25) for the AXPRO's. I truely wanted the surround sound, and I can't complain about them. The wiring is similar but only 12.5 feet (TB's = 16). The converter box is cool, but really not long enough to sit back and make adjustments on the fly as it's no more then say, 3 feet from your console. Another thing I have a larger head (7 1/4 7 3/8ths) fitting baseball hats. Those that have indicated that the headset squeezes their melons, I didn't suffer that same fate. I will say, that they are not as comfortable as the TB's and are heavier, but those that also complain of fatigue or neck strain from the axpros should really get outside more.

For those late night gaming sessions, the contacts come out, the glasses go on... the axpros are not really that great for this. It took some adjustment, and it worked, no complaints, but again, not as comfortable as the TB's. With the axpros being powered (current model has only one cord going to the headset, it "Y"'s off at the converter box to power outlet) they do tend to heat up and get toasty on the ears after an hour or so. Not unbearable, but noticeable. The TB's... no concerns with breath-ability, and no concerns with glasses or total comfort as they are very lightweight.

Both reviews so far seem positive, and they are meant to be. I truly liked both, but what I've mentioned is what brought me to take the axpro's back for another DPX21 setup. Oh, and the one major factor, besides the heating of the ears would be that I enjoy playing team based games and talking with friends while playing... COD anyone? but you can't hear yourself talking in the axpro's. The DPX allows this, and is frankly, a major reason for me. My friends indicated that I was screaming at them (they too, all have the DPX21's)when the action got loud.

The axpros sound of directional sounds blows the DPX away... the rear control is excellent. And for those that still think you have to unplug the axpros, nah, just hold the master volume button and the top speaker control button on the controller for a few seconds, and it shuts off. Same way to turn it on. DPX turns on with the PS3, which is nice too. With the DPX, its really right, right fade for rear, and left, left fade for rear. Pretty good reproduction, but nothing like the axpros. But for me, it's the TB's all the way better sound as a whole (axpro's somewhat tinney, DPX better bass) and the microphone issue, along with breathing ears. You won't go wrong with whichever you choose. I'd rate them both 4 stars.

Oh, and I did use a smaller digital cable on 2nd set up! Lesson learned.