Turtle Beach Ear Force Spectre (Call of Duty: Ghosts Edition) Gaming Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. Turtle Beach Ear Force Spectre (Call of Duty Ghosts Edition) Headset4. Comfort and Performance5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

With action games remaining as popular as ever, many gamers are looking to one-up their adversaries in online confrontations. Whether its improved player performance or a more immersive audio experience you're after, Turtle Beach's limited edition Call of Duty: Ghosts Spectre headset aims to cater for your needs.

Featuring branding from Activision's latest outing with the Call of Duty series, Turtle Beach's Ear Force Spectre is a gaming headset through-and-through. Offering support for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, as well as other devices such as mobile phones, Turtle Beach uses a COD-branded in-line amp to provide the headset's connections in addition to a quick and easy way of adjusting six different usage characteristics.

Is the Call of Duty: Ghosts branded Ear Force Spectre a gaming headset to be reckoned with?

Features:

• Customizable Speaker Plates
• Mobile versatility
• Listen to Music & Take Calls..While Gaming
• Independent Volume Controls
• Dynamic Chat Boost™
• Adjustable Bass & Treble Controls
• Variable Microphone Monitor
• Comfortable, Twist-Cup Design
• Turtle Beach Audio Advantage

Turtle Beach ships the Ear Force Spectre headset in sturdy packaging that is concealed by a Call of Duty branded sleeve. Key features and specifications are outlined on the sleeve's front and rear side.

Removing the sleeve and opening the front flap allows customers to have a good look at the headset.

Manuals, warranty information, and a Turtle Beach sticker form the supplied literature. The supplied Quick Start Guide provides in-depth and clear instructions for connecting the headset to a number of devices, including multiple Xbox 360 variants, a PS3, a PC, and a mobile phone.

Turtle Beach provides no less than five different cables which are used to connect the Ear Force Spectre with a multitude of devices. One of the cables features a 3.5mm connector and in-line microphone (for mobile phone purposes). Another lead uses a 3.5mm connector which is converted from the Ear Force Spectre's proprietary headset connection.

An Xbox 360 microphone cable is provided, as well as an RCA stereo splitter cable which features input (or pass-through) functionality so that a PS3, TV or home cinema system can be connected. A simple auxiliary (3.5mm) audio cable is also provided for miscellaneous connections.

Given the sheer number of cables provided with Turtle Beach's headset, the company would have been wise to supply users with a carrying bag, rather than force them to rely upon less tidy storage and transportation methods.

Turtle Beach builds the Ear Force Spectre using a plastic frame, with foam and leather padding in the relevant areas, and large ear cups. The design won't give the firmest grip that pro gamers yearn but it should ensure comfortable wearing for extended periods of time.

Using a beige and black colour scheme, the Ear Force Spectre Call of Duty: Ghosts edition fits in with the game's dark, intense image.

Both ear cups can be twisted by around 90 degrees to sit flush against a user's body. This design feature allows gamers to hook the headset firmly around their neck without causing discomfort in their chest area.

With a gap measuring approximately 60mm-tall by 40mm-wide, gamers' ears should be able to sit inside the ear cups with comfort. The soft, leather-covered, foam padding helps to enhance the Ear Force Spectre's wearing comfort, although it does cause a user's ears to get hot quicker than the alternative cloth design does.

Given the unit's Call of Duty: Ghosts branding, it comes as no surprise that the interchangeable plates feature styling from the franchise's newest game. If a different style of plates is preferred, alternative sets can be equipped.

50mm drivers embedded within the ear cups provide stereo audio to the headset. The leather-topped foam ear cushions double up as passive noise insulation implementations.

The detachable microphone can be attached to the headset via a specific connection located towards the front of the left ear cup.

Each ear cup can be tilted towards and away from one's ears by a limited margin of approximately 25 to 30 degrees. This degree of flexibility is slightly lower than we have seen from some other gaming headsets in the past.

The Call of Duty: Ghosts branded in-line amp provides easy access to six different usage characteristics. Game, chat, and microphone volume controls are found on one side of the amp. Treble and bass level controls, as well as a microphone function switch, are found on the in-line amp's other side.

Chat and microphone setting indicator lights are found on the unit's main body. Four different colours are used to indicate the microphone's current function.

A clip allows users to secure the in-line amp to their clothing, ensuring that its weight isn't supported by their head.

 

A thick, approximately 3 metre-long cable connects the headset's in-line amp to the specific USB and 3.5mm ports. Given that the additional cables can extend the Ear Force Spectre's reach up to approximately 4 metres, many gamers shouldn't have problems using the unit while sitting on their couch. PC gamers, on the other hand, are likely to be irritated by the 3 metres of cable sat on the floor next to them and their computer.

The main cable with in-line amp connects to the headset via a lead that converts the proprietary connector to a 3.5mm jack. Why Turtle Beach didn't choose the simple option and send a 3.5mm connector directly from the headset is a little unclear; the most likely reason is that a quick disconnect method was a high priority, hence the usage of a proprietary (and bulky) connector.

Turtle Beach's multi-cable approach makes connecting basic devices a needless inconvenience. For example, connecting a smartphone requires the use of an adapter, rather than a direct 3.5mm connection. Connecting an Xbox 360 sees a cable converting from the proprietary connection to a 3.5mm jack which then feeds through the in-line amp, before another 3.5mm lead (from the in-line amp) is used to connect the console.

While the quick disconnect functionality is a clear advantage to gamers, the increased complexity brought about by multiple connector cables does put a small downer on what is otherwise a very positive feature.

A basic 3.5mm cable can be used to directly connect miscellaneous devices such as MP3 players. For users wanting phone call functionality, a cable that also provides an in-line microphone (with single input button) can be connected to the 3.5mm connector of mobile phones.

General PS3 and Xbox 360 (or other games console) connectivity is provided in the form of an RCA phono (red and white stereo connectors) to 3.5mm female adapter.  The main cable's 3.5mm jack then plugs into the relevant female 3.5mm input.

For Xbox 360 users, a separate audio cable (which plugs into the controller and headset amplifier) can be used to relay the headset's microphone audio over the console. PS3 users can configure the microphone input via their system settings page.

Straight from the start of testing, I noticed just how comfortable the Ear Force Spectre headset was to wear. Prior to using Turtle Beach's unit, I had almost succumbed to the fact that high-end gaming headsets are uncomfortable beasts. By using a solid, but flexible,  frame for the headset, Turtle Beach has ensured that the Ear Force Spectre does not clamp tightly against one's ears or head.

Despite its 353g mass (without the 3m-long main cable attached), the Ear Force Spectre is very easy to handle and fits securely, with comfort.

The cloth-covered, foam headband provides an impact-absorbing surface that allows the Ear Force Spectre to rest comfortably on a gamer's head. It is easy to feel that much of the unit's weight has been distributed through the ear cups, but thanks to their large openings, a user's ears can sit comfortably inside the gaps without being crushed by the circa-350g load.

While the ear cups' leather material may improve noise insulation performance, they don't allow one's ears to remain cool as easily as the cloth alternative does. I didn't suffer any major discomforts in regards to warm ears, although I did welcome a short cooling break after a respectable period of time. The ‘cool ear' trait is likely related to the headset's effective weight distribution design that ensures a gamer's ears aren't compressed tightly against their head.

Throughout testing, Turtle Beach's Ear Force Spectre headset impressed me with its gaming performance. The first trait that caught my attention was the powerful bass that punching through the 50mm drivers without distortion. Using heavy machine guns in Battlefield 3 resulted in a thunderous, low-pitch output, the quality of which was as good as any other headset that I have personally used.

Being a stereo headset, the unit's directional output was surprisingly good. Although the unit's ability to accurately reproduce directional sound was not as good as what a virtual surround sound unit could offer, bullets and vehicles did have a direction to their audio source, even if it wasn't completely accurate.

The Ear Force Spectre's ability to portray a difference between audio pitches and sound effects was good. During testing, I found it very easy to differentiate between small arms fire, assault rifles, and heavy weaponry. Battlefield 3's deep bass and high-pitched alarm squeal that is output by a weakened tank came across the Ear Force Spectre in a clear, distortion-free manner.

Grand Theft Auto V's diverse soundtrack presented a good test for the Ear Force Spectre. I had no problems configuring the headset for use with an Xbox 360 HDMI model; the red and white RCA jacks plugged into the 360's break-out audio connector and converted the port to a 3.5mm female jack.

Turtle Beach's headset performed very well with Grand Theft Auto V. The in-line amp provided a quick and easy method for adjusting bass and treble levels. This is especially convenient in games such as Grand Theft Auto where dialogue is rapidly superseded by intense gunfights or car chases.

Music playback didn't present any issues for the Ear Force Spectre headset. Just as the headset had presented during gaming tests, its ability to deliver a variety of tones and pitches, simultaneously, was effective.

If you like to listen to music, or game, in a noisy atmosphere, the Turtle Beach Ear Force Spectre headset can be used to deliver loud playback. I connected the unit to a system running Metro: Last Light without knowing that the volume was set to 100%; needless to say, I rapidly clutched the headset away from my ears to save them from unintentional pain.

Performance remained very good right up until the headset's maximum volume level. As this point approached, the unit's ability to differentiate between a variety of sounds and effects decreased, but this is to be expected, to a certain extent.

Using a solid piece of material (sporting the Turtle Beach logo) to block out ambient noise in a specific direction, the Ear Force Spectre's ultra-flexible microphone did a good job in relaying my voice output while keeping background transmission to a minimum. Those on the other end of communications passed positive comments on the quality of speech transmission.

While the Ear Force Spectre's overall performance is good, its noise insulation is not strong. The leather-covered ear cups did little to dampen background noise. At times, certain frequencies actually seemed to be slightly amplified by the headset's plastic frame. Noise insulation is an area where the Ear Force Spectre could use some improvement.

The Turtle Beach Ear Force Spectre Call of Duty: Ghosts Edition is a high-quality headset that delivers excellent gaming performance and a comfortable fit. Bass levels were solid and the range of tone reproductions was also strong.

Throughout testing, we were impressed by the Ear Force Spectre's audio performance. Bass levels were strong when required and very easy to tweak using controls on the in-line amp. Equally impressive was the range of tones that Turtle Beach's unit was able to simultaneously output.

Our biggest praise for Turtle Beach's Ear Force Spectre is its comfort. Using a plastic frame which is sturdy, but also has a good amount of flexibility to it, Turtle Beach was able to create a weight distribution system that doesn't transmit high levels of force through a gamer's ears.

There are some areas where the Ear Force Spectre could use improvement. Noise insulation was poor and even seemed to be non-existent on times. The sheer number of cables required to connect certain devices is likely to irritate users, too.

Priced at £129.99 from Game, Turtle Beach's Call of Duty: Ghosts Spectre Limited Edition headset isn't cheap. It's clear that money has been added to the unit due to its Call of Duty branding. That said, the Ear Force Spectre does offer the performance, connection options, and comfort which allow it to justify the asking price.

Pros:

• Great gaming performance.
• Plenty of connectivity options.
• Comfortable design, even for extended periods of time.
• Great functionality and adjustment from in-line amp.
• Interchangeable plates.
• Excellent microphone reception.

Cons:

• Lots of cables to attach to certain devices.
• Poor noise insulation performance.
• Cable bag would have been welcomed.

KitGuru says: A very good headset with excellent gaming performance and high comfort levels.

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