Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. Performance & Conclusion4. Conclusion5. View All Pages

Having made a name for themselves in pro gaming, Turtle Beach has released a line of Major League Gaming licensed headsets and today we are looking at the Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 headset. With an included in-line amplifier, multi-platform compatibility and 50 mm drivers, this stereo headset retails for a relatively modest asking price of £64.97 inc vat.

So, can the Ear Force PX22 hit the sweet spot for gamers who want to keep their costs down?

Specifications:

• 50mm Speakers.
• In-line Amplifier.
• Dynamic Chat Boost.
• Variable Microphone Monitor.
• Adjustable Bass & Treble Levels.
• Memory Foam Ear Cushions.
• Compatible with PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PS3, tablets, phones.
• Package contents: PX22 Headset with In-Line Amplifier, RCA Splitter cable, Xbox 360 Chat cable, 3.5mm 4-pole Aux cable, Quick start Guide, Turtle Beach sticker.

The Ear Force PX22 ship in a black box with a large image of the headset and some of its key features on the front.

The back of the box holds the specifications and shows a clearer image of the headset and in-line amplifier.

Inside the box are the PX22 headset, a small box with a quick start guide, a box with cables, the in-line amplifier and some Turtle Beach stickers.

Included with the headset are the in-line amplifier with a very lengthy cable, an RCA Splitter cable, Xbox 360 Chat cable and 3.5mm Aux cable.

Moving to the left hand side of the in-line amplifier we can see the Mic Switch, Bass Controls and Treble Controls. The bottom end of the amplifier houses the headset jack.

The Mic Switch lets you use the headset to answer calls, turn Mic Boost on and off and mute the microphone entirely. Each status has its own colored LED, making it easier to identify which setting you have chosen.

Along the top of the amplifier we can see the input jacks for mobile devices and the Xbox 360 Chat cable.

Switching to the right hand side and starting from the bottom there are three scroll wheels to adjust Game Volume, Chat Control and the variable Mic Monitor which can be used to listen to the microphone, helping you determine if your chat settings are correct.

The headphones have been constructed out of plastic with a cloth surface on the inner cups and headband.

The ear cups are branded with the Major League Gaming logo and the model name is clearly visible.

The top of the headband also prominently displays the Turtle Beach brand name.

Straight out of the box the PX22 fit comfortably and I had no issues wearing them during prolonged gaming sessions. Initially I did have some concerns about the in-line amp and the potential for a constant dragging feeling but I found it to be surprisingly light and it never got in the way.

Sadly, the PX22 do have a very plastic feel to them and the cloth surface does not feel as smooth as some of Turtle Beach's higher end offerings.

The PX22 ships with a lengthy cable which is difficult to comfortably hide away when connecting the headset to a PC. When it comes to consoles the lengthy cable does help you keep a relaxed posture without having to worry about the headset slipping off.

In order to test music playback performance I used uncompressed recordings of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s album Electric Ladyland as well as a 192kbps recording of the eponymous album Alexisonfire by Alexisonfire.

Overall the PX22 performed admirably with clear reproduction of both the low and high registers without drowning out either.

In order to test gaming performance I used Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Battlefield 3. These games were chosen because Counter-Strike relies heavily on sound spatialization while Battlefield 3 on the PC brings together 64 players with an array of weaponry and a wide range of ambient sounds. More information about sound spatialization in Counter-Strike and some background on the sound design of Battlefield 3 can be found here and here.

We were pleasantly surprised with the PX22's in-game performance. Footsteps and players reloading were easy to discern, as were subtle audio cues such as snipers zooming in whilst playing Counter-Strike. Bass wasn't as powerful as the Ear Force XP Seven we recently reviewed, though the PX22 did help us get immersed.

The boom mic is excellent and none of our friends had any trouble hearing us clearly during intense fights. I used my phone to play some music approximately 1 meter away from me while I used the microphone but did not notice any significant background noise while listening to the microphone.

To test the surround sound capabilities of the headphones I used the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan and The Dark Knight. Saving Private Ryan’s opening scene is a perfect way to test any surround sound setup, or virtualization solution, with its mix of explosive impacts and rifles being fired in an open field. The Dark Knight on the other hand has booming, impactful bass scenes and is a great way to test a headset’s capability to accurately produce high and low tones.

Overall, the bass was slightly underwhelming but the PX22 did manage to clearly reproduce the wide range of tones during the most hectic scenes of both movies.

At the end of the day we can say the Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 are very capable headphones. They are capable of resolving a lot of fine detail and are ideal for gamers who demand high quality audio reproduction.

The only real downside we could find with the Ear Force PX22 is the plastic components used throughout. Although nothing broke while testing the headset we do think the build quality could have been improved slightly. This might deter some users who treat their headsets a little roughly.

Although the PX22 will not replace a good pair of speakers we do feel they will be a great addition to a gaming set-up due to their multi-platform compatibility and ability to answer calls without having to take the headset off in-game.

Available for £64.97 inc vat. the Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 are a solid investment, though we would recommend trying on a pair as the plastic construction may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Pros:

• Solid gaming performance.
• Multi-platform compatibility.
• Option to connect a phone to keep gamers in the game.

Cons:

• Plastic construction has a flimsy feel to it.
• Pricing puts it in a tough spot with stereo headsets from competitors.

KitGuru says: A good headset that we would have gladly given our Must Have award if the build quality was better.

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