Turtle Beach
p/turtle-beach
A global gaming accessory manufacturer
Ike
Ear Force Stealth 420X — Turtle Beach's third fully-wireless headset for Xbox One
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Jacqueline von Tesmar
Hey there! Great to have you on PH 💥 What do next-gen consoles allow for that you couldn't do on previous consoles?
Ike
@jacqvon Both the PS4 and Xbox One allow us to connect directly to their wireless controllers for full Game + Chat Audio — something that wasn't possible last gen!
Mike Coutermarsh
Whoa cool 😍. I want :). Just curious, What's next for Turtle Beach? Anything you can share that you're working on?
MacLean Marshall
@mscccc Back at E3 in June we revealed eight new headsets coming out later this year (one of which was the Stealth 420X). We've got the Stealth 420X's brother from another mother with our upcoming Stealth 450 PC gaming headset coming in Sept. We've also got the PX24 multiplatform headset coming later this year that comes with the SuperAmp, which is a rechargeable battery powered in-line amplifier that delivers amplified audio and a handful of other features like surround sound, bass boost, etc. from any connected device. We also have the Recon 30X which is a really cool, unique Xbox One chat communicator headset which has a slotted ear cup allowing for game audio to be heard in both ears (as opposed to just one ear, because prior chat headsets cover your other ear). And we also have a small handful of other entry level headsets coming for Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Lastly, we haven't even talked about our upcoming Star Wars headsets, and while I can't talk about that in-depth now, you can bet any Star Wars fan/collector will be very interested to see what we'll be announcing soon enough.
Sam Sabri
Yes yes yes yes yes! Can I get them now? Please and thank you. Seriously though. I've been wanting to get a fully-wireless headset for my Xbox One for quite some time. These look like the ones for me if you don't need a wire between the controller and headset.
Ike
@samsabri Not a single wire from headset to controller, and a simple USB dongle to plug in to your Xbox One! Check out the unboxing video above to see for yourself =)
MacLean Marshall
@samsabri And yes, Ike forgot to mention the Stealth 420X is available right now. You can get them at retail outlets, or you can order directly from Turtle Beach DOT COM.
Ike
@macleanmarshall @samsabri You know how it makes me feel when you yell at me, Mac. Hate you. Love you.
MacLean Marshall
@heyeggshen @samsabri (insert uncomfortably long digital hug here)
Russ Frushtick
We'll have @heyeggshen and @macleanmarshall from Turtle Beach answering questions starting at 1pm PT. Thanks for joining us, guys! A question for you: I think a lot of people struggle when it comes to console-exclusive hardware solutions. Is there an ideal jack-of-all-trades headset for folks that want to jump from box to box?
Ike
@russfrushtick Great question, and certainly one we get a lot! There are definitely workarounds to use a particular headset on multiple platforms, but doing so typically won't provide the *best* possible experience if the headset was designed for another system. Case in point, the Stealth 420X is designed solely for Xbox One — it provides a 100% wireless audio experience for that console alone because the USB interface works differently versus how it's implemented on PS4. So each of our 100% wireless headsets for Xbox One can *only* be used on Xbox One. We do have other models that can be used with multiple platforms, but you won't get that super nice experience of 100% wireless audio on Xbox One. If you're interested, here's an article to see which models can be used on Xbox One, and how: http://bit.ly/1zwlYus Here's another article to see which models can be used on PS4, and how: http://bit.ly/1xYnzrZ And finally, with the PS4 Dualshock and new Xbox One controller sporting 3.5mm headphone jacks, it's easier than ever to use one headset on several platforms. Hope this helps!
Ben Tossell
Q. Which game best demonstrates high-end headsets right now?
MacLean Marshall
@bentossell Ooooooooh...good question! Since we're talking about higher-end headsets I'll talk about our Elite 800X (which is our top-of-the-line wireless headset for Xbox One and the big brother to the Stealth 420X). A game like Call of Duty is great for a higher end headset. Especially when you look at features like 7.1 surround sound and Superhuman Hearing, both of which really immerse you in the experience and give you a bit of a competitive advantage.
Ike
@macleanmarshall @bentossell And just to add my faves of the moment: Arkham Knight and Witcher 3. Some sweet sounding games right there. Looking back a little further, I'll vouch for many horror games. Alien: Isolation. The Dead Space series. P.T.!!
Corley
Thanks for doing this! What do you see your competitors doing that you think you could do better?
MacLean Marshall
@corleyh This is an interesting question, and hard to answer without sounding cocky. That said, it's difficult to say what we would do better than the competition when we are the leader in gaming headsets.
Ike
@macleanmarshall @corleyh I do think that we've done very well in providing the first truly wireless headsets for Xbox One (no wires from headset to console, nor from wire to controller). Many competitors claim fully wireless, but in fact they still require a wired connection from the headset to the Xbox One controller. And Mac is a cocky sonovagun, don't let him fool you! ;)
Corley
@heyeggshen @macleanmarshall @corleyh Thanks for the awesome responses - particularly about the cocky part. :-) I appreciate the fact that it is truly wireless! NICE WORK!
Emily Hodgins
Are there any features you wish the consoles would support?
Ike
@ems_hodge I think both Microsoft and Sony are killing it in terms of their current feature-sets, and even those are constantly evolving and being updated at a constant clip. Our engineers are doing their best to keep up with those changes and figuring out ways to continue providing a consistently great audio experience for gamers. Personally, I'm always excited to see what new fandangled feature pops up in firmware notes for PS4 and the Xbox One preview program.
Erik Torenberg
What are some of the new technologies running in these new cans?
MacLean Marshall
@eriktorenberg Some of the new(er) technology you'll find on the Stealth 420X are things like the interference free wireless connectivity (since we continually improve our wireless connections with each generation of product), plus you have things like separate game and chat audio controls on the headset which allow you to set the mix to your preference. And then let's not forget that Turtle Beach was the first to have a fully wireless headset solution for Xbox One. Again, wireless for game AND chat audio, which started with the Stealth 500X, then the Elite 800X and now our third headset with the Stealth 420X.
Melissa Joy Kong
How do you keep battery life from becoming a problem on wireless headsets?
MacLean Marshall
@melissajoykong On the Stealth 420X (as well as some of our upcoming headsets like the Stealth 450 for PC) we have a battery life that supports up to 15 hours of gameplay. Suffice to say that "should" be enough play time to cover a typical gaming session before you need to recharge. Granted, there are some marathon gamers out there (myself included) who could challenge that 15 hours, but that's not healthy living...best to take some breaks :)
Amit Jain
Thanks for the AMA! Where do you see gaming audio hardware going in 5 years?
MacLean Marshall
@gravicle That's a tough question. One of the really cool things Turtle Beach is working on at the moment is something called HyperSound, which is our directed audio. Right now, we have a commercial version of HyperSound that you can see at a retailer like Best Buy with the Call of Duty kiosk/display. Basically, you can't hear the audio from the display until you stand right in front of it (when you're standing in the HyperSound audio beam). Once you step out of the beam, you can't hear the sound anymore. We've got a new/different version HyperSound coming out later this year, called HyperSound Clear, which will be for people with hearing loss because, believe it or not, somebody with hearing loss can actually hear HyperSound audio. And when you look ahead at our HyperSound audio technology, it opens a lot of doors for ideas with what we can do next, especially when it comes to gaming. So, imagine a world where you could play a game like Batman in your living room and you can hear all the audio perfectly because you're sitting in the HyperSound audio beam, but your wife or significant other, or roommate, etc. won't be able to hear anything even if they're just in the other room because they are out of the HyperSound audio beam. Very cool stuff we're experimenting with for the future...
Ike
@macleanmarshall @gravicle Also, VR! Virtual Reality is permeating the collective gaming consciousness more than ever, and you'll want great immersive audio to really "sell" the experience to gamers. So it'll be interesting to see how gaming audio hardware shifts to meet that emerging need, and what new challenges VR will bring in terms of marrying video and audio to provide a seamless experience.
Ike
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MacLean Marshall
@heyeggshen Ike typed this with his nose...true story.
Ike
@macleanmarshall / (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
MacLean Marshall
Sorry...total noob moment...