Review: Turtle Beach DX11

Sep 13, 2011

The Basics
The Turtle Beach DX11 is a Best Buy exclusive.  It is an X11 headset packaged with the Turtle Beach DSS surround sound processor.  It costs $109.99. The two products adding up to $140 if bought separately.  It is a wired headset that connects to your controller and the DSS, which then connects to the XBOX via included USB and optical cables.  If your XBOX model does not have an optical port on the machine or it’s component cable, you will have to buy an additional adapter.  When hooked up, it does not effect TV audio, allowing both to be used simultaneously, or one at a time.  Depending on your previous setup, you may have to change up to two of your XBOX system settings to use all of the headset’s capabilities.  The DX11 is also capable of being hooked up to a home theater system or PC, and comes with all the cables most people will need to do so.

The Competition
When I was shopping around for a headset, I found that the two most popular brands are Turle Beach and Tritton.  I was immediately sceptical of Tritton as they are made by MadCatZ, a third party console accessory maker whose past is muddled by fragile, inferior-quality products.  Turtle Beach on the other hand only produces headsets and related accessories. So, they don’t have as diverse of a market share to affect their reputation one way or the other.

The first thing you have to ask yourself when shopping for a headset is, “do I want wired or wireless?”  If you don’t mind the wire, you can save yourself some money right off the top as wired headsets are usually cheaper.  You also save more money by not having to deal with batteries.  The problem I ran into when shopping for wireless headsets was that they are all on a 2.4 GHz frequency.  This is the frequency that most other wireless devices also run on.  For a house like mine that has wireless phones, internet, and a baby monitor, interference would occur far too often.  Considering the anticipated interference and price gap, I chose the wired option.

The next question you have to ask yourself is, “what am I going to use the headset for?”  The answer may seem obvious, but more expensive models allow you to receive phone calls on them, have up to 18 customized presets, and be used on PC, PS3, and XBOX 360.  If these bells and whistles have no appeal to you, make sure you shop around for a model that only has what you need, and save yourself some money.  I was only looking for a headset that would deliver great quality surround sound and voice chat for XBOX Live gaming.  This narrowed down the field of competition to two choices, the Tritton AX Pro and the Turtle Beach DX11.  The Tritton’s main advantage is that it has four speakers in each cup: one speaker forward, one to the side, and one in the back, with a sub woofer to round out each cup.  This was a huge draw for me, as it was true 5.1 surround sound, with a multitude of adjustment options.  Also, the microphone is easily detachable for solo play, doing away with the extra weight and occasional precarious microphone balancing accompanied by other inferior headsets.  These two advantages over the DX11, were not enough to convince me to shell out an additional $60 on top of the $110.

First Impressions
I have owned a wide variety of PC headsets during my World of Warcraft tenure, but never a quality XBOX headset.  After making sure everything was hooked up correctly, I decided to see for myself the difference between conventional TV speakers and a quality headset.  I loaded the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer screen to hear to familiar background music I have heard hundreds upon hundreds of times before.  After hearing what I had become accustomed to over a year, I muted the TV and put on the headset.  The differences were immediately clear.  I was almost hearing this familiar music for the first time, with new nuances, and deep, full bass fleshing out the soundtrack the way it was meant to be heard.  Giddy with excitement, I eagerly hopped into a TDM game to give them a real test.  I heard foot steps and background music I was previously oblivious too.  The first time I saw an enemy, I aimed down my sights, and fired; the shots were so loud I had to rip the headset off in a desperate plea to relieve my now ringing ears.  This was going to take some fine tuning.

Sound
The next day I fixed my previous mistake.  I was confused on how to properly adjust all the different settings, which led me to turn the volume up on all four volume dials, two on the in-line amplifier and two on the DSS.  The DSS has an input volume dial (which should be put to the max), and a master output volume dial which I readjusted to about half of the max.  There is also a bass boost dial which I messed with until I got the perfect amount of bass for me.  I find myself adjusting only the bass boost dial depending on the game, with the other two dials being adjusted rarely if ever.  On top of all these features the DSS has, there is also a series of LED indicators to let me know the exact sound quality I am hearing.  One LED will light up indicating the DSS is receiving digital audio, with two other LEDs lighting up to indicate whether I am hearing 5.1/7.1 surround sound, or just an enhanced digital/analog signal.  Additionally, there is a bypass button if you want to skip the DSS sound processing and hear the sound as it would normally come out of your XBOX.

The in-line amplifier is the volume control you will be using the most often.  In addition to a microphone mute button with an  indicator light, there are two volume dials on the in-line amplifier.  One is for chat volume and the other is for game volume.  These separate controls are great for on-the-fly adjustments, and in my fist six hour gaming session with friends, there was never an echo problem.

With all of the technical information figured out and the head set properly set, the sound quality is fantastic.  I now hear subtleties in the games sound that were previously washed out, with everything sounding crystal clear.  Each sound is easier to distinguish from the others, allowing me to focus on the most immediate threat.  The 40mm speakers really do a great job.  They instantly improved my game as well, giving me what now seems like a sixth sense.  I am able to pick out sounds that used to get mixed in with all the explosions and gunfire.  I can tell roughly how far away gunfire is along with it’s general direction.  The ability to hear footsteps is a huge advantage, especially on larger maps and in FFA.   My only complaint is that even when receiving a surround sound signal, the single speaker in each cup can only do so much.  It will let me know the general directions of a sound (which is still a tremendous advantage); but not with the accuracy of a multiple speakers-per-cup headset.  The advantage of the single cup, is that the DX11 can offer bigger, louder sound overall.

Comfort
I initially tested the DX11 over a six hour gaming session, and am having trouble coming up with a legitimate complaint regarding it’s comfort.  They only weigh six and a half ounces! The cups fit perfectly around your entire ear with comfortable, firm pads that keep the headset in place along with the padded headband.  Your ears are still allowed to breath, with bathroom breaks giving you all the relief you will need.  The cord is sixteen feet long, which will be more than long enough to accommodate anyone who would choose a wired headset over a wireless one.  The microphone is easy to adjust between sessions of multiplayer and single player.  It never gets in the way if you want a drink or snack while gaming.

Technical Specifications
Headphones:
- 40mm diameter speakers with neodymium magnet
- Speaker Frequency Response: 30Hz – 20kHz, >120dB SPL @ 1kHz
- Condenser Microphone Frequency Response: 50Hz – 15kHz
- Cable length: 16 ft. (4.877m)
- Weight: 6.4 oz (233g)

In-Line Amplifier
- Headphone Amplifier: Stereo DC-coupled, 35mW/ch, THD <1%, Frequency Response: DC – 30kHz
- Mic mute switch
- XBOX® controller 2.5mm input jack
- Maximum analog input level with volume control on maximum setting: 2Vpp (700mV rms)
- 3.5mm plug for mic output
- 3.5mm plug for line input
- Weight: 1.3 Oz (36g)
- USB connector for power (5VDC @ <50mA max)
- Dimensions: Height .5in (1.27cm), Width 2in (5.08cm), Depth .75in (1.905cm)

Processor
- Stereo headphone output with volume control
- Headphone Amplifier: Stereo 35mW/ch, THD <1%
- Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
- 150MIPS Digital Signal Processor for Dolby processing
- Optical TOSLINK digital audio input compatible with 48kHz digital audio stream
- Maximum analog stereo input with volume control on maximum setting: 2Vpp (700mV rms). Input sensitivity may be adjusted to accept higher level signals by lowering the volume control
- Dimensions: Height 3.0 in (7.5 cm), width 2.125 in (5.5 cm), depth 0.75 in (2cm)
- Weight: 1.4 Oz (40g)
- Power requirements: 5VDC @120mA max

Verdict
The Turtle Beach DX11 is an exceptional headset package.  They are cheaper than the comparable competition with negligible differences.  They deliver great sound quality with good surround sound capabilities.  It fits like a dream and you will forget you are wearing them within minutes, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.  If you are looking for a new headset and don’t mind the wires, than look no further.

9/10