Ear Force X3

When I first heard of the Ear Force X3 kit I jumped at the chance to try them out. I have to admit that my gaming setup is not the most ideal situation for many gamers. I have a surround-sound system that goes to waste simply because my prime time for gaming usually begins very late in the evening. Waking a sleeping baby with the booms in a FPS game isn’t going to earn me any extra points with the rest of the household. Even using headphones with a long extension cable never felt comfortable for me due to the cable always trying to pull the headphones off.  Now with the Ear Force X3 wireless sound and Xbox Live voice chat have been joined together in one solid piece of electronic equipment.

The Ear Force X3 unit is composed of several different pieces to provide you with a wireless headphone/microphone package. The headphones are similar to a DJ style setup with two large ear pieces with medium-size cushions on each ear cup. The headphone includes a microphone with a respectable size boom length (arm) that is surprisingly very flexible. The mic is placed on the left ear cup which also contains the power button, volume control, bass boost switch and Xbox Live voice chat cable adapter. The right cup of the headphone is where you insert two AAA batteries to power the headphones/mic.

The base transmitter is very tiny and could be fitted in almost any tight spot in your entertainment center. The transmitter requires an AC adapter and includes a line-in input jack, master volume control and stereo enhancer switch to a surround-sound setup. The line input cable plugs into any standard RCA audio plugs to provide you with a wireless stereo sound experience. Yes, sadly the headphones only provide stereo sound and the base unit does require a direct line of site to the headphone to minimize interference. But since the RCA audio cables are standard across almost any audio equipment you can use the X3 for other setups besides just Xbox 360. I was able to use the headphones for PS2, Xbox 360, GameCube, and Wii games since I have all of the systems connected to an audio video multiswitch which then runs to my TV.

Sound wise I was quite surprised with quality of the headphones. All of the music from the games I played came through clear and sounded almost exactly the same as the speakers on my TV. All of the tracks sounded just as full and rich on the headphones as they did through the TV. The bass and treble levels seemed fine as well with no heavy bass distortion or tinny treble sounds overtaking the rest of the music. Voice chatting using the X3 headphones sounded just the same as the regular Xbox Live voice chat headphones.  No one mentioned having any problems hearing me while I was using the headphones as well.

All in all, the Ear Force X3 setup is a nice wireless solution for gamers looking for a way to game while still hearing the soundtrack. The ability to voice chat on Xbox Live using the same setup is a bonus as well that worked without any problems. But you don’t have to be just an Xbox user or even a gamer to use the X3. The RCA adapter cable will work with any standard RCA audio cables to provide you with a wireless stereo experience. Getting the microphone to work might be another issue because the unit was designed for the 360 controller.

Pro:

The sound quality is excellent on the game music and sound effects. Xbox Live voice chat sounded just the same as the Xbox Live headset. No interference from other wireless signals. Universal interface for additional audio signals besides the Xbox 360.

Cons:

Rather clunky setup that requires three audio cables and an AC adapter. Microphone is always on that will pickup background noise. Battery life of 2 AAA batteries could be a problem.

Overall: 8.6