CES 2013: Day 1 Highlights

Opinion
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From Coolers to SSDs, the annual Consumer Electronics Show truly has it all. As you've probably heard, CES 2013 is already well underway, and we've put together a roundup of some of the most notable products from yesterday's jaunt around the show floor.

Turtle Beach's Gaming Headsets

Turtle Beach

Turtle Beach brought a wide variety of new gaming headsets to CES this year. We’ll start with the Seven series: the M Seven, Z Seven, and XP Seven.

All three headsets share the same 50 mm drivers, along with a cool feature called Chat Boost which dynamically adjusts voice channel output to compensate for loud sounds during gameplay, ensuring that communication doesn’t get drowned out in a fire fight. The M Seven employs an inline microphone, while the Z Seven ($249) has a removable boom mic with an inline USB audio control unit. The XP Seven ($279) is essentially the M Seven with an optical input option for Dolby (as required by the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3).

The USB audio control unit can also be purchased separately for use with other headphones. This unit provides surround sound processing (with an override to turn it off), allows you to adjust the virtual surround speaker position, and hosts a desktop speaker output as well.

The company’s premium wireless gaming headsets for consoles have been updated, too. The XP510 for Xbox comes with a Bluetooth dongle and retails for $289, while the PX51 for Playstation doesn't require a dongle and goes for just $269. Both headsets feature a dual-band Bluetooth controller to catch the cleanest available channel. Both models also include 50mm drivers, Chat Boost, rechargeable batteries which can be charged during use via USB cable, and dual-stage EQ settings which can focus on specific frequencies (such as footsteps, to better hear your enemies sneak up on you). The dual-channel Bluetooth radio accommodates two audio sources, allowing for phone calls or custom music from your mobile device during play.

The new PX22 ($79) works on console systems as well as the PC. It also features 50mm drivers and an inline controller with bass and treble boost. Chat Boost is also supported, though virtual surround is not. The $89 Z22 is the PC-centric version of the PX22, and the $10 premium over the other model gets the Z22 buyer a USB dongle.

Finally, we have the Z300, a wireless PC stereo headset with a USB transmitter. It features the same dual-band Bluetooth controller as the XP510/PX51. According to Turtle Beach, this will be the first wireless PC headset capable of music streaming and answering the phone while gaming and chatting - all at the same time. Final pricing is expected to be in the $170 range.

Our editorial team is already deep in their second day of CES 2013 coverage, so stay tuned to our CES 2013 landing page for more from this year's trade show.

Don Woligroski
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • LukeCWM
    I wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG is startling transition each and every time, since the Turtle Beach headphones sound so bad. If I listen to them for over an hour, I can begin to convince myself they sound better (until I listen to something else and am reminded again how bad they sound!).

    The microphone on the Turtle Beach headphones is also below par, in my opinion.
    Reply
  • Nintendo Maniac 64
    9540455 said:
    I wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG

    The issue is you're essentially comparing a Core i3 (Turtle Beach) to a Core i5 (AKG). Considering that AKG is seen as one of the few that can actually get within range of Sennheiser (Core i7?) when it comes to sound quality, that should tell you something.
    Reply
  • LukeCWM
    Nintendo Maniac 64The issue is you're essentially comparing a Core i3 (Turtle Beach) to a Core i5 (AKG). Considering that AKG is seen as one of the few that can actually get within range of Sennheiser (Core i7?) when it comes to sound quality, that should tell you something.
    I actually prefer AKG to Sennheiser, but that's beside the point.

    I think a more accurate analogy would be describing AKG and Sennheiser as the i7-2600k and the i7-2700k, and the Turtle Beach sounds more like a Silverthorne Atom, made in 2008. My Turtle Beach headset is just dreadful...
    Reply
  • Pyree
    Can't wait until more news for tomorrow.
    Reply
  • Hazle
    love what i'm seeing out of the Xi3, though i'm not handing out any cigars just yet. not at all impressive in hardware performance, but i'll admit it looks neat. and if valve is truly thinking of making a linux based console out of it, then i'm more in support for it. i'll probably won't buy it, but at least i won't have to dish out $90-100 for an OS the next time i do a complete overhaul of my pc if gaming with linux ever kicks off successfully.
    Reply
  • cookoy
    where are the girls of ces-2013?
    Reply
  • ojas
    Gabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/09/gabe-opens-up-about-valves-own-biometric-steam-box/

    cookoywhere are the girls of ces-2013?No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.

    I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year.
    Reply
  • BoredErica
    ojasGabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20 steam-box/No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year....But I am tempted to talk about how horrible the keynote speech was. :)
    Reply
  • blackmancer
    LukeCWMI wonder if Turtle Beach was able to do something about the sound quality as well. I purchased a pair after reading rave reviews about the sound. Switching to the Turtle Beach headphones from my AKG is startling transition each and every time, since the Turtle Beach headphones sound so bad. If I listen to them for over an hour, I can begin to convince myself they sound better (until I listen to something else and am reminded again how bad they sound!).The microphone on the Turtle Beach headphones is also below par, in my opinion.
    so your AKG cost how much and the Turtle Beach?
    Reply
  • blackmancer
    ojasGabe Opens Up About Valve’s Own Biometric Steam Boxhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20 steam-box/No, please no. Google it if you want, but let's keep this a tech site that cares more about tech than boobs.I'll treat Chris and team to virtual champagne if they avoid that "article" this year.don't give us that rubbish, don't you see how Toms potrays every stupid holiday shopping season with half naked women holding crappy tech. complain to the authors of this site!!
    Reply