Turtle Beach EarForce Z SEVEN PC Gaming Headset

Pros: These are my first USB headphones and I'm pretty surprised with the accuracy of the surround sound, especially in Titanfall. The joints feel strong and I've dropped them from head height standing up 3 times with no damage. The ACU was a pain to setup, but once done it's very useful. Once this headset is configured properly, it is incredible and worth every $$$!

Cons: I've not used USB headphones before, but these have a slight air sound when your pc is silent. The biggest problem which you'll read about everywhere is the low tone cut off. Out of the box, sounds at low levels will simply not be played (Watch the movie Gravity, where Bullock is talking to the guy on earth about his dog, most of that dialogue simply isn't played). It makes them useless and since the Turtlebeach forums closed down, a lot of the info re: the Zsevens is lost. There is a 100% fix though, which I've detailed below. The ACU is a real pain to setup, the included manual does not explain how to change the 7.1 volume levels at all. The ACU requires A LOT of power, so much that if your other USB ports are in use, the ACU may not fully cycle and remain "Loading" until you turn it off & back on. The headset will not take control of sound output while your pc is playing sound (Win7) So if you're playing a game, you need to quit, turn the head set on, reload the game and hope it's taken control. I usually play a mp3 to check they're working before loading the game back.

Overall Review: To fix my issue with power cycling the ACU, I bought a powered USB3 hub. This solved the red spinning light problem about 80% of the time. I haven't tried a Y cable, I'm sure it would work just as well. It still takes roughly 10 full seconds to become active how ever and just now I still had to power cycle 3 times to hear my movie. To fix the low tone cut off you need to open Advanced Sound Editor and follow these steps. - Select Advanced - Select the Master tab - On the right is a section called Limiter - Set Attack to 1 - Release to 50 -Threshold to Max -Then select the Game preset tab you want (1-8, Main, Chat) - On the left is the Silencer section - Set Attack to 250 - Set Release to 250 - Set Threshold to -75 Do this for each preset you want to remove the cut off in. Don't forget to save.

Pros: Good headset. Comes with the Advanced Sound Editor that has great customization. Great equalizer settings. Bass is strong, highs are clear. Sounds better compared to the Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega. It's not too flashy, but built very well.

Cons: The advanced control unit is a power hog, so be prepared to have your own USB hub just to keep the headset happy. Headset starts to hurt after using it for a couple of hours. Feels like it's squeezing the pulp in my head dry. I started to stretch it out over some textbooks and it feels much better. For 2 days I have been having problems with audio distortion at low volume. The problem was actually with a setting in the Advanced Sound Editor. You have to go to the Master tab in advanced and change the Limiter Attack and Release to its lowest. And in the Game Preset set Silencer Attack, Release, and Threshold to its lowest. Problem gone. Took some time browsing the official forums for it.

Overall Review: The pros definitely outweigh the cons. The only real con is the ACU being such a power hog.

Pros: They worked for a while

Cons: Problematic. Since posting my last review, I've had to re-install the drivers twice to correct random problems, and now the control unit has fried after just over a month of ownership.

Overall Review: Wrote a review earlier, and totally spoke too soon. If I could do it again I'd go for something less costly and much simpler. Their forums require all threads to be approved, which is apparently a 20 day process according to some posts.

Pros: 5.1, uses 3.5mm and usb. Can be used with a 3.5mm/6.3mm sound card.

Cons: I do what I can to preserve this headset, even in that the breakaway cable breaks constantly; constantly. It's around 10.00 on their website, but because I live in Hawaii they force me to pay 30.00 for shipping which of course I do not pay for. The only reason I even use these headphones is because they are the only set I can find that I can use with my Asus Xonar Essence ST soundcard(6.5mm jack which i use a 3.5mm adapter for. I recently ordered another pair because my old ones are cracking around the ear cups, and upon opening and setting up the headset is broken, this time it isn't the cable, as its the cable that connects directly to the ear cup; I'm really not surprised about this.

Pros: Great audio quality, decent surround sound and great sounding microphone, I love the TB software that allows you to change EQ, Compression, Gate and even wonk out your voice with some pitch modulation on the microphone.

Cons: Was this headset made for a baby's head? This headset tries to squeeze the life out of your noggin. After owning this headset for only 6 months the section where the ear cuff meets the head band snapped from the stress of just being used normally. Generally you would stretch the headband to make it fit better but if you do that you run the risk of weakening and eventually breaking the headphones. The software is a complete nightmare to navigate if you have no background in audio engineering as some of the options to change EQ levels, Compression Ratios, and Noise Gate might put off some users.

Overall Review: If your like me and tend to go through new expensive headphones every year because of poor manufacturing practices, then I am sorry to say you should keep moving on from this one. If you have a larger sized head, steer clear of these headphones. For the most part they will hurt your head wearing them and the stress from stretching on your noggin will eventually break them like mine did. I don't recommend these headphones, although being great quality the only thing they could have done to make it way better was provide a larger sized version, or at least more slack on the headband. I'm disappointed that these broke on me after six months. Afterwards I just switch to my Sennheiser 380 HD Studio headphones which are made out of plastic and are just stereo and have owned for well over 2 years and never had them break or falter ever, COME ON TB! If your after good quality surround sound headphones. These fit the bill, but be warned, they can and will be able to break after a certain amount of use. Unless your a baby, then you have your self a rock solid set of cans.

Pros: I have the Sennheiser 360 and the Astro A40. I have another eight other headsets as well. This one has the best sound quality of all of them. For sound qaulity it's probably Z seven > Astro 40 > Sennheiser 360. I had been listening to the 360 and A40 and this headset is CLEARLY better. The sound quality really blew me away. I really don't like how the A40 looks to be honest and I had the top of the headset break apart. The little screws on the A40 aren't that sturdy. The 360 is pretty solid. For durability it's probably 360 > z Seven > Astro

Cons: I've tried ten gaming headsets and this one is by far the tightest fitting headset of them all. It really hurts after a certain amount of time. I finally had to turn up the sound all the way and put the headsets on the table. I have to knock off an egg for comfort. It's just bad. But, I had another headset with a similar problem. I got a bunch of books and just put the headset over them and over time it got stretched out. I think I can do the same thing for this headset. The comfort of these really is potentially a game stopping issue for these headsets. They really can hurt quite a bit and I I'm not exaggerating. I"m just going to grab the books and stretch them out and over time they are going to be fine.

Overall Review: If I could only buy one gaming headset this would be the one. But, only if I can get this thing stretched out. Otherwise, I probably would go with the Sennheiser 360 just because I think it's the best when it comes to clearity of communications. But, the sound is pretty bland on that.

Pros: can be hooked up to a console has voice changing features Has separate channel settings so you can individually turn up or down Music(through a jack), Chat, and gaming (everything that isnt skype or a voicechat you set in chat) mic is mostly clear

Cons: Left earphone went out within the first year as soon as I went to return the product the plastic above the earphone snapped and isnt covered in the warranty seems to always have static in the background no matter what system you use sound is always low for game setting even when you have it turned on max (half the setting on chat and it sounds like people are screaming) I had to purchase earbuds with a microphone to use for sound and mic, and have had no problems with that though

Overall Review: if you are looking for something to use under 1 year or have a small skull size I would suggest this product to you I purchased cheap $20 no name headsets that work for over 3 years before and I thought I would get something to indulge myself with to have for a long time. (i am very careful with my headsets; I don't let the cord get tangled/spun, always hang it up on a hook, and I always take it off slowly as to not break the sides (didn't help with this product) yet this product broke the fastest.

Pros: The sound is AMAZING.

Cons: It has broken 4 times in less than a year. The earpiece where the plastic bends breaks with regular use. The mic is very static filled. If I could get the sound quality of this headset with the mic quality of my Logitech I would be set.

Overall Review: They have fixed it each time I send it back. Customer service is friendly its just too bad they haven't made this right.