Turtle Beach PX4 Wireless Gaming Headset Review

Performance

Setup & Installation

This being a wireless headset there really were very few things to configure, the USB cable and the optical cable hook the base unit to the console, you hold down the button on the headset and the base unit to pair the devices and you’re done. It took all of a minute to get things up and running and even the Bluetooth pairing took a few seconds and my HTC One found the device straight away. You can also pair the headset to your PS3 as well as your mobile both at the same time, this allows you to use it as a wireless headset from the console, and still answer phones. For maximum quality we will be using the headset via Toslink optical cable directly from the PlayStation 4, using the wireless hub to connect to the headset and a HTC One paired via Bluetooth.

It really is idiot proof to get working, there was even enough charge in the headset to get going straight away, however we left it changing over night via the PS4’s USB port before proceeding with testing.

Performance

Killzone: Shadow Fall is a great test for ambience thanks to the large and detailed environments, the sound from the PX4 is noticeably punchy and it certainly has a lot of presence, giving you that “WOW” factor. A good run through Need For Speed: Rivals really made the PX4 shine the best though, and hearing cop cars roar up behind you, the engine out in front and the music having a room filling quality without sounding ruined by reverb is fantastic, I normally hate virtual surround processing, but the PX4 seems to have done a better job than most.

Voice chat is really clear and being able to find your personal balance between game audio, chat audio, Bluetooth link audio and your own microphone monitor volume is something to be grateful for. While playing Killzone we setup a little party chat and audio was crystal clear on both the sending and receiving end. Public chat in Need For Speed was great too although I can’t contest how good I sounded as most other gamers don’t really seem intent on responding to my questions haha.

Answering a call from my phone was pretty easy and for the purpose of testing I just set my phone to auto answer and left it at the other side of my room (about 12ft away). There were absolutely no issues with the connection and the headphone beeps to give you notifications while gaming. The call cut my game chat and I was able to adjust my phone volume separate to the game audio from the side of the headset. Audio performance was flawless and actually a lot better than just using my phone manually.

The surround sound modes are pretty extensive and it’s debatable on how good they are, some are great and some are not so great, it really depends on what you are doing at a given time. The surround sound works great in gaming best of all and it really is just a case of finding the one that suits your taste. The effect is pretty good in movies too, but I find that the more powerful stereo option provides the deepest and richest detail for dialogue heavy content and music.

The side controls on the headset are a little awkward and more than once I found myself removing the headset and looking for the buttons, I’m sure you would get used to their location over time, but even looking at the headset is still quicker than getting up out of your seat.

Three days running the headset for a few hours at a time have been literally faultless, the battery is still going on its original charge and should I need to charge while gaming the included long USB cable is super light weight and unobtrusive. The headset can be turned on with a single button on the side and it pairs up to the base unit almost instantly. There were no instances of interference, crackling, audio drop out or loss in quality at any time throughout our tests.