Last night we got a live tour of the latest from Mad Catz, including this rather comprehensively-featured headset for the Xbox 360. The big “what’s new” on this one is that it’s “truly wireless,” with no cord to the controller — making it the only wireless Dolby 7.1 headset out there. That may be putting somewhat of a fine point on it (there are other “truly wireless” headsets, of course), but it’s true for now and the headset does look pretty great.
Check out our footage here or read on:
http://player.ooyala.com/player.swf?embedCode=9vc2tpMjrW6_JkSKnaeSGW6jot3Bq7JW&version=2
They worked with Microsoft to develop these, and got access to some proprietary tech to make these as good as they can be. They’re using a 5.8GHz frequency and bypassing the controller audio processor altogether, which they say makes for better sound (which makes sense if the signal has to be recompressed for transmission to the controller), and of course untethers your head.
It’s virtual surround sound in there, upconverting the signal to 5.1 or 7.1, and the sound itself comes from extra-large 50mm neodymium drivers. The power is handled by removable battery packs, and it comes with two so you can swap ’em out whenever you like. Unfortunately the headset we saw was a prototype and they wouldn’t let us play with it.
Pricing is TBA but they’re making sure it’s under $300, which is a comfort… I guess? As for why you need a “truly wireless” headset – I refer you to Penny Arcade:
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