Turtle Beach Ear Force Z Seven Tournament Series Headset

The following review is based on a PC environment with a Creative Fatality Pro sound card, Logitech Z5500 speakers and basic audio controls.First of all, this headset is very well made. The cups are nicely padded and the entire frame, although plastic, feels durable and it's actually very comfortable to wear. The cups caps can be exchanged with other cool designs that I've only seen at the Turtle Beach website. All in all, the headset looks and feels great.The control pod is a mix of dials and mostly touch sensitive buttons for all the pre settings, etc. The main volume knob, when pressed down, will mute all sound and red ring will flash around it, press it once more and the ring will turn white, indicating you're off mute; the now white ring shows you the volume stages, a full ring means full sound, etc. It has 3 metal feet with rubber tips to keep from sliding off of your desk, etc. It also has a big metal clip under it, but I couldn't figure out what for, I can't really see it as a cloth clip, 'cause the pod is not light at all. Anyway, no complaints about the control pod/unit. It's very responsive to touch and it is well constructed.The package contains: 1 headset of course, 1 Control Pod/Unit, 1 detachable microphone, 1 3.5mm/4 Pole Auxiliary Cable which you can plug to the control pod of the headset allowing you plug your phone and take calls while you play, 1 PC Speaker Adapter Cable, 1 Mobile Adapter Cable, 1 break-away Cable, which attaches the headset to the control pod, 1 instructions and pre-sets guide booklet and some TB stickers.ONE IMPORTANT fact before I describe the CONS. This headset is basically THE SAME as the XP Seven, the XP Seven can basically be used with gaming consoles and PC. But a simple and affordable way to buy the XP is to buy the Z Seven here at amazon, then go to the TB website and buy the Console Interface which I believe costs $40.Now, the CONS and I apologize in advance to the folks at Turtle Beach, but I have to be honest, since I'm a PC gamer at heart, I have to let other PC gamers with similar set ups as mine, know the limitations of this headset. Before I go on, so you guys know, I have the XP400 which I use on my Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One and PS4 (no chat for the latter ones) and I simply LOVE IT....anyway, here's my problem with the Z Seven..First and foremost...NO DOLBY support. This headset uses what TB calls "DSP" or Digital Signal Processing. Dolby is ONLY supported with the Console Interface and it only provides Dolby for consoles. You may ask, why not encode Dolby from the sound card? Well, in order to use this headset, you must first set it as your "Default Device" for both playback and voice. The voice is not a problem, but the sound is. With a sound card and speaker set up, you must disable them both first, then use the Z seven, but this creates a conflict, the Audio drivers from your sound card are the primary source, so I noticed that when playing games such as BF4, the sound although decent, was not great and I could also hear myself through the microphone, even after unchecking the "listen to this device" tab.Still,I worked around my settings and tried encoding Dolby from my sound card to the headset, but that I couldn't get it to work. NOTE: you'll notice from the pictures that the control pod has a DOLBY icon on it...that only means that when combined with the Console Interface unit, you can have Dolby. The icon will remain RED, meaning OFF, on a PC set-up.As for speakers, well, sadly, they must be disable as well, so if you have high end Logitech speakers such as the Z5500's then you'll be in the same situation as me. I know I know, why would I have my speakers on when I'm using a headset? I wasn't, I was simply trying to have all my components ready to go, meaning, if I want the full 5.1 experience at full blast, I can use my Logitech/Fatality combo and at night, the headset...but this wasn't the case and also a pain...enabling, disabling, etc...I truly think this is a great headset, but it's actually meant for gamers who do not have a complete sound card/speaker setup and rely mostly on USB based sound. I only wish TB would make a decent analog headset that has sound card connections such as the Ear Force HPA2 , which sadly, was the last decent multiple speaker, analog headset they made.In conclusion, I'm giving this product 3 stars because it is a great set for the right rigs, but not 5, because for a "PC targeted" product, it should have more options, so it can be used in advanced PC gaming rigs with top components or have at least Dolby encoding or DTS or some sort of pass-through, allowing the sound card to encode in junction with the headset's pre-sets.

I've read many reviews of this product before purchasing. I was considering the Astro a40s and a couple other higher priced headsets. This was $229.99 at one site I found, suggested retail of 249.99. It was on "sale?" here on Amazon for $139.99. That is an amazing price for this product. I've been a PC gamer for 15 years and have some serious hardware presently. Previously my headset slot was filled by the Razer Tiamat 7.1. I have some serious gripes about that headset. The mic never worked at all. I had to turn the sub down or else it would crackle at high volumes. I still kept the headset because I used a Blue Yeti Pro mic and didn't need the headset mic. The Tiamat still had incredible sound quality though, and I used it for 2.5 years.Let me say this about that 2.5 years. I recently noticed that the "cushioned headband" at the top of the headset (very hard, not cushioned at all really) had left indentations in my skull from constant use. F'd up, right? Now I'm going to stop talking about the Razer Tiamat, I'm mentioning it because it was the high-end headset I'd owned and enjoyed. I've purchased many other headsets throughout the years, and although the build quality of some of the Turtle Beach headsets I've purchased were terrible, this one is very solid.I've seen some people complaining about how difficult this headset (the ACU) was to set up, but for me it was plug and play. I didn't have to restart or anything. Just plugged in the 3.5mm jack to the Front channel (main speaker output) of my X-Fi Titanium Sound card, plugged in the USB jack and instantly everything was recognized. One thing you have to know is that when you go into playback devices (Windows 7 is my OS), there will be 2 choices. One is the Turtle Beach Chat, the other is the Turtle Beach Game. You need to choose the game option as the default device to get the right sound from the headset. You can then set the chat option as the output for Ventrilo/Teamspeak/Skype etc. This then lets you adjust your teammate's volume in relation to the game sounds (or whatever other media you have playing). You can also plug in your cell-phone and use it as your mic/speaker for the call. There is also a direct speaker out that I plugged a 3.5mm splitter to RCA into and sent it directly to my Bose stereo system. There is a button on the right side that lets you send directly to stereo or revert back to the headset. This was one of the main features I loved about the Razer Tiamat, being able to press one button to go from headset to stereo without having to fiddle with Windows sound options.Some of you will read the paragraphs, and some you want the abbreviated bullet point version. Let's do that.TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR TL;DR (Too long, I don't like to read)Pros:Ease of setup. Absolutely plug and play for me at least. Maybe there were previous firmware versions that had issues, mine had none whatsoever. I was all plugged in and ready to game in about 2.5 minutes and most of that time was pulling the tower out of the desk to access the back panel. I quickly found a preset I liked and will fiddle with the in-depth control software later. I haven't gamed with it to appreciate it's various presets at present, but knowing they're there is exciting.Comfort. A heavier headset than some of the other options out there, no issue at all for me as I'm used to wearing headsets for extended periods of time. The cushioned top is stitched well and doesn't have the ridges like the Tiamat, so no more additional indentations in my skull. Excellent.The cushioned memory foam protein leather ear cups are comfortable yet breathable and I haven't noticed any serious ear sweating like I've experienced in other headsets. During extremely long gaming sessions you might wish you'd gotten the Astro a40s, but I am personally very glad I didn't (I have used the ones a buddy owns and much prefer this rig to his).Features. The main reason I chose this headset over some of the competition in this price bracket was the extensive list of features. A personal monitor system that lets you hear your own voice through the headset (no more yelling to the people in the room you're trying to talk to with the headset on. The ability to plug in my cell, send audio directly to my stereo with the press of a button, and have individual chat and game volumes is a must have for the serious gamer. I game with a Razer Orbweaver gaming minikeyboard (AMAZING!), a Logitech G600 mouse (Love the third mouse click button), and a BlackWidow Ultimate Keyboard (Love the programmable aspect of this board). I love customization. I love tweaking. I love getting things set up just for me, just how I like them. If you just want simple and cheap, check out another product. If you want great sound and features in droves, this is the headset for you.Sound. Excellent. I have some serious audiophile headphones, and, while this doesn't provide me with that rich experience, it does exactly what it is supposed to do and it does it well. The mic quality is very good, I'd give the mic a 4/5 with the scale being appropriate to gaming headsets. It has excellent noise cancellation, people will be able to sneak up on you without you knowing; they can even talk to you from right behind you and if you have a game and chat going you'll never hear them unless they holler. It has the ability to customize each channel of the 5.1 surround (which sounds amazing on movies AND games btw). It has various presets out of the box for different situations in both gaming and media. The bass thumps well on the music tracks that showcase that ability, it has excellent highs, the mid seems to be scooped a bit, but as I mentioned I just found one preset I liked and have used it so far for the purposes of this review. Many options and presets exist for this device and it is programmable. There is a dedicated community that has worked out many amazing presets for movies/games/music and I look forward to trying many of those on offer.Cons:The touch-capacitive buttons are a bit finicky and you can accidentally press another button and change something else if you're not careful. The ACU sits across the desk though from me and this isn't an issue. A couple of the buttons take longer to register than others. No big deal, once it's set, forget about it. The finish is a super glossy finish that instantly begins to be covered in fingerprints. If you commit a crime, all they have to do is brush this thing down and they've got you.Although I can hook my cell phone up to the device, and the sound quality of both the mic and speakers is top-notch, there is no button to answer the call or do any features one can find in an actual device targeted at cell users. However, there is an adapter cable for cell phones that attaches to the breakaway headset cord that has one button to answer or hang up a call in mobile mode. This headset is a bit large to be walking around in public with, but if people can do it with the over-advertised, garbage "Beats by Dre" headphones, I can do the same and feel much more smug about it.Summary: Opening this box can be intimidating. There's lots of wires and buttons. Each wire and button you see and feel intimidated by, you should also be excited by as it is another feature that the other headsets just don't have. If you plan to run a stereo as well as a headset, get yourself a 3.5mm-RCA to go straight into a stereo input (or whatever other 3.5mm adapter you require for your situation). If you want simple, look elsewhere. If you want the best headset in this price category taking everything it offers into consideration, buy it without question. It lists for around $250, but at this $140 price tag here on Amazon it is a steal, trust me.A must buy!

Really disappointed in the end. Boom Mic worked for 3 sessions and broke, replaced after arguing with support, the new mic also did not work. It seemed like something let go in the headset. Turtle beach would not replace. The phone call mic worked but made me sound like a Dalek. (i'll admit that had it's moments "exterminate!" The plastic supports that transition from the headphones to the head band broke down. i'm not sure what material they used in manufacture, but on both sides started to get micro fractures that eventually crumbled. the material has the consistency of dried out play-dough now. I'm a non smoker, unit was not stored in direct sunlight. Given the price tag for this head set, they were treated like a family heirloom, and progressively fell apart anyways. I will not be buying Turtle Beach again!

Superb sound - great fit (I have a huge noggin and these are very, very comfortable). The build quality is excellent. Contra other reviews, software was a snap to install. One of the features I loved is one-touch switch between headphones and speakers. One of the more expensive headsets around, but well worth the coin.

the sounds is nice and crisp when i am playing a game or watching a movie, my 5.1 speakers do not compare with sound quality. would recommend to others.

uncomfortable, headphones have a steep learning curve to setup hugs my face too tightly, Sound is much to be desired.

10\10