Anyone got a Turtle Beach Ear Force Stealth 500X headset?

I did send a message to TB:s Tech support, and this was the "informative" answer that I got:

Unfortunately, that is how the Xbox One detects audio/chat devices. The Stealth 500X will need to be disconnected for the console to revert to the Kinect. This may be something Microsoft will change in the future; however, at this time, that is the way
the console works and we are unable to change that. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Alicia

TurtleBeach.com





So according to TB this is solely a MS problem?

 

EdgeofChaos17: Cracking and popping is generally wireless interference and i had a lot of that with my TB x41s running on 2.4ghz conflicting with my router. As the stealth operate on 5ghz this is now not an issue for me, but if your router is broadcasting
on dual band then you may wish to disable the 5ghz frequency and just operate on 2.4ghz. If you have anything else on 5ghz this of course could interfere and you are right the only solution short of disabling conflicting signals is a wired headset, but see
if this route offers a solution for you.

Widdeman - As far as I can tell any wireless headset reciever plugged in to the xbox 1 takes audio priority from the kinnect and therefore yes, it is a Microsoft o/s issue and not TB.

 

I also got a response from Turtle Beach, but it was a message from a guy telling me to update the headset/base unit firmware. I replied and said that I was already on the latest firmware, but he didn't reply again.

I can sympathise with Turtle Beach to some extent, as these issues are caused by the Xbox, but then at the same time, they're selling them knowing they have issues and I bet that the Elite 800X will have both of these issues as well.

 

OK, so TB just replied to me and are 1) Acknowledging the existence of the fault beyond an isolated headset and 2) are laying the responsibility with Microsoft. IMHO that is enough for you to claim a refund from the manufacturer on the product as not being
fit for it's advertised use if that is the route you decide to go. However, it would appear that you will in all likelihood experience the issue with a wireless headset from any other manufacturer as well as it was posted on this forum earlier that a user
also experienced it with the Astro A50s. I would therefore suggest that everyone highlights this issue to the attention of the microsoft support team

"Sorry to say but we are indeed seeing this issue, but not solely from your headset. It appears to be happening solely with the xbox one in this instance.

There is no fix currently. We are of course looking into what we can adjust on our end, but on microsofts side we have no sway."

Sincerely,

TurtleBeach.com

 

It's annoying because these are officially licensed headsets. That's why if you want a completely wireless headset, Turtle Beach are your only option. In fact, right now, the 500X is your only option. I can't believe that Turtle Beach have "no sway" when
they are an MS hardware partner and the only company being allowed to use the necessary tech to make a completely wireless headset. They must have a contact high enough up at MS that they can make some noise about this and get it heard.

I also find it suspicious that none of the reviews picked up on these issues. It makes you wonder how long they actually test products for.

When I reported these issues in the dashboard preview forum section, they were acknowledged and I was told that they would be passed on to engineers for investigation, but what we could do with is more communication.

 

I got another reply from Turtle Beach today. They offered to replace it under warranty again.

Unfortunately, every time I email them, it's always the same guy that responds and his solutions are:-

1. Update the firmware

2. Replace the headset under warranty

All I want to know is whether these issues are being worked on. If the "headset assigned" issue was fixed, at least the headset would be as usable as the official wired one.

 

Hi guys,

Just finished setting up my 500x and noticed a delay in the audio right away with the stereo sound of my tv when simply navigating the dashboard. Very disappointing!

Im assuming you still haven't found a fix for this? Microsoft need to get their act together...

 

Anyone? Just using mine in stereo for now... I'm assuming you are doing the same? Hope they fix this soon, seems to be affecting a lot of people

 

There's no fix available, unfortunately. I asked in the preview program section of the forums the other day if MS were working on fixes and I was told that they're still looking into it, but it's been months now.

I went back to using the MS Stereo Headset for a while, because while the latency all but disappears when you use the 500X in stereo mode, you still get the "headset assigned" issue. I recently bought a pair of Astro A40s, so my 500X and MS Stereo Headset
will be going on eBay next week.

 

Thanks for the reply, Sigma. Hmm, that's very disappointing then. I'm still not aware of the "headset assigned" issue although I do see it appear on screen when I power up my console.

At first the thought of being totally wireless was most appealing to me, but had I known about this I would definitely have gone for something like the A40's like you. You'd think this would be pretty high-priority to them, but maybe I'm missing something...

 

One thing I have just noticed, that might not be any use to you at this stage, is that the tiiiiny bit of lag that you still got even using stereo uncompressed seems to disappear further if you disable the surround feature on the headset as well (if that
makes any sense). So both the console and headset are just in stereo mode. With the volume up on my tv, the headset and tv sound were pretty much perfectly in time navigating the dashboard etc.

It's obviously not ideal but it's at least usable for me. Still obviously got the fully wireless capability and decent stereo sound quality

 

The "headset assigned" issue is caused by the console treating the 500X's base unit as the headset (for the purposes of assigning it to a gamertag), so even if you're not wearing your headset and it's turned off, when you turn the console on you'll still
get that "headset assigned" notification. That means that a mic icon appears next to your name in games and because the console thinks you're using a headset, you can no longer hear other players talking, you can no longer use Kinect for Skype and what have
you, as certain audio is being routed to a headset that you're not even using. The only solution is to unplug the base unit or have a second gamertag and temporarily assign the headset to that.

I found that annoying because I play Titanfall a lot and if I'm playing solo and I hear another player say "anyone talking?" or whatever, I would pop my headset on and talk to them, but because of the "headset assigned" issue I can't hear anyone. That's
what made me go back to my basic MS stereo headset, as I don't want to have to keep getting up and plugging hardware in and out.

As for the lag, I'm sure some others might find that tip useful! Regarding the lag in surround sound mode, I've seen one or two people say that it happens because the multi-channel audio is being encoded on the fly and that can't be done fast enough (with
the specific hardware that's being used, presumably) so that it appears lag-free. If that's the case, I don't see how it can be fixed and maybe that's why it hasn't been.

 

The lack of a proper response/explanation by Microsoft or Turtle Beach is disappointing given how long this issue has been going on...

 

Just some input on this thread....

With regards to the audio lag, every process the sound has to go through is going to induce some extra lag. Going Uncompressed straight to the TV (Stereo, 5.1, 7.1) is relatively direct, however compressed surround to your headphones first of all has to
be compressed by the Xbox into Dolby Surround, then get packeted into wireless data through the transmitter, then once received buy your headset, get converted into DTS and uncompressed.

Ideally, you wouldn't be using the headset unless your TV is on mute. When using one or the other you pretty much get used to the lag and you kind of subconsciously marry it up. There is no computer in the world that could process all that compression, transmission,
conversion and decompression without inducing any lag. The only possible way to correct it would be to add a delay to the uncompressed stereo. It would be like asking an athlete to sprint 200m in the same time he can sprint 100m.

With regard to the "not being able to hear people because the headset is always attached" and basically all the problems associated to the headset always being attached, I have one of these:

www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_3

They are inexpensive and simple to use. Plus the switch is a reasonable size so you can easily find it even if it's behind your console.

So in summary, lag and wireless come hand in hand. You'll never have one without the other. Sure, over time, the lag will reduce, but it'll always be there.

 

Hey Sigma,

I'm interested on "At the moment I'm using the regular MS stereo headset with the headset adapter and occasionally I get clicks/pops/dropouts in the audio. Not too much, but it's still a little annoying.". I'm using Turtle Beach XO7 with MS stereo headset
adepter and I got exactly the same feeling with you. Did you try to replace the adepter to see if it improve? I wonder if I should try that or it is a common issue?