| Game Information |
| Turtle Beach Elite 800 |
| Platform: PlayStation 4 |
| MSRP: $299.99 |
| Released: October 19th, 2014 |
With the release of the PlayStation 4, Sony allowed the Dualshock 4 to have pretty much any headset plugged into it and it would be compatible with the console. While this was a great direction and gave gamers many options to use as a headset, it didn’t provide gamers with any completely wireless choices. Enter Turtle Beach and its Elite 800 wireless headset. Priced at $299.99 and exclusive to Best Buy retailers, the Elite 800 provides gamers with a wireless option not previously available. However, is it worth taking that $300 plunge to enjoy a fully wireless experience or should you just stick to wired communications? Let’s dig in and find out.
Turtle Beach’s Elite 800s are the first console headsets to feature DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround sound and active noise cancellation. What does that mean? Well, it means that while you’re gaming, you’re going to be able to hear everything without any distractions going on around you like whining kids, your GF/BF asking you to take the trash out, or anything else. It allows you to fully immerse yourself in the game world you’re currently exploring and, hopefully, enjoying. Combine this unprecedented surround sound audio with custom presets that allow you to enjoy specific games how the developers wanted you to and that leaves you with an incredible pair of headphones.
The presets that come packed on the headset allow you to switch the sound output to take advantage of shooters, racers, sports games, enhanced hearing, movies, and music. Each preset sounds different and has an impact on how well you can hear specific things in the game you’re playing. For example, the enhanced hearing seems to put a lot of emphasis on being able to hear footsteps, guns reloading, and every other minute audio detail in order to give you a serious advantage in online multiplayer titles. If you enjoy playing online titles competitively, you’ll notice immediately how much that advantage can matter.
Turtle Beach also launched a companion app for the headset which will allow you to customize your presets to your own liking. So, if none of the set presets are your thing, you can easily change that. The app works really well and I don’t think you’ll have any difficulty getting everything connected and working properly.
The Elite 800s also comes packed with two invisible mics which results in great voice quality. I’ve played with the headset for over 40 hours since getting it in for review last week and I’ve never heard anyone complain they couldn’t hear me and have actually had other gamers compliment the voice chat quality coming from my end. This is probably the single most important thing about the Elite 800s because if the voice chat isn’t great, the wireless feature is rendered irrelevant — thankfully that’s not the case and the voice chat is a thing of beauty.
Aesthetically, the Elite 800s look amazing. They’re sleek and slim and aren’t an eyesore on your entertainment stand, coffee table, or shelf. They look like a high end headset and at $299, they should look like that. They also fit perfectly into their charging cradle which helps keep them upright at all times. As far as the comfortability goes, they’re perfect. I reviewed the Turtle Beach PX4s in the past and I thought these were incredibly comfortable, but the Elites put them to shame. The padding on your ears feels great and there is just enough cushion to make sure it doesn’t make your ears sore, sweat, or any other negative you can think of. It even feels great while wearing glasses too.
Now it’s time to talk about the negatives. I wanted to leave this until this end, because honestly, the positives far outweigh the negatives and my issues are considered incredibly minor to the overall experience. My first gripe with this new set is the sensitivity level of the controls on each earpiece. They’re way too sensitive. I’ve scratched the back of my neck and my forearm brushed against the earpiece resulting in my preset changing. This can be annoying, but didn’t happen often enough for it to be considered a seriously problem, in my opinion.
The other gripe I have is that the Elite 800s do suffer from potential interference issues. I was three hours into a co-op Far Cry 4 session and all of a sudden I could hear a medical call coming through my headset instead of the game. Somehow my Elite 800s had picked up a cell phone call between an automated voice message system from a Doctor’s office and his patient. It felt awkward considering the nature of the call, but it also caught me completely off guard. As I previously said though, I used the Elite 800s for well over 40 hours and only experienced this one time. I don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence, but felt that I should mentioned it anyway.
Finally, each Elite 800 headset also comes with a free membership to Turtle Beach’s Elite program. This program is awesome and I had no idea it was included until I was going through the content of the packaging. I’ve included what comes in the Elite Membership below and it’s sure to have you giving the Elite 800s deeper consideration if you previously thought they may be a tad too expensive for you.
Elite Membership Bonuses Include:
- You demand the ultimate in performance, so you should get the ultimate in benefits**:
- 2 year extended warranty
- Concierge Product Support Service for US and Canada
- Free Twitch Turbo trial membership
- Early access to Turtle Beach news and product information
- Exclusive offers on TurtleBeach.com store and partner websites
- Turtle Beach Elite Membership Card
- Elite T-Shirt or Hooded Long Sleeve T
- Two free sets of speaker plates
All-in-all, the Elite 800s from Turtle Beach offer great voice communication, exceptional audio quality, and a comfortability you’d expect out of a $300 headset. If you’re looking to own a great headset for online gaming or you’re just looking for a wireless option worth the entry pricing, then the Elite 800s are a no brainer. If you’re looking for a great headset with a smaller budget of entry, then I highly suggest Turtle Beach’s PX4s.
[Disclosure: Headset was provided by Turtle Beach for review]