Turtle Beach Brings Customization To New Level With PX5

By Lisa Johnston On Feb 21 2011 - 6:01am

NEW YORK — Turtle Beach is looking to bridge the gap between gaming headsets and home theater headphones with its new flagship model, the PX5.

TWICE sat down with Turtle Beach last week to demo the headset, which was initially introduced at International CES and will begin shipping in the spring for $249. In addition to customizable presets that can be stored on the headset (up to 18), the PX5 features Dolby 7.1 surround sound, 50mm drivers and a detachable mic.

It also features Bluetooth A2DP capability, so users can not only answer calls while gaming but they can also stream music from their cellphones, toggling between the two by pressing a button on the headset.

The PX5 will come with software (downloaded from the Turtle Beach website) that will enable users to further customize their presets, down to a level that is unprecedented, according to the company. Christopher Bridle, senior community marketing manager for Turtle Beach, said such software is unique to the PX5 and will come in two versions: a pro-level and a consumer-level. Among other things, users will be able to adjust such details as the lows and highs of their voice should they want to disguise it while wirelessly chatting.

The headset also comes with several default presets that users can take advantage of, including the ability to boost high frequencies, or tune out excess noise to focus on the sounds of enemies approaching in games like “Call of Duty.” Other game-specific presets will be able to be downloaded from the website as well.

The PX5 is billed as a PlayStation3 headset, but it works with the Xbox 360 as well. Switching between the two consoles can be done by pressing the headset’s Power button twice.