Logitech's new Xbox/PS3 headset helps you keep quiet

by JC Fletcher on Sep 29th 2010 4:30AM

We're slightly confused by the pitch for Logitech's Wireless Headset F540 designed for Xbox 360 and PS3. "Don't wake the house," the website says, touting the headset's ability to deliver game audio and voice chat through the headphones simultaneously. But you still have to talk for voice chat to work, and, barring some absurd Cone of Silence contraption, that's still going to make noise.

Regardless of the marketing angle, the headset itself looks pretty nice. It works with both the Xbox 360 and PS3 wirelessly, includes three inputs, and has a noise-canceling mic. All those features come at a price, however. If you want to whisper to your in-game pals while wearing one of these, it's going to run you $150.

Source: Logitech

Tags: headset, logitech, microsoft, playstation, ps3, voice-chat, wireless-headset-f540, xbox

Reader Comments (59)

I heard about these, I need a new pair of headsets for all my systems PS3/PC/X360 anyway. better off spending $150 bones then buying all headsets separately.

@neoand12

PS3 official: $40
360 Wireless: $50 or so

Wouldnt you just need that PC 360 wireless receiver to make the headset work on PC?

@Faenix

Do Microsoft Still makes the wireless receiver piece alone, I thought they discontinue that?

@Faenix FYI: those solutions you have listed here ONLY do voice, not game sound. These do game sound and voice.

@neoand12

Yes they still does makes them.

@neoand12 I don't see why a Logitech prep wouldnt work on a PC

@FiredCylinder

*shrug* Not sure why someone would want headset for PS3/360.. though I hate wires with a passion. SO to each there own, I love my 5.1 system.

@neoand12 Absolutely. I have the Tritton AX Pro headset for the same reason. A decent pair of headphones for all of my systems is pretty hard to beat, although you can forget about the microphone on the Tritton or any customer support for the product.

Anyway I digress. Point being, it's very nice to have a universal headset, especially if you're in a situation like me where you need to use a headset all the time.

A wireless pair would be a boon if it weren't for the loss of surround sound.

@wcarnation because pc gaming is dying out.

@Faenix Some people don't live alone and have folks who live with them who would rather not listen to your stupid game.

That is what I've been told at least.

@Faenix Apparently you missed the "Don't Wake the House" slogan for these. I work overnights and as such I'm usually up all night on my nights off. I'd be nice to have a "real" 5.1 sound system that I could listen to a high volume without waking everyone else in the house.

@neoand12
Turtle Beach has two options that are better--the PX21 or the X31 with PBT. These will cost less and have more features.

Will it work on the pc? If it does then its an instant buy.

@wilimac

In a Way it kinda does Works with audio sources with 3.5 mm or RCA audio out. but I don't think the Mic will work.

@wilimac If it works on the PS3 through USB then yes. If not, you'll have to hope there's bluetooth drivers for PC.

@wilimac

I have the G35, which is 7.1 for PC and looks exactly like this one (except it has a wire). I have really liked it, some say they would rather it be 3.5mm instead of USB, but it still sounds fine to me and the virtual surround is great.

The *bang bangs* are silenced but the "AW COME ON!!" are not.

I think the latter would wake someone up more..

@Faenix But the fact that you can hear yourself means you are less likely to SCREAM it at 4am.

@Sabbatai

Not if youre pissed off. lol

I shall wait for the price to drop a bit... $150 is too much =/

When I first saw this, I thought it would implement whisper amplifying technology... too bad.

I don't get the bias in the article. If you don't have to speak over the game then you can keep quiet and almost whisper into a quality mic.

@DustbinK
Yes, that's what I was thinking about the "waking the house" statement: you may just not need to talk as loudly into the mic.

looks to big to be enjoyable, the PS Eye is more then enough for me

finally a good solution, thats for sure!

I'd rather have my Astro A40s. They're not wireless and they cost $100 more, but they work with just about anything, even pc through USB.

@FiredCylinder I also forgot to add, the A40 is 5.1, while these Logitechs are only stereo.

@FiredCylinder Agreed. Im wearing mind Right Now.

@FiredCylinder

completely false. A40s only have two speakers (one in each ear cup). they simulate 5.1, but it's not actually 5.1. headsets that are 5.1 MUST have 4 speakers in each cup (tritton ax pros, for example).

@Puertoricarious Oh unfortunate misguided person. It's been proven in many tests that having two larger drivers that simulate surround sound with Dolby processing is better than cramming several tiny speakers into headsets to try to recreate surround sound. Both are trying to simulate something, the two speaker systems work better.

Go to AVS forum and do some learning.

While logitech gear works fairly well their choice of material alwas seems to come up short. I've been through at least 4 ps2 headsets playing socom2 and on. They just seem to deteriorate over time, and $150 is alot for a headset that may just fall apart.

Reminds me of when AVGN reviewed the NES accessory LaserScope, which used the slogan "Parents will love what they don't hear". The thing was that you had to yell "fire" everytime you shoot, when using it... :)

Any alternatives out there? Been lookin for wireless ps3 headphones for a while.

@chillok
I've been using the Motorola HT820 for years now and it always suited me great on my ps3!

From a quick search its actually half the price nowadays from the one displayed here, and its a really good stereo bluetooth headset :)

Battery lasts really long (funny how all my friends have to recharge batteries before me) and audio is good also... Only complain I can say is that it starts to hurt your ears a bit after some hours of continuous use :P

But I definetly recommend it! :)

Turtle beaches, FTW!

@agenturie

Agreed. Turtle Beach is by far the best headset you can buy. You get 5.1 SS and you can even get 7.1 SS. Bought mine a year ago. Love em.

I'm confused here. This news makes it sound like it's some new technology, but I know for a fact this sort of thing has existed on the pc for many years. I guess this is only news because it's for ps3 and xbox.

Hey guys, these are model after the G930's

http://www.logitech.com/en-roeu/gaming/headsets/devices/7248

They're 7.1 and very nice, if you want it for pc, go for those.

Better solution: Live alone.

For a second there I was very excited, since I have had audio dropout in my surround sound system when my X41s are hooked up and I hate being wired to the controller, but then I saw it only took analog audio inputs and the drivers weren't even 5.1 surround.

I'll wait for future iterations because Logitech makes some great gear, this just isn't up to par yet, although they look great.

@Matt606 I wish I had seen your post before I posted. Those are much better!

@Matt606 Never mind, those are PC only.

I have a set of Turtle Beach Earforce X4s (the infrared ones) but the hiss was ridiculous on quiet bits. Sure, the bass was lovely and the surround simulation was kind of good. The hiss got worse when using the mic cable.

Then I got the X31s that use Digital RF. They sound amazing. Really happy with them except for one thing: they use the same frequency as the WiFi (2.4GHz) so I get occassional dropouts as I use the wireless feature of the 360. I've tried placing the transmitter in different places but it seems the "best" place, oddly, is sitting on the console! The dropouts seem to happen whenever I download something from the marketplace. Maybe that's when the WiFi signal from the 360 is most intense.

The voice chat is much better on these too. There's no hiss when connected. However, the cable has a right-angled jack at the controller end - probably not going to last as long as the old style clasping connection.

They're also very comfy for long periods, the cups aren't as sweat inducing as the X4s!

All in all though, price to quality, they are great.

@Styli

And, having actually read up on these Logitech ones, they use the same frequency - 2.4GHz. COULD mean dropouts if you've a lot of WiFi stuff around.

@Styli
Really like my X41s (7.1, digital RF). I'm sure wired ones would sound better, but then I'd be stuck with wires, which is not optimal in my situation.

im good with my $80 Turtle Beach Earforce PX21's, thanks.

@mu93n I love my PX21 too. PS3/Xbox/PC is awesome. Only problem is that it is wired but it is probably better because I would just leave it on and kill the battery every time. Oh I got it for $60 on a Amazon deal of the day.

These might be a good replacement for my Sennheiser RS-120s -- the biggest benefit being the fact that they mix both chat and game audio. Every time I game online I have to throw the speakers on, so I can't go too late or my wife will be annoyed.

I'm concerned about the fact that they use the 2.4 GHz frequency -- the same as all my Wi-Fi stuff. My Sennheisers use the 900 MHz range and I never get much interference.

Just set your wireless devices to use a different channel and you should be ok

Looks just like the G35 for PC. I really like that headset and it was worth the relatively high cost. I cant say performance since this is wireless, but form factor and comfort are great even for long sessions. Also, I should note that the G35 presses down the hair under it if you wear them for a while and it tends to stay like that so make sure you shower before your next public appearance after using them for more than a few minutes! :P

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Logitech's new Xbox/PS3 headset helps you keep quiet

Reader Comments (59)

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:34AM neoand12 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:42AM Faenix said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:56AM neoand12 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:18AM FiredCylinder said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:22AM Riley Freeman said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:31AM wcarnation said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:38AM Faenix said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 7:42AM ChongShin said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:19AM greggermyster said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:45AM Sabbatai said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 3:32PM FiredCylinder said

Posted: Sep 30th 2010 4:43PM GenesisGod said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:37AM wilimac said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:42AM neoand12 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:05AM DustbinK said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 10:36AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 4:42AM Faenix said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:46AM Sabbatai said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:03PM Irvine032188 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:01AM mundox said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:03AM DarknessBear said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:05AM DustbinK said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:12AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:07AM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:09AM KISYUYEKI said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:17AM FiredCylinder said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 5:19AM FiredCylinder said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 6:08AM ekon said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 7:16AM Puertoricarious said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:08AM dibs oddjob said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 6:23AM Barkley610 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 6:41AM Teusone said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 7:09AM chillok said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 7:29AM Dropeti said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:14AM agenturie said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:07PM Irvine032188 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:38AM Uracat said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:39AM Matt606 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:43AM koehler83 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 8:58AM Sninja13 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 9:00AM Sninja13 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 9:02AM Sninja13 said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 9:36AM Styli said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 9:40AM Styli said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 11:09AM dibs oddjob said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 10:07AM mu93n said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 10:55AM FriedConsole said

Posted: Sep 29th 2010 10:07AM Chief Oddball said

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Posted: Sep 29th 2010 10:38AM (Unverified) said

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