ok so first and foremost, as of now people ARE having a hard time hearing me HOWEVER i emailed support and got a reply around 1 PM EST saying "This is something that will be solved by a firmware/software update from Microsoft. We are currently in communication with them to develop a solution for this." so the problem is, i think, on MS' end. the near field mic is just fine. i will update when i get one.
onto the review then
the first thing i want to talk about is the supple and ear hugging faux leather that the ear cups are wrapped in. it is extremely soft and surrounds your ears in amazing, which is not a type-o. they far exceed the comfortability of any pair of TB's i have ever owned which is around 3 different styles.
second is the sound. very good IMO, comparable to TB headsets. actually, for not having direct bass or bass boost control, which i miss terribly, when i listen to bass boosted rap songs on YouTube i was actually pleasantly surprised. as far as chat and in game audio, everything is on the up and up. i can hear everyone and everything just fine.
the near field microphone is something that will grow on me as well. its nice not to have a huge microphone boom in my face. much easier to sip on my game sodas (beer or liquor) as i play. not only that but i wouldn't look like a total retard if took them in public to use as music headphones which i intend on doing in the future. they also have bluetooth functionality if you end up using them with your cellular device.
i also REALLY like having less wires in my gaming area. the only wire with this headset runs from the headset itself down to the adapter which is plugged into the controller. coming from having X32's with all those wires around, even X12's i don't miss more shit to trip on.
another thing i want to touch on is i wear glasses. why is this being mentioned? well after a serious session usually my TB's push the arms of my glasses into the side of head leaving it sore and needing to take them off. i think we played for 2, 2 and 1/2 hours last night and there was no sign that this will be a problem which is another big upside for me.
they also feel very durable. granted i won't be rage tossing them anytime soon but i'm not afraid to drop them either. for those of you who have kids or hardwood floors that might be a plus. TB's always felt a bit fragile to me.
now in closing i do want to say that i love the Turtle Beach product line and am not knocking them or the company in anyway shape or form, merely giving my opinions. honestly, the best thing that could happen for TB owners/supporters is for Polk to take off and become a force in the gaming headset world. the best thing for games and the gaming culture is competition. Madden is the only football title and look how half assed their games have gotten, same with NBA 2k.
all in all, once the update is live i will be 100% completely satisfied with this headset over TB's. i'm honestly glad i took a chance because i really love them. at the moment i would say 85% satisfaction until the update is available. i would encourage anyone to purchase this headset provided you are patient for the time being.