POLK AUDIO 4SHOT - XBOXONE - Comparison verses other HEADSET
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I've got the Melee and I tried them out with the Xbox 360. I sent myself a recording and it sounded great! It's the reason I kept them. I'm sticking with them because I like the idea of using the headset away from my console, whereas the turtle beach and astro's look like something from Transformers - I wouldn't wear them in public.
The mic worked well on the 360, so it has to be the way they work with the Xbox One. I'll wait and see how the update fairs. It's not Polk's fault, and this is definitely out of their control - they can't make nor release the patch. They are at Microsoft's whim. -
I just want clarification on one thing. There is absolutely no way of getting Dolby Digital 5.1 from the Xbox One at this moment for the 4Shot/Melee? I thought the March Xbox One update enabled this?
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TangentialShark wrote: »I just want clarification on one thing. There is absolutely no way of getting Dolby Digital 5.1 from the Xbox One at this moment for the 4Shot/Melee? I thought the March Xbox One update enabled this?
If you use the optical output instead of the controller for game audio, you can. -
I'll keep my 4shots and hope the update fixes the problem..
But like others have said.. the launch window sucks.
Titanfall releases tonight at midnight, not only am I going in with a bad mic... but I had to tell my friends to avoid the Polk headsets cause of bad mics.
Now in preparation for Titanfall, they're all going out and buying OTHER brands.
Because of this launch issue.. be it a software thing on MS's side or a hard/firm ware thing on Polk's side... it's going to hamstring the sales of this product. -
If you use the optical output instead of the controller for game audio, you can.
No, 4shot/melee do not do Dolby Digital. -
No, 4shot/melee do not do Dolby Digital.
Dude, the Melee comes with a dsp unit that decodes Dolby Digital. Go on the page from this site and look. -
Will the 4 shot ever have mic monitoring? Also is mic monitoring a hardware or software solution?
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I bet Microsoft will make a microphone boost in the Xbox One settings like we can on are pc so we can set our volumes.lyfe_wast3d wrote: »Will the 4 shot ever have mic monitoring? Also is mic monitoring a hardware or software solution? -
I bet Microsoft will make a microphone boost in the Xbox One settings like we can on are pc so we can set our volumes.
But mic monitoring allows us to hear ourselves. This is a problem for me. I end up screaming cause I can't hear myself through the speakers. Or I'll stop talking randomly if something loud happens. -
Do we have any update on this yet from Polk?
I've only got a couple days left before this headset has to go back and trust me, I don't want to take it back because the audio on it is superb and the built quality fantastic - but if I can't get decent performance from the mic, there's no point keeping it.
MY clock here is ticking Polk and I want to support you guys, but I will have absolutely no choice in about 72 hours from now.
What's the latest? -
I bet Microsoft will make a microphone boost in the Xbox One settings like we can on are pc so we can set our volumes.
This is more than likely correct as I have to adjust Db gains in my audio surveillance installations.2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Do we have any update on this yet from Polk?
I've only got a couple days left before this headset has to go back and trust me, I don't want to take it back because the audio on it is superb and the built quality fantastic - but if I can't get decent performance from the mic, there's no point keeping it.
MY clock here is ticking Polk and I want to support you guys, but I will have absolutely no choice in about 72 hours from now.
What's the latest?
What update are you looking for? They (Polk) are not implementing the patch, it's a patch from Microsoft. In case you didn't know, Microsoft takes WEEKS to implement anything on Xbox Live with extensive testing prior to pushing to everyone. Since this was a missed bug, we're looking at several weeks before Microsoft does anything. Hell, I doubt it's even really on their roadmap yet. If you're looking for a fix within 72 hours, you aren't going to get it. -
My guess is it will be a part of the April operating system update Microsoft is planning on pushing out. Don't go quoting me on that of course, because it's possible that Microsoft could push a quick patch out early to solve the headset problems... So I'm thinking latest will be April. Hoping Microsoft comes out and says something about it soon.
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I agree with Sirch. That firmware patch will be coming from MS and it won't be coming out in three days. I've already tested the near-field mic on Skype (both on my desktop & tablet), smartphone calls, and Upload Studio (made a voice over recording on an edited clip). The results were clear, audible, and undistorted. Therefore, the hardware works as Polk has stated.What update are you looking for? They (Polk) are not implementing the patch, it's a patch from Microsoft. In case you didn't know, Microsoft takes WEEKS to implement anything on Xbox Live with extensive testing prior to pushing to everyone. Since this was a missed bug, we're looking at several weeks before Microsoft does anything. Hell, I doubt it's even really on their roadmap yet. If you're looking for a fix within 72 hours, you aren't going to get it.
It's a judgment call from there, Austacker. Since I've proven to myself first hand that the mic works through several applications, I've decided to roll the dice and keep them even though the patch will most likely be released after my return policy expires. I received too good of a deal from Amazon when it dropped down to $114 for a day. In addition, I had a $50 incentive for using Amazon Rewards credit card which won't be re-issued if I return the merchandise. It's clearly MS' problem, not Polk Audio's. Also, Polk isn't the only manufacturer that's been affected by the mic issues. Other headset manufacturers such as Astro Gaming, Tritton/Mad Catz, Steel Series, and Razer have all reported the same issues with their mics. It seems like MS really messed up here. The reality is that the damage has already been done. Negative reviews and word of mouth are already affecting revenue & marketshare for the multitude of headset makers that will have to bear the brunt of MS' poor QA on the headset adapter & accompanying firmware. Is it a coincidence that neither the official Xbox One Stereo headset nor the Turtle Beach XO7, XO4, or Titanfall Atlas headsets have reported any mic issues?!? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but MS contracted Turtle Beach to develop and manufacture the adapter. Something smells rotten in Denmark. -
It's clearly MS' problem, not Polk Audio's.
Give this man a ceegar!!!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I have a MS Xbox Live Beta Account, so if they do release a patch I'll know right away if it works or not.
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and Upload Studio (made a voice over recording on an edited clip). The results were clear, audible, and undistorted. Therefore, the hardware works as Polk has stated.
I'm questioning this as the audio pickup in upload studio and in a party chat or game are using the same cables, same adaptor.
I tried it with the Xbox one version of Skype (you can do a self test there) and can report absolutely that the mic was too soft.
There's simply too many people in the wild reporting the exact same problem to assume this is a figment of people's imagination and others saying 'well my Polk mic works fine, so it's fine' doesn't help in the slightest.
This is a known technical issue & whether this is a xbox firmware issue or a problem with the headset itself is honestly irrelevent.
You want to know why?
Because if it doesn't work, people won't buy it and word of mouth will do the rest.
Who loses here? Microsoft? Do they honestly give a crap about a 3rd party vendor's sales and profits?
No.
This is a Polk issue. They can say it's out of our hands all day long but in the end it won't matter because regardless of who's to blame and who can 'fix' this issue, it's they who ultimately suffer as sales are lost.
Over the last few days since release the wave of negative sentiment on this aspect of the Polk4Shot has been overwhelming. Go read Reddit, Amazon or any other popular gamer forum meeting place in social media and see for yourself. People are avoiding this product like the plague.
Consumers by and large have a cynical distrust almost by default on new market entrants and Polk's entry into the gaming headset arena couldn't have been worse.
It certainly may well be a microsoft issue (in fact, I damn well hope it is!) but that won't help Polk in the slightest if people are avoiding their products when making a decision on what headset to buy and unlike video games, picking up a headset isn't a repeat or frequent purchase. Once people make a decision on a headset and it's fine, they tend to stick with it for a long period of time.
Polk had a window of maybe a week to cash in on the recent flood during release and clearly it's been missed. The Turtlebeach X04 and X07 sales are through the roof and the Polks have been left on the shelf over this issue. The remainder are just buying the adaptor alone and using an existing headset. This honestly couldn't have gone any worse for polk over the last week looking to make a good first impression with the 4shot.
I'd say that with the March updates now out there on all X1 platforms for proper chat functions, along with the headset adaptor, people simply have too many options available to be understanding or patient of Polk's plight here.
Now before we assume this is happening across all headsets, let me pull you up there because I want to see proof before I agree.
I've only seen the Polk have this issue - both the melee and now the 4shot. If you have examples of otherwise, please share them here.
I'd seriously love to see it because it would actually indicate further this is a microsoft issue and put minds at ease.
My 7 days are up tomorrow on my Polk purchase. When I go pick up my copy of Titanfall tomorrow, I have a difficult decision to make and the fact that Polk have gone dead quiet on this matter since the earlier update inspires no confidence at all on what's happening here.
Whilst I love my Polks for everything else so far, that Mic issue is a deal breaker and I'll make no effort to hide that fact from those I socialise with.
I shudder to think how a botched launch like this is affecting Polk sales of this product, but needless to say you'd have to question the relationship between Microsoft and Polk for such a fundamental flaw to get through testing and into production without detection until it was too late to do anything about it.
It's going to cost Polk a LOT of money in lost sales sad to say...
I just hope they fix this soon, whether I decide to keep this set or not. -
So just return them and if you want them, buy them again when they are fixed. I don't see the problem here.
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I want to get a pair if they do get the mic issue resolved. Hopefully they will give a progress update.
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So just return them and if you want them, buy them again when they are fixed. I don't see the problem here.
Exactly
Austacker you are a broken record....please look at attached
Just for you I remoted into one of our clients DVR's and snapped an image to help you understand.
Although I can careless about gaming I do own a surveillance video CCTV company. We do a lot of high end video, and AUDIO installations. I have frequently come across different mic input companies that have different Db gain sensitivities and fortunately we are able to adjust DB gain levels at the DVR and a specific camera. So more than likely until Microsoft creates a variable Db gain adjustment in the GUI and firmware this will be the issue.
I have also read reviews that there are some headsets that run hot on the mic inputs creating a loudness fatigue, so either suck it up and wait for an update or return the head set.2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
I'm not a gamer, so excuse me if I seem insensitive, but is life as you know it going to end if this mic issue isn't resolved yesterday? I mean, it is just a game after all.
they need the mic for their taunts! LOL! i let my game do the talking. 22-0 one time in CoD ghosts on PS3. 2.3 recent K/D ratio. MadfoX75 on PSN. add me up! -
Urgh, my rant has clearly been removed by the admins here & that's fairo. I was getting a little hot under the collar.
"So more than likely until Microsoft creates a variable Db gain adjustment in the GUI and firmware this will be the issue."
This was actually very helpful feedback txcoastal1, thank you. It's really what I actually needed to hear and see.
I'm content to wait, but I'd be more appreciative if people could be more supportive and understanding of the angst I'm feeling here.
$220 for a headset is actually a pretty big decision for someone like myself and I need to be sure it's the right one to make. -
Bro' I totally understand your frustration, it's like bringing home a new TV on Superbowl Weekend and it blue screens on you,
and I know you gamer's are preparing to be set up for Titan Fall, I have a son.2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Uh-oh, I got my pee-pee whacked. :cheesygrin:Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I'm sorry, but I'm not understanding why people are giving Austacker such a hard time about this. Whether MS or Polk releases the update, it is 100% a Polk issue. I'm a fan of Polk audio going way back but I'm not understanding the apologists in these threads who seem willing to just accept a faulty product. I'm sorry, I just don't get it.
Here : Whenever I release an insurance policy to my insureds, I thoroughly read over every line to make sure that the issuing insurance company didn't miss anything because it's my job to make sure the client gets the coverages they requested. I would never just assume the insurance company got it 100% correct and send it along to the client. That is a really good way to put the insured at risk, open my agency up to lawsuits, and lose my license. See where I'm going? Maybe after I've been in the insurance industry, I'll be so "over it" that I won't do that step, but I hope that I'll know it's time to throw in the towel before that happens. My point is that this is a QC issue that was missed. Is it 100% Polk's fault? No. Unfortunately for them, they had to wait for MS to deliver the adapters but, unfortunately for us, they were in a hurry to get the headsets on the market and didn't test them properly.
Note : While I am frustrated that the headset doesn't work right, I'm not necessarily upset with Polk, I've come to expect these things with console launches over my lifetime. I am truly baffled at how some of you are treating Austacker like he's out of line. As he said, these aren't cheap. Just ask a lobby full of randoms on XBOX LIVE if they'd pay this much for headsets. Bet you'd only find a small fraction of them would. The rest are satisfied with the chat headsets and their home surround sound. -
I'm sorry, but I'm not understanding why people are giving Austacker such a hard time about this. Whether MS or Polk releases the update, it is 100% a Polk issue. I'm a fan of Polk audio going way back but I'm not understanding the apologists in these threads who seem willing to just accept a faulty product. I'm sorry, I just don't get it.
Here : Whenever I release an insurance policy to my insureds, I thoroughly read over every line to make sure that the issuing insurance company didn't miss anything because it's my job to make sure the client gets the coverages they requested. I would never just assume the insurance company got it 100% correct and send it along to the client. That is a really good way to put the insured at risk, open my agency up to lawsuits, and lose my license. See where I'm going? Maybe after I've been in the insurance industry, I'll be so "over it" that I won't do that step, but I hope that I'll know it's time to throw in the towel before that happens. My point is that this is a QC issue that was missed. Is it 100% Polk's fault? No. Unfortunately for them, they had to wait for MS to deliver the adapters but, unfortunately for us, they were in a hurry to get the headsets on the market and didn't test them properly.
Note : While I am frustrated that the headset doesn't work right, I'm not necessarily upset with Polk, I've come to expect these things with console launches over my lifetime. I am truly baffled at how some of you are treating Austacker like he's out of line. As he said, these aren't cheap. Just ask a lobby full of randoms on XBOX LIVE if they'd pay this much for headsets. Bet you'd only find a small fraction of them would. The rest are satisfied with the chat headsets and their home surround sound.
It's simple. He's a broken record, and comes off like an entitled child. I have the Melees, and I let polk know I was disappointed. That's it, nothing more. Why? Because Polk has always taken care of me, and they don't need me ranting on about how much money they are losing.
Rambling on like he was shows how immature he is. Polk has been around for a long time. They understand the importance of this issue and its ramifications. (that's why they got out in front of the issue immediately).
If he's that upset, and doesn't trust it will get fixed, he can return them.
Does that clear things up? -
It's simple. He's a broken record, and comes off like an entitled child. I have the Melees, and I let polk know I was disappointed. That's it, nothing more. Why? Because Polk has always taken care of me, and they don't need me ranting on about how much money they are losing.
Rambling on like he was shows how immature he is. Polk has been around for a long time. They understand the importance of this issue and its ramifications. (that's why they got out in front of the issue immediately).
If he's that upset, and doesn't trust it will get fixed, he can return them.
Does that clear things up?
Well said.
I would also like to note that polygon has recently put up an article claiming that Microsoft is aware that there is a problem with some (maybe not all) of the headset adapters and that they are working on a fix. Only time will tell...
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/11/5497650/xbox-one-headset-adapter-chat-audio-issues-microsoft-investigating -
It's simple. He's a broken record, and comes off like an entitled child. I have the Melees, and I let polk know I was disappointed. That's it, nothing more. Why? Because Polk has always taken care of me, and they don't need me ranting on about how much money they are losing.
Rambling on like he was shows how immature he is. Polk has been around for a long time. They understand the importance of this issue and its ramifications. (that's why they got out in front of the issue immediately).
If he's that upset, and doesn't trust it will get fixed, he can return them.
Does that clear things up?
Totally unnecessary mate.
A dissatisfied customer isn't a broken record because they complain about a $220 purchase & lambasting people who have an issue isn't any better.
Whilst I'm here to complain, plenty of others won't. Many will pop in here to see if it's already been mentioned, see how expressing frustration is met with by Polk fanboys and not even bother.
It's clear to me you've never worked in any customer service capacity in your life considering your attitude.
I appreciate the fact you personally have faith in the product and company behind it, but by your own admission that stems from previous experience with the company.
For many of us, this is our first step into the brand and our first product purchase is not a good one.
You have to appreciate that without a track record to go on as you've experienced, it's completely justified to be cynical and have a lot of angst over the issue, especially when updates are virtually non existent or the standard line is 'it's not our problem, it's someone elses'
Been a week now and all we have is a blanket statement and no further updates at all, just a lot of buck passing.
You can have all the faith in Polk you like over this issue, but for many of us being the first time here, it's not so easy to just take other people's word for it.
Say lay off the snide attitude and appreciate that coming from a position of no prior interaction with this company, being a little nervous at the moment is completely justified.
Polk might be awesome, but I'm really starting to dislike the community built up around it. -
I'm with you Austacker. It’s a little strange to see such harsh comments from long time members of this forum. Not sure why they are so adamant that we are the ones at fault and that we are expected to be patience, bite our tongues, and wait for a patch. Obviously not many of them are gamers or they would understand that being able to communicate is just as important as good sound. For me, I am an older gamer and love to hang out and BS with my other buddies between games. So having a broken mic could be argued as being even worse than poor sound.
As for my review, I posted in the 4 Shot issue thread. http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?159166-polk-4-shot-problems -
For the sake of consistency and balance, the indicated issues with the Microsoft firmware is having a broad range of issues.
http://forums.xbox.com/xbox_forums/xbox_support/xbox_one_support/f/4269/t/1712178.aspx?pi7406=1
I'm experiencing the same issues as reported here.
The Xbox one adaptor firmware launch has been completely borked by the looks of it.
But no matter who you speak to in authority, all we get is 'we're working on it as fast as we can' - then nothing for a week.
It's very frustrating!
This discussion has been closed.