Xbox One Polk4Shot Headphone launch issues
Austacker
Posts: 54
For those looking for answers about the launch of the Polk4Shot on Xbox one with regards to the Microphone pickup being way too low, Polk are aware of it already :
http://www.polkaudio.com/latest/4shotstatement
People are leaving feedback here on the Twitter thread about it too :
https://twitter.com/polkaudio/status/442032751186051073
Just posting here because I've just picked up my headset yesterday and can report a similar issue. The mic pickup is WAY too low, my friends are basically telling me I'm whispering at them when I have my volume set to max.
Worse, there's people already returning the Polks to place of purchase to go buy a Turtlebeach 04s and 07s instead for roughly the same price, but actually works fine out of the box.
It's a little disappointing this situation is happening, but the official statement is indicating *weeks* for a fix.
This will by far be WAY too long for many.
I'm staying put on my purchase for now, but touching base with my place of purchase to see what sort of window I have for a return.
Polk better be acutely aware of the fact that people who have already bought a headset have a narrow window for returns and will be forced to use this window if no fix comes out before that expires.
You don't have 'weeks' to fix this guys, at most you have a few DAYS...
I sincerely want to stick with my purchase of the Polk, but we have Titanfall out next week and I'll likely have to make a difficult choice.
Please get this issue fixed asap or else it's going to destroy sales of your product, especially when there's alternate options out there already working.
Right now in terms of current and potential sales, this couldn't have been a worse launch of the product. The Microphone is an integral part of the setup and is as important to customers as the audio from the headset itself.
Clearly, this was not tested properly at all and the feedback starting to flow through has been very negative.
Gotta get this fixed guys asap or this product is as good as dead in the water.
I'm supporting your company with my consumer dollars and faith in an untested product on this platform and needed a place to vent and express my frustration and disappointment at the poor quality control clearly employed here before launch.
Whether this is a Polk or Microsoft issue is irrelvent.
All that matters is whether you maintain the sale or I get a refund to go with your competitor.
Over to you guys...
http://www.polkaudio.com/latest/4shotstatement
People are leaving feedback here on the Twitter thread about it too :
https://twitter.com/polkaudio/status/442032751186051073
Just posting here because I've just picked up my headset yesterday and can report a similar issue. The mic pickup is WAY too low, my friends are basically telling me I'm whispering at them when I have my volume set to max.
Worse, there's people already returning the Polks to place of purchase to go buy a Turtlebeach 04s and 07s instead for roughly the same price, but actually works fine out of the box.
It's a little disappointing this situation is happening, but the official statement is indicating *weeks* for a fix.
This will by far be WAY too long for many.
I'm staying put on my purchase for now, but touching base with my place of purchase to see what sort of window I have for a return.
Polk better be acutely aware of the fact that people who have already bought a headset have a narrow window for returns and will be forced to use this window if no fix comes out before that expires.
You don't have 'weeks' to fix this guys, at most you have a few DAYS...
I sincerely want to stick with my purchase of the Polk, but we have Titanfall out next week and I'll likely have to make a difficult choice.
Please get this issue fixed asap or else it's going to destroy sales of your product, especially when there's alternate options out there already working.
Right now in terms of current and potential sales, this couldn't have been a worse launch of the product. The Microphone is an integral part of the setup and is as important to customers as the audio from the headset itself.
Clearly, this was not tested properly at all and the feedback starting to flow through has been very negative.
Gotta get this fixed guys asap or this product is as good as dead in the water.
I'm supporting your company with my consumer dollars and faith in an untested product on this platform and needed a place to vent and express my frustration and disappointment at the poor quality control clearly employed here before launch.
Whether this is a Polk or Microsoft issue is irrelvent.
All that matters is whether you maintain the sale or I get a refund to go with your competitor.
Over to you guys...
Post edited by Austacker on
Comments
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FYI in case anyone wondering at Polk, it's getting universally trashed atm on Reddit :
http://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/1zt7td/megathread_headset_adapter_and_headphones/
Not a good look at all guys, the sales for this product (even if fixed in a couple 'weeks') will tank.
People are buying headphones NOW... in a few weeks, they'll have already gotten something else and won't come back, no matter what you do.
Mass order cancellations, returns and word of mouth is getting around. This is looking pretty grim...
I wonder who's head will roll over this? This is going to cost Polk a LOT of money for this mistake... -
^^^^Alright got the idea, there are 2 other gaming headphone threads where concerns have been disclosed along with Polk moderators relaying info to engineering dept2-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 -
Yeah, just spotted them now. I'll go post over there.
But IMHO, Polk have drastically under estimated the impact of this issue at this time.
They have no where near the amount of time to fix this issue than they think. They have to start thinking in hours and days here, not weeks.
People are already walking away from this product enmasse. Because there's so many alternatives out there right now, it's no effort at all for people to return their faulty product and pick up something else.
Polk IMHO are taking this matter way too calmly at the moment... this is a monumental failure for an unproven launch product in this field.
Going over to the official thread to discuss this there. I seriously can't believe this situation is happening... -
Stuff happens no different than any other industry...Rome was built in a day2-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 -
txcoastal1 wrote: »Stuff happens no different than any other industry...Rome was built in a day
Agreed, if it's just a firmware issue that's gonna be fixed soon why switch. There are reviews that say the sound quality is better than the XO7. I can wait for a fix rather than sacrifice sound quality. -
I agree if it is "just" a firmware issue then I would wait a reasonable amount of time to get it fixed. But the President of Polk, Kevin Duffy, issues a statement saying we will get it fixed in coming weeks???? Seriously "coming weeks"??? No thanks. I came to Polks website to find and answer on the issue and I did...they just dont really care. Im off to return mine and get the Turtle Beach XO7. Way to go Kevin, great entrance into the gaming headset business.
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Yeah I guess Apple didn't care when they released the Iphone4, and Microsoft with their over heating Xbox's
You ever think it might be an issue with MS and the Xbox, you know they partnered in the deal, so go return your Xbox and by a PS
http://www.polkaudio.com/latest/4shotstatement2-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 guess in the gaming world everything is perfect, you get shot and never die, you can shoot someone w/o going to jail, crash cars going 200mph w/o a scratch, be a wanna be pro athlete...geez2-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 -
Hey hey hey....I love my driving games where I can crash into other cars or wrap mine around a pole and get a new ride...should see some of the spectacular crashes I get involved in my fave driving game!
Sounds like a PFB car story.... -
txcoastal1 wrote: »^^^^Alright got the idea, there are 2 other gaming headphone threads where concerns have been disclosed along with Polk moderators relaying info to engineering dept
Okay, Let's not kill the messenger here. I thought the OP's post was well written and very mature which is not what I've been reading on other sites, so I give him props for that. Now, on to what keeps bugging me : Does Polk really know what the issue is? (Follow me here, I may be 100% wrong, and if so, please let me know!!)
Mr. Duffy's statement, while reassuring, seemed to have a glaring problem :
"Some 4 Shot users might notice an issue with microphone sound pick up in chat modes. Be assured there is no issue with the headphone hardware. Testing 4 Shot with your smartphone will show the mic works great."
This statement has been bugging me because the 4 Shot's manual states very clearly :
"The 4 Shots included one-button cable has a built-in microphone, which becomes the active microphone for taking
phone calls when the cable is plugged into the headset and your device. The 4 Shots retractable near-field microphone
becomes inactive until the one-button cable is unplugged."
So, it stands to reason that "testing the 4 Shot with a smartphone" wouldn't prove anything about how the headset's near-field mic actually works, right? Because the headset's mic wouldn't be used in making phone calls. Please don't get me wrong, I have been anxiously awaiting these headphones since they were announced for many reasons namely :
- I can't stand Turtle Beach as a company - They seem to have a "Gotcha! You bought it, you deal with the problems" attitude and the headsets always give me headaches. (Sorry, spent over $500 on their stuff when I first started buying headsets all because they refused to help me)
- I've owned Polk in the past and the build/sound quality is unmatched, in my opinion. I really, really LOVE these headsets!
- I really want more manufacturers to begin making gaming headsets because, as has been proven over and over, competition between companies can only be a good thing for the consumer.
- The 4 Shots are beautiful!
Please let me know if I am wrong about this theory. Thanks for reading! -
This statement has been bugging me because the 4 Shot's manual states very clearly :
"The 4 Shots included one-button cable has a built-in microphone, which becomes the active microphone for taking
phone calls when the cable is plugged into the headset and your device. The 4 Shots retractable near-field microphone
becomes inactive until the one-button cable is unplugged."
So, it stands to reason that "testing the 4 Shot with a smartphone" wouldn't prove anything about how the headset's near-field mic actually works, right? Because the headset's mic wouldn't be used in making phone calls. Please don't get me wrong, I have been anxiously awaiting these headphones since they were announced for many reasons namely
You can use the 4 pole to 4 pole cable that comes with the 4shots, the one without an inline mic, to test your 4shots with a smartphone. With that cable you would be using the mic on the headphones to talk.
If you look at the picture in the fist post you can see the cable I am talking about. You would plug that cable into your smartphone instead of the chat adapter. As you can see, there is no inline mic in that cable. -
It's not a software issue on the Microsoft side, it's a Polk hardware mic issue. I bought the 4 shot Wednesday from Amazon. I already heard of the issue and thought a software patch could fix it in the near future. I recorded my voice on a voice recorder app on my smart phone and it still sounded extremely low and muffled. I thought well maybe I bought a faulty device so I exchanged it today only to find it's the same extremely low and muffled voice sound, just with a new pair. Polk can't fix a patch for it on a phone.
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Please address those of us who are caught in the middle not owning the 4shots yet while waiting for Polk to work out their issues, and now have to buy the new chat feature as it's not included in the many boxes waiting to be bought from dealers around the world, and since the beginning of launch last month,.
They won't be in the boxes waiting to be bought as complete, everything you need in the box, and creating bad reputation o
