Polk 4 Shot vs Turtle Beach

Sacrinis

Straight up Audio conversation here. I am wondering which headphones sound better? Polk is all about audio but I heard the XO7 are just as good if not better then the 4 shots.

Has anyone here tried both? And which ones sound better?

shepx2

Sacrinis wrote: »

Straight up Audio conversation here. I am wondering which headphones sound better? Polk is all about audio but I heard the XO7 are just as good if not better then the 4 shots.

Has anyone here tried both? And which ones sound better?

I haven't heard the XO7 specifically, but I've never heard a set of previous Turtle Beach headphones that sound as good as the 4 Shots (or that I even like at all). TB sets tend to have boomy and bloated bass, which over-runs the midrange sounds. Some people actually like this, but I don't. They also usually have a poor soundstage, which makes it hard to pinpoint where sounds are coming from.
The only "gaming" brand of cans that are good IMO are the Astro, and specifically the A40's. But they are expensive for what you get. And the Polks have a better sound than even those.

That said, the 4 shots have a mic problem that Polk said would be addressed, so if you decide to go that route I would wait till that happens before purchasing. If they can fix the problem, they provide a good value, since they come with the adapter and there's been some really nice sales lately on them.

There's no absolutes when it comes to audio, but it's been my experience that people who think that Turtle Beach headphones sound good usually don't have much of a point of reference. When you start to get into $150 plus for gaming headsets, there's some great headphones that you can get and add a boom mic to as well.

seabeerob213

are the senheissers any good?

Austacker

I have both and have been a TB guy for years

In short, the Polk audio is better

But since the Mic is useless atm, it's a moot issue

I'd say if they can get the mic fixed, go the Polk all the way

But don't buy a Polk until that's fixed else you'll be disappointed

If you just want pure audio and don't care about a mic, go the Astro40 or 50 instead - something that uses the optical port rather than the console controller adaptor

shepx2

seabeerob213 wrote: »

are the senheissers any good?

That's a really vague question. Sennhiser makes a lot of good headphones, but as always, each sounds different.

If you're serious about gaming with great headphones, I'd recommend reading this guide:


http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-3-12-2014-monster-dna-on-ear-added

Sacrinis

So I just returned my Polk 4 shots and picked up a pair of TB X07 mostly because I was sick of the Mic Problem. I figured I would make a quick post and let you all know my thoughts on the sound quality. I dont think of myself as a audiophile but I definitely can hear quality.

First off the Polks overall soundstage is better, but not that better, For gaming I would have to give a HUGE edge to Turtle Beach XO7. The Polks are far to treble heavy for gaming and although you can hear more subtle noises in the game they hurt my ears after only a few minutes of playing Titanfall. You can definitely tell that Turtle Beach knows what they are doing when it comes to the sound of gaming.

As far as music, the Polks are far better in all aspects. The Turtle Beaches are far far to heavy bass to really listen enjoyably to all types of music.

All in all im glad I made the choice to switch because they are gaming headsets and the XO7 FAR exceeds the Polks in my opinion. That being said if they fix the Mic issue and downed the treble a tad and maybe upped the bass just a tad bit my whole opinion would change real quick. Just sucks they sent out a product that really wasnt tested much, Im sure this is MS fault but still. Eventually im sure Microsoft will add more features such as a EQ and Mic Monitoring which will be a plus for all headsets!

SgtPayback

I had the 4 Shot for nearly a week. The sound was good and the headset was comfy, but the mic issue was a deal breaker. I was hoping for a patch prior to my 7 day return policy, but as we all know the patch has yet to arrive. So I traded them for the XO7. The XO7 also has good sound, but the most noticeable difference to me is that they are just a bit louder. So that was a pleasant surprise. The headset is slightly bigger and heavier than the 4 Shot, but it's still almost as comfortable. I also like the braided cable instead of the thin plastic one on the Polks. However, the best thing is that my friends can hear me now.

I used to play with the $200+ Tritton Black Ops headset and can say with certainty that neither of these headsets come close to my old 7.1 headset. However, I wanted to get away from all the cables and plugs. But then again I never would have guessed that only stereo would be outputting from the controller... so that blows. So until they release a true surround headset that connects to the controller I just want something that works. So as of now, the decision between buying the 4 Shot or the XO7 is not even close. Get the properly functioning XO7.

SwiftyCG

I bought both to test and the Mic and XO seven is way better but the sound on the 4 shots are so much better. I returned xo hoping the Mic on 4 shot will be fixed. But XO seven isn't bad at all.

seabeerob213

shepx2 wrote: »

That's a really vague question. Sennhiser makes a lot of good headphones, but as always, each sounds different.

If you're serious about gaming with great headphones, I'd recommend reading this guide:


http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-3-12-2014-monster-dna-on-ear-added

for now im not interested, just been seeing these in more places recently, and know they make pretty rad headphones, so i figured they may be worth a mention

SgtPayback

As the news was released today regarding the "chat pro" mic for 4 Shot owners, I got nutty and swapped my XO7's back to GameStop for what turned out was my previously returned 4 Shot. I was on day 5 of 7 for returning them so I decided to make the change yet again. Am I nuts? Maybe, but I got a refund of $17 bucks to go along with the swap as the 4 Shot was 10% cheaper as an "open stock item". For now I will just talk louder until the new mic arrives and I already gave them another test drive with Titanfall this afternoon. They do sound just a little bit better than the XO7 and they are much lighter and a tad more comfy. There is nothing wrong with the XO7's per say, but I simply like the Polk design better and am willing to wait for the mic fix. However, if they had waited another couple days to make the announcement regarding the "chat pro" I would have been stuck with the XO7 for good. Thankfully I was continuing to check Polk's Twitter account and saw the post today.

shepx2

SgtPayback wrote: »

As the news was released today regarding the "chat pro" mic for 4 Shot owners, I got nutty and swapped my XO7's back to GameStop for what turned out was my previously returned 4 Shot. I was on day 5 of 7 for returning them so I decided to make the change yet again. Am I nuts? Maybe, but I got a refund of $17 bucks to go along with the swap as the 4 Shot was 10% cheaper as an "open stock item". For now I will just talk louder until the new mic arrives and I already gave them another test drive with Titanfall this afternoon. They do sound just a little bit better than the XO7 and they are much lighter and a tad more comfy. There is nothing wrong with the XO7's per say, but I simply like the Polk design better and am willing to wait for the mic fix. However, if they had waited another couple days to make the announcement regarding the "chat pro" I would have been stuck with the XO7 for good. Thankfully I was continuing to check Polk's Twitter account and saw the post today.

Since you just used both, you should give a short comparison between the two.

SgtPayback

shepx2 wrote: »

Since you just used both, you should give a short comparison between the two.

Here is my $.02 regarding the 4 Shot vs XO7

=== SOUND ===
They both sound good and the quality between them is pretty close. It's hard to say exactly, but I think the 4 Shot has just a bit more "surround sound" to them. But the XO7 has more overall volume, not much but they are a bit louder overall. However, neither of them are anywhere near as good as my old Tritton Black Ops 5.1 headset as far as sound goes. But that's not surprising given the fact that they are restricted to stereo output via the chat adapter.

Advantage: Draw

=== COMFORT ===
The XO7 are your traditional semi-big and fluffy headset with boom mic. They are plush and comfy and I had no real complaints regarding their design. The 4 Shot's are much smaller overall in size, lighter in weight, and just a tad more comfortable to wear (at least with my head which is apx 7 1/4" hat size). I also noticed that I was able to hear my voice just slightly more than when using the XO7, which is a good thing since neither of them have a mic monitor. I really like the design and the fit/finish of the Polk.

Advantage: 4 Shot

=== MIC ===
The XO7 has a typical boom mic which my friends could hear me just fine. While the 4 Shot does suffer from a low and muffled mic issue, my friends can at least hear me if I talk loud enough. Thankfully Polk is sending the inline boom mic as a quick fix to the well documented MS adapter issues. Unfortunately, the 4 Shot boom mic does not ship for another couple weeks and the MS adapter patch does not have a release date.

Advantage: XO7

=== OVERALL ===
As an industrial designer I really like the design of the 4 Shot and I think the overall sound quality is just a little bit better. The smaller form factor also makes it easier for me to store them when not in use. And if/when they can get the mic issue sorted out they will be even better. As for the XO7, they are a solid headset and you can’t go wrong with them. I just wanted something different than the traditional “gaming” style headphones and am sticking with the 4 Shot since they are sending the boom mics.

Advantage: 4 Shot… by a hair

Austacker

I'm not surprised. I'm impressed by the 4Shot audio in itself. It really is great.

But dat mic.... urgh, it's a killer.

Once MS get that sorted though, this will be a excellent headset all round I think. Only a true optical corded headset would be better, but for something that is minimal on the wiring for the Xbox one, it's hard to go past the Polk or X07.

shepx2

Thanks for the comparison. I bet the gap will widen between the two as far as soundstage presence when they turn on surround thru the controller, or if you use these with an Earforce DSS or similar. I am going to test mine tomorrow with my DSS if I get time.