Turtle Beach XO One Review Roundup

Tyler Lacoma Avatar

Written by:

Updated 11:23 pm

Expert Rating

37

The Turtle Beach XO One headset is primarily designed as a “starter” headset for console players who think they may prefer headphones, but don’t want to spend a ton of money. Is this a good place to enter the headset world? Let’s take a look at key features and what reviewers think. Also read our review of the best gaming headset to see how it stacks up. Or, compare with our Mad Catz Tritton Katana HD 7.1 review.

Turtle Beach XO One Key Features

This compact headset (more headset reviews here: https://www.gadgetreview.dev/reviews/gaming-headset-reviews) provides 50mm drivers for powerful sound, a plugin mic, and compatible with all 3.5mm mobile devices. It comes with an audio controller for extra optimization and in-game audio control, as well as mic monitor capabilities and a bass boost mode.

Pros

  • Compact and durable
  • Very affordable compare to similar headphones

Cons

  • Ear cups are a little small
  • Doesn’t have the sound quality of higher end headphones
Turtle Beach Ear Force XO One Side
The small ear cups may not be comfortable, depending on what you’re used to.

 

Related: If you like comfortable, noise-canceling headsets, you might be interested in our Able Planet PS400 Stereo Headphones review.

Digital Trends

Digital Trends found that the XO One was a great starter headset, an ideal purchase for the console gamer who hasn’t really tried headsets before but still wants to see if they work or enjoy some extra privacy. DT also noted that the sound is surprisingly complete for an entry-level headset.

“Though the XO One is Turtle Beach’s “entry-level” gaming headset, it will outperform most contenders in the sound quality department alone (save, perhaps, Polk’s Striker series). Add on convenient features such as game/chat audio balance, bass boost, variable mic monitoring, and a detachable microphone, and you’ve got a high-value product on your ears.”

Honest Games Reviews

Honest Games was a little taken aback at how “basic” the compact XO One headset looked, but quickly found that the removable mic, sound quality, and comfort were all commendable for console gaming, a particular specialty of Turtle Beach. They did note that the cable may be a little short depending on how you like to sit when you game, so that might be worth some tests.

“I’ve used this headset both for gaming and also day-to-day music use on my laptop while typing things up for the site, and just like I expected I’ve had no issues at all. The quality of sound from the headset on both my console and laptop has been what I would have expected from a Turtle beach headset, with no issues of crackling or the bangs of  a beat in a song or a grenade in Halo all coming through crystal clear with the whole month or so I’ve played with them. The bass can be increased more so when gaming as the pad adapter has a bass boost button on which you can press once to twice depending how much of a boost you want, and that does make the sounds of bullets or grenades and so on that little bit deeper in each 50mm speaker in each ear.”

Amazon Users

Amazon users largely agreed that, for a headset under $100, the XO One has a surprising number of features and can function well during many types of gaming. This, combined with the durable nature of the headset, had a lot of people exited to find out just what their Turtle Beach headset could do.

“If you’re looking for a basic controller for under $100, go with these. It even comes with a small cable to connect to your Xbox in case you haven’t done the controller update that makes this headset compatible. They have the mic monitoring feature which allows you to hear your own voice as you talk to your party members. This prevents unnecessary shouting as they do block out quite a bit of ambient noise, so this is a nice feature. In fact, that feature alone was the major selling point for me.”

Related: Also check out the Turtle Beach Stealth 420X Review Most Durable Xbox One Headset.

Bottom Line

The XO One is an affordable and effective entry level headset for those on a budget…but you may eventually want an upgrade. Take a look at other, larger XO models, too.

Tyler Lacoma Avatar