It is all about the sound and Turtle Beach offers great sound gear. The newest in the Ear Force headset line, the Marvel Seven, is of no exception. If packaging is any consideration in the quality of a product, Turtle Beach is great at it. I have never had a Turtle Beach headset so this was a refreshing change from products that I have used in the past.
Sound Quality
I was blown away by the sound quality. I normally use a set of speakers hooked to a subwoofer on my machines to have high quality sound. I was not expecting the headset to pass, much less exceed, that quality. To put it in other terms: it was like being center stage at a major concert. The sound is up close and personal.
In game, I found I could hear a lot more sound through the headset than was pushed out by my speaker set-up. Chat was also easy to hear over game sounds which the controls on the in-line amplifier as well. I did not have to sacrifice my background music and ambient sounds to keep up with chat. Since it is also a headset, they couldn’t hear feedback or my game sounds so it works out perfectly.
With the in-line amplifier, controlling sound is so much easier. Not only can I control game volume and chat volume separately, I can also decide how much treble and bass that I want to hear. The controls on the in-line amplifier give the user way more control than your average headset that usually allows no control or only controls to mute the microphone.
When I would speak to others over the headset, they had no trouble understanding me. There was no feedback to speak of. I asked if I came over with static but I was told I came through as crystal as a bell.
Installation
Installing the headset on my Windows-based machine was super easy. The headset is simply plug and play. Plug the USB port in and then put the headphone plug into either the headphone slot or the green port on your sound card; Windows does the rest. Windows Update software will find and download all the plugins that are needed. After that, just make sure you set your playback and record defaults correctly.
In playback settings, you have to make sure that speakers and headphones are the default device. This allows the in-line amplifier to control the different game versus chat volumes. In recording settings, set the default device to the Turtle Beach headset.
And that’s all you have to do to be up and running with this headset.
Comfort
The Marvel Seven is so nice to wear, even for prolonged periods of time. Far more comfortable than other headsets I have used in the past. Normally, with those I would have to take them off or adjust the ear pieces every so often. They also were always too big for my head which mean my ears were doing all the work just to hold the headset on. I can say this is not the case with the Marvel Seven headset.
This is the first headset I have ever owned that actually fits my head. The top rest supports the weight of the headset so my ears aren’t being pushed down. The top rest also has approximately half an inch of padding with makes it super comfortable. It feels like it rests like a pillow instead of pressing down on my head like hard head rests do.
Normal noise-canceling full ear pieces are wrapped in leather. This is not the case with the Marvel Seven. Soft cotton-like fabric covers the half-inch padding that surrounds the ears. The Marvel Seven also completely surrounds my ears instead of pressing down on top of them. This has been really nice as my ears don’t cramp to wear the headset for long periods of time.
The Marvel Seven does have issues with people who wear glasses with a fair amount of frame. Unfortunately, this is an issue with every headset I have owned. While this isn’t a problem with the headset itself, I have learned to let my frames rest on top of the ear pieces to avoid the discomfort.
Packaging
If a Marvel Seven arrives damaged, the shipping company had to put that package through the wringer. I was surprised to find that the headset comes in a very sturdy cardboard box that is worth keeping. I use mine to keep up with my instructions and all the extra cords that allows this headset to go from pc to Xbox to mobile devices.
The headset is also designed to use changeable ear plates. These are easy to replace and don’t come off no matter how much you might shake or dance around with your headset.
Overall, I think this headset is a great addition to any gamer’s accessories. The sound quality is great and it is exceedingly comfortable. The Marvel Seven is another great addition to the Turtle Beach line.
Want to know more? Be on the look out for part 2 of my review which will go more in-depth on using it for streaming and other things with video.
(Disclaimer: I was provided with the Marvel Seven free of charge. All thoughts and opinions regarding the product are my own.)
