PAX can be a complete whirlwind at the best of times. With only Saturday to be on the show floor this year, it was even a greater than normal circus act of juggling appointments and taking my own time to see some of the things I wanted to see on the show floor. Despite having booked appointments sometimes booths are just so busy you can’t get the one-on-one time that’s needed to really dig into products. Not at Turtle Beach. I spent nearly an hour with these folks. Many thanks for the warm hospitality from Maura and Morgan.
With my recent purchases of both a 3DS XL and PS Vita, one of the things I wanted to see was what Turtle Beach has to offer for mobile headsets. They offer not one but three headsets depending on your preference and price. What I’d term the entry level headset would be the EarForce M3. Priced at just under $40 the M3’s are an on-the-ear style of headphone featuring 40mm speaker drivers. The ear cups twist for comfort if you’re wearing these around your neck and fold to a more compact size for easier packing in your bag. Turtle Beach also touts that the foam making up the ear cups forms actually forms to your ear to provide noise isolation. The M3’s also come with a microphone and twin jack adapter if you want to use the headset for voice or with a computer.
EarForce M3 Specifications
Headset
•Speakers: 40mm with neodymium magnets
•Frequency Response: 30Hz – 20kHz
•Sensitivity: 120dB +/- 5dB (1kHz 1mW)
•Cable length: 5 ft.
•Gold-plated 3.5mm, 4-pole plug
•Adapter Cable: Twin 3.5mm jacks for mic and headphone
Package Contents
•M3 Headset with In-line Mic
•PC Adapter Cable
•Turtle Beach Sticker
Moving up about $10 in price gets you Turtle Beach’s premium M5 headset. While these don’t offer the compact-ness of the M3’s, you do get the superior comfort and noise isolation the over-the-ear style of headset brings. As an owner of the PX5’s and someone that occasionally wears glasses I can attest to their comfort. Like the M3’s the M5’s feature an in-line mic for voice chat and rotating ear cups for added comfort when hanging them around your neck.
EarForce M5 Specifications
Headset
•Speakers: 40mm with neodymium magnets
•Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
•Sensitivity: 120dB +/- 5dB (1kHz 1mW)
•Cable length: 1.2m
•Connector: 3.5mm 4-pole gold plated
•Adapter: Separate 3.5mm jacks for mic and headphone
•In-line microphone and call answer button
•Ear cup twist-design rotates 90 degrees
•Weight: 5.8 Oz ( 164.4 g )
Being someone that travels frequently I like my tech-related items to be as compact as possible. That’s where the EarForce M1’s come in. At just under $60 the M1’s are at the top end of the range of Turtle Beach’s mobile offerings. The M1’s are an earbud style headphone meaning that they fit in your ear instead of over it. This might take some getting used to for some but the gels do provide an amount of noise isolation for those that prefer having something more compact. Like the M3 and M5, the M1’s also feature an in-line mic for voice chat or calls on your phone.
EarForce M1 Specifications
Earbuds
•Speaker Size: 10mm
•In-line controller with integrated microphone and call control switch
•Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
•Sensitivity: 93 +/-3dB (1kHz 1mW)
•Cable length: 1.5m
•Gold-plated 3.5mm, 4-pole plug
Package Contents
•M1 Earbuds with In-line Mic
•Small, Medium and Large Ear Gels
•Carrying Pouch
If you are in the market for a set of mobile headphones or looking for something to put on your Christmas list then stay tuned. We hope to have reviews up soon. Yes, I said Christmas. Have you been to Costco lately?
