In the age where online gaming reigns supreme, with hot franchises like Call of Duty, Madden, Halo, and newer games like Titanfall and even the Destiny Beta being immensely popular, all gamers really need a quality headset to use. There are plenty of different companies that offer different variations, but perhaps one of the most well known is Turtle Beach. Dating back to the 1970s, Turtle Beach has always had a hand in the field of audio, with them carving out a niche in the gaming industry in more recent years.
While Turtle Beach has had a number of partnerships and agreements with companies like Microsoft and Sony over the years to create official headsets for their respective consoles, they have also branched out with some other interesting partnerships including Call of Duty and Star Wars. However, one of their largest and most prevalent partnerships has come from Marvel, which has led to a number of special headsets. One particular headset is the Turtle Beach Marvel Ear Force Seven Headset, which we have for review today.
When you first open the box, you will catch a glimpse of the gorgeous Marvel themed headset. While this particular one is the Thor: The Dark World Limited Edition, the only thing actually Thor related are the plates attached to the outside of the ear cushions. The rest of the headset features a very smooth black and red design, with the Marvel logo found on the arch that rests on the top of your head. Turtle Beach could have gone the route of plastering Marvel all over the headset, similar to the design of the Ear Force Atlas, which featured Titanfall art designs all over. However, instead they decide to go with a less is more approach, by keeping it a little more subtle and low key.
Rather than on the headset itself, Marvel art designs are instead used on a number of different plates, which adds a little bit of customization to the headset. The limited edition Thor headset comes with two sets of plates, both seen in the image above, one with Thor himself on it and the other with a Avengers lineup based on the comic books rather than the movies. We were also given one of the Captain America plates as well, which looks nearly perfect attached to the side of the headset, with perhaps my favorite overall design out of all of the available plates. There are plenty of others available for purchase, such as Black Widow, Falcon, and Loki. However, the prices are quite high for each set, so choose wisely if you want to buy extras.
When taking a look at any headset, of course one of the most important elements is the sound quality. Luckily, the Marvel Ear Force Seven headset provides the level of quality you expect from Turtle Beach with 50mm drivers. The sound quality is superb across the many different platforms it can be used, including consoles, handhelds, mobile devices, and PC. The audio is crystal clear and I never noticed any sort of static in any of the connections at all while playing. Really the only disappointing aspect sound wise is that the headset doesn’t feature 5.1 surround sound, but it sounds plenty good even without it. Thanks to the excellent noise-isolating design, you also won’t have to worry about disturbing others as you rock out with whatever you are doing, whether it’s a game, movie, or music.
the Marvel Ear Force Seven headset provides the level of quality you expect from Turtle Beach
One of the only downsides to the headset is that it isn’t natively able to be used on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, as both require a special accessory to be used on the respective consoles. For PlayStation 4, you will need a PS4 chat cable, which is a simple cord that allows you to connect the in-line amplifier to the PS4 controller for use. For Xbox One, you will need the Xbox One Stereo Headset adapter that allows you to connect the headset to the controller. The latter is much easier than the former, but neither is extremely hard once you know what you are doing.
Just like the Titanfall Ear Force Atlas, the headset utilizes an in-line amplifier that must be plugged into the console through USB, which is then connected to the controller for the various consoles, along with some other required cables. This leads to a number of cables being strung across your living room just to use one headset for your gaming. The upside is that the cable for the in-line amplifier is extremely long and includes a tie to to keep it wrapped when not using it, not to mention including the spiffy Marvel logo on it as well.
This amplifier provides a lot of control over the sound you will be hearing in your headset, such as the ability to control the bass and treble levels, as well as allowing you to adjust the game and chat volume you will hear in your headset. If you don’t want to listen to anybody in chat, you can completely disable that and turn off your mic, and literally use the headset as just headphones, which I found myself doing sometimes.
Speaking of the mic, the Marvel Ear Force Seven includes a detachable mic that you can choose to use or not use. Just like the Turtle Beach XO Seven, this mic is extremely flexible to where you can perfectly position it in the best location to speak without it getting too close or too far away from your mouth.
As with any headset, comfort is a must considering that you will have it on your head for hours on end. While not at the insane comfort level of the XO Seven, the Marvel Ear Force Seven is no slouch in that department. The memory foam cushions contour very easily to your ears, without feeling restrictive in the least, which is also helped by the adjustment headband. This headband also features a padded design that allows the headset to rest easily atop your head without feeling heavy in the least. I found myself playing the Destiny beta this past weekend while using the headset for a few hours straight and did not once feel the effects that you sometimes get as a result of using a headset for so long.
The Turtle Beach Marvel Ear Force Seven is an excellent combined identity product that represents both Turtle Beach and Marvel extremely well. Featuring the Marvel design and the ability to switch out plates at will, this headset is one of the most unique and customizable in Turtle Beach’s catalog. Featuring crisp sound, a high level of comfort, and a wide range of compatibility with many platforms, the Turtle Beach Marvel Ear Force Seven is a perfect fit for your gaming collection, especially if you happen to be a Marvel fan. Hopefully we will continue to see the attachable plates continue to be released, because I badly need a Guardians of the Galaxy one.
