We all have been tempted by the audio capabilities of our Xbox 360 (read as "Dolby Digital") but, at the same time, we have been refrained from buying a Home Theatre system because of logistic or economic problems. However, it seems that no Home Theatre system is still needed as Sharkoon has the solution for all of us: X-Tatic 5.1!

Sharkoon X-Tatic 5.1 is the first headset compatible with Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE to fully support Dolby Digital 5.1. Having 4 speakers per side and the microphone, X-Tatic 5.1 is able to enhance our gaming experience with Microsoft Xbox 360, both on-line and off-line.

Starting from the design and continuing with the numerous and useful cables issued, X-Tatic 5.1 is a complete product, easy to install and of excellent manufacture.

Let's go into the details...

The package

As already said, Sharkoon X-Tatic 5.1 is a very complete product. Inside the package, you'll find, besides the headset, also several cables and a little "control station" where to connect the headset and the sound source (in this case, the Xbox 360).

Let's find out what the package includes:

• X-Tatic 5.1 headset with 4-in-1 volume control,
• microphone (removable),
• audio control station,
• audio cable coaxial (RCR),
• audio cable optical (Toslink),
• microphone extension cable (2.5 mm phone jack),
• microphone adapter (2.5 mm / 3.5 mm phone jack),
• headset adapter cable (headset connector / 4 x 3.5 mm phone jack),
• power supply unit,
• Multilanguage manual

X-Tatic 5.1 Headset

X-Tatic 5.1 Headset seems really sturdy as the materials used by Sharkoon are of excellent quality.

Once worn, the headset is very light and it will allow us to play for hours without any trouble; the only little inconvenience is the fact that the headset padding could make us sweat during the hottest summer days.

The eight speakers (4 per side) are those which allow the (so desired) Dolby Surround effect. In order to use them on our Xbox 360, we will only have to connect the headset to the control station (which acts as a Dolby Digital amplifier) and link up the console to the station via the optical cable (Toslink) included in the package.

Here after the official headset technical features:

• 5.1 channel headset
• 8 speakers for perfect surround sound
• Subwoofer with vibration
• High-End amplifier
• 4-in-1 volume control (separate volume adjustment
• Automatic signal detection
• Supported Sound modes: Stereo, Dolby® Pro Logic®, Dolby® Digital 2.0, Dolby® Digital 5.1
• TD (Time Delay)/DRC (Dynamic Range Control)
• 3 headsets connectable
• Removable microphone
• stereo/Dolby® Pro Logic®/Dolby® Digital signal switching
• Xbox®/Xbox® 360 and PlayStation® 2 compatible
• Xbox® Live™ compatible

As we can see, this headset can count on the presence of a subwoofer with selectable vibration intensity: this is particularly important thinking about the fact that we'll be able to enjoy every sound starting from its low frequencies.

The "control station"

Analysing Sharkoon X-Tatic 5.1 audio control station, which acts also as Dolby Digital amplifier and decoder, it looks like a little black box with several plug entries.

Through the proper buttons, it will be possible to activate the Dolby Pro Logic audio mode, to regulate the overall volume and to setup the desired Time-Delay.

Headset in action!

Once everything has been setup (and it takes just few minutes), we're ready to play! Our test-games for the X-Tatic 5.1 headset have been Dead Rising and Test Drive Unlimited.

Turned on the console and the control station power supply unit, we can wear the headset and modify, directly via the Xbox 360 dashboard, the console audio set-up, selecting the Dolby Digital audio option. If all has been correctly done, the Dolby Digital led on the control station will light up and we'll be ready to play.

Let's start from Dead Rising. Thanks to Sharkoon headset we were able to hear sounds that we previously missed using the television audio. The sound is really clear and the surround effect is almost perfect as we were always able to understand the direction of the sound source in the game: zombies will never again be able to take us from behind!

However, we discovered the real value of X-Tatic 5.1 playing at Test Drive Unlimited, the recent Xbox 360 racing game from Atari. Using the visual from inside the car, the perfect sound and surround were able to immerge ourselves completely in the game: seeing cars speeding near us and being able to hear the sound coming from the correct direction is something that left us speechless.

Even the removable microphone can be considered a really high-quality product, as during several on-line matches on Xbox LIVE we faced no chatting problems. The only inconvenience is that, in order to hear our friends voice in the headset, we'll have to change an option from the dashboard (just choose to have the sound exiting from the television).

Final Comment

Sharkoon X-Tatic 5.1 is an excellent product and it is a simply perfect accessory for Xbox 360. The price (about 100€) could seem a little expensive, but it is completely justified by the quality of the headset, Sharkoon's care in the details and the first-rate sound.

Eventually, this product should be taken into consideration also by Home Theatre system owners: as evenings and nights are the preferred hours to play...with X-Tatic 5.1 we would be able to completely enjoy every Xbox 360 sound without annoying the neighbours.

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Many thanks to Sharkoon for the collaboration.