Turtle Beach is releasing so many Call of Duty: Ghosts headsets that they should call the Ghostbusters. At their E3 booth, I was shown three Turtle Beach headsets that come to us as the fruit of the Turtle Beach-Activision partnership: Shadow, Spectre and Phantom — cleverly titled with names that fit the Ghosts motif.
Each of the headsets is based on current Turtle Beach headsets already available. The Shadow is essentially the Ear Force X12, the Spectre is the XP SEVEN, and the Phantom is the XP510. What's different is the white color scheme and the Ghosts branding.
The first Call of Duty: Ghosts headset is the Ear Force Shadow, useable with PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360, and powered by USB. You can tune and adjust bass and treble levels, and can separate game and chat volume controls. You have a microphone monitor that lets you adjust how little of your own voice you can hear when you speak. Dynamic Chat Boost will automatically raise the volume of chat when the game gets louder, and the ear cushions are a breathable mesh.
The next Ghosts headset is the Ear Force Spectre, the equivalent of the XP SEVEN. The Spectre also works with PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360 and mobile, equipped with a detachable boom mic for when you want to use it with your mobile phone. It will come with the Audio Control Unit of the XP SEVEN, so you can switch between Turtle Beach's audio presets. Also, it comes with interchangeable speaker plates.
The last of the three headsets I was shown is the Ear Force Phantom. The Phantom is wireless, compatible with the Xbox 360, PS3 and mobile devices. The Phantom is the Ghosts brand of the Ear Force XP 510, which sells for $289.95 — the most expensive of Turtle Beach's headsets. The Phantom uses Dual-Band Wi-Fi Wireless for zero interference, and the Bluetooth lets you stream music or take phone calls without leaving the game.
While you don't get the Audio Control Unit of the Spectre, the Shadow is no slouch in the audio department; it uses Dual-Stage Audio Processing for Dolby Digital Surround Sound, complete with adjustable surround sound angles. There's no interchangeable speaker plates available with the Phantom, but you still have the Call of Duty: Ghosts branding on it.
There's no release date or prices announced for these headsets, but I would guess that they'll release with the game on November 5, and their costs will be equivalent to those of the headsets they're based on.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com
