Few gaming peripherals possess the reassuring utility of a wireless headset.

Whether it’s listening for the muffled footsteps of an enemy’s approach or experiencing the frenetic whir of bullets whizzing by your virtual face, donning a decent pair of cans can bestow both a tactical advantage and plenty of added immersion. Midnight button mashers also get those all important sound-suppressing ear cups, invaluable for keeping relationships intact.

Turtle Beach’s new Ear Force PX5 headset does all this and more. A lot more. While cosmetically, this latest Dolby 7.1-blessed iteration resembles the company’s previous offering, the X41, once you fire it up you’ll quickly discover all manner of shiny new bells and whistles. And the buttons… so many buttons.

The left and right ear cups alone are like love poems to a NASA mission control panel, with a large power button, an audio preset button, a volume control dial, an Xbox 360 voice chat plug, and a USB port for PC configuration of the former. You’ll also get a Bluetooth volume control rocker, a mic mute button, a pairing button, and a mysterious button labeled “Main” on the right side — after some trial and error, I discovered this reverts you back to your primary audio preset. There are eight of those audio presets by the way (well, 13 counting Visceral Games new additions), and you have the ability to add even more based on your sonic predilections.

So yes, it actually takes some practice (and patience) learning each button’s location and function. This is made slightly easier because the PX5 also happens to be quite chatty. The headset talks to you, informing you of key events like powering on, when you enter Bluetooth mode, and what audio preset selection you’ve made. You also get a warning for when your batteries are about to go belly up, which unfortunately is frequently.

Inside, the PX5 is armed with dual Bluetooth radios, 2.4-GHz wireless functionality, and a transmitter capable of processing Dolby Digital 7.1 audio streams.

As you might imagine, it’s those dual Bluetooth radios that offer the most unique addition to the PX5 feature arsenal: The ability to connect to both your console and your cell phone simultaneously. That means adding your own personal soundtrack from your smartphone while Noob-tubing is a snap (I preferred “In the Hall of the Mountain King”). It also means you can take phone calls while solving murders in L.A. Noire. How’s that for multitasking?

If you’re feeling ambitious and/or nit-picky, you can even plug the headset into your PC and set up additional audio presets for use in specific games, as well as adjust mic levels for yourself or anyone else sharing the PX5.

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