Hardware Review: Tritton Warhead 7.1

If you’re a regular reader of GamingOgre, you’ll know that I’ve reviewed a ton of headsets. In fact, there’s a review for another headset just a few posts before this one. This isn’t the first Tritton headset I’ve reviewed either, as I reviewed the Kunai a while back, but while the Kunai is focused on mobile and portable gaming, the Warhead 7.1 is strictly for the Xbox 360. I don’t normally start a review with this much praise, but the Warhead 7.1 is the best Xbox 360 headset I’ve used to date.

From the moment you open the Warhead, the packaging lets you know just how serious this headset is. It’s packaged in an extremely sturdy, thick-walled box that encloses the headset in a protective nest of love, ensuring your Warhead 7.1 will be pristine, regardless of whether or not it may have seen some turbulence in getting to you. Rest assured, this is one headset you can definitely feel comfortable ordering online because it’ll arrive in excellent condition based on the packaging alone. Once you break the Warhead free from its shell, you’ll find an extremely easy to set up wireless headset unit inside. I had mine up and running in about 3 minutes without even looking at the instructions.

While hardware setup was easy, I did struggle a bit at first to get it working with my Xbox, but a quick glance at the included reference sheet corrected my problem and I was ready to go. My Warhead arrived a few weeks after the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, so of course I used it for most of my initial testing. Holy crap, guys. This thing sounds incredible. Footsteps from all sides? No problem, I knew exactly where they were coming from. Explosions? Pounding in my ears like a double bass drum sitting inside my brain. Loving it? It’s like the Warhead 7.1 was the headset Microsoft really wanted to make but didn’t want to spend the money to do R&D on. There’s no doubt that Warhead 7.1 was made for your Xbox, and there’s no doubt that your Xbox has adopted it like a long-lost child.

Since the Warhead 7.1 is an officially licensed product, its got seamless integration with the Xbox 360. What does that mean for you? How about on-screen notifications for things like low batteries? That’s not good enough for you? How about Tritton’s Warhead 7.1 being called a wireless headset that’s completely wireless for you, the gamer? No annoying cable to connect the headset to your controller means you’ll be rockin’ this thing like you were far too good to just sit on your couch and pwn noobs. You’ll be strutting around your living room and yelling violent and horrible ways to defile someone’s relatives all the way into the kitchen to get some more Mountain Dew and Doritos. Awwww yeah.

Even better than being truly wireless? Tritton realizes that you’re a hardcore gamer and you’ll be putting more than two or three hours per session into your games, so they’ve done you a solid and included a spare battery so that when you kill your headset, you just hot swap the fully charged replacement and keep on playing. Where’s that replacement battery charging at, you ask? Why that’s simple, little Billy, it’s charging right there in the base of your headset’s receiver unit. Just pop open the Tritton logo door and snag it. How cool is that?

While I do think it’s an incredible Xbox 360 headset, and certainly the best one I’ve ever used, there are a few caveats that hold me back from saying “Holy crap! Buy this headset right now because you need it in your life!”. The headset cradle is kind of awkward to put your headphones into. They have these slightly forked earcup holders that you’re supposed to slide the headset down into, and more often than not I can’t seem to quite line it up completely without a few attempts. Once it’s put on the stand correctly, it’s stable and you won’t worry about the headset falling off the base, but it’s considerably more difficult to dock than it should be.

Another thing is the build quality – while it certainly feels good on your head and looks futuristic and awesome, it feels like the plastic is kind of cheap and if it were to get knocked off your head or you were to toss it off out of rage, it might break into several pieces. Obviously, I don’t condone throwing your electronics for any reason, but a $300 headset should feel a little more sturdy. Finally, as always, the price is just a little higher than I’d want it to be. I mean, you can actually buy an Xbox for less than the price of this headset. No matter how nice the headset is, only dedicated gamers are going to buy a headset that costs as much (if not more than) the console itself. It’d be even easier to recommend at a $200 or lower price point.

Still, despite my few complaints, this headset is absolutely the headset to own if you’re a hardcore Xbox 360 gamer. Other headsets on the market will work with your PC or PS3, but none of come close to being as deeply integrated to your Xbox as the Warhead 7.1. Mad Catz proves once again why their Tritton brand stands head and shoulders above the 3rd party console peripheral manufacturers.

The Tritton Warhead 7.1 is available for use with the Xbox 360 at most retailers, as well as online for a suggested MSRP of $299. The Tritton Warhead 7.1 was provided for review by Mad Catz.