After all the issues surrounding the the Xbox One and its launch the last thing we needed was to find out that our headsets were not going to work on launch. That is exactly what happened, however, when Microsoft announced that both new headsets and adapters will not be available until early 2014.
If you are like me and use a headset for game audio as well as chat, we were screwed with the change over to the optical audio port. I use a Turtle Beach headset currently because I play late at night and I can¢t risk waking my wife and kids. And lets be honest, if I wake my wife playing Battlefield 4, they are not going to need to make Battlefield 5.
I¢ve spoken to reps from Turtle Beach, Tritton, Madcatz, and Astro. Each rep stated that the delay is due to Microsoft not licensing products on time for launch, thus delaying the headsets. A three month wait is hard not just for married people, but anyone that shares a domicile. I have, however, figured out a work around. Here you go.
My Turtle Beach set currently uses the USB on my 360. I use the red/white audio cables provided which plug into the cables from the 360 then into my TV. This gives me the game audio. The 2.5 mm jack then goes into the controller for chat audio. The Xbox One has a USB port, duh, as well as the red/white cables. I confirmed with Microsoft that the headset will connect to the Xbox One in the same way. You won¢t, however, be able to use chat audio in this manner. Since the new Xbox One controller uses the optical audio port, we won¢t be able to plug into it using the current headsets. To change this, what you do is change the settings in the audio menu. Just as you do with the 360, this allows you to hear chat audio through your TV. It¢s the same as hearing a party chat through your tv set and not your headset. If you weren¢t aware you could do this, you probably heard it before and never realized it. After all, haven¢t you played online and heard someone¢s game blasting through your headset instead of just their voice? This is what that is. Since your headset will be connected to the TV, you will be able to hear the chat through there. This allows you to not have it plugged into your controller and the new optical audio port.
Again, I confirmed with Microsoft hardware support via phone that these settings will still be in the Xbox One and therefore this will work. The red/white audio cables obviously have to come with the system (or we¢ll have no sound) and the setting for audio through your Television will be included as well. Also, even if Microsoft decides to remove this setting prior to launch (highly unlikely), we can still use this feature. The headset will be connected in the same manner for game audio. As far as chat audio goes, we would have to use the included headset as well. Yes, this does mean having two headsets at once but it¢s manageable. Another option is connecting the headset to the output game hookup and utilizing chat through the Kinect mic.
The only issue at hand is the convenience factor. If you plan on keeping the 360 with the Xbox One for games like GTA, Batman, Defiance, etc, it may be a little pain to switch the audio cables back and forth between systems. On the other hand I think this is worth not waiting three months or, as I said, having Battlefield 5 created in your living room.
Hope this helps some people out.