Microsoft has been the first to release a stereo headset for the new Xbox One at a price of $79.99. Turtle Beach ($119 - $189) and Polk ($149) will also be releasing their headsets at the beginning of March. Somehow I managed to get my Xbox One Stereo Headset delivered to me, directly from Microsoft, week before it's even released by Amazon or Future Shop/Best Buy. I'm not complaining, but I was very surprised!

As with all the Xbox One accessories the packaging is beautiful with the box folding open to present the new item. The packaging is also mostly all recyclable cardboard which is also nice for those of us with the amount of trash we can put out can be limited.

The first thing I noticed was the placement of the microphone. I'm no longer a big user of the microphone when I'm playing online and with other headsets I was always pushing up the the microphone arm up out of the way where it would stick out. With the Xbox Stereo Headset it took me second to even find the microphone because it was so tightly integrated into the head band of the unit (see picture below).

When it's pulled down it's it a nice thin, unobtrusive mic but some might complain that since it's a fixed arm that they can't move the mic closer, or further, from their mouth. For me it's the perfect design and it looks a whole lot less geeky when sitting in your living room.

The headset connects, via wire, to the included adapter that connects to the bottom of the Xbox One Controller. It's very convenient to have a wireless headset that needs nothing added to any of the ports on the Xbox itself (like had to be done with the 360).

A big factor in any headset is comfort. People can be wearing these for hours at a time so if it's not comfortable you're not going to use it. The cushion around the ears are a cloth material with thick foam padding and I found it immediately comfortable, more comfortable than headsets with a vinyl cushion. The inside is coloured the Xbox green, which I actually kind of like - it gives it a consistancy. I always have some comfort issue with headsets because I wear glasses and the headsets don't fit over the arms of the frame. It seems that because these are a softer, thicker cushion they fit much better over my glasses. I'm also finding that because the cushion is cloth I'm not getting "sweaty ear" like with other headsets. The one thing that remains to be seen over the long term is how clean the cloth will stay versus a vinyl.

Of course the most important thing about a headset is the sound quality. When I first hooked these up, and followed the instructions to update the controller, I was extremely disappointed. At times the sound was clear but for the most part there was a lot of static and popping. When it was clear the sound was okay, but weak. I was even checking to see if there was a loose connection somewhere, electronic interference from some other device. Nothing. I'd started to contemplate sending it back. The next morning I fired up the Xbox and was prompted to update the controller. This seemed to be a different, and longer, controller upgrade than the previous day. What a difference! First off the the signal was 100% clear and when I played Forza 5 it was too loud and the bass was very full. Racing around on Forza I could not only feed every bump when I rode across a rumble strip but I could hear the tires bump-bump-bumping across the strip clearly on the left or right. It is now a pleasure to use these headphones. As a bonus, if you have your Cable or Satellite box porting through your Xbox you can also just use these to watch TV without disturbing your family or roommates.

Initially I pre-ordered the Polk headset, but for almost half the price I am very happy with these and have cancelled my Polk order.

Update: I've played Call of Duty: Ghosts and Tomb Raider and the sound was great. In Tomb Raider was a huge improvement over normal TV, or surround, speakers. I was able to hear voices better and especially ambient sounds like dripping water echoing in a cave.