| Manufacturer: MadCatz MSRP: $4.99 Xbox.com Section: No Officially Licensed: No |
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| Though it's sold as a replacement for your lost or broken Xbox Live headset, it's so comfortable that you may find yourself using it exclusively. More like a traditional headset, and the stuff you'll see most game characters wearing, this all-in-one earpiece and mic set fit comfortably around whichever ear you prefer. Its light weight never seems to put too much pressure on your ear, consequently not causing the ache that the official headset generally will after long periods of play. |  |
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 As you can see, the headcom just goes around one ear. |
The biggest draw of the MadCatz Headcom, other than the comfort, is its price. At an MSRP of $4.99, this makes for a great addition to the already excellent two-headset-splitter hack. Using a common Y-adapter(splitter) you *and* a buddy can both listen in and talk on Xbox Live without having to purchase an additional Xbox Live kit. | |
 Look at this crap on my head, and I'm not talking about my hair! |
After
acquiring an adapter(I recommend the Radio
Shack Gold-plated Y-adapter), and putting forth a little bit of
work with a blade, you can use both your MadCatz Headcom and your
original Xbox Live headset to allow a buddy to join you in the always
interesting world of XLive conversations. Though this will work on
any Live game, it is most useful with games that allow a guest. The
only real issue you'll tend to have would be trying explain why people
hear two voices coming out of your side of the connection... Much thanks go out to Kevin Sullivan in AGVX for the link to the adapter as well as pointing out that it could be used in such a manner. |
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The
two-headset-splitter hack Getting the splitter to work consistently can be a bit tricky at first. Sometimes it'll work, sometimes it breaks up voices, sometimes you can't hear anything. This is due to the fact that the rubber casing of the adapter doesn't allow it to go as far into the Xlive module as it should. A bit of shaving can clear this little problem up. Take a sharp blade and carefully begin cutting away towards the top of the adapter. Don't worry about cutting anything vital, under the rubber is another, harder plastic shell. From what I hear, this is different for everyone, and I had to shave *quite* a bit off mine to get that bastard to consistently work. Ever since then, though, I haven't had any issues with it. |
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Headcom
pics were borrowed from Best Buy.com
where the peripheral can be purchased for $4.99.
The gold plated Y-adapter pic was borrowed from RadioShack.com
where it can be purchased for $5.99.