I work for Turtle Beach which of course makes my comments biased but the X3 has some great features that you may not know about.

Dynamic Talkback Level Control - automatically adjusts Xbox® Live chat levels during loud moments, so chat from teammates isn't lost in the exciting parts of your game.

Microphone Monitoring - Just like a telephone, the X3 mixes a portion of the microphone signal into the headphone signal, so you can hear some of your voice along with the online chatting and game audio.

Automatic Power Shut-off - When you're done playing, just put them down and they'll automatically shut off after a few minutes of silence. I hope that this information helps with you decision.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx3/home.aspx

I would have to say that the PS3 is relatively quiet especially when compared to the 360. It does have some fan noise but not much that you would notice if your not sitting right on top of it. I really have not noticed whether or not the PS2 games are any louder. Perhaps theDVD based discs spin faster than the Blue ray.

King Kong for the 360. It was cheap but still not worth the price of admission. Thankfully I bought it used and could exchange it for another. I find that that I try to buy my games used just for this option.

I have finished both and I think that you cannot go wrong with either game. They are both good FPSs especially for the price. They are different, squad based and standard FPS. I would use the type of game you like to play be your judge. I think that in the end you should play both.

I took a look at the first link in your post and it does not look like it has any kind of a digital input. This is typical of systems that include a built in DVD player. This system would be over-kill for you anyway since you can use your 360 to play DVD or perhaps have one already. You do need to make sure that surround receiver that you get has an optical input, there is also a coax digital input that is used for home theater gear that will not work with the 360. You mentioned that all your speakers are bass. Are they subwoofers?

I hope the info helps.

I have heard that the Elite is a sku that will continue to be offered and that it will be the only way to get the HDMI option. I have also heard that there is a new 360 cooling design found in Europe but it does not seem to have the HDMI option either. I think that if you did not get an Elite you will have to wait for the next Elite production run.