i have old ear force x2's from 10 years ago... not fancy by any means what so ever.
still, my wife works a shift that starts at 3am, i play up until she leaves, i dont want to be forced to play with a silenced tv and the xbox headset... but you are right, it IS a solution
i do hope to purchase a new set eventually... but the option to turn down game volume seems so old school it should be included by default wouldn't ya think? sometimes i like to play music through my xbox, i dont want to hear grenades and guns at the same volume as the music... so its beyond me just not being able to hear friends