When I heard the tagline for Turtle Beach’s new flagship headset, I admit I rolled my eyes. In modern times many gaming accessories claim lofty titles for their supposed performance, comfort, and versatility. However, in the case of the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro headphones, the title of King is well deserved.
What’s In The Box
When opening the Stealth Pro, you are instantly faced with the headset itself, along with the detachable boom mic. Underneath are containers for a travel bag, instruction manuals, short and long USB to USB-C cords, a transmitter, and a second battery. The box itself looks good and feels like a secure way to package this pricey headset. As with many accessories, there are also some manufacturer stickers with the Turtle Beach logo.
When actually setting up the headset, the directions are simple and easy to follow. I had no issues installing the Turtle Beach software and updating the headset, and I was all set up fairly quickly. The transmitter, which also acts as a battery charger for the hot-swappable battery packs, was simple to understand and features various colors to show the status of the headset/microphone. After swapping battery packs that allow up to 14 hours of wireless life, the transmitter can charge an empty battery up to 3 hours of use in 15 minutes. That quick swap has felt very seamless, and after unplugging the battery the headset will only be off for a few seconds once the new battery is put in. the Stealth Pro is very comfortable and doesn’t end up hurting your head and ears after a marathon gaming session.
Aesthetics and Build Quality
The headset itself is surprisingly simple, with a grey metal frame and comfortable black padding. “Turtle Beach” is printed on the left earphone, on top of the removable cover for the battery, and slot for the microphone. On the other earphone, there are 3 buttons, comprising power, Bluetooth, and multifunctional buttons. The circular side can spin like a disk to adjust customizable settings, such as volume, mic monitor volume, or Bluetooth volume depending on the user’s preferences.
Using the headset was also simple to understand after reading the directions and looking around the app. To swap between uses, just push the button on the right side of the headset and hold for a few seconds, with a voice prompt that the secondary mode is on. These buttons are easy to differentiate due to their feel and position, and I definitely liked the solidity of each of the buttons. The whole headset feels great, built to last, and each part feels like it is a perfect piece of the whole item. The customization is great, as you are able to choose which secondary function there is as well as customize many of the levels and button pushes on the headset.
Specs and Audio Quality
With Active Noise Cancelling and equalizers to change the various sound levels, the Stealth Pro sounds amazing. Utilizing Turtle Beach’s “Superhuman Hearing” mode, low-decibel sounds in the game are amplified, meaning you can quickly hear an opponent’s footsteps or distant noises. However, these features are not required, as without them everything still sounds great with the 50mm speakers. From phone calls to music, a video game to movie audio, I was impressed at the great sound and multi-layer quality. Within the Turtle Beach application, there are also equalizers to adjust the bass, treble, and vocal boosts. Users can create their own preferred presets and also mix their mic settings, which can be very useful for gamers that play while chatting with their friends or other players. As someone who works from home, being able to hear my music while taking a call was pretty incredible, especially when we consider it was dual-channel audio using the transmitter and Bluetooth.
Dual-channel audio is when the speaker or headphones can utilize multiple sources of audio and present them without having to disconnect and swap sources. While the transmitter is the primary source, you can also connect the Stealth Pro via Bluetooth to another source such as a phone, and hear the audio from both simultaneously. The smoothness of this was pretty amazing, and that dual connectivity has already changed my gaming and work experience. Being able to use my phone for calls or music while still listening to the sounds of my game or a meeting has been massive, and I already can’t see myself going back. Through it all, the sound is crisp and vibrant, with many customizable levels for users to dive into check out. Mic monitoring is also an option, and you can change the level of that as well as change the level of Active Noise canceling to the point it is basically pass-through, being able to hear everything around you through active feedback. While these were weird to start, they quickly became very useful parts of my audio experience. The built in microphone can be a bit gainy, but both the built-in and removable mic include Turtle Beach’s S.M.A.R.T technology to reduce background noise, as I managed to confirm sound quality through various intense scientific methods (I asked my friends how I sounded and recorded myself). While not as high quality as a more sophisticated standalone mic, it was much higher quality and clarity compared to other top-tier gaming headsets.
What It could have Done Better
I will admit, the only issue I can conceivably have with this masterfully crafted headset is the price. However, for the quality and features it is worth it. This is a luxurious headset and is one of the best I have ever used, and I remain shocked at just how useful and well-made it is. While many of those features are unnecessary for the overall function of a headset and I doubt even the Super Human Hearing will give you a true advantage, the Stealth Pro is so customizable and of such high quality I was really wowed.
When I first received the review headset, there was an issue with the boom mic. It couldn’t pick up any input and would make buzzing noises when moved. It was very good to see the responsiveness of support, and the Turtle Beach team quickly got me a Stealth Pro that had none of the problems from the first one. Definitely reassuring that the problem was simply a one-off and that they were quick to replace a defective item.
Verdict
This is a fantastic piece of tech and if you have the money to pick it up I wholly recommend it. Be aware that there are two versions, a PS5 and an XBOX type. I assume this is due to copyrighting, but be sure to get the one that fits your preferred system. Both can be used for PC, Switch, Bluetooth, and USB connections.
With an MSRP of $330, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is an expensive gaming peripheral. Most gamers would be well suited to pick up something cheaper, and there are many headsets with similar sound quality. However, the Stealth Pro is more than just a headset. It is truly the next level of audio connectivity and for the overall quality, features, customization, and general usefulness this is a must-have for those who can afford to splurge on it. While the crown may be costly, this headset truly lives up to the title of King.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is out now through Turtle Beach and wherever technology is sold. Check out the creator “Prophecy” trailer below and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
