Summary
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 Gaming Headset
The third generation of the popular Stealth 600 headset from Turtle Beach is great for multipurpose use, supporting a range of major consoles, PC, and mobile devices via Bluetooth.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 headset is pretty solid, especially for the low asking price of $99. While its predecessors left a lot to be desired, the newest generation of Stealth 600 headphones have more features and better quality. That said, it still is a budget headset, and it shows.
Setup is easy and fuss-free. The packaging is cheap, which is to be expected from a headset at this price, but recyclable, which I appreciate. Inside is the headset, a USB wireless transmitter, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a handy quick start guide. And boy, is the startquick. All I had to do was plug the dongle into my PC, and I was ready to go.
Usage
Let’s get into user experience first. This is a wireless only headset, which works just fine for me, though I’m sure there are people out there who would have preferred if a wired option was available. I personally attempt to minimise the number of cables I have tethering me to my devices, though. The buttons on the headset are all grouped together on the left ear, which does leave you pushing random buttons as you get used to it – the QuickSwitch button, which allows you to switch between wireless and Bluetooth devices quickly, is particularly small. However, the power button does stick out a little for easier identification. All in all, it’s a relatively small hurdle to overcome, but still an annoying one.
Since the headset also has Bluetooth functionality, you can connect it to your Steam Deck, Switch, and phone.
There’s lots of on-ear control on this headset, which makes it very convenient for gaming. you’re able to control chat mix, volume, and connection switching with the turn of a dial or push of a button, and the mode button can be customised to trigger specific features as well. That said, the volume and chat mix controls stick out a little and don’t have a ton of resistance, and it’s easy to accidentally swipe them if you lean your head back on a couch or are adjusting the other.
Swapping between devices with the dongle is easy, as it’s pretty much plug-and-play. I received the PlayStation version for review, so I can’t attest to if the Xbox version is as easy to switch around. I will say that it’s a little annoying that the Xbox version can connect to PlayStation but not vice versa, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for you to pick the PlayStation version over the Xbox one as they’re the same price.
A huge selling point for this headset is that it has an 80-hour battery life. I haven’t had to charge it yet, and I’ve been using it for a couple of days.
Audio And Microphone Quality
Functionally, it’s… fine. Nothing to shout home about, but again, at this price point, that’s to be expected. Music sounds a little flat on the Stealth 600s, especially at higher volumes, and the bass sounds crunchier than I’d like. I much prefer my significantly pricier Sony WH-1000XM5s, but if you’re not an audiophile, they’ll suffice. You’ll more likely use these for gaming though, and they’re perfectly serviceable on that front, offering clear and punchy audio.
It’s worth noting that these headphones aren’t fully noise cancelling, either.
You can tweak the headset’s EQ settings with Turtle Beach’s Swarm 2 software. There aren’t very many dedicated EQ settings, with just four options to pick from (there’s the standard sound, Bass Boost, Treble and Bass Boost, and Vocal Boost), but you can customise the ten band EQ if you want. Swarm 2 is also available as a mobile app, which is handy if you prefer to play on console.
The directionality is pretty good, which is useful if you play a lot of FPS games. Also potentially useful is Superhuman Hearing, a setting that is meant to improve performance when playing FPS titles by boosting the volume of footsteps and gunshots. I don’t really play FPS titles, so I can’t comment on if it made me better or not, as I was bad either way. I will say that the mode sounded quite tinny and echoey, so you should only use it in specific situations, if at all.
The microphone is also fine, but a little fuzzy. Having sidetone feedback so you can hear yourself speaking is a nice touch. I quite like that the microphone stays entirely out of your way when you’re not using it. A nice quality of life feature is that the mic is muted when you flip it up, and flipping it down triggers a tone to let you know that it’s activated. The AI-assisted microphone noise cancelling works fairly well, and the sounds of my very clicky keyboard were pretty hard to hear when I tested it.
Unfortunately, the mic is a hard arm on a fairly narrow hinge, so you may’t reposition it very much. All in all, considering the fuzziness of the recording quality, it’s fine for voice chat, but I wouldn’t recommend it for recording or streaming.
Comfort And Portability
The headset itself is built pretty sturdily, with no creaking and plenty of flexibility because of its hard plastic components. It is fairly big, though, and perceptibly heavier than some other headsets I own. It’s not very portable because of its bulkiness, and there’s no carrying case included with the headset, but the earcups do swivel flat so they can rest against your body comfortably or be packed if you need to bring them somewhere. I wouldn’t really recommend them for wearing around the house or outside, though, as they aren’t very secure and slip quite a lot if you’re moving your head around. They’re best suited for gaming while sitting still.
My biggest issue with the Stealth 600 Gen 3 headset is that it’s not very comfortable. It has memory foam ear cushions covered with a soft athletic weave fabric, which means I never feel sweaty while using them, but I don’t like to wear them while I work because they have quite a lot of clamping force. While this helps with natural noise cancellation, the pressure does make my head start to hurt after a couple of hours, and it’s not like I have a particularly big head.
There’s also pleather cushioning under the headband, which is fine but not super comfortable either. My SteelSeries Arctis is more comfortable as it has an elastic suspension to hold the band over my head, and I wish the Stealth 600s had something like this to relieve some of the pressure. On the bright side, it’s not any more uncomfortable to use if you wear glasses.
All in all, for the price you’re paying, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 Headset is a good choice, especially if you’re on a tight budget, but there are definitely more comfortable alternatives if you’re willing to spend a little bit more. If you just need an affordable headset for gaming that won’t run out of battery mid-match, this is a solid option.
