By my count, we are approaching close to 100 headsets evaluated on this site in our 13 years of existence. Needless to say we've seen all makes, models, and varieties - from wired stereo headsets to fully wireless surround sound monsters. I'm at the point now where I know exactly what features I want to hear in a pair of cans for my ears. And let me tell you - the perfect headset still doesn't seem to exist.
In my latest search I stumbled across the recent release from Turtle Beach designed for next-gen consoles and PC. The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 are a fully wireless headset with premium features in mind.
Spec wise you have 50mm drivers with a response of 20Hz to 22kHz. There's a flip up mic with omni-directional pickup pattern, and the ear cup cushioning is made from soft synthetic leather with a memory foam base layer. The headband is reinforced with metal despite a mostly all plastic design elsewhere. Finally you should get a solid 20 hours of time with the Stealth 700's before needing to be charged via USB-C. In my testing I actually got 18.
In terms of comfort, these fit my head incredibly well. I absolutely love the memory foam style ear cups, they provide that perfect balance of stiff and soft and help isolate sound really well. Despite the plastic design, these feel heavy duty and a few light drops from my desk so far have seemed to do no damage. The flip up mic snaps in really well and lies flat with the rest of the design.
Audio quality is standout for gaming. The out of the box presets are clearly tuned to a more bass heavy equalizer really giving impact to things like explosions in games. Cannon fire in Sea of Thieves absolutely boomed. Machine guns shook my head in Destiny 2. I'd call the out of the box sound mix "alive." Bass and high frequencies are sharp, and the middle tends to get a little muddy. All that said if you like more electronic heavy music the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2's are a decent choice.
I've tested both the Xbox and PlayStation version of the headset and there's some subtle differences. Obviously how they work with their respective platform changes - the Xbox has native integration with game and chat balance options. On the PlayStation there's no option to adjust this and you need to plug in a USB receiver to get the headset to work. If you're running a PS5 you'll get Sony's 3D Positional audio support, but both Xbox One and Series owners have Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos support.
Speaking of Windows, my primary use for the Stealth Gen 2 is on PC and it's here I actually prefer the PlayStation version. Because the Xbox set lacks the adapter you need a Wireless Controller Adapter to use - which is weird because your audio device then shows as a controller. The PlayStation version shows up as a normal audio device.
One other quirky thing about the headset - and this is sort of a blessing for PC users - there's no software required on your PC. Instead...it goes on your phone and is controlled via bluetooth. There's only a few options here, but it gets the job done and lets you toggle presets and check battery level.
So if I had to sum up my experience with the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen2's - it's quality comfort. I just like the way the fit and feel and they sound really great for gaming. I love that they don't require bloat software. So what's missing? What is keeping these from perfect? The two things I'd like on PC are the game and chat balance capabilities the are only available on Xbox and slightly better wireless range - I couldn't hold a connection if I left the room, if only for a minute or two.
At $150 I'm going to recommend the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 to any next-gen console owner. I still think there's a good value here for PC owners, but maybe just short a full on recommend.