Review: Turtle Beach Stealth Pro

American company Turtle Beach has been making gaming equipment since the 1990s. In recent years, mainly in the form of headsets.

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is the company’s top model, which is available in two versions, for PlayStation and Xbox respectively. However, the PlayStation version can also be used for PC, among other things.

When you take the headset out of the box, which is twice the size of most others, you immediately realise that this is a more luxurious product. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is heavier and feels much more solid. The headband and earcup mounts are steel and unwaveringly solid. The memory foam ear cushions are thick and soft. And the design is understated and classy in a retro-70s kind of way.

Behind a magnetic cover on the left ear cup is a rechargeable battery that provides up to 12 hours of playtime. That’s a pretty short battery life, but two batteries are included so you can switch in seconds and be ready for another half a day of gaming. The batteries are charged in a wireless adapter that is the size of a hockey puck. A slider button on the adapter switches between PC and PlayStation. There’s also a USB charging port to charge your device.

The right earcup contains a rotary wheel and button. By default, the wheel is used as a volume control, but can be set to other functions in the control software. Incidentally, this is the only point where the feeling of luxury is lacking. A real dial or even – gasp! – a finger touch panel would have provided more precise control.

Noise cancellation

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro has built-in ANC (automatic noise cancellation). Something that we now find in even the humblest earbud, but it’s still a rarity in gaming. The ANC isn’t the most effective I’ve heard, but it works well, and together with the well-cushioned ear pads, you can enjoy the game in peace, even if you’re sitting amongst others. Or for listening to audiobooks and commuter music on the way to work, if you use the Stealth Pro as wireless Bluetooth headphones. They do this brilliantly – and that softens the impact of the price.

The control software is called Turtle Beach Audio Hub 2, and after some mandatory updates (why doesn’t the download link on manufacturer websites simply point to the latest version?) it proves to be both comprehensive and packed with useful features. In addition to three very comprehensive equalisers for game audio, microphone audio and Bluetooth audio, there are features for enhancing chat voices, adjusting microphone audio sidebands and highlighting in-game details. All of which are useful features that can help decide the game.

Sweet sound for tired ears

And then there’s the sound. All the headsets in the test fulfil the task of getting good sound for gaming. But the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro makes it a sonic delight for a pair of battle-hardened hi-fi ears. The bass is deep and powerful when the explosions go off, the mid-range is clean, which is especially important when you need to keep up with team talk. And the treble is crisp and airy all the way up. Something that’s not a necessity, but it just makes it more fun. And why deny yourself the pleasure?

None of the headsets I tested with the Stealth Pro can match the sound quality, but a more fair comparison is the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro, which costs the same as the Stealth Pro and has even better sound – and ANC too.

Conclusion

Price-wise, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is above most others. This raises expectations all the more. Fortunately, they are met. The headset feels like the luxury product it should be. The sound quality is in a completely different place to the competition and the control software is very successful. If you’re prepared to pay a premium for your headset, Turtle Beach is worth considering.