It’s common for PC gamers to pull a tongue-in-cheek joke about how console gamers should convert to the dark side and join the PC Gaming Master Race, but the underlying reality is that most PC gamers themselves started on a console.
I sure did, all the way back on the Nintendo N64 as I am sure most of you did too. After that, I made the jump to the original Xbox and upgraded later to the Xbox 360. Hours upon hours of games were played on the Xbox, with one of my favorite games being Battlefield Bad Company 2.
When Microsoft released the Xbox One, I jumped on board and bought that unit as well. While there have been a few revisions since the original Xbox One release, it is still sufficient for me today. GTA V plays nicely and doesn’t warrant an upgrade to the Xbox One X.
Microsoft has always done so well with their Xbox. It was a multimedia living room box before it was even popular and it is extremely well known for its faultless gaming controller. What it does lack is a way to communicate properly.
With the launch of the Xbox 360 came Xbox Live which is Microsoft’s online community gaming platform, a platform that has become larger than any other with its 48 million active players.
That’s a lot of people and a lot of Xboxes online playing games. So, why then does Microsoft include a mono and flimsy microphone with their Xbox consoles? Even Sony includes a large, useable headset that makes sense.
As great as their controllers are, the included Microsoft Xbox branded microphone with your Xbox just won’t cut it for even a lightweight gamer. We console players need something extravagant like the PC gamers have.
Due to Microsoft’s inadequate microphone, it’s made way for brands like Turtle Beach to become well known. Since Xbox Live, Turtle Beach has always been a brand associated with Xbox mainly for their low-costing headphones and with plenty of styles to chose from.
In their latest lineup, Turtle Beach recently released their Stealth series headphones. These headphones focus on making sure you hear every detail; even those little noises like the footsteps of a roamer in Rainbow Six Siege or the distant rumble of a tank in Battlefield.
Supporting active noise cancellation, the Stealth 700s are designed to block out sounds around you for a focused and competitive play on your console. Today, it is time to find out how professional and stealthy the Stealth 700 headphones truly are.
Welcome to my review of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 headphones for Xbox One and Windows 10.
Design
I am well accustomed to Turtle Beach headphones. They were a brand that believed in my reviewing abilities when I first began writing reviews. They believed in their product and believed in my writing style even though I had little background in reviewing.
Going all the way back to 2014, I have reviewed several Turtle Beach headphones, all of which have been a joy to use. It’s safe to say that the joy of using a Turtle Beach headset isn’t going to end today.
The Stealth 700 headphones are meant for a more premium console gamer; focused on somebody who is playing quiet games where listening to sounds around them is vital. In the game Rainbow Six Siege, listening for enemies who may be around the corner or rappelling down a wall, or for distant gunfire can either win or lose you the game.
To help you hear every detail, the earcups on the Stealth 700 are padded with a cushion foam material which even has cutouts for the arms on eyeglasses. The oval-shaped over-ear cups are surrounded by a synthetic leather that is stretchy and breaths fairly well.
Covering the plastic speaker grill is a light, non-irritating felt covering that is even branded with a green Turtle Beach logo.
As with every Turtle Beach Xbox headset, the Stealth 700s take account of the green Xbox and Turtle Beach color schemes. The vibrant green branding around the headset helps break up what is otherwise a black headset.
Starting with the left earcup, you will first notice a freely-moving, rotatable microphone. The microphone is made from a hard plastic and cannot be adjusted for length or distance away from your mouth. It is in a fixed position, and only its rotational position can be adjusted. Interestingly, the arm is covered in a rubber bumper. My assumption is this is possibly meant to prevent vibrations.
There are three notched positions for the microphone, two of which are in a vertical position at each end of the scale. When the microphone is placed in either vertical position, a subtle audio cue will be played to indicate an automatic mute of the microphone.
Still on the left earcup, below the microphone are three rubber buttons that turn on and off the headset, activate Bluetooth, and enable Superhuman Hearing which will be discussed later on.
As for some I/O, there is a green pairing and status indicator, a micro USB charging port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an Xbox pairing button, a microphone sound adjustment wheel, and a volume wheel.
Like a radio talk show host, this headset allows you to hear yourself in your own headset. Hearing yourself in a closed-back headset will prevent you from yelling into your own microphone and blowing out the eardrums of your friends and teammates.
The right earcup contains a whole lot of nothing in terms of I/O, but both earcups have a small hole for the internal microphones that will listen to sounds around you and cancel out those noises. More on this later.
Both earcups rotate inwards towards your chest when the headset is resting around your neck.
Height adjustment on the Stealth 700 headphones goes from very small to really large. I assure you, you will find a size that fits your head. Unfortunately, the head size adjustment mechanism feels a little cheap, and it can be difficult to get that perfect adjustment notch.
There is an elephant in the room with the Stealth 700 headphones, and it must be addressed. For the price point of these headphones, it’s a little disappointing at how cheap they can feel in the hand. Made of all plastic, the headphones look nice on the table but aren’t as premium feeling when you pick them up.
They can be flimsy, make plastic on plastic noises when shook, and feel more focused towards a child gamer than a teenage gamer.
Being all plastic will make them extremely durable, and they will stand up to normal wear and tear but I would have asked for a sturdier and more premium feel at this price point.
Not so disappointing is the headband. It’s covered in the same foam and synthetic leather found on the earcups. The padding is enough to prevent headache after long periods of use and doesn’t cinch down onto your head.
The top of the headband is branded in the Turtle Beach name with a rubber insert. Even when deliberately stretching the headband, it showed no signs of stress or potential snapping.
Functionality
When you first power on the Turtle Beach Stealth 700s a man’s voice speaks to you and says “Power On” in a way that reminds me of EA Sport’s “It’s in the game” sound.
Using a big sticker, Turtle Beach prompts you to download the latest firmware updates for the Stealth 700s using a Windows computer. After doing so, you can charge the internal battery to power up the headset for its rated 10-hours of gameplay.
If you are a gamer who plays on both Xbox and Windows, the Stealth 700s work on both. When paired with the Xbox One, you use Microsoft’s normal Xbox controller pairing function. When it comes time to play on the PC, you’ll need to use the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows and then follow the same pairing process that is done with the Xbox.
Alternatively, you can choose to use the 3.5mm headphone jack for instant connectivity as for a VR headset or the built-in Bluetooth pairing for phones and tablets.
One of my favorite features on the Stealth 700s is that they are completely wireless without the need for a base station or Microsoft’s headphone adapter for controllers. They added the pairing method that goes along with the Microsoft controllers, and it just works.
Impressively, Turtle Beach was able to fit 50mm speakers into the Stealth 700 headset. With adjustable volume, I was able to get the Stealth 700s speakers quite loud, loud enough to hear only what was going on in the game and drown out what was around me.
To block out the sounds around me even further, the Stealth 700 features active noise cancellation. By listening to the sounds around you, the headset can play back a cancellation sound to you, and it voids the sounds entirely.
In practice, it works fairly well. Even with a friend gaming right next to me, the only way I could hear him was for me to cock one of the earcups to the left of my ear or have him talk loudly enough for the microphone to pick him up.
Combining the gaming sounds and active noise cancellation, killing roamers in Rainbow Six Siege had never been so easy.
In addition to that, Turtle Beach included their Superhuman Hearing that boosts the lows and gives you an advantage. It certainly does help on hearing those fine little details, and I liked it for some games. For other games, like Battlefield, I turned it off as it was focusing too much on the lows.
For solely gaming, I enjoyed listening to the Stealth 700 headphones. The sounds were accurate as the game intended it to be, and they were clear.
You can choose to listen to music on the Stealth 700s through Bluetooth, but I feel that this isn’t the purpose of these headphones. Music sounded alright and was listenable, but I would stick to gaming on these headphones rather than using them for everything.
Another plus with the Stealth 700s is the microphone. It sounds great and clear to the person on the other end. While I wish I could position it where I wanted, it picked up everything I said with ease. It does also tend to pick up background noise which is something to keep in mind if you are in a busy household.
To finish things off, the Stealth 700s last quite a while on their rechargeable battery. I would get all night gaming sessions in and then some without needing to recharge. While it is a real bummer if the headset isn’t charged and you want to play a game, I value the wireless capability over the recharge time.
Expect to get about seven hours of total gameplay with normal volume usage, then an hour or two for recharge. Best practice would be to plug in the headset after each use.
My Final Thoughts
These premium wireless Xbox One headphones are priced at $129.95. For what you are getting with the Stealth 700s, I feel that you wouldn’t be disappointed with your purchase. While they may not have a sturdy or premium feel to them, they have their own character and are durable.
They make for an excellent headset for Xbox gamers, and the included Bluetooth option for other devices is a treat. Active noise cancellation and Superhuman Hearing is nice to have and helps in quieter games. Being completely tether free as well is a huge plus, even if you have to recharge the headset every once in a while.
Supported in the future with firmware updates, Turtle Beach once again made a headset that I can stand behind and use for console gaming. From casual to experience console gamers, it’s a good buy.
Buy it now:
© 2018 Justin Vendette
