We've tested 19 Turtle Beach headsets. Turtle Beach make a variety of gaming headsets available at most price points. These headsets tend to have special features like active noise cancelling (ANC), Bluetooth, and dedicated amps. They even make in-ears with a detachable boom microphone. Their microphones typically have a good recording quality, even with their budget models.
Updates
- 08/28/2024 Turtle Beach Atlas Air Wireless reviewed
- 08/16/2024 Turtle Beach Stealth 500 Wireless reviewed
- 08/06/2024 Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless reviewed
- 02/16/2024 Turtle Beach Recon 70 updated
- 06/21/2023 Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Wireless updated
Best Turtle Beach Headphones
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Best Turtle Beach Headset
Neutral Sound7.0Commute/Travel7.4Sports/Fitness6.9Office7.4Wireless Gaming7.3Wired Gaming5.9Phone Calls7.3Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling YesMic YesThe Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless is the best Turtle Beach headset we've tested. If you like first-person shooters (FPS) or multi-player games, these top-of-the-line headphones are for you. Their bassy sound helps bring out sound effects without drowning out dialogue and instruments. They're also equipped with a Superhuman Hearing feature to help further emphasize sounds like footsteps in some games. You can even fine-tune their sound using their companion software's graphic EQ and presets. Remember that they come in Xbox and PlayStation variants, so it's important to ensure you get the right variant for your console.
Unlike most gaming headphones, they have ANC and can block out a good amount of sound around you. With their ANC on, they last over 16 hours continuously, and thanks to their swappable battery design, you can use one and charge the other in the wireless transmitter dock. These cans also have two mics: a boom mic, which offers decent overall performance, and an integrated mic, which doesn't perform quite as well but helps transform the headphones for more casual use. They support Bluetooth, and you can stay connected to your console and smartphone simultaneously. However, their wireless transmitter has a slightly noticeable audio lag on PC, although we didn't perceive it on consoles. Additionally, latency can differ depending on your setup.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Turtle Beach Headset
Neutral Sound7.2Commute/Travel6.7Sports/Fitness6.7Office7.1Wireless Gaming7.5Wired Gaming5.9Phone Calls7.4Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best upper mid-range Turtle Beach headset for gaming we've tested is the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless. They lack the ANC feature from the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless and have a slightly tighter fit, but they offer an amazing 85 hours of continuous battery life, are well-built, and come in Xbox, PC, and PlayStation variants. They support Βluetooth, so you can connect them to your phone, but you can't listen to audio from your phone and Xbox simultaneously. Still, pressing the QuickSwitch button on the headphones to change connections is straightforward enough. Their default sound profile adds boom and presence to audio, which is well-suited for action-packed games, though sibilants can get a little piercing at times. Happily, you can customize their sound to your liking using their companion app's graphic EQ and presets.
These headphones also have a boom mic with very good recording quality, so your voice sounds clear when you're gaming with friends. Unfortunately, like many gaming headsets, they don't isolate you from ambient sound, so they aren't ideal for noisy environments. They also leak a bit of sound, so people around you might hear your game audio if you're listening at high volumes. On the upside, they offer low latency, support Xbox Wireless if you buy the Xbox variant, and offer robust customization features so you can really dial in your preferred gaming experience.
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Best Mid-Range Turtle Beach Headset
Neutral Sound7.7Commute/Travel5.5Sports/Fitness5.9Office6.5Wireless Gaming5.5Wired Gaming7.2Phone Calls6.4Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Βeach headset in the mid-range we've tested is the Turtle Beach Recon 200 Gen 2. This wired headset is usually much cheaper than the previous picks, but the price is reflected in its build quality. It feels plasticky and doesn't have a detachable cable, so you'll need to replace the headset if the cable gets damaged. However, it has a lighter design and a more comfortable fit for most people. While it doesn't work with a companion app and lacks customization features like an EQ, a slider on one ear cup controls a virtual surround sound feature when connected to an Xbox or PlayStation console. With that feature on, the sound profile is boomy and emphasizes sound effects like footsteps while still reproducing dialogue clearly and accurately.
Unfortunately, the boom mic doesn't separate your voice from noise around you as well as the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless', so these aren't a good choice if you often game near an open window. However, if you're in a quiet place, people will still easily understand you during online gaming. Like most gaming headphones, they don't block out very much background noise, especially compared to pricier options.
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Best Budget Turtle Beach Headset
Mixed Usage5.6Neutral Sound6.6Commute/Travel5.0Sports/Fitness5.7Office5.3Wireless Gaming5.2Wired Gaming7.0Phone Call7.0Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Beach headset in the budget range we've tested is the Turtle Beach Recon 50X/Recon 50P. These wired headphones have a cheap build quality, even more so than the Turtle Beach Recon 200 Gen 2, but if you're looking for an inexpensive option for gaming, they aren't bad. The boom mic makes your voice sound clear, natural, and full-bodied when you're gaming with friends and even does a good job of separating it from background noise.
Their warm sound profile adds a lot of extra boom to your audio, which is well-suited for action-packed games, but at the same time, mixes can sound muddy and cluttered. Voices also lack a bit of detail. Their bass response also varies depending on the headphones' fit and positioning, so if you wear glasses or have thick hair, you can experience a drop in bass. That said, they offer a fairly comfortable fit for most people and have basic in-line controls, so you can easily adjust the volume or mute the mic. Since they have a simple wired design, they come in one variant that works with PCs and most consoles.
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Best Open-Back Turtle Beach Headset
Neutral Sound7.6Commute/Travel6.1Sports/Fitness6.9Office6.6Wireless Gaming7.9Wired Gaming8.1Phone Calls7.5Type Over-earEnclosure Open-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe Turtle Beach Atlas Air Wireless is the best open-backed Turtle Beach headset we've tested. Unlike the other Turtle Beach headsets listed above, which are all closed-backs, the open design of the Atlas Air allows air to escape the ear cups and interact with your environment, creating a wider, more immersive passive soundstage than what closed-backs provide. The downside of this design is that they do a poor job isolating you from background noise, and they leak a lot of audio. Open-back designs are best suited for people who live alone or who play in a dedicated gaming room.
If that's you, then the Atlas Air are worth considering. You can connect them to your gaming rig via their TRRS connector cable for a wired connection or low-latency USB-A dongle for a wireless connection. Either way, you'll be able to use their great microphone which reproduces your voice naturally and accurately. Out of the box, they have a generally flat sound profile, though explosions lack a little rumble, which is common for open-backs, and cymbal sounds can be a little piercing. The good news is you can customize their sound profile to your liking using their great Swarm II companion app. You can also connect the Atlas Air to your phone via Bluetooth, but unlike the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless, you can't listen to audio via their Bluetooth and dongle connections simultaneously — you have to press the QuickSwitch button to change source.
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Best Turtle Beach Earbuds For Gaming
Mixed Usage5.6Neutral Sound5.4Commute/Travel5.5Sports/Fitness6.4Office5.5Wireless Gaming4.5Wired Gaming6.5Phone Calls6.5Type In-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Beach earbuds for gaming we've tested are the Turtle Beach Battle Buds. These wired earbuds are worth considering if you don't like the fit of over-ear headphones or want something more portable than a typical gaming headset. They have a boom mic that's detachable for when you want a more casual look. The mic has a decent overall performance, so if you're gaming with friends, they can hear you clearly, even with some noise in the background. They're adequately comfortable and fully compatible with devices with an AUX port, meaning you can plug them into an Xbox or PlayStation controller.
Like other Turtle Βeach headphones, these buds have a very exaggerated bass response that adds extra thump, rumble, and punch to mixes, which can help bring out sound effects in action-packed games. However, they may not be ideal for games with a lot of dialogue since all this extra bass also muddies mixes and overwhelms vocals and lead instruments. They aren't extremely well-built either, and the cable feels weak, specifically where it connects to the earbuds. However, they offer a solid mic performance and are worth considering if you prefer earbuds for gaming.
Compared To Other Brands
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Unique active features.
Most Turtle Beach headphones have active features that differentiate them from other gaming headsets. Their cheapest headsets are more basic, but you don't have to go up in price to see special features like Bluetooth support, bass-boost effects, or even noise cancelling. -
Mobile-friendly gaming designs.
Even though Turtle Beach makes headsets with a very gamer-centric design, they're often fairly versatile for mobile use with your phone. Most of their headsets use a standard 1/8" audio jack, and some are compatible with Bluetooth. They also have a few models with detachable mics, so they can be a bit less bulky for use with your mobile devices. -
Good microphone quality.
Being gaming headsets, most options from Turtle Beach have good microphones for multiplayer gaming. Their often shorter boom mics aren't as good as some gaming brands like HyperX or SteelSeries, but they still deliver a good recording quality and will be more than suitable for gaming and making calls.
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Lack of customization options.
Unfortunately, older Turtle Beach headphones don't have the best support software for added customization options. The Turtle Beach Audio HUB lacks features and customization options compared to other brands. It's also a bit unreliable and tends to crash fairly often. However, their newer Swarm II app is much better and provides many ways for you to customize your gaming experience. -
Inconsistent build quality.
While some of Turtle Beach's more recent, higher-end models feel well-built, most of their headphones feel plasticky and cheaply made, especially compared to other gaming brands in the same price range, like Corsair or HyperX. -
Excited sound profile may not be to everyone's taste.
Turtle Beach headsets tend to have a fairly excited sound profile, with lots of extra boom and sizzle. That's not unusual for gaming headsets, but it's worth bearing in mind if you prefer a flatter or more subdued sound.
Turtle Beach vs SteelSeries
While SteelSeries headsets are generally more expensive than most Turtle Beach options, they often look and feel much more premium and high-end. Most SteelSeries gaming headphones feel durable and well-built and have good microphones and well-balanced sound profiles.
Turtle Beach vs Astro
Astro gaming headphones generally have well-balanced sound profiles and look and feel well-built and comfortable. They offer a variety of products, including budget options that can compete with headphones from Turtle Beach and higher-end options designed to compete with more premium brands like SteelSeries.
Overall, Turtle Beach gaming headphones are decent and often have unique features that make them more versatile. The inclusion of Bluetooth in many of their headsets makes them more convenient for casual use, so you can use your gaming headset as your daily driver headphones when on the go. Unfortunately, their build quality is often lacking compared to other brands like SteelSeries or Corsair. While most of their lineup feels plasticky and cheap, some higher-end options, like the Turtle Beach Elite Atlas and the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless, feel well-made.
Lineup
- Recon: Wired gaming headsets.
- Stealth: Wireless gaming headphones that usually come in separate Xbox and PlayStation variants.
- Elite: Mostly headphones intended for PC. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 SuperAmp are also available for PlayStation or Xbox, but either way, the SuperAmp is compatible with PCs.
- Battle Buds: Wired earbuds for gaming with detachable boom mics.
- Scout: Bluetooth earbuds meant for Nintendo Switch, phones, and PCs.
- Atlas Air: Open-backed gaming headphones.
Some ROCCAT headsets are also available through Turtle Beach's website but are marketed separately under the ROCCAT brand, which Turtle Beach owns.
Recent Updates
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Since the last update, we haven't reviewed any new Turtle Beach headphones, but we made sure this article is up-to-date with changes made as part of Test Bench 1.8. None of our picks changed, though.
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Sep 09, 2024: The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless replace the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Wireless as our upper mid-range pick because of their lower latency and superior battery life. We also added a new Best Open-Back pick: the Turtle Beach Atlas Air Wireless. Finally, we added a reference to the Swarm II app in this article's Compared To Other Brands section because it provides more extensive customization options than Turtle Beach's older Audio HUB app.
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Jun 13, 2024: We made minor updates to the text for clarity and style, but our recommendations haven't changed. All our picks are still up to date and available.
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Mar 19, 2024: Minor text updates for clarity, but no changes in the picks were made.
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Jan 04, 2024: We've checked that our picks are still up to date and available. While we've made minor updates to the text, our recommendations haven't changed.
Conclusion
Turtle Beach makes gaming headphones at several price points that are generally pretty affordable. Their headphones often offer special features like Bluetooth capabilities and ANC. These features make Turtle Beach headphones a good choice to double as your day-to-day headphones. Unfortunately, their build quality is generally lower than similar headphones from brands like SteelSeries and Corsair. However, if you're looking for a single pair of headphones that you can use while gaming at home or while on the go connected to your phone, then Turtle Beach may be the right brand for your next headset.