The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 Wireless are an entry-level gaming headset within Turtle Beach's lineup. They share a similar design with the more expensive Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless, but lack a few of their big sibling's features. Most notably, the Stealth 600 (Gen 3)'s much-trumpeted and advertised 80-hour battery life is halved. Still, these lightweight headphones have a long feature list that will be attractive to gamers looking for budget-tier headphones. But how do they stack up in reality?
Our Verdict
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are decent for sports and fitness. Though they have a stable fit, they're bulky and not designed for exercise. Vigorous movements will cause them to fall off. Their long battery life and easy-to-use control scheme mean you could take them for a long walk in a pinch, but they'd be unwieldy for anything more intense than that.
- Stable fit.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
- Bad noise isolation.
- Bulky design.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are disappointing for commuting and traveling. While you can use them with your phone via Bluetooth, they do such a bad job blocking out noise, in particular the rumble of plane and train engines, that they're not very useful while in transit. Their long battery life is a boon, and they have a stable fit. However, these headphones don't fold flat or come with a case, so packing them can be a bit of a nuisance.
- Amazing battery life.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
- Bad noise isolation.
- Bulky design.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are passable for office use. They have a long battery life and a stable fit with a light clamping force, so you'll find them comfortable enough to wear all day. They do run on the smaller side, though, so users with larger heads may find these tight. These headphones do a poor job blocking external noise, so if you work in an office, be prepared to be distracted by chatty coworkers while trying to focus on your work. That said, they have a great microphone that does a very good job of isolating your speech from any background noise, so if you have to take any calls while at the office, the person on the other end of the line will hear you clearly.
- Impressive mic recording quality.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
- Bad noise isolation.
- Bulky design.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are decent wireless gaming headphones. Their amazing battery life means you won't have to worry too much about recharging between sessions, and their very good control scheme means adjusting settings on the fly is relatively straightforward. On the other hand, they do a poor job blocking external noise, so these aren't a good choice for gaming in shared spaces or with an open window. Nonetheless, their high-quality microphone recordings mean fellow gamers will find you easy to hear.
- Amazing battery life.
- Impressive mic recording quality.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
- Bad noise isolation.
- Bulky design.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 cannot be used for wired gaming because they only connect to your PC or console wirelessly via their USB dongle.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are decent for audio reproduction accuracy. Their bright default tuning makes them well-suited for first-person shooters, but less so for listening to music, as the sharp treble and bloated high bass can be fatiguing over time. The frequency response mostly follows their bright sound signature, though there are some notable deviations in the low-mid and treble ranges. While the L/R drivers are well-matched in terms of frequency and amplitude, there's a mismatch in the phase in the high bass that's audible during testing sweeps. Particularly astute listeners might experience it as a shift to the right in this frequency range. Harmonic distortion levels are low at both regular and elevated listening levels, so you won't notice any unwanted coloration.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are a poor choice for noise isolation. While their closed-back design can passively isolate you from some background noise, it's limited mostly to higher-pitched noises, like fridge hum. They do very little to block out mid and bass-range noises, like passing cars or rumbling plane engines. They also leak quite a bit of noise, so you'll want to be careful about blasting your tunes in quiet public spaces.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 have a very good microphone performance. The mic's response is quite flat across the range where human voices lie, meaning your voice sounds natural and easily understandable. It also does a very good job of separating your voice from its background too, especially in the face of moderate background noise, like an older AC unit in your room.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are disappointing for frequency response consistency. The firm padding on the ear cups can make achieving a good seal quite difficult. While this is the case for all head shapes, it's particularly apparent for glasses-wearers and those with larger heads, who'll experience a notable drop-off in bass delivery.
- Can EQ the headphones in their companion app.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Mar 12, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
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Updated Feb 09, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests.
- Updated Dec 23, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 Wireless headset comes in one color, 'Black,' and three variants: PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Select the variant that works with your gaming platform. That said, the PC and PlayStation versions are cross-compatible and will also work with Nintendo Switch, but the Xbox version works with Xbox alone.
We tested the PC model. You can see our model's label here.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are an entry-level headset within Turtle Beach's lineup and a step below the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Wireless. The Stealth 600 (Gen 3) are more expensive than the Stealth 500 and offer double the battery life, easier-to-use controls, and a few extra features in Swarm II, the Turtle Beach companion app. If a more neutral default sound is important to you, consider the Logitech G535 LIGHTSPEED Wireless. These headphones have a similar price to the Stealth 500 but have a more controlled treble range. If you'd like to save a little money, the Logitech G435 LIGHTSPEED Wireless are cheaper than the Stealth 500, though you do sacrifice microphone quality and app support.
If you're looking for other headphones, check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets under $100, the best Turtle Beach headsets, and the best gaming headsets.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) are better gaming headphones than the Turtle Beach Stealth 500. The Stealth 600 (Gen 3) have double the battery life of the Stealth 500, as well as easier-to-use controls and more features in Turtle Beach's Swarm II app. On the other hand, the Stealth 500 are more stable on the head, are a bit cheaper, and have a lighter clamping force, which you might prefer. In each case, ensure you select the variant that matches your gaming platform.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are better gaming headphones than the Logitech G435 LIGHTSPEED Wireless. The Turtle Beach have a better microphone, Bluetooth support, almost twice the battery life, and a companion app for tweaking the sound to your liking. Still, the Logitech are more comfortable, have a better build quality, and are cheaper, so if you don't want to spend a lot, they're a great choice.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 are slightly better gaming headphones for most people than the Logitech G535 LIGHTSPEED Wireless. The Turtle Beach have a better microphone, have a much better range of on-headphone controls, and are Bluetooth compatible. On the other hand, the Logitech are more comfortable for long gaming sessions.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless are more versatile gaming headphones than the Turtle Beach Stealth 500. The SteelSeries can be connected to a console and Bluetooth device at the same time, and they can be used wired. On the other hand, the Turtle Beach are significantly cheaper, have a slightly longer battery life. With either headphone, make sure to get the version that's designed for your gaming platform.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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