A pair of headphones can be quite a personal thing. I, myself, enjoy a firm but comfortable grip, a detachable or similar microphone, a bassy sound profile, and as few wires as possible.
So, while the Turtle Beach Stealth 600X Gen 3 headphones might not be perfect, they’ve ticked so many boxes on my list that they’re definitely the best headset I’ve had on my head this year.
With that being said, let’s dig into what makes them so.
I’ll start with the not-perfect side of things, because I like to break the bad news first. When testing the headphones’ frequency range over on Audiocheck (https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php), I was able to hear from 30Hz to 17KHz, which means they’ve tested the worst of all the headphones I’ve put through Audiocheck so far. Sure, this could be because I’m going deaf, but I haven’t attended any major musical festivals in a while, so I think I’m ok.
The headset’s material also feels a little too plasticky. Now, I hear you asking how an all-plastic build can feel “too plasticky,” but it just does. Some companies have been able to make their plastic builds feel a little more premium than what Turtle Beach have done with the Stealth 600X here, and it’s just a little disappointing when I have the headphones in hand.
Lastly, for a wireless pair of headphones of this size, it just would’ve been nice to include a travel bag of sorts in the box.
Ok, on to the good!
First off, these headphones are really comfortable when worn. The cotton style cups are my preferred choice, and with added memory foam, they’re even more comfortable. The set also grips on nice and tightly. The box says they are glasses friendly, and I suppose they are, but not in any sort of special way that’s different to my current Logitech pair.
In terms of control, everything is accessed via the left ear cup. You have the on/off switch, volume control, pairing modes, quick switch, and game/chat mix. The microphone also fits into the left ear cup and is muted when raised and unmuted when out. I love that you can tuck it away when not in use, and that it auto mutes when it’s gone.
The controls do take a while to get used to, as there are a lot of buttons to manage here, but once you know the layout, you’ll be all good. Most of the time, you’ll only be playing with the volume controls when it’s on your head.
As for multiplatform, the Stealth 600X has both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connections. Bluetooth allows you to connect to any Bluetooth device, such as your PC, phone, or even the PlayStation. The wireless dongle has similar capabilities but with a stronger wireless connection and a noticeable upgrade in audio quality. What’s sneakily neat with the 600X version of the Stealth 600 range is that, even though it was designed for Xbox, the USB dongle also works on your PlayStation, not just Xbox and PC.
The quick switch button is also handy for moving from gaming on your Xbox/PC to listening to music on your phone with one quick button tap.
Moving on to audio quality, the microphone does a pretty good job. It clearly picks up your voice, and the AI noise cancelling does wonders at isolating that voice. Whether in the heat of battle in a Teams meeting or casually playing No Man’s Sky with your friends, everyone will hear you loud and clear.
Now, I’m no audiophile, so take this with a tiny pinch of salt, but I absolutely loved the bass that the Stealth 600X delivered. With my music playing at a relatively high volume, I was completely engrossed in the audio experience. Mids and highs played their part well, too, but I really felt like the bass delivered. In-game audio also felt full and never left me wondering where those footsteps were coming from.
If you want to tweak the audio profiles, the Swarm II software on both PC and mobile is relatively easy to use, although not necessary if you want to keep your devices bloat free.
The headset’s battery life is also something to comment on. With a promised 80 hours of uptime, I only had to charge these bad boys once over a two-week period.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600X Gen 3s. They were comfortable, delivered a great audio experience and made me sound cool during my weekly work meetings. Sure, R2,500 might seem like a bit of a high price to pay for some ear-hugging speakers, but I feel like this pair is worth it.
