Manufacturer: Turtle Beach
Medium: Hardware
Turtle Beach has generously provided us with a review unit of the Stealth 700 Gen 3 Wireless Gaming Headset, and I have some things to say about it — and it’s a real 50/50 on good and bad. Featuring a dual transceiver system, split chat and game audio, programmable wheels and buttons, and a binaural microphone, the Stealth 700 Gen 3 headset has a plethora of features that make it beneficial for anybody seeking audio from multiple devices at once. Also, it features Bluetooth connectivity for mobile devices. It’s worth noting most of my experience was on PC, with some minor usage on PlayStation 5.
It’s worth addressing the positives first before addressing the negatives, so let’s go in depth with that. The audio clarity of the Gen 3 model is incredible, genuinely. From music to video games to movies and anime, the audio is very crisp and smooth, offering an in-app mixer to let you further customize the sound levels of everything on varying frequencies for your listening pleasure. I tested the audio presets in a myriad of games to get a feel for them, and immersion can really be cranked up without any tweaking. Not to mention the dual transmitters/transceivers. Trying to use your PC but hear your console audio? Don’t worry, because the Stealth 700 Gen 3s allow you to quickly swap between audio sources at the push of a button with the two wireless transceivers. Additionally, you can wirelessly connect them to your phone via Bluetooth if that’s something you need.
The connectivity options are varied and incredibly beneficial for multi-platform use all at once. I even made sure to test Switch compatibility with Bluetooth while still using them on PC, and to my surprise, it worked flawlessly. I could still use Discord on a separate audio track, listen to my game audio on PC, and hear my Switch audio completely clear. I have never once used or heard of another headset with this kind of versatility.
The comfort on the headphones is fantastic, especially as someone who has glasses. Advertisements for the headset have shown off “Glasses-Friendly” tech, and I can happily confirm that it’s true. Most other headsets I have used have issues with getting uncomfortable after a bit of pressing against my frames, but these confirm around them, leaving me feeling comfortable for longer periods of use. They boast a soft pad that rests on top of your head that’s sure to not get uncomfortable over time.
I did run into some issues that I’ve mostly solved. There was an issue on PC where I could not hear the “Chat” audio track and the regular “Speaker” track, making split Discord audio a bit of a mess. Luckily, it’s easily solvable by making sure Windows isn’t giving applications exclusive access to your headset. I didn’t have to worry about multiplatform use with that either once disabling those settings. The only real issue I’ve routinely run into (and cannot figure out) is a random outage of my audio. Sometimes it will just stop outputting audio through the headset (on PC exclusively, I might add) despite what my volume mixer tells me. The solution to this is a simple unplug and re-plug of the transceiver you’re using, no real hassle to it.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 headset has genuinely been a blast to use, and it’s recommended if you’re looking for a nice, high quality pair of headphones. They aren’t on the cheaper side of things, being priced at $199, but they’re well worth it in overall experience. From the crisp audio, the comfort, and the diverse way to use them, they’re a regular staple in my daily routine now. Other than the random occasion I have to re-plug a transceiver in, which can get annoying if it happens more frequently, I haven’t run into any issues. Turtle Beach knocked it out of the park with the Gen 3 Headset, and software updates releasing over time will only bring more improvements to any hiccups you may experience.
Note: Turtle Beach provided us with a Stealth 700 Gen 3 Wireless Gaming Headset for review purposes.
