If you’re a gamer, chances are you’ve heard of, if not owned a Turtle Beach headset in the past, and if you haven’t, you’re missing out. Arguably known as the go-to gaming headset to own on the market, Turtle Beach have a range of different headsets with different capabilities and different price tags.
We were recently sent the recently released Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX headset to have a little go on, and after using their 600 Gen 2 MAX, we didn’t think there’d be much more they could do. We were wrong.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX
Whereas the 600 Gen 2 MAX was designed and made with the Xbox in mind, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX was designed for the PS5, although either of the two models can easily be used with other consoles and a PC if you just plug the relevant USB that’s supplied into the desired device.
Related: Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX Headset Review: I’m All Ears (PS5)
The Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX boasts a few functions that the 600 doesn’t, including DTS Headphone: X 7.1 surround sound and active noise-cancellation, plus Bluetooth connectivity to the new Turtle Beach Audio Hub app, the latter of which allows you to connect any Bluetooth enabled device to the headset. As well as the gaming side of things, my headset got used for a good thirty hours of podcasts, music and audio books (all on one charge) with zero audio dropout throughout, and a clarity of sound some much more expensive music-orientated headsets fail to provide.
Talking of the battery, this is one area the 600 Gen 2 MAX has this one beat, albeit not by a lot. The lesser model boasts forty eight hours per charge, whilst the Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX only manages a measly forty per charge. With that being said, I managed a complete run-through of New Tales from the Borderland and Marvel’s Midnight Suns before I had to charge it again, so it’s not exactly a regular inconvenience.
You’re probably wondering exactly why this model is designed with the PS5 in mind, and to put it simply, the headset works in conjunction with Playstation’s 3D Audio to give you the edge, be it in a competitive multiplayer game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or a single player game like A Plague Tale: Requiem, you’ll find yourself hearing things you probably won’t have paid attention to or even registered from your standard audio setup – throw in the bow standard Superhuman Hearing setting you’ll be unbeatable. This quality passes across to the microphone, which like the Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX is clear as day, allowing you to chastise your teammates in whatever way you’d like, safe in the knowledge they’ll hear you just fine.
There are only two detractors for the headset and one is something the average person using it won’t experience. After three or four hours continual use, you’ll find your ears hurting and will end up having to take a break. A few minutes later and you’ll be good for another good few hours, but as the average person won’t be using this for such extended stints, it’s hard to put too much weight to this side of the headset. In fact, maybe I just have big ears.
Related: Marvel’s Midnight Suns Review: Card Battlin’ Superhero Soap Opera (PS5)
The second downside of the headset is regarding connectivity. When listening to music, every time I’d pause the music for whatever reason, the headset would decide to disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth until I either turned it off completely or unpaused the music. This wasn’t inconvenient so much as it was irritating, as every disconnect and reconnect brought the built in voice telling me it had done as much. Whilst it was always helpful being told the battery level every time I’d turn on the headset, it wasn’t as well received being told about the Bluetooth consistently.
All in all, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX is one of the best headsets they’ve released in years with regards to the audio quality of both the microphone and the headset itself, and whilst buggy at times, the Bluetooth connectivity and customisable app allows a near endless amount of audio uses for the headset, making it so much more than just a gaming peripheral…
8/10
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX Headset was used and reviewed on a headset provided by LickPR.
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
