I’m a huge believer of multi-platform wireless gaming headsets. The sheer convenience of having a single headset that you can use with your PC, gaming consoles, laptop and smart devices just makes a whole of sense than owning five different sets. Oddly enough, there still aren’t that many headsets that can do this; probably because our dear friends at Xbox refuse to play nice with standard 2.4Ghz protocol. Well, that’s where headsets like the new $220 Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max for Xbox come in.
Ridiculous mouthful of a name aside, this headset circumvents that Xbox problem by shipping with a USB dongle that can switch between the Xbox Wireless and the more ubiquitous 2.4Ghz wireless that PC’s, PlayStations and Nintendo Switch use. The dongle has a handy little switch for this express purpose and it all works flawlessly. That’s already a huge win as far as wireless headsets go but there’s a lot more. Turtle Beach has managed to fit in a 48-hour battery into a light headset that also sounds fantastic in games with support for every major spatial surround audio format available to gamers.
At $220, it’s a lot cheaper than the likes of Steelseries Arctis Nova 7X which also uses the same dongle trickery. In fact, the only glaring thing missing on the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is support for Bluetooth — you’d have to look to the $320 Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max for that. Overall, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is an impressive midrange headset with little to complain about; especially if you get the Arctic Camo colorway that, rather ironically, matches the PlayStation 5’s new camo covers rather than anything Xbox.
As far as design goes, there’s no mistaking the Stealth 600 for anything other than a gaming headset. It’s got huge ear cups with a short, flip-to -mute microphone on the left ear cup where you’ll also find the main controls. These consist of two dials for volume and game chat, a power button and a sound EQ button. I don’t like having both volume dials next to each other as that invariably leads to fiddling in the midst of heated gameplay. Lastly is a USB Type-C port for charging only, the headset doesn’t deliver audio wired.
The headset is made entirely out of plastic that while I’m sure is quite sturdy, still feels like a much cheaper, knock off headphone. The cups rattle against the hangers when you shake the headset and overall comfort for me personally wasn’t great. That’s in spite of the signature ProSpecs design of the fabric covered cushions that scratch against my ears while the headband crushed my head with severe clamping force. This eased after a few days of wear but the Stealth 600 certainly don’t win any awards for all day comfort.
However, get past the plasticky design and build and you are faced with a surprisingly good headset. Start with battery life for a change because I kid you not, I’ve charged the Stealth 600 only once since I unboxed them three weeks ago. Sure, I’m not doing 12-hour gaming marathons every day like some of you(oh how I miss those days) but I have been using them for Zoom calls, music listening to music while I work and 1-2 hours gaming everyday.
I’m always half expecting to get a battery warning when I pick them up the next day but nope — they keep chugging along. To be sure, it’s not a monster like the 300-hour HyperX Cloud Alpha or 100-hour EPOS GSP370 but considering that most wireless headsets sit at 24-30 hours, the Stealth 600 is doing pretty great. Additionally, they have a quick charge feature that will give you 8 hours of listening time with just 15 min of charge via USB Type-C.
Remembering that this is a wireless headset, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 uses a specialised USB Type-A dongle with a little switch to toggle between proprietary Xbox Wireless and standard 2.4Ghz Wireless. This is what allows the Stealth 600 to work with every device you have. The connection is flawless with excellent range and I never experienced any dropouts or interference even with a desk full of wireless devices.
However, I’m still flabbergasted as to why, in 2022, I still need to flick a switch on my dongle when the dongle should be smart enough to automatically adjust itself. I also can’t get my head around why companies have two versions of a headset when the Xbox version works with everything and yet the PlayStation one doesn’t. Steelseries is just as guilty of this and I call horse poo on this practice. It’s just marketing gimmickry that simply isn’t consumer friendly.
Anyway, now that I’m off my soap box, let’s talk about the last great thing about the Stealth 600 — audio performance. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked when I first heard the sound coming out of these cans. Like I said, the build quality and discomfort I first experienced wasn’t a great indicator of what this headset was hiding.But Turtle Beach are no strangers to game audio and the Stealth 600 prove that.
The Stealth 600’s uses an improved ear cup design for improved acoustics and are powered by custom tuned 50mm drivers. This results in a sound profile that is deeply powerful with rich, booming bass. crystal clear highs and excellent spatial awareness. Basically, Guns boom, explosions shake and footsteps are clear as day.
I’ve been getting lost in the nine realms of God of War Ragnarok which sounds as amazing as it looks. Everything from Kratos bellowing baritone to Odin’s spying Ravens or the epic orchestral soundtrack by Bear McReary(absolutely listen to the official soundtrack) makes you feel like the God-slaying badass you were meant to be. In shooters like Call of Duty MW2 or Destiny 2, Turtle Beach’s signature SuperHuman hearing accurately pinpoints critical enemy footsteps while still getting your heart pumping every time you unload a shotgun into them.
Additionally, the Stealth 600 supports every major spatial audio formats including Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone: X* as well as Sony 3D Audio for PlayStation 5. I tested the headset with my Xbox One X and more recently acquired Playstation 5 and everything sounded rich, immersive and detailed. There’s also four built-in EQ modes that you can cycle through using a dedicated button on the left ear cup. These are Signature, Bass boost, Bass+treble boost, and Vocal. I honestly didn’t bother too much with these as the differences weren’t worth changing from the default Signature mode.
And what about that stubby mic? While other headsets that have similarly short mic arms haven’t impressed, the wizards at Turtle Beach seem to have cracked it. This is one of the better gaming headset microphones I’ve tested in a while. I didn’t expect it to pick up my voice with such clarity and warmth but it does. You can listen to the recording below for yourself and judge but I am more than happy. Mind you, this isn’t using any special software so you can expect the mic to sound just as good across all your hardware.
Verdict
So, color me surprised but the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is without a doubt one of the best, multiplatform wireless headsets you can buy. At $220, it’s very good value for money and let’s not forget that with Black Friday sales coming up, you could get it even cheaper. It sound fantastic, the battery life is great and the microphone is very good too. For those of you who absolutely need Bluetooth, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is the way to go but that will cost you almost $100 more. Admittedly, I’m not very impressed with the plasticky build and comfort but compared to the competition that is over $100 more, I can let it pass. For most people, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max does everything you need in a gaming headset so, go get it.
For more information on all of Turtle Beach’s products, head to the official website: https://www.turtlebeach.com/.
