The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 is a hefty gaming headset with a hefty price tag. It boasts a premium design that feels and looks expensive while also packing quite a lot of power to get you through your gaming sessions. The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 headset comes in two models. You can pick up the Xbox version or the PlayStation model. Visually, you can’t tell the two models apart. Both models feature the same overall design and both include the silver accents on the earpieces.

When it comes to the technical side of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 headset, the PS5 and PS4 model supports the PlayStation hardware while being great for mobile thanks to the built-in BlueTooth support. If you are connecting it to the PlayStation console then you need to use a dongle. Even on the PS5. This being an issue I wish Sony would change. It is 2021, we should be able to use headsets without dongles.

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Tech Specs

• Platforms: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC
• Speaker Frequency: 20Hz – 22Hz
• Speaker Size: 50mm Nanoclear Neodymium Drivers
• Connection Modes: Built-in BlueTooth, USB dongle
• Battery: Promised 20-hour use on a single charge
• Microphone: Foldaway omnidirectional mic
• Materials: Synthetic leather, plastic

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Design

In the box, you get the headset, some paperwork, a USB C charging cable and a tiny little USB dongle. It is simple. Don’t expect a carry pouch or anything here. Kinda disappointing there’s no carry bag or anything of the sort given this headset’s price tag. Also, it boasts some incredible mobile support so having a carry bag of some sort would have helped for on-the-go gaming.

The earcups on the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 boast a hefty design. They are some of the biggest earcups I have seen on a headset but they go a long way in improving the sound isolation. They also have a pretty cool bend to them that sees the bottom half of the earcup move ever so slightly in and outwards to create a better fit on different faces.

Most of the headset is plastic. This goes for the headband, earcups and even the dials and switches. The only metal you will find here is the band that moves the earcups up and down. The flexibility of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 goes a long way in making the device feel comfortable. This is thanks to the ability to rotate the earcups and lay them on your chest when you’re not using them.

These cups also have a transparent inner ear material that lets you see the inside of the speaker. I loved this as I am pretty obsessed with the inner workings of tech compared to the shell that hides it all away. We also have a range of dials and buttons on the left cup along with the charging port and microphone that pops in and out.

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Performance

So how do the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 headphones perform? Pretty great. First off we have the comfort and they are quite comfortable. I would not say they are the most comfortable I have ever used before but I have worn worse. Best of all, they feel great even with glasses on. This is thanks to the memory foam padding on the earcups that form to your arms on the glasses. I also felt the area where the arm goes in and the foam feel softer which would make sense. This means it would most likely “squish” better in this area compared to others.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 does take some getting used to through. They are a lot sturdier and dare I say “stiff” compared to other headsets I have reviewed. When I put them on I felt these massive earcups on my head. The band also doesn’t bend open as much as other headsets so putting them on feels different too.

The earcups are quite roomy which is great. I did not feel like my ears were squashed between these walls of foam. This also goes a long way to improve comfort and especially the comfort over time. They did not get hot and felt comfortable for at least three hours before I needed a break.

The dials on the left earcup are also easy to use once you figure out which one is the volume and which one is the chat dial. I loved having these dials on the ready while gaming. It saves going through the menus to turn down and adjust the volume. There is no mute button, instead, you need to fold the mic up to mute it. This also feels good but could be an issue if you’re in the middle of something and can’t spare a hand to push the microphone in with. Thankfully the PS5 mute button works here too.

Speaking of the PS5, setting up the headset is quick and easy on both consoles. I plugged in the dongle, held down the power button and the headset paired. I did have the odd moment where the headset gave me an issue but I just unplugged the dongle and put it back and it fixed it. The same goes for mobile pairing which was as easy to set up on my iPhone as ever. I turned it on, held down the BlueTooth button and connected to the headset in my settings.

Once connected, I was able to download the Turtle Beach Audio Hub app and tweak the headset from my phone. Yes, I did not need to plug it into a PC to use the headset on a console. This is something most gaming brands force you to do. It was so nice to untether the headset for once. Razer, I hope you are paying attention here.

The app, while basic, let me tweak the headset. I was able to select an equaliser, adjust the microphone sensitivity and even turn down the annoying lady voice that tells me there is a full battery every time I turned the headset on. I could also remap the buttons on the headset too. I changed the “Mode” from enabling Superhuman Hearing to Game Preset. The ability to do all this on your phone is a real game-changer. I cannot emphasise this enough. Sure, the tweaks are a bit entry-level and the custom equalizer is basic but we are making great progress here. The only downside is that you can’t upgrade the firmware of the headset through the app. So if you don’t have a PC or Mac then you’re pretty much out of luck updating the device.

As for the sound itself, it is great! The headset manages to deliver some impressive sound across the board. I played a lot of Returnal this past week and instead of using the PS5 Headset, I used this one. The sound was truly remarkable. Every little leaf that whisked through the air I heard. Every growl and scream hit me in the chest and all the amazing sci-fi laser beam and teleporter sounds were superb.

The 50mm nanoclear speakers in this headset go a long way to deliver top-notch performance making sound loud and clear while also maintaining the quality. Low, mid and high tones in every game I tested came out clear and crisp. There was also a decent level of bass without it overpowering the rest of the sound. If you’re looking for some world-class speakers in a headset, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 has them.

Of course, the experience can be enhanced even more with the use of 7.1 virtual surround sound on a PC. This helps elevate a 3D environment for the player and it is great and works as expected. I won’t say it is the best but pretty much in line with other headsets that have the same feature. Then there’s the Superhuman mode which is meant to increase the sound of certain tones like footsteps and gunshots. It works but is kinda meh. The mode bumps up the overall volume of the headset while reducing some music and other sound effects to increase the sounds that are important. It does what it needs to do but I don’t see myself ever using it (if I owned this headset). The compromise to the other sound levels is just too much to enjoy the game volume.

As for the mic, it is also just okay. It does not do a great job eliminating any background sounds but it is effective in party chats. My voice was clear and my friends never had any complaints about it. So yeah, it is an okay microphone with very little noise cancelling. Lastly, we have the battery life which is great too. I went through three and a half days of use on a full charge. Give or take 4/5 hours a day. You will be able to easily squeeze out 20 hours on this headset which is incredible.

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Verdict

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 is an expensive headset. It will set you back well over R3,000 but the features it packs makes it a worthy investment. While the sound is not perfect and the Superhuman feature is a marketing gimmick, the build quality, battery life and sheer versatility of this headset should make up for its flaws.

With that being said, R3,000 is a lot of cash to ask for and there are other cheaper headsets on the market. You could honestly pick up a PS5 3D headset for R1,000 less. It won’t last that long but is wireless and has some great sound. It also works on PC. Don’t get me wrong, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 is great but pricey.

This Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 review was based on a loan unit sent to us by Apex Interactive. The headset is available from R3,199