Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max review: Do-it-all

Worth When Reviewed

199.95

Finest Costs Right now: Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX

$159.95

$159.99

The Turtle Seashore 700 Gen 2 Max replaces the 700 Gen 2, which made its mark in no delicate manner as some of the common licensed Xbox gaming headsets with PC compatibility.

Like its predecessor, the 700 Gen 2 Max sounds incredible, constantly proving its price with sensible low-latency wi-fi audio and spatial encompass sound that immerses you deeper into your recreation every time you play. Based mostly on these factors alone, the 700 Gen 2 Max must be a simple machine to suggest, however finnicky connectivity and primary software program help casts a shadow over what’s in any other case a formidable wi-fi gaming headset.

Be aware: This evaluation is a part of our ongoing roundup of one of the best wi-fi gaming headsets. Go there to be taught extra about competing merchandise, what to search for in a wi-fi gaming headset, and shopping for suggestions.

Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max: Construct and portability

Being a refresh, the Gen 2 Max brings again recognizable options, some a pleasure to see return as a result of they merely work nicely, others that we’d have favored to see modified to marginally increase the expertise.

On the plus aspect, you as soon as once more get swiveling earcups that made the 700 Gen 2 oh-so-easy to pack and carry with you on the highway—so, like its predecessor, the Gen 2 Max is kind of transportable. Then again, the controls are nonetheless bunched up on the underside of the left earcup, making utilizing them an train in fumbling at nighttime, at instances.

One welcome change is a brand-new colour—Cobalt Blue—which I used to be fortunate sufficient to check out for this evaluation. Regardless of the identify, it’s really tri-colored, that includes blue, black, and copper in an elaborate interaction that appears extremely placing. The copper contrasts properly in opposition to the darkish navy exterior. Matching Turtle Seashore logos on every cup—additionally coloured copper—full the high-end look, suggesting you’ve actually bought one thing particular in your palms.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The headset’s form, although, is a special story. The Gen 2 Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max, just like the Gen 2 earlier than it, sports activities a chunky trendy design that some players, myself included, could discover a bit of too boxy—maybe it may have completed with a design aesthetic that extra carefully resembles the fighter pilot-ish Turtle Seashore X12s, to actually look sensible.

Nonetheless, the good supplies used within the Gen 2 are again, which at all times felt very premium. The earcups for example are lined in an all-season elastic materials that’s mushy and funky, and so they maintain a beneficiant layer of reminiscence foam for cushioning—as does the higher headrest. The cans are additionally tremendous sturdy—they’re edged across the outdoors by a powerful PU leather-based that drops again onto a agency steel band to forestall breakage.

The Gen 2 Max’s earcups match over your ears nicely, however there’s a caveat: They’re tremendous squeezy in your head. At first, I believed it would simply really feel that manner as a result of I’ve been utilizing headsets just like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional and Razer Barracuda Professional lots—two headsets which have hardly any clamp strain in any respect—however the Gen 2 Max did trigger some discomfort after an hour or so of gaming.

If that’s not a deal breaker, the strain does have one profit: It’s a reasonably efficient passive noise barrier. It simply dampened the calls of the cacophony of birds within the timber outdoors my window, in addition to the swish of site visitors close by, and a motorbike whirring previous outdoors, which made the slight discomfort rather more bearable.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

For higher or worse, the 700 Gen 2 Max can also be heavier than the majority of headsets launched this yr. At 454 grams, it’s significantly weightier than the 340 gram Razer Barracuda Professional, and makes our final evaluation unit, the Asus ROG Strix Go Core Moonlight White, appear to be a veritable featherweight at 252 grams. Attempting it on, you’ll positively really feel that additional weight, however when you’re frightened by that, don’t be, as a result of it doesn’t really feel such as you’re sporting dumbbells in your ears.

In case you are registering just a few too many “cons” to date, there’s one redeeming function which will change your thoughts: The Gen 2 Max is glasses pleasant, so you possibly can put on your specs whilst you’re gaming. Turtle Seashore name it the ProSpecs Consolation design, that includes helpful grooves to relaxation the ends of your spectacles on in every earcup.

To set the headset up to your specs, you’ll want to tug off the earcup covers and tweak a setting on the underside, which is straightforward sufficient to do, however does take some time. Though, contemplating the additional consolation and efficiency you’ll get from sporting your blinkers, it appears nicely well worth the effort.

Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max: Connectivity and compatibility

“Max” is at all times a time period we tech reviewers prefer to see in a tool’s title, because it normally denotes upgrades. Right here, it implies extra connectivity choices, since you possibly can hook up the Gen 2 Max to PlayStation units, a Nintendo Change, Mac, and cellular units, in addition to the Xbox consoles and PC that you could possibly with the Gen 2 headset. The headset can also be rated for 40 hours battery life, which is twice the lifetime of the Gen 2—that’s the excellent news. The unhealthy information is connecting can typically be finicky.

Firstly, the Gen 2 Max is solely a wi-fi headset, which today, in high-end units, we nearly by no means have any points organising immediately, however in organising my wi-fi connection I discovered the Gen 2 Max’s low-latency USB-A dongle wanted a bit of additional time to attach after plugging it in.

I’ve by no means been one to hurry a great gaming session, however the connection lag meant I needed to spend additional time ready round for my audio to hit my cups earlier than the enjoyable may begin, which was sufficient to seek out myself fragged not less than as soon as in Battlefield I.

As soon as correctly arrange, although, you do get sensible, lag-free audio and your connection gained’t drop out, which is considerably reassuring. After the preliminary delays, the headset additionally appeared to attach faster in successive play periods.

Switching connectivity modes between Xbox One, Xbox X/S, and all the opposite choices is fortunately tremendous straightforward, since you possibly can merely flick a swap constructed into the aspect of the dongle. The headset additionally has Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, which might have been my go-to when hooking as much as my smartphone and my undocked Nintendo Change, however sadly it proved the finnickiest of all of the headset’s options.

How temperamental? I couldn’t get the Bluetooth to play audio in any respect by means of my smartphone, regardless of loading the Turtle Seashore Audio app and updating the machine’s firmware. I may, nevertheless, get it to pair with the Turtle Seashore Audio Hub, which is the downloadable software program app for Android or iOS units that you need to use to optionally tweak settings just like the Chat Quantity.

That meant I may make modifications to the Gen 2 Max’s settings however couldn’t take heed to music or take cellular calls whereas gaming on my PC—a operate that’s actually price an enormous portion of the $199.95 price ticket. It’s disappointing to say the least, and one thing I’ve reached out to Turtle Seashore for recommendation about, so watch this house for any updates.

Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max: Audio efficiency

The Gen 2 Max is supplied with the identical 50mm Nanoclear neodymium drivers because the Gen 2. Unsurprisingly, the audio high quality you get is equally pretty much as good, constantly sounding pure and clear whilst you’re gaming or taking part in music. Admittedly, that sound isn’t best-in-class, with stiff competitors this yr from the likes of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional, nevertheless it’s nonetheless adequate to get a commendation.

In Elden Ring, sounds of monsters gnashing their tooth at me, and the heavy thwacking of swords on my defend, have been all sounds that the Gen 2 Max delivered so clearly that it had me believing my life—not less than my digital one—was actually in lethal peril.

Switching over to Sniper Elite 5, a recreation whose soundtrack is as vital to the motion because the sound results themselves, the Gen 2 Max had no hassle whipping up an orchestral frenzy that had me chomping on the bit to sneak up on extra foes and ship ridiculously acrobatic take downs. Different standouts from my play session have been the sounds of bone-rattling explosions, and resounding cracks of rifle hearth that made me need to soar for canopy.

The Gen 2 Max additionally does atmospheric sounds extraordinarily nicely. On a rooftop in Uncharted: The Misplaced Legacy, it was laborious to not stand again for a minute to admire the buzzing of the electrical avenue indicators, rain pattering round me, and the deep rumble of thunder within the distance—all introduced house with a vivid realism.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

When you have a spatial audio-capable headset, it’s at all times price using that particular operate as a lot as you possibly can in video games like Battlefield I or Overwatch for that strategic benefit you get from positional sound cues, like listening to the route of your enemies’ gunfire and their approaching footsteps.

Fortunately, if you wish to goal foes faster, or in any other case outflank or outsmart them with comparable maneuvers, the Gen 2 Max has you nicely lined, supporting Home windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos in addition to DTS Headphone: X and 3D Audio on the PS5.

Testing out the spatial audio on my PC in video games that help Dolby Atmos proved it really works very nicely, offering you with a 360-degree soundscape that can totally change your perspective in your recreation.

The Gen 2 Max’s spatial audio dovetails properly with a setting you possibly can swap on within the Turtle Seashore Audio Hub known as Superhuman Listening to, which modifies the EQ settings to boost how nicely you possibly can hear sounds, like enemy footsteps, weapons reloading, and the motion of automobiles within the distance.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max: Software program

The Turtle Seashore Audio Hub is finest accessed through your smartphone, in an effort to change up your headset’s settings with out having to go away your recreation. Nonetheless, because you’ll have to pair with Bluetooth simply to see these settings, you gained’t be capable to casually research your choices with out your headset, which gained’t swimsuit tinkerers that prefer to pre-plan their audio technique.

Moreover, you get extra of a generic management of your machine’s settings quite than pinpoint detailed management—for instance, you possibly can create your individual audio presets, however can solely modify the treble and bass ranges on share sliders, quite than selecting actual frequencies, which once more could not swimsuit some severe audiophiles.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The app does have some helpful options, although, together with sliders that allow you to select your required settings for Superhuman Listening to, and the quantity of the headset’s voice prompts and notification tones, in addition to to your microphone’s sensitivity ranges.

Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max: Microphone efficiency

The Gen 2 Max’s flip-to-mute microphone deserves some reward for being an enormous timesaver, stopping you from having to fumble round for mute buttons, and even worse, an in-game mute setting, mid recreation. As soon as it’s up it’s just about invisible too, aside from the very finish half that’s nonetheless stealthy sufficient to not give the sport away.

From a sound high quality standpoint, the microphone does an awesome job, choosing up your voice in a refined and pure manner and muting shortly when required. You do sound a bit of additional away and smidgen greater in tone than you’d with an honest desktop mic, however that’s to be anticipated from the mic in a gaming headset.

Do you have to purchase the Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max?

The Turtle Seashore Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is spectacular in some ways, producing a refined sound, and sporting gamer-friendly options like multi-device connectivity and a protracted battery life. Sadly, our expertise with the headset’s Bluetooth reveals it additionally has just a few flaws that want ironing out for the machine to succeed in its full potential. Right here’s hoping a speedy firmware replace can just do that.