We’ve tested 16 Turtle Beach headsets. Turtle Beach make a variety of gaming headsets available at most price points. These headsets tend to have special features like active noise cancelling (ANC), Bluetooth, and dedicated amps. They even make in-ears with a detachable boom microphone. Their microphones typically have a good recording quality, even with their budget models.
Best Turtle Beach Headphones
BEST TURTLE BEACH HEADSET
Neutral Sound7.0Commute/Travel7.4Sports/Fitness6.9Office7.4Wireless Gaming7.3Wired Gaming7.7Phone Calls7.3Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling YesMic YesThe Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless is the best Turtle Beach headset we’ve tested. If you like first-person shooters (FPS) or multi-player games, these top-of-the-line headphones are for you. Their bassy sound helps bring out sound effects without drowning out dialogue and instruments. They’re also equipped with a Superhuman Hearing feature to help further emphasize sounds like footsteps in some games. You can even fine-tune their sound using their companion software’s graphic EQ and presets. Remember that they come in Xbox and PlayStation variants, so it’s important to ensure you get the right variant for your console.
Unlike most gaming headphones, they have ANC and can block out a good amount of sound around you. With their ANC on, they last over 16 hours continuously, and thanks to their swappable battery design, you can use one and charge the other in the wireless transmitter dock. These can also have two mics: a boom mic, which offers decent overall performance, and an integrated mic, which doesn’t perform quite as well but helps transform the headphones for more casual use. They support Bluetooth, and you can stay connected to your console and smartphone simultaneously. However, their wireless transmitter has a slightly noticeable audio lag on PC, although we didn’t perceive it on consoles. Additionally, latency can differ depending on your setup.
BEST UPPER MID-RANGE TURTLE BEACH HEADSET
Neutral Sound7.0Commute/Travel6.4Sports/Fitness7.1Office6.5Wireless Gaming7.1Wired Gaming5.7Phone Calls6.9Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best upper mid-range Turtle Beach headset for gaming we’ve tested is the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Wireless. They lack the ANC feature from the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless and have a tighter fit, but they also offer a 16-hour continuous battery life, are well-built, and come in an Xbox and a PS4/PC version. They support Βluetooth, meaning you can mix chat or music from your phone with game audio. Their default sound profile adds extra rumble, punch, and boom to audio, which is well-suited for action-packed games. If you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets, meaning you can customize them. They also have a boom mic with great recording quality, so your voice sounds clear when you’re gaming with friends.
Unfortunately, like many gaming headsets, they don’t isolate you from ambient sound, so they aren’t ideal for noisy environments. They also leak a lot of sound, so people around you might hear your game audio if you’re listening at high volumes. On the upside, they offer low latency, support Xbox Wireless if you buy the Xbox variant, and offer robust sound customization features so you can really dial in your preferred listening experience.
BEST MID-RANGE TURTLE BEACH HEADSET
Neutral Sound7.7Commute/Travel5.5Sports/Fitness5.9Office6.5Wireless Gaming5.5Wired Gaming7.2Phone Calls6.4Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Βeach headset in the mid-range we’ve tested is the Turtle Beach Recon 200 Gen 2. This wired headset is usually much cheaper than the previous picks, but the price is reflected in its build quality. It feels plasticky and doesn’t have a detachable cable, so you’ll need to replace the headset if the cable gets damaged. However, it has a lighter design and a more comfortable fit for most people. While it doesn’t work with a companion app and lacks customization features like an EQ, a slider on one ear cup controls a virtual surround sound feature when connected to an Xbox or PlayStation console. With that feature on, the sound profile is boomy and emphasizes sound effects like footsteps while still reproducing dialogue clearly and accurately.
Unfortunately, the boom mic doesn’t perform as well as the previous picks, so your voice lacks body and is more likely to be drowned out by background noise. However, if you’re in a quiet place, people will still easily understand you during online games. Like most gaming headphones, they don’t block out very much background noise, especially compared to pricier options.
BEST BUDGET TURTLE BEACH HEADSET
Mixed Usage5.6Neutral Sound6.6Commute/Travel5.0Sports/Fitness5.7Office5.3Wireless Gaming5.2Wired Gaming7.0Phone Call7.0Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Beach headset in the budget range we’ve tested is the Turtle Beach Recon 50X/Recon 50P. These wired headphones have a cheap build quality, even more so than the Turtle Beach Recon 200 Gen 2, but if you’re looking for an inexpensive option for gaming, they aren’t bad. The boom mic makes your voice sound clear, natural, and full-bodied when you’re gaming with friends and even does a good job of separating it from background noise.
Their warm sound profile adds a lot of extra boom to your audio, which is well-suited for action-packed games, but at the same time, mixes can sound muddy and cluttered. Voices also lack a bit of detail. Their bass response also varies depending on the headphones’ fit and positioning, so if you wear glasses or have thick hair, you can experience a drop in bass. That said, they offer a fairly comfortable fit for most people and have basic in-line controls so you can easily adjust the volume or mute the mic. Since they have a simple wired design, they come in one variant that works with PCs and most consoles.
BEST TURTLE BEACH EARBUDS FOR GAMING
Mixed Usage5.6Neutral Sound5.4Commute/Travel5.5Sports/Fitness6.4Office5.5Wireless Gaming4.5Wired Gaming6.5Phone Calls6.5Type In-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless NoTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Turtle Beach earbuds for gaming we’ve tested are the Turtle Beach Battle Buds. These wired earbuds are worth considering if you don’t like the fit of over-ear headphones or want something more portable than a typical gaming headset. They have a boom mic that’s detachable for when you want a more casual look. The mic has a decent overall performance, so if you’re gaming with friends, they can hear you clearly, even with some noise in the background. They’re adequately comfortable and fully compatible with devices with an AUX port, meaning you can plug them into an Xbox or PlayStation controller.
Like other Turtle Βeach headphones, these buds have a very exaggerated bass response that adds extra thump, rumble, and punch to mixes, which can help bring out sound effects in action-packed games. However, they may not be ideal for games with a lot of dialogue since all this extra bass also muddies mixes and overwhelms vocals and lead instruments. They aren’t extremely well-built either, and the cable feels weak, specifically where it connects to the earbuds. However, they offer a solid mic performance and are worth considering if you prefer earbuds for gaming.
Compared To Other Brands
- Unique active features.
Most Turtle Beach headphones have active features that differentiate them from other gaming headsets. Their cheapest headsets are more basic, but you don’t have to go up in price to see special features like Bluetooth support, bass-boost effects, or even noise cancelling. - Mobile-friendly gaming designs.
Even though Turtle Beach makes headsets with a very gamer-centric design, they’re often fairly versatile for mobile use with your phone. Most of their headsets use a standard 1/8″ audio jack, and some are compatible with Bluetooth. They also have a few models with detachable mics, so they can be a bit less bulky for use with your mobile devices. - Good microphone quality.
Being gaming headsets, most options from Turtle Beach have good microphones for multiplayer gaming. Their often shorter boom mics aren’t as good as some gaming brands like HyperX or SteelSeries, but they still deliver a good recording quality and will be more than suitable for gaming and making calls.
- Lack of customization options.
Unfortunately, Turtle Beach doesn’t have the best support software for added customization options. The Turtle Beach Audio HUB lacks features and customization options compared to other brands. It’s also a bit unreliable and tends to crash fairly often. - Inconsistent build quality.
While some of Turtle Beach’s more recent, higher-end models feel well-built, most of their headphones feel plasticky and cheaply made, especially compared to other gaming brands in the same price range, like Corsair or HyperX.
TURTLE BEACH VS STEELSERIES
While SteelSeries headsets are generally more expensive than most Turtle Beach options, they often look and feel much more premium and high-end. Most SteelSeries gaming headphones feel durable and well-built and have good microphones and well-balanced sound profiles.
TURTLE BEACH VS ASTRO
Astro gaming headphones generally have well-balanced sound profiles and look and feel well-built and comfortable. They offer a variety of products, including budget options that can compete with headphones from Turtle Beach and higher-end options designed to compete with more premium brands like SteelSeries.
Overall, Turtle Beach gaming headphones are decent and often have unique features that make them more versatile. The inclusion of Bluetooth in many of their headsets makes them more convenient for casual use, so you can use your gaming headset as your daily driver headphones when on the go. Unfortunately, their build quality is often lacking compared to other brands like SteelSeries or Corsair. While most of their lineup feels plasticky and cheap, some higher-end options, like the Turtle Beach Elite Atlas and the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless, feel well-made.
Lineup
- Recon: Wired gaming headsets.
- Stealth: Wireless gaming headphones that usually come in separate Xbox and PlayStation variants.
- Elite: Mostly headphones intended for PC. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 SuperAmp are also available for PlayStation or Xbox, but either way, the SuperAmp is compatible with PCs.
- Battle Buds: Wired earbuds for gaming with detachable boom mics.
- Scout: Bluetooth earbuds meant for Nintendo Switch, phones, and PCs.
Some ROCCAT headsets are also available through Turtle Beach’s website but are marketed separately under the ROCCAT brand, which Turtle Beach owns.
Turtle Beach makes gaming headphones at several price points that are generally pretty affordable. Their headphones often offer special features like Bluetooth capabilities and ANC. These features make Turtle Beach headphones a good choice to double as your day-to-day headphones. Unfortunately, their build quality is generally lower than similar headphones from brands like SteelSeries and Corsair. Also, their app lacks customization options and can be downright frustrating to use at times. However, if you’re looking for a single pair of headphones that you can use while gaming at home or while on the go connected to your phone, then Turtle Beach may be the right brand for your next headset.
