Windows Central Verdict
Well, Turtle Beach has done it. I’ve been using the new Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) headset for several days now, and find myself awe-struck by the high bar the firm has set here. Priced at $199, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) delivers audio, comfort, features, and build quality on what I would have sooner expected to see on a $299 headset. Absolutely immaculate sound and bass, cavernous soundscape with great pin-point separation, fine fabrics with memory foam cups, durable and dense construction — there’s almost nothing to complain about here. Besides its complex firmware update process and “average” mic experience, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is probably the best $ for $ Xbox and PC gaming headset you can buy right now.
Immaculate sound with a cavernous soundscape
Great features, with dual-USB switching and Bluetooth audio mixing
Superb comfort and materials, with premium build quality
Industry-beating price point
Monster 80-hour battery life
Mic experience could be better
Firmware update process is a bit convoluted
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•Price and specs•Build quality and comfort•Audio and features•Competition•Should you buy it?
Welcome to our Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) headset review. Turtle Beach is back with another premier gaming headset that, at least on paper, could prove to be among the company’s best.
Turtle Beach has produced some of my favorite headsets ever. The Stealth Pro is among thebest Xbox headsetsout there, and one we consistently recommend. It is pretty pricey though … what if there was something similar, but over $100 cheaper? That’s what the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is potentially promising here.
With vast multi-platform capabilities, Bluetooth 5.2 dual-source sound mixing, premium materials, and a monstrous 80~ hour battery life — the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) has all the makings of an industry leader. Does it make the grade in reality, though? In short, absolutely yes, and then some.
Read our full Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) review below to find out more.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) |$199 at Amazon
The Stealth 700 (Gen 3) feels like it should be far more expensive, frankly. Dual wireless USB switching between Xbox and PC, dual sound mixing between Bluetooth and USB, premium quality and comfort, stunning, immaculate sound, and great features make this one of the best value premium headsets on the market.👀See at:Amazon
This headset was reviewed with a Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) unit provided by Turtle Beach. Turtle Beach did not see the contents of this review prior to posting.
I’ve been reviewing gaming headsets for ten years at this point, starting out as an independent blogger and working my way up to exec editor over here at Windows Central. I’ve reviewed dozens of Turtle Beach headsets over the years, as well as options from the firm’s various competitors. I want to help you make the best choices when it comes to Xbox and PC gaming accessories.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3): Specs & Price
Audio:Simultaneous 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2Weight:399 gramsDrivers:60mm “Eclipse” dual driversFreq. response:20Hz to 20 kHzFeatures:Dual wireless and Bluetooth sound mixing, flip-to-mute mic, leatherette material cups, memory foam cushionsCompatibility:Xbox One, Series X|S, Windows 10 and higher PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Bluetooth devicesBattery life:~80 hoursPrice:$199
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) meets its previous “700” models, hitting $199. Previous 700 models have ranged from $130 to $150, depending on the generation, but it seems with Generation 3 Turtle Beach is repositioning this headset as more of a premium option, while also aligning with evolving gamer user habits.
The headset is widely available at all major retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Turtle Beach’s own website. Since it’s a very new headset, it’s unlikely to see deals for Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day any time soon, but we’ll keep an eye out and let you know. At the very least, it might see a few dollars shaved off the asking price.
The spec sheet is fairly standard on the face of it. Leatherette cups return with memory foam, as is usual for Turtle Beach’s more premium-end headsets. We also have standard 20Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, although that doesn’t tell the full story on audio reproduction really (more on that shortly). The headline act here is probably the dual USB wireless sound switching. Instead of having a single transmitter with two cables attached, Turtle Beach opted for separate USB dongles for PC and Xbox, allowing you to swap on the fly. There’s also Bluetooth 5.2 with dual-audio mixing, and a range of on-ear controls to help adjust audio levels for all the different features.
So how good is it in practice? Read on for our full Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) review.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3): Features, Design, and Comfort
When I first unboxed the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3), I was expecting a decent mid-range type of product that perhaps wouldn’t blow me away, but would ultimately do the job. Now I feel a little guilty for having such little faith.
What Turtle Beach has put together for the Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is nothing short ofspecial.I say special because the quality materials, dense construction, and sleek design are more befitting of headsets in the $300 range, such as the firm’s own Turtle Beach Stealth Pro from earlier in the year. At $199, I feel like I’m getting an absolute steal here, and you likely will too.
I’ve been reviewing Turtle Beach headsets for a decade at this point, and have seen the firm go from its ugly green neon-splattered plastic-y toys to more mature, professional, premium designs with more suitably subtle flairs and metallic accents. The Stealth 700 (Gen 3) absolutely fits that niche, perfecting on its Gen 2 predecessor with extra attention paid to comfort and durability.
The headband is coated in a thick memory foam, joining the cups with leatherette and fine fabric that feels pleasant and cool on the ears. They’re also large, although not what I’d describe as bulky, although you may feel differently. They’re designed to house massive 60mm drivers this time around, though, with a closed back format for spectacular isolation and immersive bass. Although, we’ll talk more about sound shortly. This headset is just fantastic to wear, and is easily among the most comfortable headsets I’ve used in recent memory. I have a large head, too, and feel that the vast majority of people will find the adjustment levels more than adequate.
The on-ear controls are intuitively designed, with a variety of differentiating tactile patterns to help build your muscle memory when feeling for them with your hand. There are three volume dials in total, one for PC audio, one for Xbox’s Chat / Game mix balance, and one for Bluetooth audio levels. You can mix sound sources between one USB wireless 2.4 GHz source and one Bluetooth 5.2 source, which includes phones, TVs, tablets, practically anything with Bluetooth really.
In my testing, I found that the wireless signals are well isolated from each other, preventing corruption when mixing sound sources together. I was able to play games on my Xbox while feeding music or Discord in from my PC with Bluetooth with ease. The pairing multi-function button also works well for skipping tracks and pausing and the like if you plan to use the headset out and about. And you can, since the microphone is easily hidden with a tidy “flip to mute” configuration.
Perhaps the biggest criticism I can throw at the Stealth 700 (Gen 3) in terms of features stems from its firmware update cycle. Updating the firmware on the headset requires you to connect not one, but both USB dongles to a power source simultaneously, while also running the update from the mobile version of the app. If you don’t have access to a laptop or a PC, you might struggle to keep the headset up to date. Generally speaking, it seems the out-of-the-box firmware was already polished and bug free, but it’s worth being aware of the issues you might have updating otherwise. It also took a seriously long time to get the update through. I feel as though there must be a better way here, but it’s also not a huge deal.
Speaking of the mobile app, Turtle Beach’s software is good overall. The mobile and PC app are both called “Swarm II” and can be easily downloaded from Turtle Beach’s support website. They both share all the same features from what I could tell, giving you EQ pre-sets, mic monitoring volume adjustments, and the ability to configure some of the buttons.
Some of Turtle Beach’s competitors have gone hard on working with game publishers to build customized EQ pre-sets specifically tailored to games. Turtle Beach’s out of the box pre-sets are pretty standard by comparison, with bass boost, bass and treble boost, vocal boost, and Turtle Beach Signature Sound as the only profiles. You can add and maintain more than that if you fancy it, but it would’ve been nice to see some more pre-defined options here. Although, it might simply not be needed.
Turtle Beach’s Signature Sound profile already sounds fantastic by itself, and I’ll go into more detail on that in the next section, but there are other features that enhance your games too on offer here. Turtle Beach’s “Superhuman Hearing” feature returns, although it’s not activated by default, strangely. You also can’t toggle it on or off using the “mode” button either, which again, is odd, and probably something they should explore for a future update. In any case, when itisturned on, you canvery aggressivelyenhance the frequency ranges where things like footsteps, movements, and gunshots typically sit. Activating this does punish the cinematic feel of the games you’re playing, however, but it will definitively give you a tactical edge in the process. Turtle Beach’s “Legacy” Superhuman Hearing setting mode seems to balance cinematic quality with enhanced tactical sound to some degree, however.
Well, since we’re already talking about sound features, let’s go further in depth into what this headset actually sounds like.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3): Audio and Mic Experience
At this point, I’ve done so many of these reviews that I’m rarely truly impressed anymore. There are some fantastic headsets out there, of all price points, shapes, sizes, and feature sets, but it’s rare that a headset comes along and makes me think"yes, this is a recommendation for basically everyone.“It’s also been a long time since I felt like I could say this about a Turtle Beach headset too, which often seem to come with at least some caveat, price ask, or competitor that makes them a little harder to recommend for everyone. I’m pleased to say that the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) not only makes the grade, the more I’ve used it the more I think this might be the best pound-for-pound Xbox and PC gaming headset money can buy right now.
For cinematic video game sound, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is simply immaculate. Cavernous 60mm drivers deliver some of the best soundscaping I’ve experienced in a product that nails so many of the other fundamentals, while also being so impressively feature rich. The bass is sweeping, warm, and rich, with punchy activations that reminisce of IMAX cinema experiences. Truly sublime.
The combination of impressive closed back isolation, coupled with 60mm drivers make for a truly immersive experience, with some of the best detailing and separation I’ve experienced in a “gaming” headset. It’s not something I would have expected from a headset at the $199 price point, particularly given how many additional features Turtle Beach managed to squeeze into this product.
For tactical audio, Turtle Beach continues to leverage its Superhuman Hearing algorithm, as I noted earlier. I prefer the “Legacy” setting, which still enhances positional awareness, while also enhancing frequencies where player movements and actions typically sit. It doesn’t completely eliminate cinematic qualities when playing like this, and as someone who doesn’t fancy themselves an esports diamond ranked kinda guy, it’s more than adequate.
For cinematic video game sound, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is simply immaculate.
However, if youdowant a maximized advantage, the Superhuman “Footsteps” pre-set will fully isolate that frequency, giving you a large tactical advantage while sacrificing cinematic qualities. I’m not a huge fan of this mode personally, as it gives the overall soundscape a tinny, muffled veneer that takes you out of the action. But that’s what it’ssupposedto do ultimately. It enhances footsteps to a degree that it feels almost immoral to use, giving away enemy movements with deadly precision.
I would have liked to have seen more partnerships with publishers given that much of Turtle Beach’s competition is doing similar here, but it’s not exactly a dealbreaker. You can create your own profiles and EQ settings using the app of course, but I found the “Signature Sound” profile to be crystalline enough without further tweaks — that’s not something I can say often.
There are a couple of criticisms worth mentioning here, though.
Afterreviewing the new Astro A50this month, I was wowed by the headset’s microphone, and wondered if it predicted a wider trend among headset manufacturers. I can report that pretty much isn’t the case.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is notably poor on the microphone front, as you can hear in the audio clip above. It’s not as if it’sunusablypoor, but it’s easily the weakest aspect of what is otherwise a near-perfect product. Turtle Beach also sought to add an “A.I. enhanced” tag on the microphone too, and it’s hard to hear exactly how it enhances the experience. I was also a bit disappointed by the noise gate. Even when it’s turned all the way to zero, it seems that it still occasionally attempts to noise gate to some degree, and can be slow to respond when you start talking, cutting off the first part of your sentence. You can hear it in the mic clip there for an example. The good news is that this is likely an early teething problem with the software noise gating, and probably easily fixed with a future firmware update. The mic monitoring is also not as crisp and responsive as other solutions out there, but it at least gets the job done.
When everything else is so good, the downsides stick out a bit more potentially. The microphone quality is middling and nowhere near good enough for content creation or livestreaming, but it is more than serviceable for party chat or Discord comms with friends. The flip to mute aspect is always nice and intuitive to see, although the action on the mic arm is a bit less reassuring than I would perhaps like.
Over all though, there’s very little bad to say here. This is perhaps the best “all round” and not criminally expensive Xbox and PC gaming headset I’ve used in a long time.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3): Competition
I’m not sure what exactly makes the Stealth 700 (Gen 3) stand out so far ahead of its competitors, but the coalescence of features makes it hard to recommend anything else in this price range right now. Even far more expensive headsets like theAstro A50 (Gen 5)andSteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro,I would argue fall short in audio delivery, instead opting for additional features.
Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, I think the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) might be the best-sounding Xbox headset out there right now, at the very least on par with products like theAudeze Maxwell,BeoPlay Portal, andRazer Blackshark V2 Pro. However, it also has those headsets beat on features probably, sometimes as well as price.
When you look at the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) and zoom out, it’s difficult for me to still want to use other headsets I have at my disposal. It does everything its competitors do, only noticeably better in some cases. For every possible use case, incorporating Bluetooth 5.2 sound mixing, instant switching between two wireless USB sources across Xbox and PC, an incorporated retractable mic, and superb comfort and quality makes this a leader in the space in my view.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3): Should you buy?
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is something I’m prepared to recommend as my go-to for those who want full multi-platform capabilities in a single package without compromising on sound quality. What Turtle Beach has managed to pull off here is nothing short of remarkable, hitting a very competitive price without skimping on features.
You should buy the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) if:
✅ You play on multiple platforms, including Xbox and PC, and want to switch instantly between them.✅ You are particular about comfort and high-quality materials on your skin.✅ You want a leading sound experience both for cinematic and tactical gameplay.
You should not buy the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) if:
❌ You want a headset that can also offer content creation grade mic quality.
When Ireviewed the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro, I felt like some of its additional features didn’t justify the price point it was reaching for. The swappable batteries were nice, and having a single signal source for multiple devices was a nice touch too. However, I feel like the Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is essentially delivering that experience offered by the Stealth Pro albeit at a far more competitive price point. Monstrous 80 hours battery life precludes the need to have swappable batteries, and the retractable mic beats the detachable mic too for going mobile. And the sound experience is just on another level, reminding me why again Turtle Beach remains my favorite headset maker.
They always seem one step ahead of the competition when it comes to soundscaping at competitive prices, and the Stealth 700 (Gen 3) exemplifies that. This is one headset that absolutelywill notdisappoint anyone who buys it.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) is a monumental effort by Turtle Beach, and is the culmination of everything they’ve learned from previous headsets. The only pain point is the microphone, which is just “okay,” but that’s hardly a pain point worth discussing when sound and feel are this immaculate. A top-tier $199 headset.
Jez Corden is the Executive Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow onTwitter (X)andThreads, and listen to hisXB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!
