The Bottom Line
Pros
- Robust, flexible, and comfortable build
- High-quality, crisp, punchy, and booming sound
- CrossPlay feature is great for jumping from PC to console
- Extensive on-ear controls
- Intuitive and powerful software
Cons
- A little heavier and tighter than expected
- Turtle Beach's punchy 'Signature Sound' isn't suitable for all media
- Lack of predefined presets
- Convoluted firmware upgrade process
Should you buy it?
AvoidConsiderShortlistBuyIntroduction & Specification Details and Close-up
Sometimes, simple ideas can feel impactful and innovative in the same way complex new tech can when it comes to changing how it feels to use a product. Case in point: The new Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 is the latest incarnation of Turtle Beach's flagship wireless gaming headset for console and PC gamers. It introduces a brand-new feature, one that we haven't seen before, called the CrossPlay Dual Transmitter Multiplatform Wireless Audio System.
Okay, so that naming is Turtle Beach giving a straightforward idea a complex name just for the sake of it. CrossPlay means you get two wireless dongles or USB receivers, one for your PC or gaming laptop and one for your Xbox or PlayStation. From there, all it takes is a simple button press to change from two different sources. For the many gamers, myself included, that game across PC and console, CrossPlay is a great feature to have. Is it essential? No, but in the highly competitive gaming headset market, it's just about enough to make the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 stand out from the pack.
Of course, two dongles would be pretty pointless if the actual audio and comfort were sub-par - thankfully, that's not the case here. The dual 60mm Eclipse audio drivers in the new Stealth 700 Gen 3 deliver powerful and punchy bass that Turtle Beach loves to call its 'signature sound.' It's impressive stuff for most games, with an immediate sense of detail and depth that eclipses the competition. Yeah, they certainly live up to their name.
But there's much more to the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 story than a big booming sound and two wireless USB receivers. Let's dig in.
Specifications & Close Up
- Product Type: Wireless Gaming Headset
- Product Name: Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3
- Interface: 2.4 GHz Wireless, Bluetooth 5.2
- Compatibility: PC (Windows 10 and above), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Bluetooth Devices
- Form Factor: Over Ear Closed
- Drivers: 60mm Eclipse Dual Drivers
- Headphones Frequency Response: 20 - 20,000 Hz
- Microphone Type: Unidirectional
- Surround: Microsoft Spatial Audio, Various
- Cable: 0.7m Charging Cable (USB-A to USB-C)
- Battery Life: 80 hours
- Weight: ~ 408 grams
- In the Box: Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Wireless Gaming Headset, Two CrossPlay USB Wireless Transmitters, Charging Cable (USB-A to USB-C), Quick Start Guide
Kosta's Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition
- Display: MSI MAG 321UPX QD-OLED 4K 240 Hz
- Cooler: ASUS ROG RYUO III 360 ARGB
- RAM: 64GB (4x16GB) Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM RGB DDR5 DRAM 6000MT/s
- SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 4TB, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus Plus M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 8TB
- Power Supply: ASUS TUF Gaming 1000W Gold
- Case: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX PC Case
- OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
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Design & Software and Support
Design
As the latest Stealth 700 from Turtle Beach, the new Gen 3 model looks very different from previous incarnations. It's a more minimal design with fewer curves, and at least for me, an improvement over the overtly 'gamer' style the brand is known for. Aesthetics aside, the new style incorporates the company's premium memory foam ear cushions (made from a combination of leatherette and fabric) with patented glasses-friendly technology, a steel-reinforced headband, and metal hinges.
The build quality here is excellent. The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 is robust and flexible. However, at just over 400 grams, it's heavier than most wireless gaming headsets in 2024. Weight distribution is on point, so the headset doesn't become uncomfortable to wear after an hour or so, but there is a tightness to the fit that some might not like. The benefit is a great seal, even when wearing glasses, which helps cut out most background noise while amplifying the sound.
With dual wireless and Bluetooth functionality, one design choice worth highlighting is how Turtle Beach has separated the volume and main controls for these input sources across both ear cups. On the left cup, you'll find the main volume for wireless gaming, alongside a separate chat and game mix, while on the right cup, you'll find a separate Bluetooth volume dial and the main Bluetooth button. The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3's on-ear controls cover all bases, and the company even allows you to remap a few of them with the Swarm II app.
Okay, somehow, I've gotten this far into the review without mentioning the up to 80-hour battery life. Yes, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 features one of the longest-lasting batteries we've ever encountered with a headset. With the ability to get a few hours from just 15 minutes of charging, running out of juice is not an issue when you can go a week or two of heavy gaming between charges.
The final design point is the flip-to-mute microphone, which conceals nicely but sticks out a little when unused. Unlike other premium wireless gaming headsets of late, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 doesn't double as an on-the-go headset for travel or ANC listening; it's more of a stay-at-home beast - with Bluetooth support.
Software and Support
Like all peripherals in 2024, the first time you fire up the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3, you'll need to update its firmware. This isn't something I usually highlight in a review as it's typically over and done with in a matter of minutes. How you update the new Stealth 700 is convoluted. You not only need to connect the headset to your PC, but you also need to connect it to the smartphone version of Swarm II while ensuring that both USB receivers are plugged into your PC simultaneously. Once that is done, the whole firmware update process takes close to 10 minutes.
Like all modern Turtle Beahc products, the new Stealth 700 uses the excellent Swarm II app on PC for all customization, which is also available on Android and iOS. Swarm II is far and away the company's most feature-packed and intuitive software package to date, and it immediately highlights and showcases the headset's features. Each section has a handy help tooltip explaining the settings, from the robust volume and mic monitoring controls to the 10-band equalizer.
On the equalizer front, Turtle Beach offers a 10-band equalizer for audio and the microphone; however, the number of available presets is lacking - with only a handful of different artificial boosts outside of the main 'Turtle Beach Signature Sound' setting. Outside of gaming, the default audio can feel a little too punchy or bass-heavy, so it would have been nice to see some extra options for movies, music, or different game genres. It's weird because the headset includes a physical button on the left ear cup to switch between the various audio modes or presets. The ability to create and save custom presets is here, but you'll need to tinker whenever something sounds a little off.
One surprising feature you have with Swarm II regarding the new Stealth 700 headset is the ability to change the assignment of one of the dials and buttons on the left cup to a few different options. Likewise, you can assign headset features, like Turtle Beach's Superhuman Hearing mode for boosting player footsteps in competitive multiplayer games, to various hotkeys on your keyboard.
Performance & Microphone
Performance
With its tight seal, comfortable closed-back design, and punchy 60mm drivers, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 features some of the most impressive bass response we've heard from a modern gaming headset. Punchy, deep, booming, but not to the point where it drowns out all the other frequencies. It's hard to look past the new Stealth 700 for the bass-heads who love to game. Whether it was playing DOOM Eternal, Diablo 4's new Vessel of Hatred expansion, Call of Duty on PC, or Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X - there's a lot to love about the default tuning, which extends to crisp highs and music and mid-range detail coming through clear.
Enabling Advanced Superhuman Hearing to boost footstep and other players' sounds when playing Call of Duty reduces the audio's cinematic impact - but it's hard to deny the benefit this adds to competitive gaming, where spatial awareness is essential. This is a simple toggle in the Swarm II app and something you can bind to your keyboard, so turning it off or on quickly is a plus.
The default tuning was great after going through a bunch of different games, some with spatial surround and others without. However, when taking a break from music or watching a film on Plex or Netflix, the overtly prominent bass did become an issue, depending on the source. Without many EQ presets for different media or game genres, this required setting up a couple of custom presets to get an optimal listening experience. The good news is that with excellent sound quality, you can fine-tune the sound to make it just right for your ear - which is always a big plus.
Microphone
Voice and communication are important for gaming headsets, and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3's flip-to-mute microphone quality is decent, with clear vocal capture and detail. However, it's not broadcast quality or on par with a dedicated microphone. It is better than most gaming headsets, and the built-in AI-based noise reduction does remove a lot of background noise.
With the ability to adjust the microphone EQ and monitor your voice, adjust the chat and game balance with physical controls on the headset, alongside a separate volume for the Bluetooth connection, it's all intuitive, feature-packed, and easy to access. Turtle Beach has been in the headset game for several years, so it's great to see this side of the experience catered for and then some.
Final Thoughts
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 is an improvement over its predecessor, from the look, feel, and comfort of the headset to the CrossPlay feature, which is perfect for gamers who jump from PC to console and vice versa. Throw in an impressive 80 hours of battery life and one of the best software packages for customization available today with Turtle Beach Swarm II, and there's a lot to recommend here.
Ultimately, even though the audio drivers are high-quality and deliver a crisp and clean sound, the overly bass-heavy tuning does make the Stealth 700 better suited for gaming. There's a lot of versatility here with multiple wireless receivers and Bluetooth 5.2 functionality; however, they're not the sort of go-to cans you'd pick up when you want to listen to some music or watch a film. It's not that the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset Gen 3 needs to be a jack of all trades; it excels at what it does - gaming.