A wireless headset that was meant for everything? Gosh, I’m game.
Secretly, I am a headset junkie when it comes to a good communication experience during a gaming session. I like hearing people clearly, and I like people to hear me clearly. Over the last few years, Turtle Beach has always come through in those categories, even in their less expensive headsets under the Atlas moniker. Color me not surprised when that level of quality was maintained with the Elite Atlas Aero wireless headset. It is stylish, yet simple, and comfortable, yet functional. It brings the same type of quality always seen with high-end Turtle Beach headsets while maintaining a level of cool. Trust me, I need all the cool I can get.
Let’s get this party started, shall we?
Functionality and Design
I am a console gamer by heart. I have always been a console gamer and will continue to be in the foreseeable future. That said, the Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero is made for a Windows 10 machine to maximize its advertised quality. It’s made to keep you free from wires, while at the same time keeping you honest with intentions. The games I tried out on this sucker included a slew of VR games (The Lab, Detached, Beat Saber) and one Untitled Goose Game. All passed with flying colors, with a specific stand out of the bunch being Beat Saber, which brings techno music propped up with a healthy amount of bass and some saber fun gameplay to boot. The headset brought the goods perfectly, as one would expect. Beat Saber sounds were crisp and clear, and those 50mm speakers certainly helped push it all quite well. It was certainly one of the better receiving experiences I have had with headsets, which probably is the reason why this is one of TB’s top-tier.
On the microphone side of the tracks, the mic worked remarkably well. I delivered clear messages to folks I chatted with during gameplay. It worked well on multiple occasions without the need to SHOUT into the mic. One of the more remarkable parts of this headset is the ability to speak normally and clearly through the mic. I often find myself shouting in mics without knowing it. When you have things over your ears and can’t really monitor how your voice volume level is maintained, it’s human nature to do some shouting unintentionally. The mic allows you to speak confidently quiet. Not so much as a whisper, rather just regular voice. It’s an odd transition to speak at a normal volume, but it works fine when you get used to it. Long story short, it’s a good mic, definitely one of the more impressive ones.
One of the best features that I have always struggled with in past reviews for Turtle Beach products is how comfortable they are when you’re wearing glasses. I’m blind as a freaking bat and I have to wear glasses at all times. It’s tough for me to wear headsets for a long period of time because my ears start hurting due to how my glasses are pressing against them. Wearing glasses was surprisingly comfortable with the Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero headsets. The cushions were designed to fit nicely around the arms of one’s glasses and bring comfort/joy to a four-eyes scenario. Again, this is a big deal and a reason why, prior to this headset, I usually wore earbuds to circumvent that pain/drama. I now don’t have to do that because of the Atlas Aeros.
Sticking with comfort, my ears usually get sweaty with headsets like this. I game more than 15-minutes at a time, so it’s unrealistic to think that I wouldn’t have the headset on for a long period of time. We’re talking hours, even if I’m not in a chat group. While my ears still get a bit sweaty, they actually don’t get as bad with this headset. The material and open design where the 50mm speakers lie, the material is see-through instead of cloth, helps to vent out that trapped heat. It makes ears less sweaty than usual, which makes me a happily comfortable gamer.
In addition, this also leads to fatigue on my head because headsets can be known to squeeze a big skull. Much like the last Elite I reviewed, the headband is padded and feels like it’s not there, which means there is no squeeze to my brain cheese. I don’t want a painful head massage when I game.
All of the above is a mixture of good design and fantastic functionality. The Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero delivers on everything it promises to be. It delivers solid, clear audio, while at the same time bringing a good communication system through its mic, as well as mappable controls (interesting concept for a headset, but I guess that’s why it is pro-level). On top of this, it brings comfort to the experience through some slight design tweaks for the ears and head.
Value
How dedicated of a gamer are you? Are you $149 dedicated? You have to ask yourself that, then take into account the above, while also taking into account that this headset works with consoles like the PS4. Yep, that last part threw me for a loop too. So, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I’m a console gamer by heart. What’s the first thing I do when I get this headset in? I plug it into the PlayStation 4, fire up Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, and have at it. And guess what? It worked like a charm. While that’s not entirely surprising because most Turtle Beach headsets claim specific platforms, but are secretly open to others, it’s a welcomed add-on to an already nice experience. It helps to justify that $149 price tag a bit more.
In the scheme of things, with the quality you get from this headset, $149 isn’t that bad of a price tag. It’s quite reasonable, especially when you see ASTRO headsets that are more than that price point.
Overall, it’s a great value.
