The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is a game-changing headset – it just took some time to get there. Now that it’s finally reached that point, let me be the first, and hopefully last, to tell you: The Atlas Air is a delight to use for gaming, music, and work. I’ve had it on my head for the past few months and I refuse to use anything else.
Look, I know, the Atlas Air was released a few months ago. At release, I wasn’t confident reviewing this headset as was due to several quirks that made this premium-tier headset quite subpar. Things like the headset’s volume being tuned to an almost unacceptably low degree to the point where having it at 90% volume made it so that I could hear normally, the occasional disconnection when I was in calls, an update to one of the EQ settings that made it so that high-bass sounds overpowered the rest of the audio spectrum, among several others. I learned to live with these quirks and resigned myself to the notion that Turtle Beach would continue fine tuning this headset sooner rather than later…hopefully.
Several months and several firmware updates later, the Atlas Air is now worthy of our review and even more, worthy of a concrete recommendation from us. Turtle Beach’s Atlas Air is bar none one of the comfiest premium headsets I have used for gaming and work.
Before I get to why, I want to start off with my biggest and only complaint about the headset at this time: The quality control of Turtle Beach that has led to a persistent issue of an absurdly low volume within the headset to where tuning it to 90% was the minimum volume needed to hear anything. Upon updating the headset’s firmware for the first time out of the box, I had to jack up the volume across all of my devices so I could hear anything. Pushing it above 90% destroyed my eardrums while tuning it below 90% made everything too quiet. God forbid I used the volume wheel on the left earcup – the volume would jump six steps up or down.
This weird volume quirk led to a frustrating experience using the headset on my PC, MacBook Pro (for SCIENCE purposes – Mac is not officially supported!), Pixel 8 Pro, and PS5. I attempted to reset and redownload my devices’ audio drivers, reset/recover the Atlas Air’s stats, switch between the 2.4GHz and Wired modes, even downloading additional EQ software to push the volume gain to a ridiculously high level so I didn’t have to sit at the 90% level. No dice.
Some folks online hypothesized that this issue could have been related to a faulty firmware update, or the implementation of the WAVES 3D Audio process, or even something related to the power of the device. It turns out that a firmware update pushed a short while ago (over two months post-launch) fixed most of the volume issues, but the fact remains that the Atlas Air was not the best at launch.
As of August, the Atlas Air has reclaimed its throne as a top-tier premium gaming headset. I’ve tested this headset just about every day since I received it. I’m sure you may have read or watched other critics’ reviews of the Atlas Air closer to its launch, but this review should give you an idea of a power user’s experience several months in.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
The Atlas Air’s most prominent and unique features are its open back and floating earcup design. In plain language, this means that the drivers are suspended while being held by miniature elastic cords. The open backside of the earcups are exposed, meaning that there’s little sound compression being forced inward while also allowing for audio blending with outside environments. On paper, some may misinterpret this to mean that sound “leaks” from the headset; in practice, this means that the sound meshes with the environment to create an immersive soundstage that lacks the isolative silence that can often make audio sound too “punchy.”
The process of taking the headset from the box and placing it upon my noggin shed light on why the Atlas Air was given its name. It’s quite light (even with the microphone inserted into the headset), clocking in at just under 11oz. While it doesn’t compare to the weightlessness of the RIG 900 HX (~8.5oz), it beats it out in terms of its comfort thanks to its mesh headband and cushy earcups.
The headset’s headband utilizes mesh suspension and an elastic strap that lightly wraps around the top of one’s head. Velcro anchors the strap to the headset’s plastic frame, making for an easy adjustment if you need to make adjustments for that perfect fit. This is the only “adjustable” part of the headset, as the earcups are fixed in place. Luckily, this configuration makes it so that the headset has a more natural fit as opposed to one that requires a great degree of finicking to get it to rest comfortably on one’s head.
The Atlas Air has cushy foam earpads – Turtle Beach says that they’re memory foam. I don’t disagree with them claiming that they’re memory foam, but they feel far softer, spongier, and lighter than I’ve become accustomed to from using “memory foam” earcups. They’re large enough so that they completely cover my ears, so they ever-so-lightly press against my ears. While I would have preferred some soft leather over the fabric used on these earcups, they feel great and don’t push into my head in any sense.
This headset is sublimely comfortable thanks to its construction and near-weightlessness. I loved how the mesh and strap made it so that it lightly wrapped around the top of my head as opposed to being firmly pressed like other headsets have utilized. I’ve found issue with how plasticky headbands press so hard into my noggin and occasionally indent into my hair to make it seem like I have a permanent mark, but this does not happen with the Atlas Airs. They’re also glasses friendly, thanks to the ProSpecs glasses-friendly technology.
In terms of comfort, the Atlas Air headset is top notch and worthy of its premium pricetag. I was able to keep this headset on for nearly 12 hours in a single sitting (switching from work to play and back to work), and there were moments where I had forgotten I was wearing them because of how light they were and how little they impacted my head’s natural movements. When doing chores (like dishes, vacuuming, and cleaning), the headset stayed put as I bent down and moved around the house. It wasn’t until I vigorously shook my head where they wiggled around but still maintained a good seal around my ears.
The Atlas Air can be connected wirelessly via Bluetooth (direct-to-device), 2.4GHz wireless with the included USB dongle, or directly to your PC if you choose to connect with the included USB-C cable that is also used to charge the device. I was able to quickly swap between the two wireless modes with a quick button press on the left earcup in the instance where I was playing on my PC and I needed to make a quick phone call on my Pixel 8 Pro.
I’m going to assume that you’re in the market for a wireless headset, meaning that you’re focused on one thing: battery life. Turtle Beach claims that you can get up to 50 hours on a single charge. In my testing over the past three months, I could very easily hit 55 hours before the headset hit the 1% mark and the headset nearly died on me. In my constant testing – I was able to get by charging this headset once a week without it dying or interrupting my workflow (with the exception of once where I had plugged it in to a cord that wasn’t connected to my computer, which is on me for being a doofus). Usually, battery degradation can occur anywhere between a month to several years based on the frequency you need to charge the headset. My experience with AirPods and other smaller headphones has led to their batteries degrading in a little over a year, while some headsets have lasted up to three years. In my nearly three months of testing, I was able to consistently hit the 50-hour mark and only charging it when needed.
Shifting over to the headset’s audio quality, I was impressed with its sound profile. I mentioned earlier that this headset incorporates an open-back design that allows for sound to naturally mesh with the outside environment. You’re probably thinking: Doesn’t this mean that sound leakage will impact the soundstage? To that I say: sort of, but it’s not an inherently negative aspect. Think about it like this, you’ll be able to immerse yourself within whatever you’re listening to, but you’re still able to ever-so-slightly hear what’s happening around you. This also means that a small amount of what you’re listening to may leak to the outside world.
In my testing, here’s what happened. I could hear myself typing and testing out mechanical keyboards, albeit slightly. At louder volumes, the outside sounds diminished, but I could still hear things like doors closing/slamming in the house but not enough to feel like I couldn’t enjoy what I was listening to. I asked my partner if my music was too loud and/or it was distracting, and I was told no to both. I could slightly (think, a small echo) of what was playing on the headset when someone else was wearing it.
All of this is to say that you most likely shouldn’t be taking this headset with you if you’re planning on traveling on a plane, train, or automobile. Considering the small degree of sound leakage, it’s not the best candidate to drown out the din of a crowded airport or other passengers’ conversations on a packed train on a daily commute. That said, this is a gaming headset first and foremost, so I wouldn’t expect this headset to meet the needs of someone looking to plug in and drown out the sounds of everyday life on a daily basis.
This headset also features 40mm drivers with Waves 3D Audio and 24-bit audio quality in PC mode, along with a driver frequency range of 20Hz-40kHz. I’m often hesitant to test music on gaming headsets because, you know, it’s a gaming headset! However, the Atlas Air blew me away. Its sound profile is broad yet balanced, with some punchiness in the bass that is slightly under from what I expect from more bass-heavy headphones like the AirPods MAX and even the RIG 900 MAX HX. Listening to Remi Wolf’s Disco Man (Little Dragon Remix) brought out the sharpness of its bass beats while also highlighting the synths of the mids. I could feel each beat of Megan Thee Stallion’s BOA while I worked on other things. The only songs that didn’t do well are those that are treble-heavy, like Benny Benassi’s House Music – expect some tinniness. However, it wasn’t tinny in the sense that the audio sounded cheap. It just sounded…less full than the mids and bass.
At the $189.99 price range, I am more than satisfied with the Atlas Air’s audio performance. Somehow, it manages to excel in just about every way without overcompensating by jacking up the bass to an undesirable degree. Heck, this is a fantastic headset to use while working.
How about gaming? Well, it’s more or less the same as the audio experience: Things sound fantastic. With surround sound and the 3D Waves Audio enabled, playing competitive games like VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 was a delight wearing the headset. Things like footsteps, enemy callouts, and smaller sounds like bullet casings and reloads were picked up and clearly delivered, albeit slightly less thanks to the open-back nature of the headset. I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t play competitive games with this headset, but you won’t get the perfect degree of noise isolation that you may want if you’re doing your best to stay alive based on your surroundings.
If you’ve read some of my earlier headset reviews, I’ve often praised headset manufacturers for including flip-to-mute microphones. The Atlas Air has one, too – and it’s detachable in case you don’t want to have the microphone at all. It’s super bendy, too. By simply flipping the microphone one notch upward (without fully pushing up), the headset would beep to notify me that I was muted. Bringing it back down made another noise to signify that I was unmuted. I personally prefer headsets with microphones that become flush with the headset’s body, but this is a fine alternative.
The bendiness of the headset’s microphone gave me quite a good deal of freedom in moving it closer or farther from my face. I didn’t need to worry, for the most part, as the headset does a pretty decent job of cancelling ambient noises (like moving, breathing, and humming) on top of most VoIP platforms’ noise cancellation features. For the sake of science, I hand washed some dishes while talking to my friends in a Discord call, and none of them could hear the water running.
The microphone’s quality is solidly decent. It doesn’t stand out as the most crystal-clear, nor does it muddy my voice like a cheapo set of headphones. For most cases, it delivers on correctly capturing my voice without cutting me off or drowning me out thanks to ambient noises. I wouldn’t use this for professional streaming or audio recording, but I’ve been using it for my day-to-day work calls without issue.
The Atlas Air can be further adjusted using Turtle Beach’s software suite, Swarm II. Like the other recently-released peripherals from Turtle Beach, Swarm II is used to update the headset’s firmware and configure it to your liking. I was able to enable things like Chat Boost, Superhuman Hearing, High Bandwidth Audio/Microphone, adjust the Waves 3D, and create/modify audio presets to further maximize the audio experience. Out of the box, the headset utilizes the “Turtle Beach Signature Sound” profile which is more than adequate for most users. The Bass Boost and Bass + Treble Boost profiles did some work in bringing out some of the best parts of my favorite songs, but there was a weird reverberation with the Bass-heavy profiles enabled. You’re better off staying away from those two profiles, but your mileage may vary.
Let’s get down to brass tacks about the Atlas Air: It excels in music, it does an adequate job in capturing voice through the microphone, and it’s a delight to wear because of how airy it is. It lasts a LONG time for how great it sounds. It’s a step above any headset I’ve tested. My only concern is the quality control of the headset and the average consumer’s willingness to wait for updates and/or fiddle with the EQ settings to get that perfect sound profile. Some folks want things working right out of the box while others want the freedom to adjust how they want. The Atlas Air does both, albeit to middling degrees.
Let’s wrap this up.
The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is a game-changing headset – it just took some time to get there. Now that it’s finally reached that point, let me be the first, and hopefully last, to tell you: The Atlas Air is a delight to use for gaming, music, and work. I’ve had it on my head for the past few months and I refuse to use anything else.
