Overall, the Turtle Beach - Ear Force Recon 70 is a good headset. It’s comfortable, it sounds good, and it comes in at a very reasonable $39.95 price point. A Bluetooth version of this headset would be nice, though.
It has been a month since we received our Turtle Beach – Ear Force Recon 70 from TB, and we are ready to review them. Why a month? Well, I can tell you it wasn’t laziness that kept us from reviewing this sucker, rather it was the first review where we wanted to see the endurance of headsets. Rarely do we get this long for reviewing anything on the site, sans an MMORPG, but we put this headset through the test to see what came out of it.
To say we were impressed would be an understatement.
Coming in at less than half the price of the Stealth 300 from TB ($99.99 for the 300, $39.95 for the 70), which we reviewed back in August of last year (https://digitalchumps.com/turtle-beach-stealth-300/), the Recon 70’s quality is still maintained and put in the forefront.
The design of the Recon 70 is comfortable, easy to figure out, wired, and very plastic. Of course, TB gets you away from feeling any of that plastic by putting comfortable ear cushions and a nice, somewhat less thick compared to the Stealth 300, headband cushion. That cushion comfort cannot be understated, especially if you intend on playing the hell out of games for a long period of time. There have been headsets in the past that have been comfortable on the ears and not on the top of the head, even some Turtle Beach headsets, so it was nice to see the focus placed on a more inexpensive version of the TB headset.
The headset’s cushy comfort on all sides means that you can wear this for a long period of time without feeling sweaty or getting ear fatigue. I put this up front in the review because this is the first thing that should matter to gamers when they’re trying to use these for a long period of time. Personally speaking, these felt a bit more comfortable than the Elite headphones we reviewed a few months back, which are more expensive, though they deliver a better sound.
In terms of functionality, the headset works great. The 40mm driver speakers, which are common in headsets these days, as well as middle of the road headsets, are done right with the Recon 70. The 40mm speakers deliver a nice range of comfortable sounds and don’t put you in danger of being deafened by the volume controls (located on the back earpiece). I played several games with this, including playing the hell out of Destiny 2, Rage 2, and Observation and felt comfortable and satisfied with the sound control (not the manual one, the delivered one). The level of sound delivered was damn good, and the earpieces did a great job of handling the highs/lows. For example, Rage 2, which was obnoxiously loud at times, and seemed handled without much threat of ear damage. While I can blame loud sounds on my age, it the volume level of the Recon 70 did a great job of handling everything.
The headset also does a great job with delivering proper audio range and positioning during gaming, one of the more vital elements of keeping the gamer ‘in’ the gaming experience. Though you’re still getting a stereo experience with these puppies, the position of the onscreen sounds is replicated in a nice way. For example, in Destiny 2 I heard the enemies chattering during battle and properly moving/spinning with my character as I battled through the game. Their positioning was right during battles and the movement worked well in comparison to my visual movement. While you won’t get true 5.1 or 7.1 experience out of these, you’ll still get a nice audible delivery during gaming. You really can’t expect a lot more from headsets that fall into the $39.95 price point.
On the durability side of the tracks, I took this headset with my everywhere and stored it in a bag when I wasn’t using it. When I say ‘stored it in a bag’, I don’t mean gently. I threw these things in a bag with my Switch/movies/computer, and hoped for the best. While I know there are some readers out there that would covet this headset like it was a child, I would bet money the majority of people don’t think much about how much a headset can withstand in a busy book bag. While there were some scratches, there was never damage. The design of the headset can be moved to lay flat, not foldable, which boded well with throwing them irresponsibly in my bag. No issues after a month, as well as no real damage to them, even though they’re plastic. Very impressive.
Now, with all this positive, is there a negative? I would have loved to see a wireless version of this headset. I know that might raise the price a bit, but with the comfort and functionality, I would pay $15-20 more for a Bluetooth version of this headset. Don’t get me wrong, wired is fine, but I would love some freedom. There is nothing major with this complaint, rather just wishful thinking.
Overall, the Turtle Beach – Ear Force Recon 70 is a good headset. It’s comfortable, it sounds good, and it comes in at a very reasonable $39.95 price point. A Bluetooth version of this headset would be nice, though.
