The Stealth 300 headset from Turtle Beach lies somewhere between “I want to be a Twitch Streamer” and “But I’ve got things to do”. It’s professional grade quality when it comes to functionality and how the headset works, while at the same time sporting simple design that makes your audible gaming experience comfortable.
Let’s get right into it.
Made specifically for the Xbox One (if the green didn’t tip you off), the headset features surround sound, variable rates of mic pick-up and delivery, as well as several presets to control what the user is experiencing with bass, treble and such. While I do like my headset a little less automatic, what the headset controls, it controls well. I found a balance between getting enough audio goodness from the game I was playing, which was Sea of Thieves to test this out (that has a bevy of beautiful surround sound testing options), while at the same time chatting it up with my crew without much audible interruption. Getting the splashing sounds of rough waves, the creaking of the boat, depending on the positioning of my onscreen character, while a teammate is yelling obscenities about pirates/stealing our treasure/and this game is unfair, the Stealth 300 delivered a perfect balance of SFX and screaming. All of which translates quite well to the ear. In all seriousness, the surrounding environment in the Sea of Thieves was gorgeous. Hearing waves splash against my boat from all directions, while having a pleasant soundtrack play with a good amount of bass/treble (avoiding too much of either) was an audible dream. The headset really put me in the environment, which is what you want out of it.
As for the mic functionality, I was grateful that the headset goes on mute when you flip the mic up. While that concept isn’t anything new, it does exist on mid-to-expensive headsets level. The Stealth 300 allows for the quick flip and quick mute of the mic seamlessly, with an accompanying sound to confirm no one can hear you. Why is this important? Well, when you have a talkative four-year-old that loves yelling around the house, at cats, in my mic, it is both respectful and important to save the ears of your teammates. This flip-up mic option is imperative in such a scenario when your daughter has no gaming etiquette (we are working on that at home). That may sound funny, but when you’re on the receiving end of that yelling it is a blessing for that mic to flip up.
The most amazing, and probably underappreciated, feature of the Stealth 300 is the battery life. I do gaming in short stints (I have to run a site, ya know), but a lot of those stints within a day. I have charged this headset once for three hours. I have used this headset for a week, as of today. I have played the shit out of Destiny 2 and various other games with this headset. I know over time the long stint of not having to charge the headset will grow shorter, but as it stands right now, I have not had to keep these things charged constantly and have not run into a moment where they died on me. The longevity of the charge is quite amazing. I know I have put in over 10 hours of gameplay with them since receiving them. I have also used them with my iPhone/PS4/Mac during this review time. It has been through multiple devices for different uses. Again, one charge. That is insane in my opinion. It’s an enormous strong point for a mid-range headset when reviewing it.
Beyond just functionality for everyday usage, I found the headset incredibly comfortable. I usually can only take a headset for so long before moving back to earbuds, but I have found little discomfort in the design of the Stealth 300. The headband specifically is comfortable, even though it is made of metal. Turtle Beach has a fair amount of padding underneath that keeps that metal off your noggin, which makes the headset feel like it isn’t there — and you want to feel that way about any good headset. In addition, the 50mm over-ear speakers sound beautiful and are comfortable. The sound is very much contained to the ear, though not abusing it. The size of the over-ear speakers is a perfect cusp to the ears, even with slightly big ears like mine (thanks, dad). The latter here is important because there is generally some ear fatigue from the over-ear padding pressing against my ears. That wasn’t a factor whatsoever during my review period with these beauties.
Related, this headset also allowed me to wear glasses while playing. I know, I know. Most headsets allow for that, but most press the arms of the glasses into the sides of one’s head, which hurts after an hour or so. Having worn glasses since the age of five, I was pleased that this wasn’t a problem during the review period. I guess Turtle Beach took a note from its cheaper $19.99 PS4 single-ear headset, which gives space for your glasses to fit into, and that is a huge blessing, though, there are some issues on the other side of the grip with that particular headset. Anyway, it was a good design move to allow users with glasses to play with comfort.
At the end of the day, the Turtle Beach Stealth 300 was an impressive headset for a small asking price of $79. It delivers the audio beautifully, is enhanced by solid surround sound, and has a comfortable design that makes it feel like it isn’t there. That’s everything you want from a headset. To boot, the fact that you can use it on other devices makes it even more valuable to the consumer. Having a diverse piece of technology makes the value of the product skyrocket. If you’re looking for a good headset, then you don’t need to go far.
