Sony’s personal PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset set the usual for inexpensive, wi-fi PlayStation four gaming headsets, delivering robust sound and stable consolation at a worth that did not break the financial institution.
Now Turtle Seaside has its personal try at the exact same worth proposition: the Stealth 600 is a $99 (£89, AU$169) headset that pairs simply together with your PS4, delivers digital sound, and lasts for upwards of 15 hours of gaming. On paper, it is a very stable various with its personal distinctive perks, together with an amplified “Superhuman listening to” mode.
However there are some drawbacks to Turtle Seaside’s try, together with an ungainly design and cheap-feeling construct, that maintain it again from inexpensive excellence – though it definitely delivers robust digital sound if you may get used to the way it matches atop your dome.
Design
Not like some headsets that purpose for subtlety (just like the a lot pricier Beyerdynamic Custom Game), the Turtle Seaside Stealth 600 screams “gaming headset.” It is virtually all chunky plastic, full with huge blue colour accents on the cups for this PS4 version. An Xbox One model can be out there with the anticipated swap to inexperienced trim.
Sadly, this appears like very low-cost plastic. Some components recall the form of plastic used for Comfortable Meal toys, and the headset undoubtedly has an unsettling creakiness to it when holding and affixing it to your head. Compromises in construct high quality are truthful given the value for a wi-fi headset with digital sound, however the $59 (£49, AU$79) DualShock four controller feels much more refined than this headset. It is a bit jarring.
Sadly, the frustration is much more pronounced relating to match. Merely put, the Stealth 600 is without doubt one of the most awkward-feeling headsets we’ve ever caught on our head. It lacks the form of cautious contouring wanted to comfortably sit and keep in place, and no quantity of fiddling might find a candy spot.
We’d shift the versatile headband – which has a dense, puffy cushion beneath – forwards and backwards and play with the cups, however they pinch a bit an excessive amount of close to the highest of the cushions and by no means kind an excellent seal round our ears. With out that safe feeling atop our head, they all the time really feel tentatively hooked up, even when they by no means truly fall off throughout use.
At a look, they appear like they’re speculated to be worn backwards…however it would not really feel any higher. Not that it’d work proper anyway.
You will spend a good period of time touching the left cup, because it homes the compact, flip-down mic, which conveniently mutes when flipped up. It additionally has the ability and mode buttons, which provide a number of totally different makes use of. The mode button prompts the digital sound mode, in addition to swaps between a number of totally different EQ presets (Signature Sound, Bass Enhance, Bass and Treble Enhance, and Vocal Enhance).
Holding the ability button additionally prompts “Superhuman listening to,” which we’ll contact on within the subsequent part. In the meantime, having the general quantity and mic monitor quantity dials side-by-side could be a bit complicated if you’re blindly feeling for them.
Connectivity with the PlayStation four is fortunately hassle-free: a small USB dongle simply pops proper into the console. That is it: you are linked. Sadly, this version of the Stealth 600 would not hook up with different units. Not like Sony’s Gold Wi-fi Headset, you possibly can’t pop in a three.5mm cable to be used with telephones, tablets, or computer systems. That is an actual limitation.
Efficiency
To this point, not so nice. However the Stealth 600 actually delivers relating to audio efficiency. Flipping to digital sound, the soundscape impresses with its depth and readability, providing properly balanced sport audio throughout several types of video games.
The acquainted rat-a-tat of Name of Responsibility: WWII packs an immersive wallop in multiplayer battles, as bullets whizz by our ears and close by explosions have us reeling. Swapping over to Rocket League, the satisfying boings of well-placed photographs and the pulsing digital beats all reverberate effectively by the Stealth 600.
Regardless of some actual miscues with the construct and design, the Stealth 600 lives as much as Turtle Seaside’s popularity on the sound entrance. We’re not fairly as impressed with the non-surround setting, which appears very confined and a bit muddled whereas gaming (even in comparison with stereo headsets), however you may need to default to digital anyway. It is a vital distinction.
Tapping the ability button throughout play prompts “Superhuman listening to,” which is an fascinating little perk. Basically, it amplifies sure ranges in order that feels like footsteps, weapon reloads, and gunfire are extra ahead within the combine. When utilizing it with Name of Responsibility: WWII, we undoubtedly hear a distinction… however we nonetheless often get smoked by trash-talking teenagers. Your outcomes might range.
As for the flip-down mic, it is respectable—a pal on the opposite finish in get together chat suggests it sounds clear and solidly full, however has a little bit of an echo coming by.
Lastly, the Stealth 600 guarantees a powerful 15 hours of battery life on a single cost, and our testing confirmed that it is in a position to go for an extended haul. Even after utilizing it for a number of hours over the span of every week, it hasn’t demanded a topping up. It ought to maintain up effectively throughout a number of classes.
Closing verdict
Turtle Seaside’s Stealth 600 headset for PlayStation four does a number of issues very effectively: the sound high quality may be very sharp, the wi-fi connectivity is seamless and efficient, and the $99 (£89, AU$169) worth level is a giant plus.
But it surely comes with a variety of drawbacks, as effectively, a few of which may be extra urgent to you than others. The uncomfortable design is the largest difficulty in our eyes, together with a construct that feels cheaper than anticipated even at this worth. Past that, the dearth of connectivity with different units is a big omission.
At this worth level, Sony’s Gold Wi-fi Headset delivers comparable aural efficiency whereas excelling in all of the ways in which the Stealth 600 falls brief. And in case you do not like Sony’s headset and nonetheless need one thing wi-fi, you may be higher off paying a bit extra for a headset that is much more versatile and refined than this odd misfire.