Not everyone has space or environment for a surround sound system to go with their gaming console. Or, for those who do, there may be times when you’d rather, or need to, use a nice pair of headphones so as not to disturb the rest of the house. While there are a number of Xbox One gaming headsets, most are wired. The few that offer a wireless solution require a myriad of cables to be connected to the console and a base station. It’s not the end of the world but there are finally some truly wireless Xbox One gaming headsets available. Our Turtle Beach Stealth 700 review takes a look at the first truly wireless Xbox One gaming headsets available on the market that utilizes Microsoft’s native Xbox wireless technology to connect to the console.
Before we begin, there are a lot of negative reviews around this headset. Fortunately, Turtle Beach released a firmware update which addresses most, if not all, of those issues. As such, this review is based off of a firmware updated headset.
Specifications
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 has the following features and specifications:
- Audio Connection: Direct Wireless Connection
- Speaker Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
- Headset Power: Rechargeable Battery
- Battery: Up to 10 Hours
- Speaker Size: 50mm with Neodymium Magnets
- Microphone: Flip-Up Omni-Directional
- Headband/Earpad material: Synthetic Leather with Foam Cushioning
- Ear Cushion: Synthetic Leather with Foam Cushioning
What’s in the box
- Stealth 700 Gaming Headset
- USB Charging Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Turtle Beach Sticker
Design
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 looks pretty standard as far as gaming headsets go. With a largely plastic frame, the headband has a rubberized top piece with the Turtle Beach wordmark across the top. While it looks nice and is comfortable, the headband easily attracts dust and hair and it’s a bit of a pain to get it off easily. On the underside is a suitably thick foam cushion covered with black synthetic leather.
The headband is adjustable and the earcups are attached to the end of the headband at the end of the adjustable portion. The Stealth 700 logo is printed in silver on each of these just above where the earcups swivel forward roughly 10º and back 90º. Coupled with the adjustable headset and the swivel, the earcups are easily adjustable for a comfortable fit.
The outside of the earcups are a matte black with the Turtle Beach logo sitting just above a diagonal gloss black strip which adds a bit of a slick look to the Stealth 700 headset. On the left earcup, the flip up microphone is attached in this black strip. Just below that are three rubberized buttons: Superman Hearing toggle, Bluetooth, and Power. Underneath these buttons, on the side of the earcup are an LED light, Micro-USB port for charging, and a 3.5mm jack for wired use. Finally, up towards the back of the left earcup are the wireless pairing button, the mic chat volume control, and the separate game volume control.
The inside of the earcups are padded with the same black synthetic leather as the underside of the headband. Inside the center of the earcup is the green Turtle Beach logo. The foam actually consists of two firmness levels with a softer foam where eyeglass arms rest for those of us who wear glasses. While it’s not noticeable when you’re not wearing glasses, it definitely makes a more comfortable fit for sure when gaming for extended sessions while wearing glasses.
Ease of Use
If you’ve used an Xbox One wireless controller, it’ll be a no-brainer connecting the Stealth 700 to your Xbox One console. For those that haven’t, simply hold the wireless pairing button on your Xbox One and the wireless pairing button on the Stealth 700 until the Xbox light on the console and the LED light on the headset are blinking. After a few seconds, both lights will breathe in sync and finally go solid indicating the headset is paired. That’s all there is to it.
Of course, you’ll want to take advantage of the Turtle Beach Audio Hub app and to do so you’ll need to pair the headset with your mobile phone. Pairing is as easy as any other Bluetooth headset, just press and hold the Bluetooth button on the headset to initiate pairing then find the device in your Bluetooth settings on your smartphone. Once paired, you can not only change your audio settings on the fly through your smartphone but also stream music or take calls from your phone while gaming.
Software
As mentioned in the previous section, the Stealth 700 take advantage of the Turtle Beach Audio Hub smartphone app. We tested the app out on an Android device but there is an iOS version available as well.
Once paired via Bluetooth, audio settings can be adjusted and sent to the Stealth 700. The app itself is pretty basic but easy to navigate and function. Oddly enough, there are two ways to access most of the settings. The first being your typical hamburger menu in the upper left and the second being a navigation bar across the bottom of the app. The hamburger menu lets you switch between the Home, Device Settings, Device Info, Support, Superhuman Hearing, and Bluetooth Disconnect/Reconnect pages. An option to hit up the Turtle Beach social media pages is also available. The navigation menu across the bottom lets you access the Home, Device Settings, Device Info, and Support pages.
The Home screen lets you adjust the Mic Monitor and toggle Superhuman Hearing, Chat Boost, and Active Noise Cancellation. This screen also allows easy switching between Turtle Beach’s Signature Sound, Bass Boost, Bass and Treble Boost, or Vocal Boost Audio Presets.
The Device Settings screen lets you adjust Voice Prompt Level, Tones Level, and toggle Do Not Disturb, Text to Speech, and Mic Noise Gate. Device Info displays app and firmware version, as well as connection status. The Support page is pretty similar but also has a link to the FAQ.
The Superhuman Hearing page is basically a huge button and pressing anywhere on the screen toggles the Turtle Beach Superhuman Hearing. To be honest, it’s a bit redundant due to the toggle on the Home screen but it is pretty flashy and if you toggle between this mode while gaming, having an almost fullscreen button is pretty handy.
The Bluetooth Disconnect/Reconnect menu link is pretty straightforward and prompts to make sure you want to disconnect the Bluetooth pairing.
As mentioned above, it’s a pretty simple app but easy to navigate and allows you to easily adjust and customize the sound settings on your headset. The changes made are uploaded to the headset so however it was last set in the app is how the headset will stay until you modify the settings again via the app. The exception to this is the Superhuman Hearing setting which can be toggled via the button on the left earcup.
Sound Quality
Before we continue, I will reiterate once again: update the firmware on the Turtle Beach Stealth 700. There are many reviews online that complain about sound quality and connection issues, and I can vouch that pre-firmware update these issues were present. However, once the firmware was updated on the headset the connection issues went away and as a result so did the sound quality issues.
The Stealth 700 feature 50mm speakers and the sound quality is pretty decent out of the box with the Active Noise Cancelling feature enabled. While levels are great and the headset is balanced, utilizing the Xbox One Windows Sonic for Headphones makes the headphones that much better. With Windows Sonic, you get immersive virtual surround sound akin to Dolby Atmos. On that note, the headset is also Dolby Atmos compatible, although that does require a purchase on the Xbox One to enable it.
Turtle Beach touts its Superhuman Hearing setting, stating that when enabled “you’ll have the competitive advantage by being able to hear all the subtle yet game-changing sounds, like enemy footsteps sneaking up on your six, other players reloading their weapon for an ambush, and vehicles off in the distance approaching with reinforcements.” Any advantage in multiplayer games like Call of Duty or Battlefield is welcome. While the Superhuman Hearing setting did change the levels of the sound coming through the headset, I personally didn’t find it made too much of a difference overall and actually preferred having Superhuman Hearing disabled for richer, more full sound.
As mentioned before, the app includes four audio presets: Signature Sound, Bass Boost, Bass and Treble Boost, and Vocal Boost. Coupled with Superhuman Hearing and Active Noise Cancellation, the presets do a pretty good job of making it easy to customize the sound in the Stealth 700 to your liking. It would be nice to see a full blown EQ though, especially considering you can also stream music over them via Bluetooth.
Microphone/Voice Quality
Just as important as sound in multiplayer gaming is chat and voice quality. The Stealth 700 has a Dynamic Chat Boost function which can be activated in the aforementioned app and it works quite well. In addition, being able to independently control game volume and chat volume also helps as well and during gaming I had no issues hearing other people in my party.
The Stealth 700 also has mic monitoring which, in my opinion, is a feature that all gaming headsets should include. Being able to hear yourself while you are chatting makes it easier to reduce the tendency to speak louder because you can’t hear yourself.
When not gaming with others, or when you need to quickly mute the mic, simply flip it up and the mic is out of the way and your voice is muted.
Battery Life
Turtle Beach claims a battery life of up to 10 hours between charges on the Stealth 700. During our testing, we easily lasted a week between charges gaming between 1-2 hours a day and hitting the 10-hour battery life mark more than a few times.
Price/Value
With an MSRP of $149.99USD, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 is about average priced for a wireless gaming headset. Fortunately, the headset is currently on sale on the Turtle Beach website for $119.95 and on Amazon.com for $119.99. Depending on the type of gaming you do, the regular price is decent assuming most, if not all, of your gaming is done on the Xbox One or you have the Xbox Wireless dongle for the PC. At the current sale pricing, it’s a no-brainer if you’re looking for a wireless Xbox One headset that’s easy to use, quick to connect, and offers decent sound.
Wrap-up
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 finally brings true wireless audio to the Xbox One console family. Easy to connect, they offer decent sound and even Bluetooth connectivity for extra functionality.
*We were sent a sample of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on January 27, 2018.
