Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware and Software
It has been a while since we have had a white headset in our hands. I think they can look good, though, like other white peripherals, might not be recommended for use by hungry gamers. As for the Stealth 600 Gen 2, I think Turtle Beach has done a good job in producing a headset that is not too gamer-focused and looks generally alright in even day-to-day usage. As such, we have a mostly white finish on the headset's plastics with a slate gray finish on the earcups and the headband. Turtle Beach logos can be found on each ear in a different silver-gray finish. Interestingly, there is a line that shows where the ears pivot from the rest of the body. It is not really distracting, but it definitely stands out as different in looks compared to other headphones I have seen previously. Just to note, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 comes in both white and black variants for both their PlayStation and Xbox variants. The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 is primarily made out of plastic. A mesh fabric can be found on the earcups, while the top is made out of PU leather. Even with all the plastic, there is no creaking or unwarranted noises made when the headset goes under pressure, which makes me think we have a well-built headset in the Stealth 600 Gen 2.
Starting at the ears, the cups are wrapped in a mesh fabric with a good amount of foam, at least when it comes to thickness. The foam has a sufficient amount of give without being too flimsy. One feature that I should mention here is something Turtle Beach calls ProSpecs. In essence, the pads on the side of the ear cups are meant to have a softer foam or even a divot around where glasses would exist compared to the rest of the rim. It might not have been noticeable, but they definitely stayed comfortable to keep on, and I did not feel much pressure against the side of my head from my glasses. As for the drivers underneath, you can see these are 50mm neodymium drivers. Unfortunately, I was not given too much else as to their specifications prior to their launch. Otherwise, the ears themselves can pivot about to better fit the side of your head. They can also rotate to sit flat if you want to rest your headphones on your neck.
Moving to the top where the headband of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 is, you can see there are a few neat things to point out. For one, each side of the headband has an exposed portion where you can see how far you have extended the headset. There are markings that are subtle but show a number, ranging from 1 to 4, to represent how far you have extended the ears. With my big head, I was a "4" on both sides, but it is nice to see a visual representation of the notched arms. At the top, we have a leather-covered foam pad that feels plushy enough to cushion your head and alleviate any pressure you might feel if it were bare.
In terms of overall comfort, I found myself quite happy with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2. There is a sufficient amount of foam on the ears and the headband to keep the gaming headset comfortable. In addition, the headset's clamping pressure is good to secure its place on my head without being too tight. I personally prefer the fabric material used on the earcups over PU leather, because they keep the ears a bit more breathable and release some of the air pressure you may feel in your ears. Even after a while of use, I did not find the headset to be overly warm or uncomfortable. In addition to all of this, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 is pretty light at 291g. Considering it carries the batteries and wireless components to connect to the adapter, this is quite good.
On the left side of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2, you will find all of the controls and inputs of the headset. Starting at the most back dial, you have the dedicated volume wheel, followed by a microphone monitor volume wheel. The first dial is obvious, but the second one allows you to monitor your voice through the headset. I personally found the dials to be a bit too close together, which made adjusting the wrong dial all too easy. I would have preferred to see one of these dials on the right side instead. Otherwise, they have a good amount of resistance to avoid accidental increases or decreases. Underneath, we have an oval button marked Mode, and this lets you cycle through four default equalizer settings. This includes default, Bass Boost, Treble and Bass Boost, and Vocal Boost. The headset will beep the corresponding number of times when you cycle through to tell you which mode you are in. This Mode button also protrudes out a bit more than the next oval button, which is used for powering on and off the headset.
When the device is powered on, you can click the power button to activate Superhuman Hearing mode, which is meant to allow for a gamer experience, so you can hear in game sounds more clearly like footsteps, gun reloads, and other crucial noises. This is not to be confused with virtual surround sound, because it is more about amplifying certain frequency ranges where these in-game noises might exist. Next to the power button, we have a USB Type-C input, which is used to charge the headset. Finally, we have a microphone that swings out of the headphones on the left side. Since it sits integrated on the side, it automatically mutes the input when it is in this position. When you do swing it out, there is a notable notch where swinging past this position will then unmute the microphone. You can then further position the mic closer to your face by folding it in. This does mean the microphone holds well in place, but there is a fixed number of positions this arm can be held in.
From here, you can get a better look at the wireless USB dongle that comes with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2. It is relatively compact and is white in color to match the headset. A LED can be found on the end that illuminates blue or red, and changes between solid illumination, fading, or blinking, depending on the current status. This lets you know when the headset is connected and if the microphone is muted. Otherwise, it is a standard male USB Type-A plug. On one side, there is a small pin hole, which will let you reset the connection between your headset and the dongle if you ever need to do so.
When it comes to the wireless capabilities of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2, I was actually quite impressed after trying it. The advertised fifteen hours is a very conservative guess, because I was often able to get almost twenty-four hours of usage per full charge. Recharging the headset takes around two and a half hours, though you cannot use the headset when it is plugged in. As for the wireless range, it was more than capable at being used for a console experience, as I could walk quite a bit away from my computer or my Switch. I think the wireless experience with the Stealth 600 Gen 2 is excellent overall, especially with the long battery life.
Otherwise, you can get a look at the Turtle Beach Ear Force HS2 they included with our review unit. It may not look like a whole lot of engineering, but I appreciate the simplicity of this stand. It is built from a single piece of aluminum and raises your headphones off the table or the ground. They have added a bit of styling to the otherwise plain black stand in the form of some cut-outs of the vertical part. The whole stand sits with a relatively wide base, making it sturdy overall. The stand also weighs 478g. On the bottom, there are four rubber squares to better prevent the stand from getting scratched as it sits on a surface or from it vibrating against a table it may be sitting on. Otherwise, the HS2 can easily hold a single headset with its extended arm. I personally would have liked to see the arm be contoured to the curve of your headset to ensure it allows any pair of headphones to rest evenly on the arm without unnecessary stress at the edges. Even so, it is a decent stand that fulfills its purpose.
Normally I would have software to review, as Turtle Beach does state the Stealth 600 Gen 2 does work with Turtle Beach Audio Hub, but unfortunately we were also told the utility would not be updated until the day of the review release, so we will update our findings after the review has been published. For most users, you probably will not need to use the software too much, especially since this pair of headphones are meant to be used for console gaming rather than though your computer. As such, the Audio Hub is only meant to update the firmware if need be. Otherwise, the Turtle Beach Audio Hub is available from the manufacturer's website, and is a 5MB download.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
