The Stealth 600 from Turtle Beach is an old acquaintance, as the first edition was released back in 2017. With the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3), the wireless gaming headset is now in its third generation and has been given some exciting innovations and features. Our test reveals a thoroughly coherent overall package at an attractive price of around 110 euros, although it is not without its weaknesses.
Technical data
| The product | Stealth 600 (Gen 3) |
| Design | Over-ear |
| Driver | 50 mm Nanoclear |
| Frequency range (headphones) | 20-20,000 Hz |
| Connectivity | Wireless (USB dongle / Bluetooth); Wired (USB-C) |
| Microphone type | unidirectional, with AI noise reduction |
| Range (wireless) | Approx. 10 meters |
| Battery life | Up to 80 hours |
| Charging time | 1.5 hours |
| Weight | 318 g |
| Compatibility | PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, smartphone/tablet; Xbox Series X/S; Xbox One (Xbox version only) |
| Special functions | Quickswitch; smartphone app; flip-to-mute microphone; Supherhuman Hearing |
| Price | € 109.99 * |
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) Review: design and comfort
- fresh, coherent design
- good workmanship; but a little wobbly
- very comfortable to wear
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) looks only slightly different from its predecessor. The new model, which is available in either black or white, is also based on rounded shapes and a pleasantly non-slip, slightly roughened surface.
The fact that the housing is made of plastic is completely normal in this price range. However, the Turtle Beach headset, which weighs 318 grams, does not show any weaknesses in terms of workmanship and looks very robust.
Although the twist-in ear cups in particular are a little wobbly, this is not really a cause for concern. Nice detail: Turtle Beach has placed small foam pads both on the ear cups and underneath the retractable microphone to minimize potential damage.
The headband and the pleasantly thick foam ear pads are very flexible and therefore offer excellent wearing comfort, even for spectacle wearers. With a size of 6 cm x 4.5 cm, the ear cups also offer space for larger ears. They are also removable and can be easily replaced if necessary.
In general, the wearing comfort is excellent. The weight is pleasantly distributed so that it can be used for several hours without any problems. With a battery life of a full 80 hours, the Stealth 600 is also very well positioned and lasts a pleasantly long time.
Operation: on the headset, PC and via smartphone app
- overloaded controls
- customizable rotary wheel
The manufacturer has come up with something new for the controls of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3). Admittedly: The controls on the headset itself seem a little overloaded at first.
On the one hand, this is due to the fact that all elements are distributed on the left ear cups. On the other hand, Turtle Beach has also arranged them in two rows on top of each other.
In the top row you will find the power button, a mode switch button (which can be used to switch between the equalizer presets) and the Bluetooth pairing button. These protrude minimally or not at all from the housing and can hardly be felt or reached during play. In my opinion, this could have been solved better.
The USB-C port for charging is located underneath, next to which the QuickSwitch button is positioned. This allows you to switch between 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth mode at the touch of a button.
While it is possible to pair and connect both options at the same time, unfortunately they cannot be used simultaneously, for example to use game sound and calls at the same time.
There are also two rotary wheels next to the quickswitch. The first allows the volume distribution between game sound and chat to be adjusted or regulates the microphone monitoring, whereby the function can be adjusted within the companion app. The second wheel then regulates the output volume.
Smartphone and PC app
- practical smartphone app…
- … but with a manageable scope
- 10-band equalizer on the PC
Similar to SteelSeries with the new Arctis Nova 5 Wireless (our test), Turtle Beach also offers a smartphone app with which settings can be made during gaming.
I personally find this extremely practical, especially as the Swarm II app has a pleasantly tidy interface. However, the range of functions is somewhat limited. At least the volume and EQ preset can be adjusted and the Superhuman Hearing function can be switched on and off.
With the microphone, it is possible to adjust the sensitivity, AI noise reduction and sidetone and also switch between four equalizer presets. The SteelSeries counterpart offers significantly more setting options here.
However, individual adjustment of the equalizer is only possible in the PC app of the same name. Here you can influence the sound in a total of 10 bands. However, the fine-tuning of the settings does not go much deeper, but the most important functions are still offered.
Playback and recording quality
- 50 mm drivers
- good, but somewhat narrow sound image
- suitable for gaming, music and streaming
Let’s be honest: headsets from Turtle Beach are particularly popular with gamers due to their high wearing comfort and good battery life. However, the sound quality has not necessarily been the US manufacturer’s flagship product to date.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) relies on 50 mm Nanoclear drivers, which produce a full and rich sound and create a wide sound stage with powerful bass, quite detailed mids and clear highs.
In general, the headset produces a good sound that is also quite enjoyable when listening to music via Bluetooth and does not tend to overdrive even at maximum volume and also presents the bass segment in a pleasantly clear and detailed manner.
However, the EQ preset “Characteristic sound” noticeably lacks airiness in the highs and a certain punch, so that the overall sound is very narrow and the sound is not given any room to develop. Interestingly, the “Vocal boost” does not help here either, so ideally you should adjust the equalizer yourself on the PC.
As far as gaming sound is concerned, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) delivers quite good results. But unfortunately nothing more. The Steelseries Arctis Nova 5, which is in a similar price range and has already been mentioned, is miles ahead acoustically and a Corsair HS55 Wireless Core (our test) also delivers a significantly better sound.
Don’t get the wrong idea: In terms of sound, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) is really well positioned and is equally suitable for gaming, streaming and listening to music. The problem, however, is the strong competition, which simply offers more for the same money.
In addition, the maximum volume of the Turtle Beach headset is noticeably lower than that of the competition. The headset is still pleasantly loud, but in some scenarios I would have liked a few more nuances.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) also includes the manufacturer’s well-known Superhuman Hearing function. This proves to be particularly useful in competitive shooters, as important acoustic cues such as footsteps are emphasized. However, this is noticeably at the expense of the audio quality, as all other sounds sound significantly tinnier and less detailed with the feature activated.
Microphone quality of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3)
The microphone of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) is hidden in the left ear cup and is automatically activated or muted thanks to the flip-to-mute function when the headset is folded in and out.
With a length of 8 centimetres, the microphone boom is comparatively short and completely inflexible, so you have to get to grips with the positioning and, if necessary, slightly tilt the ear cups to move the mic closer to your mouth.
It is therefore hardly surprising that the recording volume is correspondingly low and you are almost forced to sink the microphone into your own mouth in order to be heard clearly.
I tested the Stealth 600 in various online games such as The Finals or F1 24 and was always told by my fellow players that I was very quiet and hard to understand. Even though the microphone level was turned up to the maximum.
The overall quality of the microphone is good. The Stealth 600 (Gen 3) ensures that voices can be heard quite clearly, while the AI-supported noise suppression does an excellent job of blocking out background noise.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) review: Conclusion
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) is a successful wireless gaming headset that scores points for its appealing design, extensive connectivity, high wearing comfort and excellent battery life. Despite its limited range of functions, the smartphone app proves to be a practical addition that allows quick settings to be made during gaming.
However, the headset falls short when it comes to sound. It’s by no means bad, quite the opposite. It’s just not on a par with the competition in this price segment and unfortunately doesn’t reach the quality of SteelSeries and co. despite the equalizer adjustment.
In the end, it’s a good wireless gaming headset that performs equally well when listening to music, gaming and streaming and could be of interest to anyone looking for a new device in the budget segment.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3)
Workmanship
Comfort
Sound Quality
Microphone Quality
Features
Value For Money
84/100
The wireless gaming headset scores points with its extensive connectivity, high wearing comfort and excellent battery life. The sound and microphone quality are also good, but cannot keep up with the renowned competition.
