How To Use Turtle Beach Stealth 600 On Pc

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 was a wildly successful gaming headset, delivering decent audio and battery life on a budget. With the company's second-generation version of the headset, no doubtfulness hoping to nail information technology in the same way. This gaming headset comes built with the next generation of consoles in mind, meant to capitalize eventually on the spatial sound capabilities of the Sony PlayStation five. We spent a couple of weeks with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 to improve inform you of its strengths and weaknesses.

Editor'due south note: this Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 review was updated on May 24, 2022, to address the deviation between this headset and the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX and include in-line FAQs.

Gamers looking for something unproblematic that'll work across platforms, including ones that oasis't come out yet.
At-home workers who need something wireless they won't have to charge too often.

What is the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen two like to utilize?

Brand new though this headset may be, when information technology comes down to it you know what to expect if you've used on from Turtle Beach in last couple years. This looks and feels a lot like the visitor'due south Recon line of headsets, with a few tweaks, but that'southward not necessarily a bad matter.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset sits on a cloth surface

While our review unit of measurement is black, the headset also comes in a white color variant.

The Stealth 600 Gen 2 is an entirely plastic device, with a sturdy hinge system that allows for a decent amount of tilt and rotation. The headband features a leatherette-covered cushion, and has quite a scrap of tension to it—at start I actually institute it a little too tight. Regardless, the headset feels very secure, which is especially important with wireless gaming headsets, given you're probably going to move around a little more than with it on than with a wired headset.

The headphones feature ear pads covered in mesh material designed with grooves underneath to brand wearing spectacles more comfy. The ear pads are pretty soft, and getting a decent seal isn't terribly hard. The mesh fabric doesn't isolate likewise every bit something like leatherette just manages rut well, which is great for longer sessions.

A man wears the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset.

The ring feels pretty tight at offset, but loosens over time.

Visually, this looks almost identical to the Turtle Beach Recon 200, with exception of the microphone. Where older Turtle Beach models feature a microphone on the side of the left headphone, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 microphone folds into the headset. It still works exactly the same—flip it up to mute and downward to talk—simply information technology looks a little subtler.

How practice you control the Turtle Embankment Stealth 600 Gen 2?

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset button and dial controls.

If you're not looking at the controls, it can experience like yous're just fumbling around.

On the other hand, the controls await pretty much the same equally other headsets, only more cluttered. The headset sports a ability button, audio mode button, volume punch, and mic sidetone punch in a row on the back of the left headphone. I found myself fumbling back and forth between the mic and volume dials while trying to adjust book mid game more than once.

What software comes with the Stealth 600 Gen two?

While the software complement is blessedly minimal, the headset still has a couple bells and whistles. It comes loaded with four EQ presets y'all can toggle between using the mode push button. On top of the default signature sound profile, there's a bass heave choice, a bass and treble heave selection, and a song heave option. I didn't observe a lot of utilise for them, just they do noticeably change how things sound.

How practice you connect the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2?

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset lies flat on a table.

The hinges rotate so the headset tin lay flat, which tin can exist nice if you're working at a computer all day.

Using the Stealth 600 Gen 2 is largely straightforward, with a couple caveats. This wireless gaming headset connects to your PC or console of choice using a 2.4GHz wireless USB dongle. Thankfully, in that location'south nix you need to exercise to fix the headset upward past plugging it in—the Turtle Beach Hub app exists solely for updating the headset's firmware, and then it's easy to skip. Pairing with the dongle tin take a lilliputian scrap longer than you'd look—it sometimes took upwardly to 30 seconds during the review process—but otherwise I didn't really encounter whatever issues.

What is gaming like with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2?

Gaming with the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen two is about every bit straightforward as it gets. The headset nosotros reviewed is designed to work with the PC, PlayStation four (and PlayStation 5!) and the Nintendo Switch. An Xbox version uniform with both the Xbox One and upcoming Xbox Series X is also available. Only plug the headset's dongle into your platform of choice and that'south all yous'll need to do to get stereo audio streaming through to your ears. When the PlayStation five launches, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 with support the platform's built-in spatial audio standard, but y'all'll have to settle for stereo on the PlayStation 4.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset next to a playStation 4 DualShock controller.

Getting this to work on consoles is a piece of block.

However, the lack of any virtual environs sound isn't much of a barrier if you're not into games similar FortniteorValorant,which rely on directional sound cues more than most. Games like Risk of Rain 2 and League of Legends sounded great. On PlayStation 4, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 nailed the residue between game sounds and music in Persona four Royal.

How is the battery on the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen ii?

Turtle Beach advertises 15 hours of playback on a single charge and in our testing, we found it performed considerably improve than that. Playing at a consistent output that peaks at 75dB(SPL), the Stealth 600 Gen 2 lasts over 21 hours of playback. If you listen on a lower volume than that, you might get even better performance. There's no reliable way to tell the exact battery charge level, merely afterwards a couple of hours plugged in with the included USB-C string, yous'll exist ready to game over again after the battery dies.

Does the Turtle Embankment Stealth 600 Gen 2 block out noise?

An isolation chart for the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2, which shows minimal attenuation.

Don't expect much here, folks.

While the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 sounds pretty great, it really doesn't practice a neat chore with isolation. Arraign the mesh covering the ear pads, or the rigidity of the foam, or even the grooves for the glasses—even with an adequate seal, this headset offers an inadequate level of attenuation. Don't await this to block out much of anything, whether y'all're at domicile or not. Potential upside: you near certainly won't accept to worry about missing the doorbell.

How does the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 sound?

A frequency response chart for the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2, which shows a pretty pronounced drop off in the bass range.

The bass isn't totally absent-minded on the Stealth 600 Gen 2 (cyan), but information technology'southward definitely going to struggle to continue up with other sounds.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 has a notable lack of emphasis in bass range sounds up to around 150Hz. Even if our target bend didn't aim for slightly boosted bass range output, and instead went for a truly neutral goal, this would however be pretty quiet.

Frequency response similar this means music of pretty much all genres volition audio pretty accurate, only bass-reliant tracks will likely lack the oomph you expect. In Choke past I DONT KNOW HOW By THEY Found ME, pretty much every function of the song comes through clearly, however the bass guitar sounds notably less reverberant—the sub-bass range, where the accent is most lacking, typically accounts for those really low reverberant sounds that oftentimes accompany bassier notes and instruments.

The lack of accent in the sub-bass range means the reverberant, rumbling sounds of bassier notes and instruments are a lot harder to hear.

In game, a sound profile similar this means that pretty much everything should come through just equally loud as game developers intended, so y'all shouldn't detect much auditory masking making it difficult to hear nuanced sounds like footsteps. The sound signature deviates from standard gaming headsets, because near alternatives amplify bass notes to a giddy caste, but either way an explosion is still going to exist the loudest matter yous hear when a grenade goes off nigh your character.

How is the microphone on the Turtle Embankment Stealth 600 Gen ii?

A lot of Turtle Beach gaming headsets feature very accurate microphones, only to suffer from very notable book problems. With the Stealth 600 Gen two, the microphone is just equally accurate as you could hope, without any volume issues to speak of. This is a very expert microphone on a gaming headset. You even so probably don't want to record a podcast with it, as information technology merely doesn't sound as practiced as dedicated microphones practice, merely for it should work splendidly for calls over Discord or Zoom. Take a listen for yourself:

How does the microphone sound to you

1617 votes

We've fabricated a big improvement to how nosotros demonstrate the microphone performance of products we review. We now apply a standardized examination setup that plays back pre-recorded phrases from a calibrated artificial mouth in our test chamber, either with or without simulated background noises, fake reverberant spaces, or artificial air current. This means that samples from every production can exist straight compared, which makes it far easier to make meaningful comparisons between products in terms of the raw spoken language quality or the product'southward ability to reject noise.

Information technology will take a while to update our backlog of old exam results, but we will update this review (and many others!) once we're able with improved microphone demos. These will be made obvious in each new sample which begins with the phrase, "This is a SoundGuys standardized microphone demonstration …"

Thank y'all for bearing with us, and we hope to see you again once nosotros've sorted everything out.

Should you purchase the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2?

If y'all want something wireless, yep, you should certainly invest in the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen ii.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 gaming headset on a headphone stand.

The $99 price range of the gaming headset market is actually crowded with groovy options. While that'due south less true with wireless gaming headsets, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 easily carves out a spot for it as ane of the best. This is a comfortable, bang-up-sounding gaming headset with solid battery life, and an excellent microphone.

If y'all just desire something simple that sounds expert, this is among the best wireless options out there—even more so if you desire something for a new generation of consoles effectually the corner.

Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2

All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over fourth dimension, and vary by region. Unfortunately, nosotros cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.

Okay, fine: The headset only supports the Nintendo Switch when it's docked, simply you try representing all these platforms in frame.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX is a true multi-platform gaming headset that works on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. You get big battery life improvements too. The MAX variant lasts 78 hours, 23 minutes, which runs laps around the standard Stealth 600 Gen 2 battery life of 21 hours. Build quality is nearly identical between the two headsets, and yous get an nether-emphasized bass response no thing what. If you want a wireless headset that works well on competing platforms, the $129 USD Gen 2 MAX may exist a skilful bet. That, or you tin can crush out for the Astro A20 (Gen 2) and an extra wireless dongle.

Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX microphone sample (Ideal):

Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen two MAX microphone sample (Office):

How does the microphone sound to you?

97 votes

What should you get instead of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2?

However, great though this is, there are other options if it isn't quite what you're looking for. If it's less important to have a wireless gaming headset, the Razer BlackShark V2 sounds just as practiced, costs the same amount, and has fantastic isolation for a gaming headset. Additionally, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless offers a piffling more in the mode of Switch compatibility, and better battery life.

The Beyerdynamic MMX 150 lays on a fabric surface plugged into a PlayStation DualShock 5 controller.

The MMX 150 from Beyerdynamic features a detachable string that terminates with a USB-C connectedness on one end to plug into the headset.

If you lot're later the best microphone quality, you'll like the Beyerdynamic MMX 150. Not only does the nail mic audio good, just the headset makes both gaming and music audio adept too. This wired USB headset includes a 3.5mm adapter and has a subtle enough design that you could take it exterior your apartment without hesitation.

Gamers who want the option to go wireless and accept the headset out and near may desire to look into the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2. Unlike the Stealth 600 line of headsets, the 700 variant has a boosted bass response which you may notice more enjoyable for regular music listening.

Frequently asked questions most the Turtle Embankment Stealth 600 Gen 2

Yes. Just plug the USB dongle in and yous're good to go.

No. Xbox only supports wireless headsets fabricated for the panel. Y'all'd need to buy the Xbox version of the headset.

Yes! The Xbox variant of this headset uses Xbox Wireless to connect to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/Due south, and it supports the panel'southward congenital-in spatial audio feature. However, this review was written using the PlayStation variant of the Turtle Embankment Stealth 600 Gen ii, then be sure to catch the Xbox model.

Nosotros encountered no issues during the review process.

Yep, yous tin plug the USB dongle into the USB port of your Mac.

First, make sure the version of Stealth 600 Gen 2 is the one made for Xbox—there are separate PlayStation and Xbox variants of this production (nosotros know, it sucks). If you've got the right model of headset, it shouldn't exist much more complicated than turning the headset on, and pairing it with the console. The Xbox version uses Xbox Wireless, so just try to connect it the same way you lot'd connect a wireless Xbox controller.

No, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 is not uniform with the company'due south mobile app. The headset only works with the Sound Hub app for Mac or PC, which is used for updating the firmware.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 is significantly cheaper than the Razer Kaira Pro. Turtle Beach'southward frequency response is technically more than authentic than the Kaira Pro, which slightly de-emphasizes low-frequency sounds. The benefit of the Kaira Pro'due south microphone frequency response is that it more effectively reduces the proximity effect, which is when depression notes become distorted and likewise loud one time the speaker is too close to the microphone. Unless you need dongle-free wireless compatibility with the Xbox Series Ten consoles, you lot might too save your money and get the Stealth 600 Gen ii.

For starters, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 has improve sound quality, with a more neutral-leaning sound signature than the SteelSeries Arctis one Wireless. This means that the headset is able to reproduce dialogue, sound effects, and musical scores in a manner that's more faithful to an original primary audio file. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 also sports a better microphone. It accurately reproduces voices and lacks any significant low-stop roll off establish in virtually gaming headsets, including the Arctis one Wireless. However, SteelSeries' offering prevails in one category: isolation. Our tests testify that the Arctis i Wireless is able to block out ambient noise like air conditioner hums and figurer fans improve than the Stealth 600 Gen 2.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen ii has a few advantages over the Razer BlackShark V2. It has a much amend microphone, a more neutral-leaning sound signature that transmits accurate audio. It likewise supports wireless connectivity. On the other hand, the Razer BlackShark V2 sports a few best-in-class features, including superior isolation performance, extremely comfortable ear cups, and a laid-back design that is suitable for both gaming and conference calls.

No. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 employ a USB dongle which operates on a radio frequency to connect to your platform of selection.