Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Review: Best Wireless Gaming Headset Under $100
By With gaming booming to unprecedented levels in the last five years, especially post-Covid 2020, the demand for gaming headsets has increased daily. This demand has grown more so for budget gaming headsets since the Logitech and HyperX headsets are still expensive for many. This is why you need to learn more about the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 wireless gaming headset.
With a decent mic and sound quality. and subpar build quality and looks, this gaming headset under $100 can be a good buy. Keep on reading my review of this headset before buying it!
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Specifications
The specifications of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless surround sound gaming headset for Xbox One, PS4, and PC are:
| Type | Over the ear |
| Weight | 0.6 pounds (272g) |
| Dimensions | 7.2” (Height) x 6.3” (Width) x 3.1” (Height) |
| Controls | Volume, Mic Mute, Channel Mixing, EQ Cycler |
| Connectivity | Wireless USB Dongle, Micro USB (Charging) |
| Microphone | Boom Mic |
| Battery Life | 16 hours |
| Charging Time (Full) | 2 hours |
| App Support | Turtle Beach Audio Hub (Windows, macOS) |
| Compatibility | PC, PS4, Xbox One |
| Release Date | April 2020 |
| Current Price | $99.99 (USA) |
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Review
While a newer variant is available in the market – Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Wireless gaming headset, I tested out the older Gen 1 model here. Here’s what I have to say about the features of this headset after using it for a few days.
Build Quality, Design, & Comfort
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Gen 1 has a mediocre build because it is entirely made of plastic. While the earcups seem durable enough, I cannot say the same for the headband frame and its hinges. It felt like it was about to crack when I tried to stretch the headband a bit.
This creaky build quality can be attributed to its bulky design. The earcups are pretty big, while the headband and hinges feel too small. It’s possible that this uneven design has caused a drop in its durability. This makes them less portable since you cannot fold them to a compact shape and put it inside your bag.
Design-wise, it looks decent enough for a gaming headset in 2023. While this headset has a plastic finish, it has a matte texture, which I liked. This style gave me a premium impression, which it’s not.
It has a blue or green stripe around the edges of the earcups. The blue stripe is seen on the PS4/PC variants, while the Xbox One variant comes with the green stripe.
However, even though it has an average build quality, compromises have yet to be made regarding its comfortability. This headset is light, with soft, breathable mesh earcups. Even after using it for 40+ hours, I felt no aching or sweaty sensation in my ears. Therefore, this is perfect for gamers in terms of comfort for longer gaming sessions.
Noise Cancellation & Leakage
Gamers need utmost concentration and zero disturbance while gaming. This is where the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 wireless fails to perform.
The noise isolation is poor compared to other headsets, like AudioTechnica over ear headphones. I was clearly able to hear background noises while gaming, like the sound of my fan. I could also hear my cat Amber meowing for food!
In terms of sound leakage, it’s pretty audible. I requested a colleague to wear this once and listen to full-volume music. While sitting precisely a meter apart, I could hear which song he was listening to (Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody).
Controls & Connectivity
There are two variants of the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless that you can find in the market right now. One is the PS4/PC version, while the other is exclusively available for the Xbox One.
But what’s the difference between these two variants?
The PC/PS4 variant can only be connected wirelessly using the USB dongle. This dongle has an effective range of 112 feet, which is fantastic. Additionally, it has a latency of 52 ms, which is good enough. Even if you go to another room on the same floor, it should still work perfectly.
On the other hand, the Xbox One variant has no such wireless USB dongle connectivity. Instead, it has an additional power button. When you turn it on, it automatically connects to your Xbox One. However, I didn’t test this version to calculate its effective range.
Regarding its controls, this Turtle Beach wireless headset has decent controls on the earcups. Unlike other gaming headsets like the Astro A10 headset and the HyperX Cloud Revolver, this headset has three scroll wheels. One is for the overall volume, which I used while listening to music, watching movies, and gaming.
Now, it has an additional mic volume controller and a voice chat volume controller. This is a boon for multiplayer gamers who love playing team-based games like Rainbow Six: Siege, Counter-Strike 2, and Valorant.
While playing such games, I use Discord to chat with my teammates. Therefore, separate wheels for controlling my mic volume and the volume of their voices were super intuitive. However, my only gripe with this regards their placement. They are placed too close to each other. Therefore, mistakes were made.
There is also another unique EQ preset changer button, exclusively present in the PC/PS4 version. If you use the Turtle Beach Audio Hub application on your Windows or macOS PC, you can cycle through different presets by clicking this button.
Battery Life
Since it’s a wireless headset, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 wireless needs to be charged using the micro USB cable present in the box. It takes approximately 2 hours to charge it up entirely, upon which the indicator on the earcup turns green (red when the charge falls below 20% and yellow when it’s under 50%).
The wireless playback time was decent, lasting for approximately 16 hours. Therefore, I had to charge it once every day to be on the safe side, even though I used it for about 10 hours on most days.
Microphone Quality
Unlike other gaming headsets like the Logitech G433 gaming headset, this one has an undetachable boom mic. However, conveniently enough, you can flip it upwards to turn it off.
The microphone recording quality is decent. It’s good enough to do the job while gaming or during voice and video calls. However, don’t expect it to be as great as the Logitech G Pro gaming headset.
Sound Quality
The quality of the sound output was decent. For a budget gaming headset under $100, I expected worse. However, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 was good enough by my standards.
The sound output is well balanced, with bass, treble, reverb, EQ, and everything to be set at average. However, you can tweak them using the Turtle Beach Audio Hub application. Plus, since you have a dedicated preset changing button on the earcup, it’s a convenient option at your disposal.
This wireless headset performed equally well on all mediums – music, movies, and gaming. However, I preferred it more for gaming. I felt that depth was missing while listening to music. I felt this more prominently while watching movies.
Final Verdict: Should I Buy The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Gaming Headset In 2023?
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 wireless gaming headset will be a decent buy in 2023. With average sound quality and intuitive controls but subpar build quality, I will not highly recommend this headset.
If you are stuck with a budget of $100, then I recommend you buy this one. Otherwise, buy better headsets (albeit at a slightly higher price) like the Turtle Beach Recon 70, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 wireless, or the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 wireless.
| PROS | CONS |
| + Good sound quality + Intuitive controls for gaming + Decent mic + Affordable price + Good playback time + Great wireless connectivity | – Subpar build quality – Poor noise cancelation and leakage |
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