Can you really have it all in one pair of headphones? Turtle Beach’s new Stealth Pro, which the company calls “the King” of wireless gaming, aims to prove you can. These wireless cans deliver a smorgasbord of features in an effort to be your ultimate gaming companion.
Noise canceling? Check. EQ-adjustable sound? Yup. Comprehensive platform support? Indeed. The wireless headphones even have swappable batteries, so you’re never left cold in a hot gaming session. If there’s a gaming feature you’ve heard of, the Stealth Pro probably have it, all wrapped in a relatively stylish chassis.
True, there is a bit of the jack-of-all-trades effect here. The Stealth Pro do just about everything well, but they aren’t necessarily the very best at any one thing. At $330, they’re also a hefty investment. But if you can stomach the price, this pair has the goods where it counts, making for a luxurious gaming accessory no matter what you’re into, and even a solid pair of travel headphones in a pinch.
Headset Meets Headphones
Photograph: Turtle Beach
The best compliment I can give the Stealth Pro’s style is that it’s not too game-forward. They won’t be mistaken for a pair of Sonys or Sennheisers, especially with the detachable microphone in place, but when compared to rivals like the HyperX Cloud Alpha (10/10, WIRED Recommends), the Stealth Pro look positively debonair in their black and steel color scheme.
The chassis is hefty and a bit unwieldy at just over 400 grams, but thick padding layered in soft leatherette along the ear cups and band keeps things fairly comfy. I wore the headset for around three hours with no complaints; when I did feel some wear on my head, moving the band helped rebalance things.
The ear cups offer solid noise isolation, and when combined with the headset’s adjustable active noise canceling, you can effectively escape the outside world when listening to tunes or gaming. This isn’t top-level ANC, especially in the higher registers, where the headset gets handily beaten by masters in the headphone world like the Sony WH-1000XM4 and newer XM5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). I actually found myself turning it down a notch or two while gaming, which tamped down white noise and kept me at least marginally aware of the world around me.
On the left ear cup is a port for the wand microphone, which worked quite well in my online gaming campaigns. A friend said it sounded “100 times better” than my previous headset. Of course, the Stealth Pro does cost about 10X more than my old cheapskate model. The mic can also be rotated up to mute, and if you don’t want to use it, there are two built-in mics. These also work pretty well but pick up a lot more ambient noise.
On the right ear cup are comprehensive controls for audio playback, with a Bluetooth button that also serves as a multi-button for play/pause, a power key in the middle, and a third key for activating “Superhuman hearing” during gameplay. I fumbled with those controls more than I’d like while streaming Bluetooth, as their arrangement on the underside of the cup is awkward.
An oversize volume dial on the ear cup’s exterior is the saving grace. It’s remarkably easy to use and offers granular adjustments, which is a big deal, given that volume is arguably the most important control, and yet one that often gets short shrift. The dial encircles one last control key for ANC, but both are reassignable via the loaded Audio Hub app for mobile and desktop.
Swap-and-Go Gaming
Photograph: Turtle Beach
When they’re not moonlighting as headphones for listening to tunes or tending your Stardew Valley garden on your mobile device, the Stealth Pro connect to your console or PC over a 2.4-GHz signal via a snazzy transmitter disc.
There are actually two versions of the headset, Xbox- or PlayStation-specific. The Xbox model’s transmitter connects to all major platforms, including the current and last-gen Xbox, PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch (when docked), and Mac/PC. The PlayStation version I reviewed is almost exactly the same but skips Xbox support. The Xbox version is your best bet for versatility.
The transmitter also serves as the charger for the Stealth Pro’s swappable batteries, one of my favorite features. Each battery offers 12 hours of playback, and they’re very easy to swap. The Arctis Nova Pro’s swappable batteries offer more per charge, while HyperX’s Cloud Alpha features a physics-bending 300 hours (but no noise canceling). I like that the Stealth Pro power back up almost instantly after you swap, and with rapid charging, they’re essentially always ready.
My only complaint here is I wish the headset’s battery cover was hinged rather than magnetically attached, as it could get lost if you’re not careful.
Everything in Its Right Place
You can tell a lot about a headset’s performance by touring through your favorite music. The operative word for the Stealth Pro’s sound signature is “crisp”, which is expected in gaming audio aimed at clarity, precision, and directionality. It took me a bit to get used to the snappier touch to music, but the Stealth Pro impressed with balance across registers, keeping clear of the boomy bass so many headsets (and most headphones) exhibit.
While the sound isn’t as sumptuous as I’d like in the midrange, there’s plenty of good detail to explore, and the headset takes great care with instrumental attacks, bringing out the brassy cut to guitar strings and horns, while still keeping the sound relatively smooth and enjoyable. Snare and percussion can come off a little metallic, but it’s rarely offputting.
Photograph: Turtle Beach
The best attribute is the Stealth Pro’s stark instrumental separation across a wide and dimensional soundstage, which translates brilliantly when you jump into your favorite games. The precise directionality of effects, gunshots, and footfalls are all excellently parsed throughout the sound field by the headset’s 50-mm drivers.
While playing Sniper Elite 4 with a friend online, I was able to accurately trace every player on the board, even as they rolled up from directly behind. In one campaign I could almost see my ally’s approaching line from behind as his footsteps strafed to the left and brustled through bushes to get to our next attack point.
The gruesome Nazis in Wolfenstein 2 were also easily pinned down, though I’m not sure it helped my aim much, as they continuously blew me into oblivion. It was moments like these when I enjoyed the ability to pipe in my own tunes from my iPhone to lighten things up—a Yacht Rock playlist can really bring some levity to a revenge campaign.
I also appreciate the Stealth Pro’s fluid transition between the stereo channels and the center image, which makes ambient sounds in games like Grand Theft Auto 5 more lifelike, especially when compared to my usual 2.1 speaker setup, which tends to overaccentuate the divide between the stereo channels.
Occasionally I wished for a bit more bass, but that was easily granted by the Audio Hub’s multiband EQ. The app offers nearly an audio-engineer level of control, including separate 10-band equalizers for gaming and Bluetooth playback, multiple presets, and advanced features like a Noise Gate to control how much sound is let through the microphone (though I’m not sure it had much effect).
There is one odd issue with the app: Most settings save after you power down, but the headset always defaults to ANC off and the mic monitor on. This really confused me when I first started using the headset, as the sound being piped in from the microphones made it seem like the ANC was broken and Ambient mode was engaged. Turtle Beach says the monitor issue is a bug they’re fixing, while the ANC setting is a purposeful one they’re considering changing.
A few quibbles aside, there’s no shortage of ways to adjust the Stealth Pro to your taste, and I had a blast using this high-powered tool to explore my games and music. They may not be the best at all things, but this pair checks all the right boxes. They’re one of the few headsets I’ve tried that I wouldn’t mind taking out of the gaming room and into the world.
There are others on that list, such as the Arctis Nova Pro, and at just $20 more, that option is well worth considering. While I’m not sure the Stealth Pro are “the King,” they’re a serious new contender in the premium headset market, and a whole lot of fun to play with.
