Turtle Seaside is gunning for rivals Razer and SteelSeries with its new flagship gaming headset, the Stealth Professional. And, as an apart, corporations want to start out really naming new merchandise as a substitute of simply tacking “Professional” onto the identify of an current line, however I received’t fault Turtle Seaside for doing this.
Introduced final month and obtainable beginning April 23, the Stealth Professional is a wi-fi over-ear gaming headset full of a laundry listing of options and specs that match up virtually precisely with SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Professional — which at present sits on the high of our listing of finest gaming headsets.
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The Stealth Professional has all of the gaming options you needed and didn’t know you needed, together with dual-mode wi-fi connectivity with simultaneous audio playback, lively noise cancellation, a swappable battery system, and a removable growth microphone and built-in beamforming mics. It sports activities 50mm dynamic drivers which might be hand-matched for stability and has a remappable multi-function button and wheel so you may management every little thing on the {hardware}. The Stealth Professional is available in each Xbox and PlayStation variations, each of which might be pre-ordered now for $329.99.
Design and Consolation of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional is a wi-fi over-ear (circumaural) headset with a removable growth microphone. It’s a part of Turtle Seaside’s Stealth line, nevertheless it’s been redesigned to look much less like a gaming headset and extra like a pair of headphones you may put on in your commute. To that finish, it is available in only one colorway, black, with silver accents, and the corporate has no present plans to launch further colours. Whereas I perceive this alternative, it’s a little bit disappointing — the navy-and-copper model of the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is likely to be my favourite headset colorway (ever).
The Stealth Professional is on the heavier facet: my overview unit weighed 14.74oz (418g) with the growth mic hooked up (14.11oz/400g with out). For comparability, its predecessor the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max weighs 13.4oz (380g), whereas the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wi-fi XT weighs 13.47oz (382g). Each the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi and the Razer Barracuda Professional Wi-fi weigh round 12oz (340g). The Stealth Professional isn’t overwhelmingly heavy — it’s a lot lighter than the Audeze Maxwell, which weighs 17.28oz (490g) — however it’s, for essentially the most half, heavier than the headsets it’s competing in opposition to.
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The Stealth Professional has a versatile metallic headband lined in a slightly-rubbery, soft-touch materials with “Turtle Seaside” debossed throughout the highest. Its earcups, that are related by way of metallic yokes, swivel each instructions (and swivel flat for storage), tilt, and are individually height-adjustable. The earcups’ speaker plates additionally characteristic a soft-touch (although not rubbery) end, which attracts a whole lot of fingerprints and, smudges and different unattractive issues. I do know these soft-touch finishes are form of Turtle Seaside’s factor, however protecting up metallic with plastic makes the headset look so much cheaper than it’s.
So far as consolation goes, the Stealth Professional is… okay. It’s not uncomfortable, nevertheless it’s not so comfy that I forgot I used to be carrying it. Its clamping pressure is on the stronger facet and the headscarf is a little bit too huge (and I don’t have a small head). Once more, whereas it wasn’t uncomfortable, the match felt a little bit off. Maybe it will profit from a suspension-style headband like what’s on the SteelSeries Arctis line or the Audeze Maxwell.
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The headscarf and earpads are padded with reminiscence foam lined in nice-feeling black leatherette. The leatherette is comfy and does a fairly good job of passive noise cancellation even with out the headset’s lively noise cancellation turned on, nevertheless it does maintain in warmth. The earpads are glasses-friendly — the froth is much less dense within the space the place your glasses sit, so you may put on this headset over glasses with out getting a headache. I attempted this headset on with my sun shades (I not put on glasses), and it positively works — the earpads put virtually no stress on the perimeters of my sun shades.
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A lot of the headset’s controls are situated on the suitable earcup. The face of the earcup incorporates a remappable multifunction button and wheel. By default, the button toggles lively noise cancellation and the wheel controls quantity. The wheel has a secondary operate, which is activated by holding down the multifunction button for 3 seconds. The wheel’s default secondary operate is sport / chat combine. The multifunction button and the wheel’s secondary operate might be remapped utilizing Turtle Seaside’s companion software program or cell app.
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The underside fringe of the suitable earcup additionally comprises three buttons — Bluetooth, energy, and “Superhuman Listening to.” The ability button is only a energy button, however the different two buttons are multi-function. The Bluetooth button enables you to pair and management a Bluetooth machine, whereas the “Superhuman Listening to” button toggles Turtle Seaside’s “Superhuman Listening to” characteristic — a sport audio setting that pumps up key sounds corresponding to footsteps and gunfire. Urgent and holding the Superhuman Listening to button for 2 seconds toggles mute for the headset’s built-in microphones, so you may mute your self even should you don’t have the growth mic hooked up. These buttons are well-spaced and straightforward to distinguish (the Superhuman Listening to button is textured), however they’re comparatively stiff and might be tough to press.
The appropriate earcup additionally has a USB-C port for charging and updating the headset’s firmware.
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The left earcup homes the growth microphone jack, which is roofed by a small plastic cowl that I instantly misplaced, in addition to the headset’s hot-swappable battery. The new-swappable battery works identical to the hot-swappable battery on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional: it sits underneath a magnetic speaker plate, and as long as you take away and exchange it inside a couple of seconds, your connections received’t drop. My solely problem with the Stealth Professional’s system is that the speaker plate is trickier to take away when the growth mic is hooked up. It’s not unimaginable, nevertheless it’s not the seamless hot-swap you get from the Arctis Nova Professional.
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The Stealth Professional comes with a number of equipment within the field: the removable growth mic, the wi-fi transmitter/battery charging station, two USB-C to USB-A cables (one 6.5-foot/2m cable for charging, one 3-foot/1m cable for connecting the transmitter to your PC), two batteries, and a carrying pouch. The carrying pouch, whereas not as strong because the inflexible journey case that comes with the Razer Barracuda Professional Wi-fi, is fairly good — it’s created from thick, stiff velvet material, and it has an internal pocket that’s massive sufficient to carry the entire headset’s equipment (together with the wi-fi transmitter).
Spec
Audio Efficiency of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional sports activities 50mm “Nanoclear” dynamic drivers with a frequency response vary of 10 Hz – 22,000 Hz — the identical as SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi. It is a little wider than you’ll discover on most gaming headsets (which usually stick to twenty Hz – 20,000 Hz), nevertheless it’s not the widest — Corsair’s Virtuoso RGB Wi-fi XT has a frequency vary of 20 Hz – 40,000 Hz, whereas Audeze’s new Maxwell has a frequency vary of 10 Hz – 50,000 Hz.
The Stealth Professional’s default sound profile (referred to as “Signature Sound” within the EQ presets) is comparatively balanced and pretty impartial — although it’s maybe a bit too mid-range targeted for me. Audio just isn’t as detailed or layered as it’s on, say, the Audeze LCD-GX or the Audeze Maxwell, however the Stealth Professional nonetheless managed to separate out a lot of the delicate sounds in Billie Eilish’s unhealthy man. Extraordinarily heavy bass sounded a little bit muddy, however Kaskade’s POW POW POW didn’t flip right into a swampy mess, in order that’s one thing. My largest problem (coincidentally, contemplating the Stealth Professional’s mid-focused default profile) was with mid-range heavy songs, corresponding to Ok-391’s Lonely World — which sounded compressed within the mids and lower-mids on the Stealth Professional (and rather less dynamic general).
When it got here to gaming, nevertheless, the Stealth Professional was rather more spectacular. The Stealth Professional options Turtle Seaside’s “Superhuman Listening to,” which is a game-focused setting that enhances sure sounds — corresponding to footsteps, explosions, close by artillery, and so forth — in video games for a aggressive benefit. It really works, and it really works nicely. I used to be particularly impressed with the way it managed to offer a big enhance to those higher-mid-range sounds with out going overboard — I turned on the “footsteps” EQ preset for Audeze’s Maxwell headset final week, and I’m fairly certain my canine thought I used to be making an attempt to speak together with her over high-range frequencies. However turning on Superhuman Listening to for the Stealth Professional properly boosted the sound of footsteps and gunfire in Fortnite with out aggravating my Pomeranian.
The Stealth Professional additionally sounded good in video games with extra ambient environmental noise. The jungle in Uncharted 4 sounded lush and layered, whereas cities in The Elder Scrolls On-line had loads of depth and busyness — though the Stealth Professional has a a lot narrower soundstage than, say, the Audeze Maxwell. This headset may not be my go-to for listening, nevertheless it’s an amazing gaming headset.
The Stealth Professional has lively noise cancellation (ANC), which remains to be a reasonably unusual characteristic on the finest wi-fi gaming headsets — although we’ve been seeing it extra typically on premium headsets designed to cross over into the life-style sphere. Each the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi and Razer Barracuda Professional Wi-fi have it, as does the Epos H3Pro Hybrid. The Stealth Professional’s ANC is adjustable, from full transparency/ambient mode to full noise canceling. And it’s excellent — even at 50% it was in a position to utterly cancel out the hum of my 47 PC case followers (an exaggeration, nevertheless it’s nonetheless no small job). At 100% it was too good, and I discovered myself getting dizzy from the dearth of… nicely, noise. At 0% (full transparency/ambient mode), it really amplifies the sounds round you.
Microphone of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional comes with a removable cardioid growth microphone in addition to built-in beam-forming microphones within the earcups. The growth mic plugs into the mic jack on the left earcup and sits on the finish of a 4.5-inch (114.3mm) versatile arm. The microphone jack is situated on the face of the earcup (reasonably than the sting), and the growth mic might be rotated up and out of the best way.
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Rotating the mic up mutes it, which is a unbelievable characteristic — I’ve used a whole lot of headsets and it’s onerous to inform in case your mic is hardware-muted with buttons or switches (largely as a result of it’s onerous to recollect which button/change course is mute/unmute), however there’s no query with this mic — should you can’t see it, it’s muted. However should you want a further visible cue, the wi-fi transmitter flashes crimson when your mic is muted. It’s a stable inexperienced when your mic is on, and this additionally works when the growth mic is unplugged and also you’re utilizing the headset’s built-in mics.
All of the {hardware} options of the mic apart, the very first thing I heard from my coworkers once I logged on with the Stealth Professional was “You don’t sound nearly as good as you usually do” and “I really feel like there’s extra… static?” Naturally, I instantly began mic testing once I logged off, and after taking part in round with some settings within the software program I didn’t suppose it sounded that unhealthy so I logged on the following day just for everybody to say, “You continue to sound worse than regular.” At this level I believed it is likely to be the connection kind — I used to be related by way of Bluetooth as a result of I used to be taking part in a full-screen sport on my PC and didn’t wish to change home windows, so the following day I logged in on my PC. I bought the identical feedback — “You sound a little bit staticky? Or possibly that’s on my finish?” — however in the end folks agreed that I sounded advantageous and the microphone clearly works nicely sufficient, even when it’s not excellent.
I’m unsure if my coworkers are spoiled by my usually unimaginable broadcast-quality recording tools, however the growth microphone on the Stealth Professional sounds advantageous — it’s not the finest gaming microphone yow will discover, however no headset growth microphone is or ever shall be. My voice sounds comparatively full and is evident sufficient, and the microphone is unquestionably on par with growth mics on equally priced headsets.
However you may decide for your self — right here’s a check recording on the Stealth Professional growth mic:
The Stealth Professional’s built-in microphones are usually not fairly nearly as good because the growth microphone, however they’re not unhealthy — they’re fairly delicate, so that they managed to choose up my voice pretty loudly and clearly (although additionally they picked up much more background noise). Whereas I wouldn’t use the Stealth Professional’s built-in mics to do a visitor spot on NPR, they appear like they’ll work advantageous for many informal conditions — together with speaking along with your teammates whereas gaming.
Options and Software program of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional might be configured utilizing the Turtle Seaside Audio Hub V2 PC software program or the Turtle Seaside Audio Hub cell app. I initially had bother getting the PC software program to acknowledge the headset when it was related to my PC, however this appeared to be a pre-production bug. I used to be finally in a position to join, however I had higher luck generally with connecting to the cell app — which has the identical performance (minus the PC-specific hotkey mapping).
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You should use the Audio Hub V2 or the Audio Hub app to regulate the Stealth Professional’s varied EQs, which embody quite a few “primary” adjustable presets for each audio and mics, in addition to a 10-band “superior” EQ for many who need extra management. The Audio Hub additionally enables you to toggle a number of settings that you may (for essentially the most half) additionally entry on the headset itself, together with ANC, Superhuman Listening to, noise gate, and mic sidetone.
However the primary motive you’ll wish to use the software program might be going to be so you may remap the multifunction button and the wheel’s secondary operate — which it’s also possible to do on the cell app. The button might be programmed to toggle ANC, noise gate, or cycle via sport presets, or it may be set as a normal multi-function button. The wheel’s secondary operate might be set to regulate mic sidetone, ANC degree, Bluetooth quantity, Superhuman Listening to quantity, bass enhance quantity, treble enhance degree, noise gate quantity, or mic sensitivity.
The Stealth Professional’s software program is a little bit tough across the edges — like most gaming peripheral software program, sadly. However the excellent news is that any adjustments you make utilizing both the software program or the cell app instantly save on to the headset — so that you shouldn’t want to make use of the app too typically when you’ve bought the Stealth Professional arrange.
Wi-fi Efficiency of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional provides two types of connectivity — each of that are wi-fi: low-latency 2.4GHz wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.1. It doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack for a wired analog connection, which is (I suppose) not too shocking. I’d have appreciated an analog possibility, however I’m most likely within the minority there.
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It connects to 2.4GHz wi-fi by way of the wi-fi transmitter (in lieu of a dongle), which isn’t notably handy for many who don’t wish to cope with the additional heft of the wi-fi transmitter, but in addition not terribly shocking — in any case, the Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi connects by way of its base station. On the again of the wi-fi transmitter you’ll see a change for leaping between console/PC mode, a USB-A charging port, and a USB-C port for connecting to your console or PC. It’s decidedly much less helpful than the Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi’ base station, which not solely enables you to management a wide range of {hardware} settings but in addition has two USB-C ports so you may hook up with a number of programs without delay.
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The Stealth Professional enables you to hook up with each 2.4GHz wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.1 and may play audio from each connections concurrently. This may seem to be a distinct segment characteristic, nevertheless it’s one in all my must-haves, as a result of it means I can play a full-screen sport on my PC whereas additionally taking a gathering on my telephone (that is what I do virtually each morning throughout the Tom’s {Hardware} morning assembly).
The Stealth Professional doesn’t offer you a simple solution to modify the combination between the 2 audio sources, nevertheless. You possibly can modify the quantity of every supply individually by assigning “Bluetooth quantity” because the secondary wheel operate (the first wheel operate controls the primary — 2.4GHz wi-fi — supply audio), however that is fairly clumsy. There are headsets that deal with this higher, corresponding to Logitech’s G735, which has a rocker button that you need to use to combine the two.4GHz wi-fi and Bluetooth sources.
Battery Lifetime of the Stealth Professional
The Stealth Professional comes with two 12-hour batteries that may be hot-swapped for a complete of 24 hours of battery life on a single cost. The wi-fi transmitter doubles as a battery charging dock, so — in principle — you’ll by no means run out of juice, as long as you’re gaming at residence in your PC or console.
That is precisely the identical system as SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi, proper right down to the bottom station-slash-charging dock. And whereas it’s an amazing system for at-home use, it’s much less handy once you’re away out of your PC (or console). Assuming you don’t wish to lug a wi-fi transmitter round with you, the headset now solely has 12 hours of battery life once you’re on the go, which is… not a lot. Most headsets simply get twice that — the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max will get as much as 40 hours on a single cost. Even the Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi’ swappable batteries get 18 – 22 hours every.
I just like the hot-swappable battery system generally, as a result of it means you primarily have limitless battery life when you’re close to the wi-fi transmitter. However once you’re not close to the wi-fi transmitter, you’re most likely going to need a little bit longer than 12 hours.
Backside Line
I used to be excited for the Stealth Professional — I’ve been an enormous fan of Turtle Seaside headsets for years, and the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is likely one of the few headsets I’ve that I do know will simply work (hey, it’s onerous out right here for a peripherals editor). However the Stealth Professional is kind of underwhelming. It’s clearly going for SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi, nevertheless it simply doesn’t go far sufficient.
Don’t get me mistaken, the Stealth Professional has its strengths — its audio efficiency didn’t blow me away once I was listening to music, however video games sounded nice because of Turtle Seaside’s Superhuman Listening to audio presets. The microphone, regardless of being hated on by my coworkers, is stable for a headset mic, and the built-in mics are higher than anticipated. The ANC is sweet — too good — and the headset additionally comes with a pleasant carrying bag that can at the least preserve every little thing collectively once you’re touring with it.
But when Turtle Seaside goes to go up in opposition to SteelSeries, it’s going to need to attempt a little bit tougher. It’s good to see a swappable battery in a headset that’s not SteelSeries, however not one that provides half the battery life. And whereas I’m glad to see Turtle Seaside is stepping exterior of its consolation zone with a extra lifestyle-oriented design, this headset positively doesn’t appear to be it prices $330.
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