The Stealth 600 Series gaming headphones have been a staple of the Turtle Beach lineup for the past few years. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 and Gen 2 Max were stand-out headphones offering excellent quality for their price point. With everything from comfort to audio profile being a priority, the Stealth Series has been a solid contender for the best gaming audio experience on the gaming market.
Holding to the tradition of quality, Turtle Beach has released The Stealth 600 Gen 3. This newest iteration of the beloved Stealth headset series offers the latest in AI noise cancellation, refined design to maximize comfort and powerful 50mm Nanoclear drivers. Along with these updates comes a host of new features and settings thanks to the Swarm II software.
The goal? Create the best gaming audio experience on the market. How well Turtle Beach accomplished this goal is the reason we are here. So grab that coffee, kick back and check out our review of the Stealth 600 Gen 3 gaming headphones from the good folks at Turtle Beach.
Specifications
- Current Price: $99.99 (Amazon)
- Connection: Wireless (2.4GHz Dongle, Bluetooth 5.2) with quick switch capability
- Drivers: 50mm Nanoclear
- Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz
- Ear Cushion Material: Athletic Weave Fabric, Memory Foam
- Battery: Rechargeable Lithium Polymer( 80 hour rating)
- Microphone: Uni-Directional, Flip-to-mute
- Compatibility: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, PS5 & PS4, Nintendo Switch, Bluetooth devices
Refined Design
This latest iteration of the Stealth 600 headphones offers some nice refinements to the overall design. For starters, the connection points from the earcups to the headband are slimmer and offer a smoother 90° swivel. The Gen 3 also offers a sleeker profile while maintaining their sturdy structure. Likewise, the new athletic weave fabric feels softer than previous versions.
All the features of the previous generations, including the flip-to-mute mic, power switch and separate volume controls for chat and game audio, are all present and accounted for. As always each is easy to locate and use. A new addition to the Stealth 600 Gen 3 is the inclusion of Bluetooth support allowing for two separate devices to be paired simultaneously. With this comes the new quick switch technology. With a click of a button the Stealth 600 switches between signal sources allowing you to seamlessly jump between the two.
As for long-term wear, the Stealth 600 Gen 3 follows their predecessors in being quite comfortable over long periods. Thanks to the aforementioned athletic weave fabric they feel cooler around the ears than previous models and the memory foam does help alleviate pressure typically applied to glasses when worn. While they do fit firmly in place the Stealth 600 doesn’t squeeze your head which is something that can be problematic for some gamers. Overall they look and feel great.
Another important design feature to note is the inclusion of an incredibly long-lasting battery. Rated for up to 80 hours the Gen 3 is a huge step up from the previous Gen 2 Max which was rated for 24 hours. While I’ve not been able to push them for the full 80 hours at just over 60 hours of testing, the battery is still going strong.
Easy Peasy
One of the best features of the Stealth 600 series is its ease of use. Thankfully Turtle Beach has not only retained this design philosophy but has doubled down on how easy the 600 Gen 3 is to connect and manage. For Xbox players, as always it's a simple plug-and-play experience. The included wireless dongle features a toggle switch between Xbox and PC making it easy to sync up to your preferred device. Thanks to the mode button swapping audio profile presets is a click away at any moment.
As for volume and chat control, once again the dual volume controls mean you can easily set and forget which allows for more time to game and less time to fiddle with settings. Like its predecessor, the Gen 3 offers a flip-to-mute microphone experience. This is by far one of my favorite features of these headphones. No fiddling for buttons, a simple flip of the mic tucks it inside an inset inside the left headphone and with that, your mic is muted. If you prefer the console experience the Stealth 600 offers a plug-and-play experience.
For PC players or those who want a little more customization, Turtle Beach’s Swarm II software, available on both PC and mobile, has you covered. From here a host of features can be modified and customized. A 10-band EQ tab allows you to fully customize the audio profile while the Assignment tab allows for reprogramming of select buttons on the headphones. Additionally, the Stealth 600 comes with a Superhuman hearing option (more on this later) that can be adjusted easily from Swarm II
The ease of use is one of the telltale signs that Turtle Beach has refined its design over the years. While the Stealth 600 offers an impressive host of features and controls, the process of using them is intentionally simple. For those who simply want to turn them on and jump into a game, The Stealth 600 works without any additional customization needed. This design philosophy is one of the reasons Turtle Beach has been such a prominent player in the gaming peripheral space for decades.
Excellent Audio Experience
The other reason for Turtle Beach’s longevity in the gaming space is because of the quality of the overall experience. In frequency testing the Stealth 600 Gen 3 held up quite well. In low-frequency testing, there wasn’t any noticeable distortion. The overall bass experience is quite tight, clean and punchy. As for mid and high-frequency testing once again the Gen 3 produced a clean audio experience.
The 3D surround sound tests went just as well. The Stealth 600 presents a crisp, smooth surround sound experience. Directional audio is easily distinguishable and creates an exceptionally immersive gaming experience. Likewise, vocal audio tests produced clear, distinguishable audio without being overwhelmed by musical scores or sound effects.
The gaming audio experience is absolutely stellar with gunfire and footsteps easily distinguishable. While the Superhuman mode is designed to enhance audio cues like footsteps, it wasn’t something that ever felt needed. The default audio profile of the Stealth 600 Gen 3 sounds amazing and presents audio cues accurately.
Music and movies, likewise, are well represented in the audio profile of the Stealth 600. As mentioned, vocals are clear and distinguishable from background audio. While the four preset audio profiles do highlight certain frequencies quite well, the default Signature sound profile does a solid job. Once again thanks to the mode select button swapping profiles on the fly is a click away.
The overall audio listening experience on the Stealth 600 Gen 3 is excellent, especially at the $99.99 price point. One note on the listening experience is the overall volume of the headphones. While I’ve tested louder headphones the Stealth 600 is still plenty loud and does an excellent job at isolating the audio you're listening to vs external noise. Even when louder background noise is present in a space It never disrupts the audio listening experience. In fact, in testing, even when pushing the surround sound system in the office (it's a 5.1 Polk Audio Speaker system powered by a Yamaha RX-V640 amp) to the point that I could feel the bass, it didn’t impact the listening experience on the Stealth 600.
As for the Flip-to-mute microphone, Turtle Beach has added a new AI-based noise reduction system to the capture experience. The uni-directional microphone coupled with the AI noise reduction is designed to isolate the vocal capture while dramatically reducing the background noise in a space. Overall it does a pretty solid job. As for the vocal capture representation, it clearly and accurately presented my voice capture during testing. Again another solid aspect of an exceptionally well-designed and refined set of gaming headphones.
Final Thoughts
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 wireless gaming headphones for Xbox are a well-designed and refined piece of hardware. They offer a plug-and-play solution with the option for full customization of the listening experience. Whether you’re a plug and play gamer or someone who wants to customize every aspect of the audio experience the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 offers an excellent option. With an MSRP of $99.99 the Stealth 600 Gen 3 Wireless gaming headphones are worth considering.
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