Turtle Beach is no stranger to good gaming headsets. As far as my friends were concerned, they were essential if you wanted to be considered a "serious" gamer. The company's Stealth 700 Gen 3 sits just below its Stealth Pro line and offers an impressive range of features for $200. For starters the headphones has big, 60mm drivers, plus multiple wireless transmitters as well as Bluetooth. The PC version even includes the option for 24-bit audio, sadly at the cost of Xbox compatibility.
Speaking of compatibility, the non-24-bit version will work with PC, Xbox, PlayStation and any Bluetooth device like a phone or Nintendo Switch. The CrossPlay button on the right earcup lets you instantly switch between the wireless transmitters. You can even stream audio from a Bluetooth-connected device and the wireless transmitter simultaneously so you can listen to an epic playlist from your phone while dominating on the battlefield.
What I like about the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3
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The ear cups are quite comfortable. The cushions are memory foam and covered in a leatherette material that never got uncomfortable or hot for me while wearing them for long periods. Turtle Beach also has what they call "ProSpecs" technology, which is supposedly glasses-friendly. As a spectacle-clad gamer, I appreciated how comfortable they were while wearing my glasses. Other headsets I've worn were not as accommodating.
The mic is cleverly hidden away in the left ear cup, and when you pull it down, it automatically unmutes. For the Gen 3, Turtle Beach has added AI-assisted noise reduction to the microphone, which worked very well for me during video calls. I don't play many multiplayer games, so I wasn't able to test it out during gameplay. Judging by my experience on several video calls I'd say it works well. I wouldn't say it's significantly better than what any other company is doing, but it's good at what it does.
The left earcup also houses the power button, USB-C charging port, two control wheels - one of which is remappable. There's also a remappable Mode button which by default toggles Turtle Beach's Superhuman hearing mode which increases the sounds of gunshots and footsteps. On the right earcup is the Bluetooth pairing button, Bluetooth volume control wheel and CrossPlay button for switching between sources.
What I don't like about the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3
Lori Grunin/CNET
As my colleague Lori Grunin pointed out in her Stealth Pro review, having a single Bluetooth button can be a double-edged sword. Since Bluetooth headphones automatically connect to the most recently connected device the headphones are always jumping back and forth between devices. So this might take a moment to remedy at the start of a play session.
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