General Information
I wholly adore delving into single-player experiences too, with my PlayStation Pulse headset helping me immerse myself in those worlds via its 3D spatial audio. That being said, I also spend a lot of time - and I mean a lot - on Fortnite with my friends, and that kind of experience has an entirely different set of audio needs.
We're quite the dedicated bunch so using a headset that's comfortable is a must. In this situation, I'm also far less bothered about immersing myself in the soundscape of the game - although some sound for spatial awareness is important. Instead, however, it's far more integral that I can hear my friends and they can hear me.
That's where the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 Wireless Multiplatform Gaming Headset comes in. As the name suggests, this is a multiplatform product - usable on PlayStation, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile - although my particular experience pertains to its performance on PlayStation. There is also a slightly different version available for use on Xbox.
Retailing for £99.99, the Stealth 600 Gen 3 is by no means cheap, but it is roughly on par with what you'd pay for, say, PlayStation or Xbox's own flagship headsets. If you look at other brands, there certainly are budget options available but you'll most definitely begin sacrificing on audio quality the more you lower your budget. If your budget can stretch to funding a Stealth 600 Gen 3 headset, I'd say that you're getting a great quality product at a respectable price.
What first struck me about the Stealth 600 is that it's a headset that feels very durable. While I'd love to tell you that I carefully place my headsets on a dedicated stand, it simply wouldn't be true. I throw them in a drawer along with the rest of my electronics, but I feel quite satisfied that the Stealth 600 is able to withstand this act of neglect on my part.
The cushioning is both ample and breathable and, of course, the headset can be adjusted to accommodate the size of your head. I always appreciate headsets that allow the ear cups to swivel which is annoyingly less common than you'd think. This means I can make the headset flatter, which is important when I want to put it away in my already-rammed tech drawer. For those that take headsets on the go, this is also going to make carrying this particular headset around in your bag much easier.
The product is easy to set up. Simply insert a USB dongle and press the headset's pairing button and you're basically good to go - and with up to 80 hours of battery life, you won't have to worry about constantly putting your headset on charge. I'll add that the Stealth 600 also claims to be glasses friendly but as a non-glasses wearer, I'm afraid I can't confirm or deny.
Either way, once I'd got the hang of it, it was an easy adjustment to make. Yes, it would be ideal to be able to do that directly from the headset but it's not the biggest inconvenience. As you only get one 'volume' wheel, the other is dedicated to mic-monitoring.
This allows you to control how much of your own voice is mixed into what you're hearing through the headset. You can turn this off completely, in which case you'll just hear your voice natively in real life, or you can throw yourself into the mix alongside your game and chat audio. This is incredibly helpful because when you've got the Stealth 600 on, you can't hear much else around you. Using mic-monitoring to add myself into the mix meant I could actually hear what I was saying to my friends. I wouldn't want to subject them to too much nonsense, after all.
Perhaps my favorite feature about the Stealth 600 is the ease of use of the microphone. This pulls down from one of the ear cups, so you can easily slot it back up to store the headset. What stood out to me though is that when you push the microphone up back into its slot, there's a loud-ish beep to signify that you're now on mute. Being able to mute simply by pushing the mic away was a quality-of-life improvement I didn't know I needed.
All in all, the Stealth 600 Gen 3 ticks all the boxes anyone who's looking for a headset will have on their list. It's by no means an inexpensive purchase but it's a great price for what you're getting: a sturdy all-rounder that offers quality, reliability, and comfort.
