Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max Headphone Review

The Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is therefore a wireless gaming headset, with microphone, with Xbox Series and Xbox One certification, but directly announcing its compatibility with many other platforms including PS4 and PS5 consoles, Windows PCs like Mac, and the Nintendo Switch in TV mode. An almost universal helmet therefore, sold at a price of 139€ at its launch. Enough to put it directly in front of the Hyperx Cloud II Wireless that we tested a few weeks ago.

	Specifications
Compatibility	Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch (TV mode), Windows, Mac, Linux
Microphone type	Omnidirectional microphone
Microphone noise reduction	Nope
7.1 / 3D rendering	Nope
Weight	300 grams without cable
Connections available	2.4GHz Wireless via USB Dongle

Manufacture and finish: Another foot in the world of toys

The Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max uses a classic design with a simple arch, rigid, on which are fixed the ball joints of the auricles. The size adjustment is made by sliding the ball joint on the frame, with a graduated and notched plastic rod giving the helmet a good amplitude which allows it to adapt to the largest heads as well as those of adolescents. Contact with the head at the level of the arch is ensured by a thick foam, lined with imitation leather, for a well-balanced support.

A little over 90° horizontally and barely 5° vertically, the rotation of the ear cups still allows precise placement, and storage flat on the table or around the neck. The contact surface of the ear cups, whose size is in the low average, is made up of a thick, honeycombed fabric, covering a fairly thick memory foam quite compatible with wearing glasses. The ventilation is also sufficient to avoid excessive sweating when the temperature or the playing time increases.

If comfort, rather firm, is part of the game, the overall finish is very plastic. A plastic that struggles to give off an impression of quality despite an obvious solidity and an absence of creaks and squeaks during handling, while the visible screws are numerous and clearly visible. The appearance of the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is therefore quite toy, especially in comparison with other models of this price level such as the HyperX Cloud II Wireless, its main competitor.

Features: Exceptional compatibility for this Xbox headset

If the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is very officially an Xbox Series headset, with compatibility extended natively to the Xbox One, we can count on its operation on many other platforms, and in particular current PlayStation machines. Using a simple switch on the supplied USB dongle, the headset switches from Microsoft consoles to a Direct Audio mode with wide compatibility: Windows, MacOs, Linux, PS4, PS5, or Switch. For the latter, compatibility is still limited to the standard or OLED model, in TV mode, since a USB A port is necessary for connecting the dongle. Finally, it only lacks an analog wired connection or even Bluetooth compatibility to be complete.

In any case, the use of the headset is simple, immediate, devoid of driver and therefore of software support, and without perceptible latency. Nevertheless its ergonomics would have deserved a little clarity for easier-to-access controls. Thus, the left atrium offers no less than two buttons and two dials, all aligned in the axis, with a distance and a differentiation which necessarily lead to false manipulations.

A general volume (which does not affect the OS but the sound received by the headset), a chat volume for the Xbox or a voice feedback volume for other platforms, a mode button for the different equalizations included in the DSP of the headphones, and a dual-function power button, enough to get lost sometimes, or at least enough to waste time finding the right setting.

Even the microphone, which benefits from the simplest use with its rotating rod which in the high position cuts the sound, is difficult to put in the low position in the heat of the moment. Nothing serious overall, but that requires a bit of practice and concentration.

The sound: good overall performance and an effective EQ

The Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max has 4 basic equalization modes. The “signature sound” corresponds to the most balanced mode, which offers a homogeneous rendering over the whole spectrum. Listening is pleasant, without excess power but with enough reserve to play in a moderately noisy living room to compensate for the limited noise isolation of the ear cups. The bass is very present, rather dynamic, with a precise attack and a real presence in the lowest frequencies.

No excess on the midrange side, and no too pronounced hollow either, which offers voices and effects in game as in film sufficiently present to be heard, without suffering from auditory fatigue at the long. Finally, the treble stands out well from the whole and offers good definition, even if it lacks the crystalline side at the top of the spectrum, the 50mm speakers showing their limits beyond 15kHz.

Subtle variations between the different modes.

alternative ways, “Bass Boost”, “Bass+Treble Boost” and “Vocal Boost” are moderate variations of the signature mode obtained by slightly amplifying certain frequency ranges. What to obtain a rounder sound, in V, or with the voices put forward, without distorting the original rendering. For once, iYou have to admit that each mode has its interest and allows you to vary the pleasures according to your desires and needs.. We just regret that no application offers a real equalizer for PC gamers.

Finally, as usual, Turtle Beach offers a Superhuman Hearing function, which still offers a fairly coarse spatialization effect that removes a good part of the definition in favor of an atmosphere that is too voluptuous to be truly pleasant. We prefer the activation of Dolby Atmos, DTS or 3D of the PlayStation 5 with which the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is obviously compatible. (like any other helmet).

A correct microphone, nothing more

With its slightly short stem to come close to the mouth, the microphone of the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max does not work miracles and offers a limited treble reproduction of the voice. The result is a lack of syllable precision, a slightly cavernous voice, with the added bonus of an overall compression that crushes most nuances.

Thus, even if the player can afford to raise the tone without risking saturation, his voice gives the impression of having passed through a telephone. The result is therefore not recommended for streaming, but for chatting with friends in the heart of a game, it’s okay. Note also that the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max does not offer active attenuation of ambient noise, but that its lack of treble “allows” it not to capture the environment too much. A bad for a good.

Conclusion: Good qualities, but a few points of disappointment

Faced with a Cloud II Wireless, with which the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max shares its launch price, the Turtle Beach headset has some advantages. An autonomy that reaches almost 50 hours at normal level (about 80% of the power available), a more advanced multi-platform connection, and finally a more balanced sound with a more complete management of equalizations or chat volume.

There remain a few flaws which, faced with the tenor of the category, prevent the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max from becoming a benchmark. First of all its clearly recessed finish, with too much plastic at all levels, but also its complex ergonomics which sometimes weighs in at stake, and finally its microphone which lacks clarity. We are therefore faced with a quite honorable helmet, without major defectwhich lacks little to really place itself among our favorite models.

Conclusion

With high-level sound quality and controlled firm comfort, the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max manages to seduce us for long hours of play. control of voice feedback to the ears. We simply regret the very plastic finish it offers, the slightly recessed microphone and some wanderings in terms of ergonomics, while recognizing the undeniable interest of this wireless compatible gaming headset with many platforms. We really do not go far from the reference of the genre, especially at this price.