In the world of gaming headsets, it feels like the lower end of the range gets vastly overlooked. With so much focus on RGBs, noise-cancelling, and haptic feedback, we sometimes forget what a gaming headset is at its core. This is where the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 comes into play, so I took it for a spin to see what it had to offer.
Available in 3 different compatibility layouts (PS5/PS4, Xbox/PC/mobile, and PC), the Atlas 200 is available for a very reasonable $59.99 USD, making it available for everyone in the gaming space. For my purposes, I opted to get the PlayStation model in white (it also comes in black for this, and only black for the other layouts), and taking it out of the box was a treat to be greeted by the brilliant white frame and blue PlayStation floating headband adjustment tabs. With nothing else in the box apart from the requisite quickstart manual, I plugged it into my controller and got to it.
Technically speaking, the Atlas 200 is pretty barebones. Utilizing 50mm Nanoclear Drivers, sounds come through clearly with no distortion or feedback. Playing Battlefield 2042, I was still able to discern enemy footsteps and proximity to me, as well as the direction they came from. The Atlas 200 is also optimized for 3D Audio on the PS5, which only enhances the sound experience.
The Atlas 200 for PlayStation is outfitted with a unidirectional microphone that you flip up to mute and down to use, so no worrying about finding the mute button in the heat of the moment. Since it is unidirectional, background noise being picked up is minimal at worst, as my Battlefield 2042 squad could barely tell that there was a cat seven feet away from me, meowing at something out the window until I went over and got her down. The mic arm doesn’t really adjust either, so it has to pick up your voice from a slightly larger distance than what my normal daily driver does. This isn’t a bad thing since the mic quality on the Atlas 200 is spectacular.
A headset can look amazing and sound great, but if it isn’t comfortable, then it’s not worth your time. The Turtle Beach Atlas 200 for PlayStation is one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve worn, bar none. It’s extremely lightweight, weighing in at around 280g, and the ear cushions are made with a comfortable memory foam wrapped in breathable fabric to ensure there is no sweat accumulation. A very slight adjustment to the floating headband using the tabs on the side, and things were in place.
As a glasses-wearer from time to time, the Atlas 200 was a pleasure to wear even when I had my glasses on, as the ear cushions were not intrusively tight to the point of discomfort. Even the mic arm didn’t intrude when I had to push it up or down when using it. Most headsets I have used fit so tightly that anything obstructing that (i.e. glasses) can detrimentally affect your sound experience. It was nice to have a headset that I could use for a long period of time whilst wearing glasses, and not have to worry about comfort.
“The Turtle Beach Atlas 200 for PlayStation is one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve worn, bar none.”
Physically, the Atlas 200 for PlayStation only has one control on the device itself, and that is a volume dial. Without so much taking up all of the real estate on the sides of the ear cushions, I was easily able to identify what dial or knob I was adjusting because there was only one! And with no Bluetooth capability, we don’t have to worry about pairing to an app (on the PlayStation version, anyway, the PC version has an included USB-A adaptor that you can plug into a PC to adjust EQ settings and more).
Being a wired headset, the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 doesn’t suffer from the pitfall that other headsets do, and that’s battery life. I can pick the Atlas 200 up at any minute of the day and know that I’ll be able to use it, regardless of whether I left it on the table before bed instead of plugging it in. I know this all seems so basic, but sometimes the basics are sexy, and the Atlas 200 is definitely making the basics sexy again.
Overall, the Turtle Beach Atlas 200 for PlayStation is an incredible headset that does what it says on the box and nothing more. Budget gamers and newcomers alike would be well-served choosing the Atlas 200 from Turtle Beach as their daily driver, and at a price of $59.99 USD, one really can’t go wrong.
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