I’ve been privileged enough to review some of the best headsets on the market for gaming, and each time I wonder what can be done to improve when the next one comes. That’s what I carry in my mind whenever something new comes across my desk, and each time I think I’ve heard the best there can possibly be. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II came down the pipeline very recently, and it was time to see how things had improved this time.
As is custom, I will start with the unboxing. The Stealth Pro II comes in a fantastic hard-shell case that doesn’t skimp on real estate. It’s big enough to hold the headset itself, the detachable mic, the charging dock for the removable batteries, and more. I was sent the black-with-copper-finish model, but it is also available in white and solid black on the Xbox-compatible version.
As someone with a white cat about the house, I relished the opportunity to keep the headset fur-free when I put it away for the night. The hard-shell case meant I could also not worry about it getting crushed or the headset damaged if the worst should happen and it gets pushed off the desk by the previously-mentioned cat.
The build quality of the Stealth Pro II is one of the best I have ever seen. It is sturdy and stands up to the toughest of treatments. Even with all of the metal in the construction, it’s still light to wear and never feels heavy.
For me, one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, selling points is comfort. As someone who has suffered through some absolutely shocking headsets in my gaming career, I know what I like, and I like the Stealth Pro II. The fabric suspension headband and memory-foam-filled fabric-bound ear cushions make wearing this headset an absolute delight.
“The build quality of the Stealth Pro II is one of the best I have ever seen.”
I spend almost all of my workday wearing a headset, so I need something that will not make my ears sweat, make my head hurt from squeezing or move around a lot. The Stealth Pro II does all of this and more, as I am able to wear it all day at work and then for a couple more hours when I get home with no problem whatsoever. Longevity is the name of the game in this regard.
Where the Stealth Pro II really excels, though, is in its audio quality. This is thanks, in large part, to its 60mm Eclipse dual drivers, which are the largest in their class. Combine that with the industry standard Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, and you have a recipe for some of the best audio you’ll hear in a headset, bar none.
Where things really start to shine beyond the default out of the box is when you take advantage of the audio presets in the Turtle Beach Swarm 2 app on your PC. Despite there being only 4 onboard presets available, you are able to customize your experience exactly how you want it. I elected to stay with the “Treble and Bass Boost” preset as it offered my ears the best experience in both gaming and music/movie/YouTube.
“A gaming headset is nothing without a microphone to go along, and the Stealth Pro II has the best microphone I have ever used in a headset…”
For the most immersive experience, noise cancelling is a must-have feature, and the Stealth Pro II is no slouch in this department. Featuring 4 internal microphones to help limit intrusive noise by up to 25dB, the Stealth Pro II offers the most complete noise-cancelling capability I have ever seen in a headset.
It’s not all on paper, either, when it comes to noise cancelling. The out-of-the-box ANC is spectacular, but when you get the Swarm 2 app open on your PC, you can really dial in your comfort zone and make the experience truly yours. What this means for the user is a state-of-the-art system that allows you to make your environment disappear and truly enter the game world you’re playing in. As well, you have as many as 5 different custom profiles to choose from, so you can really dial in exactly how much you want to hear of the outside world at any given moment.
A gaming headset is nothing without a microphone to go along, and the Stealth Pro II has the best microphone I have ever used in a headset, which says a lot given the list of those that came before. The 9mm floating mic sits at the end of a detachable boom arm and is considered unidirectional, so you won’t have to worry about ambient room noise leaking into your conversations. The actual mic itself is floating on 6 rubber spokes to reduce vibrations and provide impeccable vocal quality.
All of the things I’ve spoken about pale in comparison to the real issue with headsets, and that is battery life. One thing that headsets have long suffered from is substandard battery life, but the Stealth Pro II addresses this by using two removable, rechargeable battery packs. When I first found out about the removable battery, I was against it as they tend to add too much weight and inconvenience, but I couldn’t be happier with how the battery performs in this headset. The added weight is negligible at worst, and nonexistent at best. The removable battery goes right into its own charging dock and offers 40 hours of battery life.
When a headset ticks literally every box you have to tick, you expect the price to reflect that. Turtle Beach has truly gone against the grain by offering the Stealth Pro II for a reasonable $349 USD for both its PlayStation and Xbox models, both of which are PC- and mobile-compatible as well. I cannot say enough about how good the Stealth Pro II is and would recommend it to everyone. It’s not every day that one can get something that is top-of-the-line in the gaming space for this price, so if you have the option, you cannot go wrong with this headset.
