Turtle Beach Ear Force Stealth 450 Review - Review 2022

Wireless gaming headsets are very appealing, but they're pricier than their wired equivalents. Considering this, Turtle Embankment'due south $129.95 Ear Force Stealth 450 seems like a steal, at simply over ii-thirds the price of the Editors' Pick Logitech G933 Artemis Spectrum  and less than half the price of the Astro Gaming A50 . In addition to a wirless design, the 450 support 7.i-channel surround sound, and can piece of work with a PlayStation 4 ($499.00 at Amazon)  every bit a stereo headset. But it's apparent that Turtle Beach had to cut some corners to give the headset its price—the stiff padding and headband feel uncomfortable when compared with pricier, plusher wireless headsets.

Design

The Stealth 450 ($79.95 at Dell)  is an unassuming, understated headset. It's mostly matte blackness plastic over the earcups and headband, with elliptical glossy blackness plastic dorsum panels on the earcups that agree low-cal-up Turtle Beach logos. The earpads are also elliptical, and comfortably surround your ears. The tension of the headband was a bit as well tight for my taste, pressing inward on my head from the sides. I accept a larger-than-average head, and the Stealth 450 became uncomfortable after moderate periods. The headset doesn't feel cheap or clunky by any means, just information technology lacks the costly, solid build of the pricier Logitech Artemis G933 or the wired Astro Gaming A40 TR . The padding on the ears feel a bit stiff and thin compared with the Astro and Logitech headsets, which really affects how the Stealth 450 sits on your head.

The left earcup holds a connector for the removable boom mic, a pocket-sized black plastic tab on the end of a flexible metal arm. The right earcup holds all other connections and controls. A micro USB port charges the headset (Turtle Beach claims a listening time of up to xv hours), and a 3.5mm jack lets you lot use the headset wired with the included four-pole three.5mm audio cable. 2 plastic wheels control headset and mic volume, and a big Presets button betwixt them switches between iv EQ modes (Bass Boost, Bass + Treble Boost, Natural, and Vocal Boost). Finally, the triangular Turtle Beach logo on the back panel serves every bit the power button.

Connectivity

The Stealth 450 comes with a wireless USB receiver. Information technology lights upwardly when the headset is connected, just lacks whatever other controls or connectors. While it's billed as a PC headset, the Stealth 450 works with the PlayStation four; I plugged the receiver into my PS4'southward USB port and it automatically registered as a wireless headset. This doesn't back up the headset'due south 7.i-channel surroundings sound decoding, yet; information technology functions as a stereo headset when connected to a PS4.

Music Performance

Music sounds solid on the Stealth 450, only it doesn't especially impress with its power or clarity. Information technology handles our bass test track, The Pocketknife's "Silent Shout," without a hint of baloney even at maximum volume. Yet, that maximum volume levels aren't all that powerful; the sub-bass notes take a vague sense of force, but lack the total body the Astro A40 TR and the Logitech G933 tin produce.

The Stealth 450's sound is weighted heavily toward the low-mids, with the higher frequencies getting some, merely not quite plenty, sculpting to balance things out for music. This is a normal sound profile for gaming headsets, only even the Natural EQ setting on the Stealth 450 probable won't delight music purists. The upright bass in Miles Davis' "So What" sounds deep and full, but the more than subtle parts of the mix, like the sound of the string plucks, barely comes through. The opening acoustic guitar notes in Yes' "Roundabout" are clear, but lack any sense of texture, and when the bass synth kicks in information technology overwhelms the mix and pushes the accompanying guitar strums into the background.

Gaming and Surround

Games sound fairly forceful and full through the Stealth 450. While playing Bloodborne  on the PS4, it brings out plenty of the creepy low stop in the game'southward oppressive soundtrack and creature sounds to convey the intention of the audio design. Just fifty-fifty at maximum book, it doesn't give a sense of all-encompassing gloom. Serious Sam 3: BFE on the PC sounds full and forceful through the Stealth 450, with the bear upon of sledgehammer hits and other acts of violence getting plenty of punch. Information technology isn't an overwhelming sound, but information technology should satisfy.

The headset'south 7.1-channel environment audio is fairly useless, just this is an effect with all gaming headsets; headphones lack the space for audio to reflect to produce the proper sense of positional imaging. Front and rear sounds go mixed slightly differently through the headset's stereo drivers to produce subtle distinctions, but it isn't enough to provide clear directional audio.

Conclusions

Turtle Embankment's Ear Force Stealth 450 is an affordable and functional wireless gaming headset, but it'due south a solid example of getting what you pay for. It doesn't sound bad and information technology doesn't feel cheap, but it pales in comparison with the Editors' Choice Logitech Artemis G933. If you really want a wireless headset, the G933 or the Skullcandy PLYR 1 ($149.99 at ThinkGeek)  are much improve options, though more expensive. For nether $150, y'all should look to a comfortable headset you lot can wear for a long fourth dimension, and that ideally offers good sound quality. In that case, the Plantronics' RIG 500 ( at Amazon) is an excellent option. You tin likewise get a wired version of the Logitech G933 in the grade of the $150 G633 if you desire the extensive customization options, colored lighting, and (about importantly) very comfy blueprint of Logitech's headset.

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/migrated-58428-headphones/10265/turtle-beach-ear-force-stealth-450-review

Posted by: lewissithen.blogspot.com

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