After all the technical details, we finally get to the most important part: How does the headset actually sound? We now continue where it hurts a bit more: namely the individual listening test. The headset was diligently played in, so this argument is not applicable. I used my Tidal playlist with classical, jazz, rock, electronic music and various vocals (soul, choir music), even though I had to take a 1-hour load break after 6 hours.
Bass range
Music: The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro goes very deep and doesn’t even fail at the subcontraoctave, but weakens strongly in the contour, which degenerates into acoustic mud wrestling without manual tweaking on an equalizer. The drivers tend to resonate extremely, which can really spoil the fun without correction. The contraoctave including the big bass drum is dominantly present and unfortunately also completely spongy and imprecise. The bass is there, but for some a bit too massive and pompously inflated. Listening habits certainly play a big role here. The level stability is average and not extremely high. Correction helps, see above.
Gaming: For gaming, the grenades could be a bit less massive and more dry, but as long as you don’t overdo it, you can still hear everything above the mids, which are pushed away by the bass up to the upper end. The differentiation of the individual sound layers and frequency ranges is quite possible. Everything is also loud enough, but lacks the final precision. In short: an ideal bass bomber for the TikTok generation that only knows compressed sound grit anyway and YouTubers who believe everything the colleague just told.
Music: This range has a decent effect. The male vocals are modeled very richly and are already slightly above the fundamental base. The instruments are also very massively tethered, which doesn’t sound completely unpleasant per se, but it displaces reality and simply slays some things in the higher registers. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro then sounds a bit flatter towards the top.
Gaming: The bathtub alignment st really a matter of taste, because even male voices get a very strong foundation here. Some will wonder if the male voice actors in the game want to dominate the female counterparts. But I’ll get to that in a moment.
Midrange
Music: Now it gets cool, because the mids are already nastily collapsed from about 250 Hz. Many details of the fundamental frequencies move a bit too far away from the original and blur in the deep freeze. You can like that, of course, but this playing style is just too icy for most. Female vocals no longer sound commanding in the foundation, but much flatter than the males. There’s just something missing.
Gaming: Female vocals are still well intelligible but without any dominance in the foundation. The fundamental range is simply too thin, which also takes its toll a bit when gaming because you lose a lot of details. The resolution of the drivers is simply not good enough to reproduce both accurately. 40 mm drivers with a longer stroke would have done better here. There are usually better solutions for the same money. But 50 mm naturally sounds better in marketing (Asus even had 60 mm drivers once, which sounded awful). Yes, 50 mm drivers can be made, but then the good and precise ones please.
Music: One first falls into a small valley and then increases again up to 1 KHz, which is of course beneficial for the differentiated reproduction in this range. The stage is sufficient (even if not brutely wide) and the subjectively perceived quality of the spatial resolution is also very good here. However, high levels with a lot of sources playing together are counterproductive; the localization then becomes visibly more difficult. So you have to turn down the volume or live with the slight mud. But I am only making this criticism because of the 300 euro benchmark, because it is, I have to be fair, rather complaining on a high level.
Gaming: Here, the level is not quite as critical and much is as a certain group of gamers would surely like it. The localization of the sound sources is, as long as the bass does not destroy everything again, really sufficient and you also know where you are going and what is going on around you. You can happily leave that as it is and be happy.
Tweeter section
Music: The reproduction is average in quality and at least not dull. It builds on the too restrainedly pronounced mids, which saves the whole thing a bit again. Speech intelligibility as well as the quality of vocals during recognition are quite good and it always gets better when less is happening down in the bass cellar at the moment. A matter of taste, as always.
Gaming: Exactly the same applies here, the result is also quite convincing in gaming. Gamers will find a peak at an abundant 2.8 KHz, which can make many things more audible. The peaking becomes even more pronounced when using one of the DSP’s special modes for fine detection.
Music and gaming: The high-frequency is acceptable, which can be left like that for now. However, it goes on the extreme offensive once again at 6 to 7 kHz. This results in an exaggeration, which is also known as the so-called “Beyer Peak” and is acceptable, if it is done well. However, sibilants and blow-off noises are much too prominent in the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro in this small frequency range and everything slides strongly into the metallic and peaky. Icy highs are already formed there. It gets more balanced again from about 10 KHz.
Summary and conclusion
Where should I place the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro now? The problem with such a conclusion is always that I have to make the judgment adequately for the price. I consider myself a rather mediocre audiophile at the upper age limit, but I honestly expected a bit more for almost 330 Euros. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro obviously can’t offer the crystal-clear attention to detail of high-end planar-magnet headphones (with which gaming is clearly better), but who would demand such a thing for this price?
Among gaming headsets with traditional dynamic drivers, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is simply peak average to cautiously above average, which might well be a compliment for a gaming headset. If it weren’t for the high price and the non-contoured ear pads, which also severely distort the sound in the bass range if the headset doesn’t fit optimally. However, you can correct and improve a lot with the EQ of the software, which I can only advise everyone to do. I have written enough about the software itself, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
The ANC function performs quite well, but let’s be honest, who wants impressive ANC when you’re already using one of the best shielding ear cushions? The ANC dutifully eliminates low-frequency noise, but the clacking of a mechanical keyboard and the screams of the kids next door in kindergarten penetrate the imposed digital isolation with ease. What the ANC algorithm may lack, however, disappears immediately when playing loud passages. The gaps in the noise suppression are filled up again by the battle noise, so you really suddenly find yourself in a blissfully isolated bubble. So you can leave it like that, it’s not even bad. But do you need it?
The battery system is good, even if the runtime of the individual batteries with 10 to 12 hours is not that extremely long now. Especially not with ANC. Regarding the wearing comfort, you already notice the weight if you are used to lighter fare. The headset did not make my head hurt, but you can feel it after a while, even though it is well balanced. Visually and haptically, there is nothing to complain about. The wearing comfort is actually quite good, because it sits comfortably and if you remove sweat from time to time, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro can be worn for several hours. The microphone is not the highlight now, but if you set it to right stop in the software, you will be heard well.
Sound-wise, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro is more of a typical gaming bass bomber with whipping highs, so it’s pure bathtub. Thus, it will certainly appeal to a certain target group. However, there are already headphones for 300 Euros that can do that even better or even more linear. And there are also headsets, which I will not conceal here, but only a few wireless ones.
The Superhuman Hearing function is one that I (very subjectively) rather dislike. Yes, it does work. Turn it on, and quiet footsteps become more audible, and it’s much easier to spot the position of evil enemies. But it’s so devastating to the rest of the sound quality that I would only use it for a short period of time at most, where it makes sense. You do have some advantage, but the sound character really wears on your nerves. But I think it’s great that the headphones even have a dedicated button for it, so I can quickly turn it on and off again (once I find the button).
With just under 330 euros, Turtle Beach has probably set the bar a tad too high for the Stealth Pro. The tester could have scored with better ear pads, nice telephony microphones and a correctly labeled software. The software can be safely ignored if the rest is at least right. And there the ear pads stand against an award, which I now understand as an award and not as a trinket and souvenir. Maybe there is a Revision Two or better ear pads in the accessories that can do it right. In that case, I’ll gladly measure again and lend both of my ears to the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro once more. Because per se they are not bad, only that with the price, the ratio and the acoustic impression in important details is not quite right.
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