Review: Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 Headset - Improved Build Quality & Battery Life Make For A Worthy Upgrade

A couple of years ago now, we took at look at the Gen 2 'Turtle Beach Stealth 600' headset here at Pure Xbox - and at the time, we were impressed with the results. Excellent battery life and a comfy overall setup meant that the Stealth 600 was definitely something we could recommend, even if the build quality felt a little lacking for the price. Well, Turtle Beach has returned to us this year with the Gen 3 Stealth 700 - and a big bump in build quality makes it an even better headset this time around.

Where 2022's Stealth Series models (both the 600 and the 700) featured a mostly plastic construction, the Gen 3 Stealth 700 instantly feels like a more premium affair. The base of the headset's headband is "metal-reinforced" — by Turtle Beach's description anyway — but we're saying that's underselling it a little bit. It's got that brushed aluminium feel, and combined with much higher quality plastics elsewhere, this is a serious upgrade on the Gen 2's build quality.

That bump in feel and quality also extends to the headset's earcups. This time around we've got leatherette on the sides, and then "athletic fabric" for the sections that actually touch your head - and this is a lovely combo we must admit. This writer tends to avoid leatherette ear cushions because they can get a bit sweaty after long gaming sessions, but this setup alleviates that issue, while providing that sleek look and feel that leatherette always delivers on.

Right, that's build quality vastly improved then, but what else does the Gen 3 headset bring to the table? Well, longer lasting battery life is another one of Turtle Beach's headlines with the refreshed model - the company is claiming "up to 80 hours" with the Stealth 700 here. We haven't actually timed it, but we've used this headset for weeks and have not had to charge it once beyond initially plugging it in out of the box to make sure it was all juiced up before using it. Seriously, we doubt that you'll have issues with the battery life on this one - Turtle Beach is getting some seriously impressive numbers out of its Gen 3 Stealth headsets.

One of the biggest additions that this new Turtle Beach model also packs in is dual audio features - in more ways than one. Not only can you connect the Gen 3 Stealth 700 to both your chosen console and another Bluetooth device simultaneously — in case you'd like to listen to a podcast, music etc. while gaming — this new model also comes with two USB adapters; intended for easy cross-play chatting. Basically, you can have one adapter plugged into your PC/PlayStation and one into your Xbox - and you simply hit the "crossplay switch" to swap between chat on the two systems. There's no need to mess about moving the adapter around here; the Stealth 700 Gen 3 is ready to go on multiple platforms once it's all been linked to the pair of adapters. Neat.

As mentioned in our review of the previous generation model, this writer has typically stuck to Astro headsets - and that (eventually) remained the case after reviewing the Stealth 600 back in 2022. However, in this situation, the Stealth 700 is making a serious claim for a permanent headset choice. That build quality bump really helps in the comfort department, and with 80-odd hours of wireless battery life, there's not been the urge to move back to Astro just yet. Audio quality is just as good if not better than our existing Astro option, and for now, the Stealth 700 Gen 3 has taken over as this reviewer's go-to Xbox headset.

One small thing we do want to point out though, is the headset's overall weight. Wireless functionality with a chunky battery and good quality materials does feel like it adds a little extra weight to the setup here, which is something to note. It feels, to us at least, like Turtle Beach has done a brilliant job alleviating this with its super-comfy ear cushions and generally ergonomic design - but if you're particularly sensitive to headset weight while gaming, this might be something worth keeping in mind (and maybe even sticking to lighter, wired headset options).

Overall, then, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 is a really good Xbox headset. It's certainly not the cheapest on the market, but when you factor in the headset's features — and the team's big build quality improvements with the third generation — it's certainly competitive compared to other options out there. If you're in the market for something like this we can definitely recommend it, especially as it's become our go-to choice for the time being. We'll have to see how the headset's battery life holds up over time, as per usual, but in the here-and-now this is a fantastic option for players - particularly those who regularly game across both Xbox and other systems on the market.

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Anyone have experience with this headset yet? Thoughts on the Gen 3 options from Turtle Beach? Talk to us down below.