Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 Review: A cross-play headset

The best gaming headset money can buy for anyone who plays on both Xbox and PlayStation.

When looking for a new gaming headset, comfort and sound quality are the non-negotiables. A decent battery life isn’t far behind. But as a multi-console player, I’ve grown to realise I want more – one headset to easily cover them all. That’s exactly what the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 brings to the table.

I’ve been using the Stealth 700 Gen 2 for years, and until now it’s remained my primary headset – but only on Xbox Series X. The Stealth 700 Gen 3 has not only replaced it, it’s also taken the same role on my PS5, thanks to its new cross-play feature.

The 2024 model of the Stealth 700 comes with two USB wi-fi dongles, and with the click of a button on the headset itself, switches between platforms. With one anchored into my Xbox, and another sitting tight in my PlayStation, I’m now seamlessly using a single headset for all my console gaming.

Plugging a 2.4GHz wi-fi dongle into a console’s USB-A port is a little old school, but it’s a remarkably simple way to force easy compatibility between two platforms that’ll never directly recognise the other. That extends to the packaging of the Stealth 700 Gen 3. I have the Xbox edition, which means one USB dongle is embossed with ‘Xbox’ while the other says ‘USB’ instead of ‘PlayStation/PC’. But rest assured, the Xbox model is fully compatible with PS5, PS4, and PC.  

It just works, and if you want to swap one of them to another console or PC, it’s as plug-and-play as a wired headset. While it simultaneously also offers Bluetooth 5.2, there’s no finicky lost connections and I much prefer the improved audio quality of wi-fi and its stability compared to the occasional stutters of Bluetooth. But that’s still there for the mobile generation who know little else (or actually want to use a massive gaming headset with a phone). 

I’ve found being able to jump between platforms with ease has encouraged me to use a headset more often for the sound quality, not only when playing a multiplayer game with friends. It’s much easier with a single device I’m familiar with and know is charged, without needing to rummage around for a secondary headset. Until now, it’s been easiest for multi-console gamers to have separate headsets for Xbox and PlayStation. 

It’s come at a good time in that regard. I’ve genuinely needed to swap between the two consoles almost daily, having reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Xbox Series X, while otherwise being glued to my shiny new toy, the PS5 Pro.

The Stealth 700 Gen 3 packs a serious punch with high quality audio across the board. While some may say the footsteps are a little overaccentuated in Black Ops 6, I’ve embraced taking the advantage, and now using the Stealth 700 is the only way I’ll play – even when I have no interest in chatting to randoms.

Just as I can cross-play Black Ops 6 between both consoles (thanks, Game Pass), with the Stealth 700 Gen 3 I’ve been able to cross-play with the exact same headset. I’d have loved to use that compatibility to present a tech-head direct comparison using the headset on Xbox versus PlayStation, but atlas, I’m too much of a casual user for that. It sounds the same on both consoles to me – excellent.

Fortunately, I’m representative of the target market for most gaming headsets. Extra features are nice to have, but ultimately, it needs to sound great and be comfortable for long gaming sessions. The Stealth 700 Gen 3 ticks both of those boxes.

At AUD $399 (or $199 USD), it’s a step up in price from the last-generation version, with Turtle Beach repositioning it as a more premium option. Though, not within touching distance of Astro’s A50 which rivals the price of a console at up to AUD $750.

For the extra money, the Gen 3 feels and looks more premium than its cheaper predecessor. They share a very similar design, but pulling it out of the box, I could feel that I was upgrading to a new product, not just a mild iteration. The body features a solid, metal design behind the cushy giant earcups, and it feels sturdier to the touch and befitting of its higher price bracket. 

Coming over from the Gen 2, the earcup design is familiar, with comfortable memory foam and the same commitment to cater for glasses. I said the last-gen model was the most comfortable I’d found a headset as someone who needs support for visual clarity. But Turtle Beach has gone one better, and the Stealth 700 Gen 3 is now the best gaming headset I’ve used while wearing glasses.

It fits snuggly, but with adequate adjustment options that should accommodate heads of all sizes, and it’s also light enough to remain in-place without weighing you down. The microphone tucks away to all-but disappear, which automatically mutes it. So you could realistically use this with a phone or PC away from gaming as full-sized headphones – although, the earcups are packed with buttons and switches.

Those physical buttons do everything you need, which is handy when switching between consoles that implement software audio controls differently. The left-side features controls to adjust the volume and the game-voice mix. There’s also a mode switch to jump between Turtle Beach’s preset options, including the return of ‘superhuman hearing’ and a variation that focuses on footsteps – although COD does that well enough on its own. I still find the default sound profile a suitable all-rounder to set and forget. 

It’s rounded out by the retractable microphone, power button and USB-C charging port – Turtle Beach quotes an astonishing 80 hour battery life, and truth be told, we can’t verify that as I haven’t needed to charge it yet. 

The right side isn’t quite as busy. It features its own volume knob, so you can control the audio levels of each side independently. It also has Bluetooth control, which allows for dual audio sources, and the all-important cross-play switch – one click to swap to your other console or PC. 

There’s really very little to fault here. At a pinch, the microphone is a little lacking for anything other than voice chat, which it bolsters with AI to remove background noise, so it isn’t ideal for podcast or audio recording but that’s not its purpose. That’s exactly what we’d expect for the new premium price point.

If you’re a multi-console gamer, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 is the only headset you need. Thanks to its easy cross-play dongles, it’s the ideal headset for anyone who plays across both Xbox and PlayStation and wants premium audio. It sounds great, it’s comfortable for marathon gaming sessions and it truly is a single device that covers you wherever you choose to play. This one is for the multi-platform players.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 is available now for Xbox, PlayStation and PC. A review unit was provided by the local distributor.