Stealth Pro II wireless gaming headset review: "Turtle Beach's premium pair has the chops to put SteelSeries in the corner"

Turtle Beach has a weird reputation amongst my peers.

Whenever the brand is brought up in conversation, it's often followed up with stories reminiscing about how "Turtle Beach headsets are cheap", but I don't think those people have touched a Turtle Beach headset since they were teenagers. For the sake of not troubling the waters of friendship, I usually just smile and nod whenever I hear those remarks, rather than spew the usual neurodivergent-fueled rhetoric that I've tested plenty of Turtle Beach-branded cups and had a pretty great time with them.

Now I have the Stealth Pro II to bring up as a straightforward example that the brand's quality is almost on par with some of the best gaming headsets on the market today.

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Key specs

Design

The Stealth Pro II is one of those headsets that doesn't stand out too much against a sea of similarly looking black pairs, but it doesn't look horrendous either. On close inspection, there are some sleek design choices, like the recessed curves and metal earcups, that give it a more "premium" aesthetic. Ideally, for a pair that's $349.99 / £299.99, those premium vibes are exactly what you want.

The Pro II has the same headband as the brand's Atlas 200, which includes two plastic pieces connected via a swatch of stretched mesh fabric. The fabric underhangs below the headband, and it's this that sits across your noggin' while you're playing your favorite games. The pair's yokes are pretty unique and connect to the earcups via a simple S-shape design, which can then be adjusted by just pulling down and away from the headband.

Talking of the earcups, this pair went the oval route for its earcushions instead of opting for circular ones that you can spot on the older Stealth Pro. These oval-shaped earcushions are made from plush memory foam, which is coated in a breathable black fabric, and are attached to rounded cups, which are cluttered with on-board controls.

The best design element of this pair comes down to that Charging Dock. Rather than including a large Game Hub like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni, Turtle Beach included a small cylindrical pad that looks like someone sliced the bottom off a Pringles tube.

It doesn't include all the bells and whistles that come with SteelSeries' charging gadget (more on that in a bit), but it requires far less desk real estate - a plus if you're like me and have plenty of figures and merch that have a home amongst your PC setup.

Features

The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II wireless gaming headset is decked out with Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, a 9mm flip-to-mute microphone, ANC, and 60mm Eclipse Dual audio drivers, but the real meat of the pair for me comes down to that Charging Dock. It doesn't just charge spare batteries, but it doubles up as a wireless receiver. While the headset includes a 2.4 wireless dongle within its accompanying hard case, you can simply plug the Charging Dock into your PC to have a low-latency wireless experience.

The accessory also includes a button that pops batteries out for easy access. This was a major draw for me, as I have joint issues in my hands as a result of a chronic illness. Having fiddly controls in tech can be a literally painful experience, but this simple button makes swapping the batteries a breeze. Each battery has an up to 80-hour battery life, so I never needed to do that too often, if I'm honest. Alas, the accessibility remains a huge bonus.

The battery can be swapped for the one sitting by default in the left earcup. If that battery tech sounds awfully familiar to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, that's not just where the similarities end. While SteelSeries provides the ability to hook up to multiple platforms at once via its GameHub device, the Stealth Pro II is equipped with Crossplay 2.0 and can achieve console switching whether or not the consoles in question are in the same room.

It doesn't have an integrated screen that allows you to adjust volume and EQ settings, so it's not as bursting at the seams with integration as the Game Hub. However, with Crossplay 2.0, one device (like your gaming PC) can be hooked up to the Charging Dock receiver, and your PS5 in another room can be attached to the 2.4GHz wireless dongle. From then on, all you need to do is press the Crossplay button on the headset to switch between platforms. Turtle Beach actually boasts that you can wirelessly connect to "up to 4 Audio Sources" at a time, but there's a little bit of a catch.

If you want to be able to switch between up to 4 gaming platforms at a time, you'll need to purchase additional wireless dongles, which cost $34.99 ( Turtle Beach) / £29.99 (Turtle Beach) each. As of writing this review, the Xbox model USB Wireless Transmitter (which would be the one I'd need as I was given the Xbox model to review) is currently out of stock, so you'll have to take availability into account too.

Performance

Testing the Stealth Pro II was a more streamlined experience with the brand's Crossplay 2.0 tech, at least, as I was able to leave the Charging Dock transmitter on my PC desk while having the 2.4GHz dongle plugged into my chonky ol' PS5. So often when I'm testing headsets that are built around multi-platform support, I have to pick up and move around gadgets from room to room, but Turtle Beach made facilitating my detached PC and console setup more straightforward.

To begin with, I donned the pair when playing my PS5 as I was still taking my time with Lego Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight. The brick-built version of Gotham is surprisingly atmospheric, and on its default settings, I was able to hear the stud-laden streets come to life. Dialogue had a slight echo, which was not to my preference, but I was still able to hear Robin's incredible (and not at all cringeworthy) quips crystal clear.

There's not a whole lot of music in the game, which is why I'm glad that Deltarune Chapter 5 happened to drop during my time with the headset. I'm a huge fan of Deltarune, especially when it comes to the game's music. Toby Fox's works are hugely inspirational to me, so I put a lot of onus onto the headset that I use to hear the latest tracks for the first time, and the Stealth Pro II didn't disappoint. Mastering the new platforming mechanics as Fox's 'Sunset of the Seven Suns' played in the background was a memorable experience. The moment the full percussion kicked in, it felt almost euphoric as the Stealth Pro II had the power to level out the game's soundstage and help bring Chapter 5's new Dark World to life.

It sounded even better once I had the Turtle Beach Swarm II app at my disposal. The headset supports dual audio, so I was able to have it connected to both the PS5 and my phone at the same time. On the app, I selected the 'Bass and Treble Boost' audio preset to give it more of a kick, and it added even more vibrancy to the underlying bass of the track. I kept this preset toggled on when switching to PC, and it helped boost the score to everything I threw its way, from Marvel Rivals, Mina the Hollower, and even the dramatic sounds of Peak. The app's audio settings are one of the reasons I know I'm going to resort back to this headset time and time again, as you can actually update the firmware wirelessly through it - no wires required.

So often there have been moments where I've had to update the firmware on a headset or a piece of tech, and it's required me to have multiple cables attached to my PC, despite how limited my desktop is when it comes to ports. Turtle Beach must've known of my frustrations, as so long as it was hooked up to my phone, the app did the job on its own.

In fact, the app was even better in my experience than the official Swarm II software. When trying to do a firmware update on the PC, it kept refusing to show any progress on updating the Charging Dock transmitter. I tried multiple times and reset my PC, only to resort to updating both through my phone, where it did it the first time. This is one of the rare occasions where I don't mind having a headset app taking up the valuable storage space on my Samsung S26.

On this very app, you can also adjust your microphone settings, selecting between audio presets and toggling the AI Noise Reduction setting on and off. This was pretty useful when it came to testing the mic out while playing games like Peak and Meccha Chameleon with my partner. I didn't have to switch between windows when my phone had all the same settings, which resulted in a less intrusive experience.

I've provided a little sample of the microphone above, so you can hear for yourself. There are some plosives, but I did not have the 'Noise Gate' setting turned on when recording this sample. Through my own experience of many hours playing Peak, Marvel Rivals and just chatting to my partner through Discord, this was far less noticable with the setting on. Additionally, you can actually turn down the sensitivity of the microphone through the Swarm II app, which can also lessen the harshness of certain sounds.

Yet overall, this microphone is pretty impressive. My only issue is, is that it adds an extra bit of weight to the wireless headset. The pair is 393g with the microphone attached, and 382g without, and even that small difference is noticeable as I found the Stealth Pro II got a little sore pretty fast. I believe it's not just the weight that's at fault but a combination of it and the design of the headband, as the fabric mesh didn't do enough to suspend the plastic band above my head.

Should you buy the Stealth Pro II wireless gaming headset?

As much as I herald the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni as the best headset on the market right now, its reliance on assuming you have a combined gaming setup doesn't mesh well with my personal gaming layout. I have my gaming PC in my home office, and my PS5 and Switch 2 in another room entirely, and so I can never truly take advantage of one of the pair's biggest draws.

The Stealth Pro II changes things with its Crossplay 2.0 system. I left the Charging Dock on my desk and had the 2.4GHz wireless dongle attached to my PS5, and it only took the literal press of a button to switch to my platform of choice on any given day. Ideally, I would have preferred that Turtle Beach provided an additional dongle for its $349.99 / £299.99 price tag so I could have incorporated my Nintendo Switch 2 into the Crossplay ecosystem, which is why I'd recommend waiting for a discount before grabbing the Stealth Pro II for yourself.

I'd definitely recommend the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II for those with a split-room gaming setup looking for an alternative to SteelSeries' flagship headset, but I'd recommend ensuring you've got space on your phone for the app to bring out the pair's best sound possible. By default, it sounds fine, but it wasn't until I was able to give the bass and treble a little boost that it felt truly on par with the sound conjured up by other premium pairs on the market.

How I tested the Stealth Pro II wireless gaming headset

I've been testing the Stealth Pro II for a little under a month, switching it between my PC and main-room split PS5 and Nintendo Switch setup. During the testing process, I played through titles like Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Marvel Rivals, Doom Eternal, and Deltarune on the PS5. On the Nintendo Switch 2, the brand-new Star Fox remake was my game of choice, but I also made sure to see how the Pro II handled Mario Kart World, Pokemon Pokopia, and Donkey Kong Bananza compared to other high-end headsets I've tested so far.

Meanwhile, on PC I was playing Counter-Strike 2, Mina the Hollower, Marvel Rivals, Peak, and Meccha Chameleon, the latter of which was played with friends over Discord to put the microphone through its paces. When not gaming, I was also listening to a huge variety of music, from Ariana Grande's new single, Ninajirachi, Placebo, and the Deltarune Chapter 5 soundtrack, as playing through the chapter was not enough to satiate my Deltarune fandom. For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Check out our best PS5 headset, best PC headset for gaming, and best Nintendo Switch headset guides to see how we rank the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II against the best cups on the market today.