I really like my Turtle Beach Stealth 450. It’s got a dumb name, but the sound and capture quality are excellent – if not a little too good, and it’s held up well for almost two years. Unless you’re a professional audio capturer/recorder and really need the best of the best sound quality, it’s more than enough, and runs way cheaper than most other headsets at just $100. I average a recharge maybe once every few days, too, despite almost always having music going, gaming or not. Controls are easy to manage and once used to them feel natural. Build quality is acceptable for the price. Doesn’t feel as solid as the z300 and other premium sets from sennheiser or razer, which I had prior (the transmitter randomly died on it), but I think this has to do more with it being designed as lightweight and unintrusive as I’ve come to respect the materials and build quality decisions over time. it isn’t as feature-loaded as many premium ones, but it does what its intended to do and does it really, really well.
It’s also insanely comfortable – more so even than the z300, and definitely more comfortable than any razer product I’ve ever demo’d which often get too hot or don’t sit well on/over the ears, which I think is a major part of buying a good headset. The removable boom is also nice if you like over-the-ear headphones, as it can then do double-duty (plugged in).
It only has two cons:
You really need to buy a longer usb : micro usb cable for recharging it. Unless you have a laptop or never plan to charge it while using it, the one they give you is only a paltry three feet long, and is not satisfactory for most purposes. USB cables are super easy to find, though, and aren’t expensive.
The built-in voiced responses to changing settings or turning it off/on. I don’t need some random woman saying “powering off” or “microphone muted” loudly in my ear when I’m fumbling about.
Otherwise, it’s a truly wonderful device.
