Find out if Turtle Beach has stepped up its audio game with the Atlas Air and Stealth 600, then check out System Shock and Paper Trail.
Tuttle Beach is certainly no stranger to the headphone market – its brand and signature palm trees known all over the globe. But while the recent release of both its and Atlas Air and Stealth 600 headsets might initially seem like business as usual, there’s actually a bit more than meets the eye.
A big part of that surprise stems from the Atlas Air which doesn’t just see Turtle Beach venture into the open back market, but produce the first wireless open back gaming headset designed for the PC. And while this might be uncharted territory for the gaming company, it’s also an incredibly impressive debut.
Taking the Atlas Air out of the box you can instantly tell the unit has a design language that is entirely its own, branching well outside the typical Turtle Beach headset. It’s rocking breathable mesh headbands, visible bands, athletic weave fabric and memory foam. But while it might look a little bulky from the outset, I found the Atlas Air to be shockingly comfortable. In fact, the Atlas Air might be one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve worn in years. Much of this is due to what Turtle Beach is dubbing the ‘floating fit’, which sees the double whammy of a floating earcup and an adjustable floating headband.
This intelligent implementation genuinely removes much of the weight you’d expect from a headset of this size, and I found no discernible clamping pressure on my head, meaning extended gaming sessions were never a problem. Even better is that during those sessions you can expect wonderfully crisp audio via the 40mm drivers.
Due to the open back design of the Atlas Air games sound much more natural and accurate. If you’re a Call of Duty fan, for example, you’ll likely be looking for a soundstage that’s as authentic as possible in order to run around environments with a full sense of your surroundings. That’s exactly what you’re getting here, meaning those after a profile reverberates through your skull with a lot more boom need to look elsewhere.
But while there is certainly a bounty of positives with the open back approach, you also need to be prepared for the big caveat – leakage. Due to the free-flowing nature of Atlas Air not only will you be able to hear any close bystanders, they’ll also be able to hear you, so it’s worth thinking about if this headset approach fits your particular lifestyle and play space.
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If it does, the Atlas Air comes packed with a detachable microphone and USB-A dongle, allowing you connectivity not just to PC, but PS5 and Nintendo Switch as well. For Xbox gamers you’ll need to connect a 3.5 mm AUX cable into your controller to get up and running but Turtle beach has been kind enough to include one in the box so it’s all sorted without too much effort. It’ll currently set you back $299 from major retailers.
The Stealth 600, on the other hand, is a much more affordable offering – currently retailing for $179. It’s a much more traditional unit from Turtle Beach, and is actually the third iteration on this particular model. But while the Gen 2’s were a touch bulkier and designed with more obvious gamer aesthetic in mind, the new Stealth 600 is a lot sleeker in comparison. The headband is more compact, there no indebted hard lines and even the turtle beach branding has been toned down to the point that you could comfortably throw these on during a commute without any strange glances. So far so good.
Less ideal is getting the Stealth 600’s on your head because there’s a fair bit more clamping force than the Atlas Air and it’s is instantly noticeable. That’s obviously not going to be a deal-breaker for everybody, but it does means that head you may want to try and give them a trial run to ensure the comfort levels remain throughout your whole gaming session.
In direct contrast to the Atlas Air, the Stealth 600 are closed back cans, so you’ll get much more isolation than its new sibling. There’s no active noise cancellation built in, but the fundamental design ensures you’ll still block out a certain degree of the outside world, while also preventing your game world from leaking out. Simply put, that makes the Stealth 600 the more ideal choice for anybody in a heavily shared spaces trying to block out chaotic family members, friends or roommates. Plus its whopping 80-hour battery life prevents overly frequent charging.
Much like the Atlas Air the Stealth 600 packs in a USB-A wireless dongle, but compatibility will vary depending on which version you buy. The PS5 and PC variants, for example allow connectivity between PS5, PC, Switch and mobile, while the Xbox variant includes all those as well as Series X/S making it the no-brainer option if you own everything. The flip-to-mute mic also makes chatting to your friends easy enough and delivers pretty reasonable results from our tests.
Both the Atlas Air and Stealth 600 can be tweaked via Turtle Beach’s Swarm software or mobile app and should help give you a customized profile that suits your needs. No matter which path you take, Turtle Beach has made some serious strides in the headset market, just as things seem to be heating up. While I preferred my time with the more unique Atlas Air, you can’t go wrong with either option if you’re looking to up your game.
Also out now…
Paper Trail (Switch, PS5, PS4, PC, Mobile)
A tiny game filled with big ideas, Paper Trail is unquestionably creative. Its central premise allows you to fold the world around (broken up into a front side and back side) in order to open up the world around you. That could include giving access to previously broken bridges, relighting lighthouses, sliding platforms and more. And it’s all in the quest of helping protagonist Paige escape her overprotective parents and go to university.
Dragging various parts of your screen is incredibly inventive and fun (especially for those playing via Switch or mobile through Netflix) even though the actually puzzles themselves can tend to gravitate a little to the simple side. Still, this charming puzzler is helped along but an engaging soundtrack and gorgeous artwork, making it the perfect palate cleanser while you wait for the next big-budget release.
System Shock (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
While this incredibly impressive remake first wowed PC owners almost a year ago, now it’s console players’ time to shine and for all accounts it has made the transition remarkably well.
The game that helped inspire the likes of BioShock, this 30-year old classic sees you battling a psychotic AI aboard a dangerous space station, as the rogue entity tries to take down humanity. Just another day in paradise, right?
What is heavenly though is the level of TLC that’s been sunk into this remake. It looks and runs like an absolute dream on PS5, the sound design and mechanics have been tweaked to perfection and many of the puzzles are actually pretty fun to boot. Combined, it helps System Shock feel entirely new again, even if the combat and difficultly is a little old-school by design.
For long-time fans this is the perfect way to return to System Shock and newcomers couldn’t find a better way to play.
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