Well, OK, I admit... I listened.
Music, movies, series, nature, life and everything else. I listened to them all to remember nothing because a sound is ephemeral. It immediately dissipates its extinct origin. So in life, I have to listen always more, always better and with more and more powerful tools to, hopefully, manage to make my dead soul and my fragile little heart vibrate with the most cruel sounds for him. .
So, I test helmets. And that's good, because today we're going to talk about the latest from Turtle Beach, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max, released recently.
After a very good 600, but which lacks nomadic functionalities, the 700 tries to cover this void.
Will he be able to do it effectively?
You know the chorus now.
Contents of the box
- The helmet (here in its cobalt blue version)
- The USB adapter
- The charging cable
The headset comes in a box that looks very Turtle Beach. Understand by this that there is nothing extravagant in opening this usual white box to the brand. The cardboard mold of the 600 having been simply replaced by a black cardboard material which makes it more distinguished.
But what surprises at first glance is this very different design from the 600 with more rounded curves and radically more massive ear pads than the already imposing one of the 600. Especially in its cobalt blue version which contrasts radically with the perpetual black and white of competing helmets. I find it classy with these colors.
Despite everything, we quickly regain our bearings with the microphone having the same articulation system and similar controls present on the right ear, except for the appearance of a Bluetooth button now present and indicating the presence of compatibility with the wireless standard.
Once installed on the head, we find ourselves even more isolated from the outside world than with its predecessor thanks to the insulation of the ears even further. We're clearly not at the level of noise-cancelling headphones, but the 700 comes close to completely cutting out outside noise.
Same problem on the other hand as with the 600 on the side of the controls which would have deserved better ergonomics and recognition to the touch. Especially since this time, the beeps have been replaced by a robotically feminine voice which intervenes in a delay that is a little too offbeat after pressing a key, making it clumsy to use.
Use on the machines remains simple with the USB key: slider to Xbox mode for Xbox allowing you to benefit from Atmos or Sonic technologies and slider to USB mode for the PC, Playstations and other Switches in dock mode.
We will however be surprised at the long delays for the headphones to be recognized and therefore connected. Especially since the 600 was relatively fast on this side. Hopefully a future firmware update fixes this.
The Bluetooth aspect, on the other hand, compensates for the lack of mobile use of the 600 and can thus be paired easily and quickly with any Bluetooth-compatible device, such as your smartphone. Pairing is fast, unlike USB mode, but the presence of the Bluetooth button without any real highlighting on the left ear to distinguish it from others can quickly turn into a gaffe.
I know what you're going to say to me: "But are you going to tell us about the audio quality, at the end?"
I come to that, but not before quickly touching on the battery which has already proven itself on the 600 in terms of duration of charge time and life on a full charge which flirts with the 2 days non stop of use. And as the lifespan still needed to be improved, the 700 is equipped with an automatic standby system in the event of prolonged non-use to save battery life.
So. Now we can talk about sound quality.
Well, that last one is really good. There it's finished !
Eh ? How do you want to know more?
Never happy with what I see...
As usual, a little Overwatch and a few games will serve as an audio benchmark and the result is clear: we have good sound quality thanks to a retransmission from the beautifully crafted Atmos (or Sonic) system. We are at the same level as the 600 on this side on classic machines (PC, Playstation and Xbox which are compatible with this kind of sound technology). Sound depth, placement of sounds in space....the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is going to give you what you pay for. Even if once again, on Xbox, everything is superior thanks to the advanced Sonic / Atmos compatibility for Microsoft machines.
On Smartphone, the result is correct whether in conversation or watching videos. Listening to music is also enjoyable even if, like me, you prefer something lighter like headphones on the go. Especially since the helmet does not weigh on the head and that's a good point.
We clearly feel that we are on high-end headphones as they have been designed for maximum comfort, maximum autonomy and uncompromising sound quality.
A slightly less good point comes from the helmet adjustment system to adapt to all heads. Not that it's bad, but because we're dealing with a 'sliding' system, rather than a 'notched' one, raising concerns that although the helmet is solid, after a few years there's a lot of play, thus losing the stability of the helmet on the head, unlike a notched system like most helmets...
But overall, the 700 is a nice evolution of the 600. And if you haven't yet fallen for the latter, go for the 700 instead for its additional features. Well... only if the price of €199,99 doesn't scare you...
Amazon - 199,99€
