Loads of headsets sound like they’re enjoying a sport of buzzword bingo as of late, and the Turtle Beach Elite Pro is not any exception. Are you a professional gamer who’s into esports and wish to play just like the athletes you see on the web? Well, the Elite Pro and its Superhuman Hearing tech, TruSpeak microphone, Aerofit ear cushions and ComfortTec match and ProSpecs glasses aid system (sure, all precise phrases printed on the aspect of the Elite Pro’s field) could possibly be the headset for you! Sorry, you’ll should excuse me a minute, I feel I simply threw up in my very own mouth.
Marketing jargon and crimes in opposition to the English language apart, although, and the Elite Pro is definitely a really good headset. A reasonably cumbersome, heavy gaming headset, however a pleasant one however.
It can also be, nonetheless, fairly costly, coming in at £150 / $200. That’s lots for a wired USB headset, particularly when you may get the wi-fi HyperX Cloud Flight for £140 / $160 and the even higher (and likewise wi-fi) Steelseries Arctis 7 for simply £120 / $150. So what does the Turtle Beach Elite Pro do to justify its excessive value?
Some may respect the very fact it’s multi-platform, because it additionally comes with a 3.5mm stereo jack cable within the field along with its beneficiant 5m lengthy USB cable for PC. Both merely slot into the headset’s proprietary port that dangles off the left ear cup, so it’s fairly simple to change from PC to console if you wish to get extra use out of it.
Both cables include an microphone mute management and quantity slider as effectively, making it simple to regulate while you’re mid-game. Personally, I a lot choose having my quantity controls down in entrance of me reasonably than some imprecise level on the headset itself, because it means you don’t should pause the motion whilst you faff round looking for a swap or button on the again of your ear.
Really, although, the principle bulk of the Elite Pro’s value most likely comes from its fancy-schmancy headband. As effectively as the same old quantity of extension you get across the ear cups to make them larger or smaller, the Elite Pro additionally has two little sliders alongside the highest of the scarf that allow you to alter how taut the principle cushion is beneath. It’s an analogous form of suspension design to the Arctis 7, solely right here you possibly can alter all sides precisely to your liking, making it (theoretically) extra versatile and providing you with larger management over the headset’s general consolation ranges.
Alas, all that additional adjustment ended up going fully out the window after I got here to check the Elite Pro, because the sheer weight of the rattling factor – all 390g of it – nonetheless ended up giving me a headache after roughly an hour’s use. Even its massive, plush ear cups felt like they have been knocking down on my ears after some time, and the entire thing simply felt prefer it was too huge and ponderous for my head.
As talked about in previous headset reviews, this can be an issue distinctive to my apparently weirdly-shaped head, as I can’t appear to discover a non-pinching headset for love nor cash. The solely headset that’s actually managed to buck that development thus far is the Arctis 7, which is disappointing given the Elite Pro has such an analogous form of design.
Still, assuming it’s simply my head that’s the issue, the Elite Pro’s audio high quality is mostly fairly good. Turtle Beach may say it’s particularly tuned for ‘the esports’, however I wouldn’t say I seen any explicit bias after I ran via my suite of check video games.
In Doom, for example, its bass-heavy soundtrack struck an excellent steadiness in opposition to the crisp crunches of smashed demon skulls, and shotgun blasts nonetheless had loads of weight to them. The highs have been maybe a bit of muted, with imp screeches and laser fireplace sounding a tad flat in comparison with the remainder of any given battlescape, however nothing that might make me wish to rip the headset off in disgust and demand a refund.
Hellblade additionally put in a convincing efficiency, creating an efficient onslaught of clear, audible voices that held their very own in opposition to the remainder of the sport’s low, rumbling background music and whipping wind results. Admittedly, the general readability of the voices didn’t produce the identical feeling of spine-tingling closeness as different headsets I’ve examined, however it was nonetheless completely acceptable.
The Evil Within, in the meantime, sounded glorious, with the rasping moans and dying rattles of Sebastian’s beautiful zombie associates standing out completely in opposition to the continued gunfire and odd exploding barrel.
It was solely after I tried enjoying different, extra common forms of music that the Elite Pro’s so-called esports tuning actually began to rear its head. For instance, the battle tunes from my trusty Final Fantasy XV soundtrack simply didn’t have the identical form of depth or impression as different headsets I’ve examined up to now, and the bass sounded fairly echoey by comparability. Strings additionally sounded very skinny in busy orchestral sections, and it actually struggled with a few of FFXV’s extra operatic tracks like Apocalypsis Noctis as effectively, with rumbling drum rolls sounding like damp, boring thuds.
I discovered the identical factor occurred in different genres, too, with rock vocals as soon as once more sounding fairly strained in opposition to the accompanying guitars and drums. Even poppier melodies gave the impression of they have been preventing to be heard at occasions, and general all the pieces sounded just a bit too clear and scientific for my liking.
This is a disgrace, as I usually like to have the ability to use a headset for each work and play if I can presumably assist it. Still, even when you solely find yourself utilizing the Elite Pro for enjoying video games, not less than you possibly can depend on its microphone to ship a good chat expertise. I’ve used the Elite Pro for recording a number of my latest appearances on the RPS Podcast, our truthful Electronic Wireless Show, so have a take heed to our JRPG and monster specials to see what it feels like. On the entire, although, audio was clear always with solely the occasional little bit of pop if I occurred to have the mic positioned a bit too near my mouth. Even that was simply mounted, although, as its flexible wire arm will be molded into virtually any place you want.
Ultimately, although, the Turtle Beach Elite Pro simply doesn’t do fairly sufficient to justify its premium value in my books, each when it comes to general audio high quality and basic consolation. It’s additionally not an excellent choose for these with smaller heads, because it’s simply too huge and ponderous for use comfortably for a number of hours at a time. For me, the Steelseries Arctis 7 continues to be the gaming headset to beat.
