Stealth 520 Headset Review – Cans Born to Perform

Stealth 520 Headset Review 

As part of the newest line of headsets from Turtle Beach, the Stealth 520 is the new and improved, albeit more expensive version, of the Stealth 500P. With a slight redesign, as well as some major improvements, the Stealth 520 is a game changing headset, that while a bit pricey at $130 USD, is worth the investment.

Black with touches of blue, and LED lights on the side of the 50mm earphones, the Stealth 520 looks as fantastic as it sounds. There is an ample amount of padding on both the headband and speakers and there is a flexible and removable boom mic, designed specifically for long bouts of gaming in mind.

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“While extremely comfortable, the audio options available, as well as the quality of the audio, are what really make the Stealth 520 worth the price.”

While extremely comfortable, the audio options available, as well as the quality of the audio, are what really make the Stealth 520 worth the price. There is no separate mixamp, however there is an eq preset button, as well as two different volume controls for chat and game on the right earphone. You are able to mute and unmute with the push of a button and have your 3.5mm port for your cellphone on the right earphone as well. The Stealth 520 has phenomenal sound, using 7.1 surround sound, and only needs to be at half volume or lower for you to hear everything clearly and loudly.

Although the Stealth 520 may sound similar to other headsets so far, a unique feature of the Stealth 520 is the superhuman hearing that allows you to determine whether you want to hear specific sounds, distant noises or general game noise. It is very useful for first person shooters as a way to focus in on enemy footsteps, boost movement and reloads and with a touch of the button on the outside of the earphone, it is easy to switch on and off. While you may not want to have this setting on all of the time, as it takes away other noises you may want to hear, it is a great option to have.

Turtle Beach listened to the complaints regarding the 500p and made improvements not only to the audio output, but also the input. With a very sensitive boom mic, the Stealth 520 picks up your voice easily and with the mic as far away from your mouth as it can go. This makes the gaming experience that much better because you don’t have to feel like the microphone is in your way and you know your friends can hear you loudly and clearly at all times.

The fact that the Stealth 520 is a wireless headset might discourage some gamers from considering it because it has to be recharged, and there is a possibility for audio lag. While it is true that most wireless headsets may have a lag, there was no noticeable audio lag of any kind using this headset. This may be due in part to the fact that upon plugging the USB dongle into the PlayStation, you will also need to plug in the digital optical cable as well. While some may not be eager to have anything other than the USB plugged into their PlayStation to use this headset, the increased range and quality more than makes up for it. The battery life is stellar as well, boasting over 15 hours of battery life, making long gaming sessions a breeze.

Now the question on everyone’s mind: is the Stealth 520 worth the price? The answer is definitely, unless you are a casual gamer who might not appreciate the improvements and additions to a cheaper headset. While marketed for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, the Stealth 520 is also compatible with mobiles and can be used with computers as long as there is an digital optical port available. This allows for some headset versatility which increases the already amazing value of the Stealth 520. Between the amazing audio, and the comfortable padding, the Stealth 520 is the ultimate headset for gamers who want a quality product without spending a couple hundred dollars.

***The headset was provided by Turtle Beach for the purpose of this review***