Turtle Beach Recon 150 Gaming Headset Review – Rugged, Reasonably Priced, Rangy

Turtle Beach Recon 150 Gaming Headset Review

Perhaps the most underappreciated aspect of video games is the audio factor. While audio in games, particularly soundtrack and voice acting, is often praised, it can be just as easily be unnoticed without a proper audio system or headset. While these can be quite expensive, there are often entry-level budget headsets such as the Turtle Beach Recon 150 PS4/PC Gaming Headset that can provide quality audio for an affordable price. We took this Turtle Beach headset out for a test drive and came back pleased, but not floored.

Right out of the box, I could tell that the Recon 150 had that rugged design as advertised. While not as sleek as I would have hoped for, the headset looks like it can survive a drop or five, but I would not recommend testing it. Secondly, the speakers were large over-ear speakers that were on a swivel, allowing for a comfortable fit for people with ears of all shapes and sizes. While the speakers themselves were versatile, the headband fit a bit snugly at the top of my head (fair warning, I have a pretty large head) but had just enough room to get to my ears. Lastly, the cable the connects the headset to a source is unfortunately built-in and non-removable, though the controls on the cable are easily accessible and handy. Overall, the design of the headset makes it suitable for playing games at home or taking it out and about for music listening purposes.

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“When attached, the microphone provides for clear voice chat without needing to have the microphone too close to your mouth…”

Moving onto the audio quality, the audio was crisp and high quality, especially to an “untrained” ear. Specifically, the audio can be heard clearly despite that the headphones do not have noise-cancelling features. Unfortunately, the Recon 150s also do not have surround sound, but the audio it does provide is more than adequate in giving gamers the audio experience made for them. As for the other feature of any gaming headset, the detachable microphone itself is very handy for situations that do not require a microphone, such as listening to music or watching a movie. When attached, the microphone provides for clear voice chat without needing to have the microphone too close to your mouth; however, on the other side of things, the microphone does pick up slightly more environmental noises than I would have liked. Overall, the audio aspect of the Recon 150 is, like its design, very solid despite a couple small issues.

Design and quality aside, how does the headset perform on a daily basis? I took these bad boys through the gamut for a week and overall, I am pleased with what I experienced. While the lack of surround sound for gaming was disappointing (especially with the Xbox One equivalent XO-THREE‘s having that feature), the rest of the headset was par for the course and a great value. I was able to wear the headset for prolonged periods of time before needing a quick break, but your mileage and personal preference may vary. While promoted as a PS4/PC headset, the headset works with any device with an auxiliary port from the PS4 controller, to the newer Xbox One controllers, and even to your smart phone. Overall, the Turtle Beach Recon 150 PS4/PC Gaming Headset is worth the price of admission for an entry-level gaming headset and will perform as expected in many situations.

*** Product provided for reviewing purposes ***