Turtle Beach is one of the most well known names in gaming headsets, constantly delivering new headsets for various needs of the gaming community; and this E3 they’re at it again.
Turtle Beach is starting off their new lineup with the Ear Force Stealth 400, a wireless stereo headset designed for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 console gamers. They focused on keeping the headset light for those late-night extended gaming sessions or movie marathons. They’ve included controls on the ear cups to give you easy access to volume and game chat as well as their 4 different surround sound settings.
The Stealth 400 should be able to deliver a wide range of sound through its 50mm Neodymium speakers and the removable microphone can easily capture your voice so you can boastfully rub your most recent victory in the competition’s faces. The headset uses a new high-performance WiFi connection to make sure there’s no interference between your games and you.
Next up is Turtle Beach’s Ear Force Elite 800, the new standard in premium wireless gaming headsets. Like the Stealth 400 before, the Elite 800 is once again focusing on the PlayStation gamers and is compatible with both the PS3 and PS4. But unlike the Stealth, the Elite 800 brings some nice goodies in its bag as well.
First, the Elite 800 utilizes DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround sound processing for some of the best positional queues you can get. It also features active noise cancellation to block out the world around you and let you immerse yourself in the game world. Those two features are currently exclusive to the Elite 800 as no other console-dedicated headset on the market has them.
Also like the Stealth 400, the Elite 800 comes with presets designed for specific game genres: first person shooter, racing and sports. The Elite 800 also allows Bluetooth connectivity. By pairing the headset to your phone, you can use the Turtle Beach app to customize the preset profiles, take phone calls, or listen to music. And when you’re making those calls or trash talking your foes, the dual microphone system will make sure to cancel out background noise while allowing you to come through loud and clear.
But what if these headsets sound like more than you need? Well Turtle Beach has an answer for you as well, the Ear Force P12. It’s an amplified stereo gaming headset intent on delivering quality game and chat audio over USB from the PlayStation 4. It comes with an adjustable bass boost and microphone monitoring, which is great to make sure you aren’t unintentionally shouting into the mic.
Yet perhaps the most intriguing new product from Turtle Beach this week is their new Tournament Audio Controller (TAC). This add-on can be used with your current existing headsets to deck it out with some of the features from the Elite 800. It allows for Dolby DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround sound processing and you can mix game and chat volume fluidly with the built-in mix slider.
Also present is a central master volume control knob, groundbreaking Turtle Beach mic controls and ergonomically placed buttons that make it incredibly easy to access the advanced audio features of the TAC. If you’re familiar with the Astro Mixamp, think of the TAC as a supercharged version with lots of excellent upgrades. The TAC is compatible with most current systems: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, PC and Mac, just bring your own headset!
Have we whetted your appetite for these babies yet? Well, unfortunately you’ll have to wait, as they aren’t going to be made available until fall. But when they’re available you’ll be able to snag the Elite 800 for the premium price of $299.95 and the Stealth 400 at a more wallet-friendly $99.99. As you’d expect, the P12 comes in for those looking to get a headset on a budget and can be picked up for $59.99 when it’s on shelves July 10th. There is currently no pricing details for the Tournament Audio Controller, but we can assure you that we at The Game Fanatics cannot wait to get our hands on it and run it through its paces when it arrives alongside the Elite 800 this fall.
What do you think of the new Turtle Beach lineup? Shout out in the comments below and let us know.
