The Turtle Beach Recon 70 is a standard gaming headset that works well. It does the basics well and costs very little because it doesn’t have any extras. Bassheads won’t be happy here because the sub-bass response isn’t very strong. Still, this kind of sound shouldn’t be too much of a problem because explosions are usually mixed to be the loudest sound in a game.
Most people who are looking for a gaming headset just want something cheap, easy, and ready to use. Extras like surround, LEDs with different colors, and different ways to connect are nice, but they’re still just that: frills. The Turtle Beach Recon 70 has only the essentials: headphones and a microphone.
But a lot of good gaming headsets only have the basics. How does this one compare? We took the Recon 70 out for a week to find out!
How would you describe the Turtle Beach Recon 70?
The Turtle Beach Recon 70 is a simple device, both in terms of how it looks and what it can do. But if that’s what you’re looking for, this headset has a lot going for it. This is a stereo headset for gaming that works with your PC, PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch.
It’s made of hard plastic and has a nice matte finish on the outside. The ear cups and headband have leatherette pads. Even though it’s not made of metal, this headset feels pretty strong. It doesn’t creak, the headband clamps down with enough force to feel safe, and the overall design is very comfortable. The Turtle Beach Recon 70 has a swiveling hinge where the headphones connect to the headband. This lets the headphones lay flat, and hinges on the outside of the headphones let them tilt a fair amount to fit different head shapes.
The Turtle Beach Recon 70’s design is very simple, which helps a lot. There aren’t many extra details or sharp corners that could make things harder to use or break. The ear cups are a little on the small side, and the leatherette is pretty stiff, so people who wear glasses may have trouble getting a good seal (or comfortably wearing the headset at all). But since I don’t wear glasses, I never had any trouble wearing this for long periods of time.
The Turtle Beach Recon 70 keeps things simple when it comes to gaming. This is a stereo gaming headset that works on most platforms. It’s just a pair of headphones with a microphone. Games like Dauntless, Risk of Rain 2, and League of Legends worked great on PC, and so will any other game that doesn’t depend on directional sound.
If you’re playing on Xbox One or a Windows PC that works with it, the headset supports Windows Sonic spatial audio. If you really want it, you can even get surround sound. Windows Sonic works fine, but it is not as heavy as other standards (especially compared to the many other options that pop up with other PC headsets).
Don’t worry if you don’t have a platform that can handle it. Even in shooters and battle royale games like Fortnite, the benefits of surround sound aren’t that big. It’s not a feature that will make or break your skill at a game.
How do you connect the Turtle Beach Recon 70?
Putting the Recon 70 together is as easy as you’d expect. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so all you have to do to set it up is plug it in. On the left side is a volume dial and a microphone that turns off when the dial is turned up. It’s pretty simple stuff, but that also means it’s easy to get used to.
How does the sound of the Turtle Beach Recon 70?
The Turtle Beach Recon 70 doesn’t have very loud sound for a gaming headset. The bass and sub-bass aren’t emphasized enough, and there’s a slight dip in the 3kHz to 4kHz range. Most of the time, gaming headsets have the opposite problem, where the bass is turned up so loud that you can’t hear anything else.
When it comes to music, this kind of frequency response means that punchy bass lines won’t sound as strong as they should. The bassy beat that runs through the chorus and the beginning of Run the Jewels’s “The Ground Below” is a great example of this. Instead of keeping the song going, as it should, it just fades into the background.
Even though the sound quality isn’t consistent, the Turtle Beach Recon 70 has a better microphone than most gaming headsets we’ve seen. I’ve used headsets that cost ten times as much as this one and the mic audio wasn’t as good.
All View
There aren’t many things to think about here. The Turtle Beach Recon 70 sounds good, has good chat sound, is comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and works everywhere. If you want something simple that you just plug in and use, you could do a lot worse (and spend a whole lot more money). Even so, if this doesn’t quite meet your needs, there are still a lot of great options, even from Turtle Beach.
No matter what, this is a great choice if all you care about is getting something cheap that works well. Don’t forget to get a 3.5mm splitter if your computer doesn’t have a single jack for a mic and headphones.
