Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero Review

• Developer: Turtle Beach
• Type: Headset
• Release Date:
• Platforms: PC, Xbox, Playstation, Mobile
• Supplied by: Turtle Beach
• Release price: £129.99

Never one to miss a new headset coming out I was really excited about the Elite Atlas Aero from Turtle Beach. A wireless headset for PC that can also be used on consoles and mobile devices. Do I even need another headset now? 

On the face of it, it would seem not, thanks to the multi-device compatibility, and being the Elite headset it’s extremely comfortable and the sound is exceptional.

Or do I?

Let’s get the basics covered first. Comfort. There can be no doubt that the Elite Atlas Aero has all the makings of a real quality headset and comfort has been factored in for sure. The metal headband for some may not be the nicest to look at, however, with the suspended pad underneath it that neatly adjusts as you place the headphones over your head, the fit is sure to match and shape and size of your head. In addition to this, the cups themselves are adjustable up and down to make sure that they sit on the ear and cover them well due to the huge cups and replaceable memory foam cushions.

Another nice addition to the Elite Atlas Aero is the folding cups; that’s right, they fold up and twist around, so if it’s a slim drawer they are going in you can fold them flat to fit, and if it’s in your bag you can compact them even further by folding them into the headband area. Whilst it is not the biggest feature, it’s certainly good to give users options.

From a looks standpoint, the Elite Atlas Aero is a monster, and a pretty good looking one at that. The headset oozes style, quality and class from the metal headband to the huge memory foam cups, and a nice touch is the way the cups move up on down on the angular shaped sides. All black with tints of silver on the cups and headband make this a stealthy looking headset.

Okay, so it looks good and feels good but do they really work? 

Variable mic monitoring, noise-cancelling microphone, 50mm NanoClear speakers, Glasses-friendly memory foam ear cushions and all-day battery life (sorry I didn’t test through the night as well). This was with standard use – I had them on the go blasting out tunes full volume for a good few hours and used them at home connected to both my tablet and PC (more on the PC shortly), then played on some games for a few hours and the battery was still going strong. How many hours will it last? Enough! That’s what you need to know.

I’m sure you may be asking, “yeah, but all these features are on numerous headsets nowadays and the main thing here is that they are wireless?” You may be right, headphones have been growing in technicality and performance for years now and Turtle Beach are never ones to shy away from releasing a new innovation or setup to help gamers improve the quality of their audio and overall experience, and this time out we have the new Turtle Beach Control Suite.

As you can see in the screenshots the new control suite offers a whole array of different options to customize and enhance your audio experience, from simple adjustments like treble and bass boosts to macros on your keyboard that offer fast switching between settings during your gameplay. 

As with all speakers you never know how they will handle bass and high-end treble, so as with many reviews I used a soundcheck running 62.3hz and low and high pass filters and even with everything turned up to max boost and volume the 50mm Nanoclear™ speakers with Neodymium Magnets handled everything I threw at them. The mic monitoring and noise gate adjustments made online chat so easy to customise and even with my noisy kids playing in the living room just behind me the other players said they were almost muted aside from high tones every now and again.

An adjustable wheel on the side of the ear cup can be set to operate different functions of the headset, and the preset button that enables you to quickly select your preferred options is brilliant. Sometimes offering simple things with enough options to give the end-user control over their own experience is enough.

Summary

The Elite Atlas Aero are heavily geared up for PC use, however, with multi-platform compatibility (although other headsets are better for individual platforms) this is still a near-perfect headset, and all the options coupled with the build quality of the Elite series makes the Elite Atlas Aero one of the best headsets I have ever used.