Turtle Beach Recon 70 Gaming Headset Review – Budget with Boom?

TurtleBeach Recon 70 Gaming headphones

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Current testing methodology is v1.2

Release Date
February 20, 2019
Price
$39.95
Model:
TBS-3555-02
Weight
8.16 oz
Size
6.37 x 3.3 x 7.2 in
Budget Pick

Turtle Beach Recon 70p Gaming Headset

A very good score for price, fit and features, despite its brittle bones.

4/5
Price Range: $
Brand: Turtle Beach
Turtle Beach Recon 70 on a headphone stand

TL:DR;

The Recon 70 is not a new gaming headset, but its price puts it right where it needs to be, and it delivers what it needs to deliver: great passive noise isolation, a good microphone, that mutes when you lift it, and a solid soundstage, that might not deliver full frequency response, but definitely punches hard where it needs to.

Its compatibility across all of the major gaming hardware makes this an excellent and very affordable choice in gaming headsets.

The Specs

  • Connectivity :  Wired
  • Microphone Type:  Flip-to-mute
  • Speaker:  40mm
  • Battery:  N/A
  • Compatibility:  PS5 & PS4, Xbox Series X|S & Xbox One, Nintendo Switch as well as PCs and Mobile

What’s in the Box?

  • Recon 70 Gaming Headset for PlayStation®4
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Turtle Beach Sticker

Stuff I like

  • Affordable
  • Lift to mute Mic
  • Comfortable enough if you don’t have a big head
  • Cross-platform compatible
  • Decent sound
  • Great sound isolation
  • Loads of colors to choose from

Stuff I like less

  • Hard almost brittle plastic molding prone to breaking
  • A little tight on the head for longer gaming sessions

Comparable products to consider

EKSA Fenrir Gaming Headset
EKSA Fenrir Gaming Headset

Affordable headset with an impressive build quality using durable aluminum materials and dynamic RGB lighting that can be controll by fingerprint touch.

Acinaci Wireless Gaming Headset
Acinaci Wireless Gaming Headset

Lightweight and durable wireless gaming headset which allows you to switch different devices while using.

Review Metrics

Sound Quality: 7
Bass: 6
Mids: 7
Treble: 7
Sound Isolation: 10
Build Quality: 7
Comfort & Fit: 8
Value for Money: 8
Review Metrics Average: 7.50 / 10

Gaming headsets have never really been a thing that I have considered. Razer headsets were where I started but ended up with Turtle Beach.

During all the years that I’ve used, reviewed, and sold headphones professionally, I always wondered what it might be like to add gaming headsets to the mix. 

As the years have rolled on, the audio quality and also the price and features have gone up, to a point now where you can get some pretty impressive audio output for your gaming experience. 

There’s always been too many in-ear monitors, headphones, and earbuds for me to focus on, so it’s pretty rare that I take the time to sit down and try out gaming headsets or review them. 

I’ve also done the best in-ear monitors for gaming if you’re thinking of changing it up.

But Prime Day and its strong allure of discounts and deals definitely got me this year, and I thought I’d buy the kids, actually make the kids spend their money but help them choose, an affordable gaming headset for the Xbox X in our house.

The audiophile in me wouldn’t let them buy just anything, so I spent a decent amount of time looking up what might be a good choice. 

The Recon 70 kept popping up as a real go-to in the budget gaming headset range. And as it was likely that these might get trashed in gaming sessions, when Fortnite got a little bit too intense, I figured that we should probably stick with something that was on the more affordable end, lest we end up replacing a $40+ unit.

First impressions

First impressions were that we had got what we paid for. 

At the affordable end of the price range, the feel of these is quite a strong but also brittle plastic. 

It had the feeling that I could throw them around a little bit, but if I did too much twisting, or accidentally stood on one of the head cups, things might not go too well. 

And as you’ll hear later, I did actually break one of them eventually. 

The non-detachable microphone cable meant that if things were going to break, they were really going to break and be quite hard to replace. 

So, I needed just to clarify with everyone that they didn’t want to accidentally drop or throw their controller away while it was attached to the headset, in the event that it stretched and snapped the audio wire. 

Turtle Beach Recon 70 ear cushion
Padded ear cushions and headband | Make Life Click
Turtle Beach Recon 70 headband

Of course, this is highly unlikely and surely will never happen. I mean, who’s ever thrown their gaming controller away in frustration when they didn’t get the dub?

Turtle Beach has long had a good reputation for gaming headsets, so after they arrived, there was nothing but to do to get into it.

Tech specs

The specs on this, on the surface, read very well. 

The audio connection is 3.5mm, so it goes straight into the Xbox X controller, but can also be used with the Xbox One, PS4, PS4 Pro, Nintendo Switch, mobile devices for gaming, and also the Xbox Series S. 

We still have Xbox controllers from the Xbox One, and these are compatible with those controllers also. 

The frequency response is 20 Hertz to 20 kilohertz, which is kind of a standard declaration for most budget headphone manufacturers, so there’s not going to be any epic bottom end, but these do produce enough that it’s quite impactful. 

The driver is a 40mm dynamic driver, with neodymium magnets, and there’s a synthetic leather foam headband, which is quite comfortable.

It has a microphone that is flip-to-mute, so when you lift up the microphone, then the headset automatically enables mute. 

Turtle Beach Recon 70 on top of an xbox
Designed for Xbox and PlayStation | Make Life Click

The other thing that the headset has, which was a trick for new players, was a volume wheel on the back of one of the ear cups. 

This is actually very cool, but at first, I didn’t know it was there and was wondering why the output was so low. 

I wondered what the resistance of the headphones was, and perhaps the controller had high output, meaning that the headset would perform better, but eventually, we figured out that I just needed to turn the volume dial up. Facepalm.

What a difference that made.

The headset is designed to work with Microsoft’s Windows Sonic Surround Sound on Xbox, which brings things to life a little bit more, and it is compatible with Dolby Atmos for headphones, but if you own an Xbox, then you know that that might be an additional purchase to enable that on the console. 

Xbox really is the only hardware source that still provides Dolby Atmos surround via the plugin, but with the expansion of spatial audio, I expect we’ll see more Dolby Atmos headphones and spatial audio headphones coming to market.

Turtle Beach Recon 70 in use-back view
Lightweight headset design for comfort | Make Life Click

Using the Recon 70

The Recon 70 gaming headset is definitely light on the ears, which is quite nice, but if you have a big head, then I would say that you may find it a little bit of a tighter squeeze.

I can picture this being the perfect gaming headset for youth and younger people, and my kids fit into that profile perfectly. 

The sound isolation on them is excellent. Once you put these over your ears, as they are a circumaural headset, there is some great isolation from all of the sound around you. 

The volume dial is in a nice, easy thumb position, to scroll up and down if you need to adjust the volume while you’re gaming. 

The added benefit is that you can obviously turn the volume down on the TV, and allow everybody to game in silence for the rest of the room while the gamers enjoy an immersive audio experience. 

The room where we do all of the gaming in the house is also where I tend to work from home often, so it’s nice to have that audio separation.

Microphone

The microphone is great, and has a flip-to-mute function, as I’ve mentioned. 

This was quite important to me because I do like the idea that I can visually see when the boys or I might be in a gaming environment where the audio will get picked up and transmitted to whoever they’re gaming with. 

Turtle Beach Recon 70 microphone
Flip up out microphone design to mute | Make Life Click

I’ve also used the headset in the office, testing it for voice dictation, where I could be listening to music but also dictating various pieces of content to my laptop, using the Apple Dictation built-in software on my MacBook. 

I’ve also used it for conference calls, where it was also effective, and the people on the other end could hear me really well. 

I’ll put a sound demonstration file of the microphone below, which is me recording directly into my MacBook to QuickTime.

Breaking stuff…

Unfortunately, one evening, I accidentally caught the side of the microphone when it was hanging off the end of a half-height wall. Because the headphones couldn’t easily come off the wall, the microphone arm snapped off the headset. 

I did hit it pretty hard, so I think anything would have suffered the same fate. 

Fortunately, these weren’t so expensive that I was grieving for long. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS ONE?
Turtle Beach Recon 70 PlayStation Gaming Headset for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X| S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, & PC with 3.5mm - Flip-to-Mute Mic, 40mm Speakers, 3D Audio – Black
Turtle Beach Recon 70 Gaming Headset

The good news is the wire was still intact, and it easily clipped back into place, and it’s holding there now quite well, and still functioning, despite me having not glued it back on. 

This is something that I have on my to-do list.

A little bit of Super Glue, and it’ll be as good as new.

Sound quality

The overall sound quality is very much where the frequency spectrum is set. 

There are not particularly bright and fresh highs, and the bottom end is not particularly deep or wide, but the whole soundstage has quite a tight punch to it. 

Turtle Beach Recon 70 beside a controller
Designed for Xbox and PlayStation controllers with a 3.5mm jack | Make LIfe Click

The effect of gunfire, jumping sounds, mid-range car frequencies, and impacts are really well-produced. 

And because the sound isolation is so good, it really enhances the overall experience.

I tried these for music but certainly wouldn’t recommend them if you’re looking for budget headphones that offer microphone capability. 

There are better budget headphones, like those in the OneOdio or SuperEQ range, that offers an inline cable mic that would probably achieve what you need also, and deliver a better sound experience. 

Upper, bottom end, mids, and lower treble are definitely where these gaming cans punch the hardest and produce their best sound. 

I should add that crowd noises, like those on FIFA, are also well-placed on the soundstage when you wear these.

Conclusion

As I said earlier, these are not new models, but sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when something works well. 

At this price point, I would have no hesitation in recommending these to anybody looking for an affordable set of gaming headset phones that offer a tilt-to-mute microphone and are compatible with all major gaming hardware platforms. 

Turtle Beach Recon 70 ear cushion
High-quality over-ear speakers | Make Life Click

They are both light and comfortable, except perhaps for those with bigger heads, and would make the perfect addition to any family’s gaming setup. 

Even if you started with these and upgraded later, you’d certainly keep them with your rig as a spare for visitors. 

And the range of colors means that if you do like to have ownership over your gear, you can buy a color that no one else is using. 

Turtle Beach got it right, and that’s why these are so well reviewed, even with the competition in gaming headsets that’s occurred this year. 

If you’ve got any questions, definitely fire them away in the comments below.

Turtle Beach Recon 70 on a game console
Turtle Beach Recon 70 Gaming Headset
Build Quality
Sound Quality
Value for money
Microphone
4.3

Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.

Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.

This post was last updated on 2024-03-16 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.


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