Turtle Beach Stealth 600 vs. Astro A20: Which gaming headset should you buy?

If you want a fantastic mid-range wireless headset with near-premium quality, and you don't mind the ugly boxy aesthetic, then the Astro A20's are perfect for you. However, if you want to save some money, and are willing to deal with a marginal dip in quality, then the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 headset is a fantastic choice.

Astro A20 vs. Stealth 600: Quality vs. cost

Across the board, the Astro A20 outperforms the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 in all categories. Both headsets are built well and are comfortable, but the Astro A20 is simply better. Even when it comes to audio quality, the A20 wins out, despite the Stealth 600's bigger speakers. It's worth mentioning that it doesn't win by a significant amount, but still, the difference in quality is noticeable. In addition, the Astro A20 also has many more buttons on its chassis that allow for quick audio manipulation, and you can even flip the microphone up to mute it, which is a clever, useful alternative to other muting solutions.

While the Stealth 600 has some buttons, it doesn't have any cool features like the mic-muting, and it overall can't hold a candle to the A20's convenience. The ability to use the Astro A20 with a PC is also a massive benefit to choosing it.

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SpecsAstro A20Turtle Beach Stealth 600
Connection5.8 GHz radio via USB transmitterDirectly to Xbox One
Speaker size40 mm50 mm
Frequency response20Hz-20kHz20Hz-20kHz
Battery life15 hours15 hours
FeaturesMic monitoringMic monitoring
CompatibilityXbox One, PCXbox One
MaterialsPlastics, memory foamPlastics, mesh fabric, foam cushion

Despite being the clear loser when it comes to quality, though, the Stealth 600 is far from being a bad wireless headset. In fact, when you consider its low price, it's an impressive piece of hardware. This makes it an amazing option if you're on a budget and can't afford to spend much on a headset. It's also worth highlighting that the headset doesn't require a USB transmitter and can instead wirelessly connect to your Xbox One directly. This leaves a USB port on your console open for other accessories you may want to use. Lastly, it looks significantly better than the Astro A20's boxy, angled frame, although that is obviously subjective.

Astro A20 vs. Stealth 600: Which should you buy?

Turtle Beach Stealth 600

Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Image credit: Windows Central)

If you have the money to spend, use a PC alongside an Xbox One, and don't mind the gross aesthetics, then you should definitely buy the Astro A20 wireless headset. It's simply better across the board, and it's one of the best mid-range wireless headsets available today.

However, if you need to save on money, don't care about PC compatibility, or simply have a decent style sense, then the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 is an option that will likely be more attractive to you. It may be worse overall, but it's far from underwhelming.

Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.