Turtle Beach Recon 500 Gaming Headset review

The Turtle Beach Recon 500 gaming headset is one of the latest audio offerings from the company, and we've tested it out to help you decide whether you should buy this particular wired headset. For our full thoughts on the Recon 500, read on!

Turtle Beach Recon 500 review: summary

A simple headset that provides great, detailed sound to immerse yourself into a game while keeping things simple on the design front. There are issues with it, and they are irritating ones that should not be there, but for the most part, this is a worthy purchase if you need a new gaming headset and you don't want to break the bank.

Jump to:

• What is the Turtle Beach Recon 500?
• How much is the Turtle Beach Recon 500?
• Design
• Features
• Performance
• Turtle Beach Recon 500 setup
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

What is the Turtle Beach Recon 500?

Turtle Beach is known for being one of the best in the business at giving us top quality gaming headsets, and they are back with another, the Recon 500. The headset will suit the needs of nearly all gamers as it will work with the Xbox Series X and the older Xbox One models, the PS4 and the PS5, along with the Nintendo Switch and any PC - anything with a headphone jack will work!

How much is the Turtle Beach Recon 500?

Headsets can be expensive, and you can pay over £1000 for some headphones out there. Thankfully, despite the exceptional sound quality, this does not reach those bank balance destroying heights, and you can find it for around the £69.99 mark - a fantastic price for a headset this good.

Turtle Beach Recon 500 design

Let's get this out of the way first, do not expect to be blown away by the construction of this headset, as while it does the job, it won't be winning any design awards - it's pretty basic. But that being said, there are many people, some of us here included, that do not need anything fancy and extravagant, and this does the job there.

But this does not feel like a premium product, and you will find that the material used is matte finish plastic, and it is quite lightweight. So if you want the best on the market in all areas, then this is not it, but for an affordable headset that does the job well, then it is one to strongly consider.

There are some issues with it to keep in mind, though. For one, if you have your audio cranked up, then the microphone can pick it up from time to time which can be frustrating. Equally, soundproofing is not at its best, and those around can hear the odd bit of noise, but again, that depends on how loud you choose to go.

Really, this is very much in line with the other Recon models that we have had - albeit with improved sound - so if you want one that will do the basics and do them well, this is one to strongly consider - they are super comfortable when you are wearing them.

Turtle Beach Recon 500 features

As we say, this is a simple headset to don't expect much in the way of features - not that it really needs much. You have the volume dial and the microphone mute button on the left earcup, and you can take off the microphone arm, which moves about as you would expect and stays in place.

But other than that, there isn't really anything else to talk about on the features front. There doesn't really need to be, though. This is a great entry-level headset from Turtle Beach and as such, keeping things simple is the best thing they could have done - there are many more extravagant ones out there if you want something more.

Turtle Beach Recon 500 performance

Considering the relatively low price tag here, the performance is as good as you would expect, and the sound quality is, for the most part, nearly perfect. The smallest noises, such as footsteps approaching from behind, come through clearly, and the thrill of a CoD style firefight is amplified when you have these on. While, as we mentioned, there are some flaws, you will still likely be impressed by the power this has behind it.

Turtle Beach Recon 500 setup

As for setting it up, happily, it is easy to do and super quick - there's no faffing required here, and it really is just a case of plugging it in and off you go. The Recon 500 has a standard headphone jack as its main output, and so you simply need to slot that into your device of choice. Do that, start playing some audio, and you should hear it coming through loud and clear. Twist the handy little volume dial if it's not coming through loud enough for your liking.

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Our verdict: should you buy Turtle Beach Recon 500?

If style is your thing and you need to have the coolest looking gadgets to show off, then these may not be for you, as despite looking fine, they lack the fancy bells and whistles of others out there. But if having incredible sound is your priority, and you don't want to break the bank to get it, you could do far worse than picking these up.

Rating:

• Design: 3/5
• Features: 3/5
• Performance: 5/5
• Ease of set up: 5/5
• Value for money: 4/5

Overall star rating: 3.9/5

Where to buy Turtle Beach Recon 500

If you're wondering where to buy the Turtle Beach Recon 500, your choices are pretty vast, to be honest. This particular gaming headset received quite a wide release in physical stores and digital outlets. Its release date has already been and gone, so you should be able to find one wherever you normally buy your gaming gear (stock allowing). If you're tempted to make a purchase, check out some of the best deals on the market below.

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