Turtle Beach Atlas One Multi-Format Gaming Headset Review

A Closer Look and Performance

At this price range, you don’t have to look far to find a headset that’s cheaply built. Fortunately, Turtle Beach have their designs nailed down and have done for over a decade. The Atlas One is very nicely made and looks pretty similar to some of their more expensive models too. It comes hard-wired with a 3.5mm audio cable, using a 4-pole jack. That means it’ll hook right up to your mobile, controller, tablet, etc. If you’re using it on PC though, it comes with an adapter/extension cable in the box.

The headset is pretty darn comfortable too, partly because it’s relatively lightweight, but also thanks to this lovely padding on the ear cups. It’s not leather, not at this price, but it’s a good substitute. It has a soft memory foam padding that’s very comfortable, and it’s big enough to fit around the ear too. It uses their glasses relief system too, a small notch in the upper 3rd of the foam that allows the arms of your glasses to sit under the ear cups more comfortable; a small detail, but a valuable one.

Drivers

The drivers use a closed back design, locking in the sound and blocking a bit of external noise too. The closed back design is good for the audio performance too, as it helps tighten up the bass response, but more on that in a moment. The headset is pretty much all plastic on the exterior. However, they’ve given it a fake carbon fibre texture that saves it from looking too bland.

Plastic on the outside, metal on the inside. The headband is nice and durable and allows for a good range of extension. It fits my large head just fine but can be made small enough to fit children, so no one is left out of the fun.

There’s some padding on the headband too, which doesn’t look like much, but since the headset is quite light, it’s more than enough.

Folding Design

Both of the ear cups can be folded inwards, which is perfect for wearing the headset around your neck between games.

The headset is passively powered but still has a handy volume control wheel on the side. It’s great, as it means you don’t need to fiddle with the settings on your computer or mobile device for volume changes. At maximum volume, the headset is pretty punchy too, surprisingly so actually. It’s not so loud you’ll go deaf, but again, it has plenty of kick to it.

The 40mm drivers offer the classic Turtle Beach “signature sound”, offering a really clean sound that’s not overly boosted in any way. There’s a good amount of bass there when the source material calls for it, but it’s not overly imposing. There’s a lot of detail in the mid-range though, adding plenty of texture and details to gaming, movies and music too. The treble is quite bright, but like the bass, not overly so. There’s just a nice air-like quality to it that makes voice chat nice and natural sounding.

Performance

Obviously, the headset is marketed for gaming. However, it’s pretty versatile, especially with the multi-format support. I’ve been using it while say on the train listening to some music last weekend, and it worked great. It’s not going to replace my dedicated music headphones any time soon, but they’re still up to the job and then some. Of course, I can get home, plug them into my Xbox One (or other consoles), and chat with my friends and play some games with it too. It’s certainly appealing to have a single headset that ticks all of the boxes.

I do prefer headsets with a removable microphone, as I so rarely use one myself. However, this one is small and unobtrusive. It folds up out of the way when you don’t need it too.

Flip the microphone down, and it’s short enough not to obstruct your view. However, it’s nicely placed at the side of your mouth for clear chat audio, without your buddies heading you breath and spit into it; they’ll be happier about this than you.