Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 and SuperAmp Gaming Headset Review

A Closer Look and Performance

The new Superamp is very compact, but also very heavy for its size. This is a good thing though, as I often find these little desktop units drag around with the cable. Furthermore, when you go to turn the volume wheel, the whole amp stays put and doesn’t require one hand to hold it down the other to turn it. It’s a quality bit of kit, with a simple, focused and compact design.

Down the front, it has a headphone jack for connecting the headset, and there’s a Bluetooth pairing button on the side. I should point out, this headset is not wireless. However, you can pair your mobile to the amp, allowing you to take calls and listen to mobile music on your wired headset.

Around the back, you’ll find a USB port, which is used for both power and audio on a PC. However, for console or other devices, you can use the optical port for audio. For streamers, you’ll also find a line out, the settings for which can be tweaked in the mobile app, ensuring your viewers hear what they need to.

New and Improved

The styling of the new headset is a big change from the old one, but it’s also quite similar too. The same massive ear cups remain, with their infamously thick padding and huge drivers. The orange highlights are gone, not kept more sleek and stylish with a simple black and tiny hint of chrome design. I like this much more, it feels and looks more professional than having that “gamer” look.

It does have a few minor ergonomic tweaks, but nothing overly signifianct to alienate from what was already a great design. The ear cups, for example, still fold flat for wearing it around your neck, and improving the over-ear fit.

Adjustable Fit

Instead of a sliding headband, the actual ear cup extends up or down, ensuring you get a comfortable fit around your ears.

It extends quite a bit too, making it easy to fit both younger gamers and even my large head. Very few headsets truly fit my head that well, so big headed folk, take note of this one.

Everything else is pretty straightforward too, with just a headphone and microphone jack on the base of the left ear cup, the other kept clean. There’s that fantastic double rubber gasket design still; allowing the ear pads to move. However, they still provide a comfortable noise-dampening seal around the drivers.

The removable backs are clever too, albeit purely aesthetic. They mount with magnets, but you can buy custom ones for your eSports team, or any reason really. Of course, you could simply take it off, paint it, and put it back; it’s really up to you.

The biggest departure from the old model is the new headband. It’s now a durable and lightweight metal frame, with an auto-adjustment headband on the inside. Before, it was a tension system with two sliders.

This is both easier to use and more comfortable in my opinion; not that the old model felt encumbering or difficult.

Big Sound

The big selling point of the Pro was always the sound quality. Those huge ear cups house big drivers, and a lot of super comfortable ear padding too. It’s one of the bigger, yet most comfortable headsets around in my opinion. However, those drivers really do pack a punch when it comes to the bass frequencies. You can run through a few of the DTS:X trailers that I use to demo my home cinema. However, on the headset, it’s stunning just how low this thing goes, and it’ll give your soul a good rattle along the way. Is the bass overpowered? Far from it, especially on the default EQ, but there’s just plenty of it on tap should you want it, and want it you will!

Precision

Usually, big thundering bass means the midranges and treble are somewhat hampered. However, that’s not the case here. Listening through my favourite albums, movies and games, the Pro is every bit as capable as its predecessor. The built-in EQ on the mobile app works well, even if the app is a bit clunky sometimes. On the default EQ the headset sounds bright and balanced, with a huge amount of detail in the mid and treble that’s very well suited for team chat, gaming, etc. However, you can turn on that extra bass or bass and treble boost modes, which are well suited for single player gaming, movies, and music. They don’t sound out of balance either, more just like listening on a bigger set of speakers, rather than boosted drivers. One way or another, big sound, refined sound, eSports, there’s a lot on offer here, and it’s just a matter of hitting the EQ button to get what you need.

Comfortable

The thick housing of the drivers is stunning and creates a pretty cosy air cushion around your ears. They’re not completely airtight, but will block a lot of ambient noise and keep a lot of noise in also. You can’t see it, but there’s a small notch inside the foam, allowing the arms of your glasses to pass through more comfortable. It’s little details like this that make all the difference.

TrueSpeak

The microphone is very nice quality too, with a flexible yet durable boom, that can be bent to where you need it. It comes with a large foam insert on the inside of a hardback. This way, it only listens to your talking into it, rather than pick up the room noise. With TrueSpeak it delivers natural sounding audio that’s bright and clear too. However, you can turn on monitoring, which boosts the mic and allows you to hear ambient noise should you need some audio awareness.

Overall, the headset and the new amp are a very nice change from the old model. They don’t sound like a big upgrade, but aesthetics and build quality definitely kicked up to another level!