Electronics & Gadgets Blog
Turtle Beach Recon 70X, A Comprehensive Review for Budget-Conscious Gamers
by Samuel Kalenga on Sep 24, 2024
The pursuit of immersion is a core goal of gaming. It’s why the sound is so important, elevating you into the game, accentuating victory’s rush, and enhancing defeat’s sting. Unquestionably, high-end gaming headsets boast several impressive features and technologies, but these can prove prohibitively expensive for some gamers. Does the Turtle Beach Recon 70X offer that perfect compromise of performance and cost, making it a great addition to your gaming arsenal? Read on for our comprehensive review of this gaming headset’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Evolution of Gaming Audio: From Ear Force to Recon
Let’s return to Recon 70X by briefly recalling the lineages of gaming headsets from Turtle Beach, a company that was founded in the mid-1970s to pioneer the development of amplified stereo headphones. The Ear Force line, named after the proprietary gaming audio processors designed by the company, quickly became established as a set of reliable, affordable and quality audio solutions ideal for entry-level or casual gamers using TVs and monitors connected to consoles and PCs. The Recon series, a more focused line delivering what the company calls ‘modern audio solutions’, became a catch-all for a reshuffled range of headsets available for a range of different gaming platforms and at a variety of price points.Unveiling the Turtle Beach Recon 70X: A Closer Look
The Turtle Beach Recon 70X is a multi-platform gaming headset that is built to please casual and value-conscious gamers who might not want to stray far from their bank accounts. It’s an upgrade of sorts to the highly sought-after Recon 50X that adds subtle improvements in audio quality and design. The Recon 70X demonstrates the company’s commitment to creating elegant but affordable gaming accessories that are consistent and that simply work without demands for premium investment to be enjoyable. It looks the part, too.Pros and Cons: Weighing the Recon 70X's Value
Lastly, as every headset that comes along, the Turtle Beach Recon 70X comes with its own hallmarks of sorts. Be them benefits or disadvantages, knowing any of them in particular can greatly aid you in choosing a product that works best for you, and make sure you aren’t overpaying for a feature you won’t even use.Pros:
- Price: The Recon 70X offers decent sound at a more affordable price. This means that this headset is accessible to more people who want to enjoy their gaming audio. This can be very attractive to causal gamers, gamers who are just getting into gaming, or those who are on a budget. People don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to buy a gaming audio headset.
- Easy Comfort: This headset puts comfort first: at just 270g it’s lightweight, with soft earcups that are easy to custom fit so even if it’s a marathon session up to 18 hours, your ears probably won’t hurt or feel overheated. That’s also less likely to distract you from your game, letting you stay in the zone longer and fully enjoying the gaming experience.
- Decent Audio Quality: The Recon 70X supplies satisfying sound.It sounds nice and clear – not quite as immersive as some more expensive headsets, but close. The headset uses 40mm speakers, which provide clear and immersive sound, enhancing your gaming experience where the audio effects are a big part of the game even for casual gaming. Sure, more expensive headsets can supply better sound, but this doesn’t supply tinny or underpowered sound. The Recon 70X offers sufficient audio quality for most casual gamers.
- Cross Platform Compatibility: Cross platform compatibility is another beneficial and admirable characteristic of the Recon 70X headsets. It runs and is available across a wide range of gaming devices and brands ranging from Microsoft Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Pc. You can effortlessly use it on any of your gaming device of choice without switching headsets or purchasing those Durmon headset adapters. This multi/cross platform compatibility makes the device even much more cost effective as you won’t have to buy the headsets for different gaming devices.
Cons:
- Limited Features: The Recon 70X offers basic audio reproduction, so it’s lacking features such as surround sound or noise-cancellation – features you do see in higher-end headsets. Both of these can add a superb amount of ‘depth’ to the experience, and can really allow engaging with a soundscape that can make all the difference to your experience of playing. Where an afternoon on an airplane can be spent half-watching films or reading a book, the pure act of listening to music with quality cans can come closer to it A surround-sound experience can make a game feel like a proper soundstage around you; a nice bonus if you’re a fan of detailed audio experiences. Noise-cancelling, for similar reasons, can make all the difference if you’re particularly sensitive to outside noises when playing.
- Average Microphone Quality: The microphone on the Recon 70X is adequate, though not significantly clear or noise-cancelling enough to compare to headsets at the higher end of the range. The microphone is useful enough for basic communication, though those who rely on clear voice communication for gameplay might find it lacking in certain scenarios, especially in louder environments. The mic quality is usable for casual communication, but not ideal for competitive gameplay or where consistent voice communication is important.
- Plastic Build: While the Recon 70X has a predominantly plastic build, with very few metallic components to report, I wouldn’t exactly describe it as flimsy. It’s more than solid enough for casual use but hardcore gamers may find that they prefer something built more sturdily. Looking on the bright side, the low-cost of the device is partly due to the plastic build but I’m unsure how durable it’s going to be in the long run, especially if you plan to throw your headset around or you tend to use them often. If this is the case, the durability of a robust build may be preferable for you. It’s largely a consideration for those that require a headset for high durability and premium feel.
Finding the Best Deal: Tips for Smart Purchasing
When you buy a Turtle Beach Recon 70X, you want to save money. Here's how to find the best prices and make sure you're getting a great deal.
- Check major retailers: Despite the reservations made by Amazon about the price-matching policy, check major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, and ensure you get the best deal. This is a useful method to take advantage of price changes and discounts offered by retailers from time to time. Monitor price fluctuations by keeping a watch on retailer’s websites.
- Check if there’s a sale or promotion: Occasionally, retailers place gaming accessories (including headsets) on sale or offer them during promotions. Often, these sales are quite good. You can even get a discount if you sign up for a retailer’s email newsletter. If you’re diligent about checking their newsletters, you’ll see ads for exclusive sales and promotions that aren’t available anywhere else. Doing this will help save you a pretty penny on your purchase and help get your Recon 70X for a lot less.
- Consider refurbished or used headsets: going the refurbished or used headset route will save you quite a bit of cash. Many sellers offer certified refurbished headsets with warranties equal to new headsets. Going used may not come with the same warranty as a new headset, but it’ll save you a lot of cash and is great way for a gamer on a budget to save money and still have a great gaming experience.
