Turtle Beach Recon Camo Headset Review – Culture of Gaming

 By Chelsea McPherson

Recon Camo Headset Specifications

• 50mm speakers with neodymium magnets
• 20Hz – 20kHz frequency response
• Over-ear ear cup design
• Fabric camouflage-wrapped headband
• In-line controller with master volume control and microphone mute switch
• Fabric camouflage foam cushioning in ear cups
• Removable omni-directional microphone
• 5mm 90 degree angle connector

When it comes to your gaming headset, you want top of the line sound quality. But you don’t want to wear something that will give you tension headaches, especially not during those lengthy gaming sessions. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this.

The Ear Force Recon Camo Gaming Headset, brought to life by Turtle Beach, is a multiplatform headset aimed to let gamers “experience … battle in camouflage comfort.” Versatile, comfortable, and lightweight, this headset is suitable for all gamers and their games, whether you’re just a noob, dipping your toe into the gaming scene or a hardcore, war wounded, “getting too old for this s**t” veteran.

The Turtle Beach Recon Camo multiplatform gaming headset delivers unbeatable game and chat audio through large 50mm over-ear speakers with a WWII era camouflage and military green design to match gamers’ passion. (PRNewsfoto/Turtle Beach Corporation)

What are the features?

The Recon Camo, as I said earlier, is a versatile headset. It’s compatible with any device featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack. This includes Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, tablets, and mobile phone. A separate adapter is sold for anything other than a 3.5mm jack. It’s just right for playing games when travelling, or even just listening to music.

It also features 50mm speakers that provide beautiful sound quality. My normal headphones – your standard iPhone headphones – are good, but this headset has become my go-to for my music/gameplay. I can hear so much more. There is also the extra benefit of noise reduction. It’s not perfect, but it eliminates noise enough where I can have complete and utter focus on my game. Couple this with a pitch black room and a horror game, and you have an immersion that’s hard to break unless you pull the headphones off. In fact, the Recon Camo completely eliminates any unnecessary outside noise, this including my housemates. You want me to do what? What? Don’t just go upstairs, I didn’t hear what you just said!

(I found out later I was asked to tell her when the washing machine beeped. I couldn’t even hear it.)

Are they comfortable to wear?

The Recon Camo is exceptionally comfortable to wear. They have breathable, fabric-wrapped ear cushions and a fabric-wrapped headband. But that’s not the best thing.

I wear glasses. Can’t see well without them. With over-the-ear headsets I can’t use them, and I don’t like contacts. Luckily, and something I commend Turtle Bay for, the headset doesn’t require me to take off my glasses. They fit neatly over them, the cushioned padding wrapping around the arms.

The headset is also adjustable. It extends by two centimetres on each side. This is a good thing; it stops the possibility of tension headaches. Perfect for hours of gaming.

Anything else of note?

It comes with a detachable microphone and easily accessible in-line controls. The microphone is highly sensitive and perfect for chatting to your comrades over gunfire. It would also be absolutely incredible for streaming purposes, because it would remove the possibility of needing a separate mic.

The in-line controls are right at your fingertips with an effortless fumble midway down the wire. These feature the master volume wheel and mic mute button. The master volume ensures that you can customise the volume through your headphones, regardless of how loud your device’s volume is. And the mic mute is good for when you don’t want to talk to anyone, or there’s conversation going on around you that would otherwise distract your teammates.

So what are my thoughts?

I think this is an amazing quality headset. It retails in Australia for $99.95 and in America for $69.95, but for that price it’s astounding. Most headsets of this quality I have seen are upwards of $200.

As I said earlier, I have to wear glasses. The Recon Camo fits neatly over them. But I want to reiterate that fact. They don’t push the arms of my glasses into my head at all, they just fit around them. This is great for if I want to lean back on my bed and play a game (my television is quite small and I need my glasses to see it).

Another thing I was worried about is tension headaches from wearing headsets for a long time. During school, whenever I had to use them for my Multimedia class (yes, that was a thing), headsets used to pain me. Fortunately I don’t have this issue with this headset, which is great.

In fact the only issue I have with these is a tiny one, and not something Turtle Beach is in any way responsible for: ear sweat. Ear sweat is gross. But at least I know they’re cosy.

Now, during testing I couldn’t help but notice how good the sound quality was. I was promised “richer, louder and more precise game audio”. And I got it. I was able to hear things in my games that I’d not been able to hear before. Outlast has never been so easy with the pristine sound quality picking up every tiny clink of Chris’ chains. Hearing those subtones in game soundtrack gave me chills and made me realise I have been missing out. I should have gotten a Turtle Beach headset much, much sooner.

I can hear you now.

So, in summary …

If you’re in the market for a new headset, Turtle Beach’s Ear Force Recon Camo Gaming Headset should definitely be on your list to look at. It’s comfortable for lengthy gaming sessions, equipped to handle most consoles, computers, and mobile devices. And its light weight means it can easily be carried around, perfect for travelling frequently. Having a detachable microphone works well when you don’t have a chat function, or if you just want to watch a movie in comfortable immersion.

Essentially, this headset suits your needs no matter what they are. Great for beginner gamers, veterans, and even casual gamers, the Recon Camo is a truly fashionable and comfortable accessory.

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