Buy Elite Atlas Gaming Headset

I'm rough on headsets. As a semi-professional nerd, I am often called upon to play asinine amounts of games in which loud and violent crimes happen, which means I depend on my headphones to keep the police from being called to my apartment every 15 minutes. As such, I am always on the lookout for my next pair of headphones, as the current one is typically working well beyond its recommended safety tolerances.

Turtle Beach sent me its wired Elite Atlas headset with a 3.5mm plug, and I've spent a few weeks running it through its paces. I've thrown it into my carry-on for a couple of flights, used it for marathons on the PC and Switch, and worn it for several lengthy play sessions.

So far, it's responded admirably. The sound is crisp, clear, and responsive, although the earphones simply muffle outside input and don't actually do much to shut it out. It's better for gaming than for everyday use, as game sounds are carried crisply, but music or movies can feel out of balance. It's also a little warm for extended use, as I found myself working up a sweat after a while; the Elite Atlas does involve having a lot of leather and memory foam attached directly to either side of your head, which can be a mixed blessing.

The Elite Atlas features magnetically attached memory-foam padding on both ear cups that adjusts quickly to the shape of the wearer's ears, and which can be adjusted to make room for the arms of my eyeglasses. The default cord's a little short, but it comes out of the box with a lengthy PC splitter cord that let me fit it into my PC setup with little difficulty.

It's also a pleasantly durable, low-key piece of hardware, with simple, smooth black exterior surfaces on its headphones. The metal and leather headset feels sturdy and stands up well to everyday abuse; I threw it into my carry-on for a recent flight, and it easily survived the trip. I might want something with more active noise-canceling for gaming on a long flight, but the Elite Atlas makes an excellent alternative.

The microphone is removable, bendable, and fits into an audio jack on the headset. It delivers surprisingly decent sound for all of that, with an inline mute switch on the cord. Being able to just take the thing off when I don't need it removes one of the typical portability problems I have with a lot of headsets, where the mike just snags on things in my shoulder bag.

All in all, this is a great, durable headset for everyday use in your office or living room, but it's designed specifically for games. It's not much of a drawback unless you're a severe audiophile, but you'll definitely notice a difference when you go from a video game to an MP3.

Score: 9.0/10