Turtle Beach Atlas Air Review

The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is a rarity in an industry almost entirely dominated by closed-back gaming headsets. This $179.99 PC-focused wireless headset is of the open-back variety, which allows air to pass through the earcups for more natural audio. The Atlas Air has strong sound quality, a great microphone, and an incredibly long battery life, making it an Editors’ Choice winner. If you prefer the noise isolation associated with a closed-back headset, check out the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro ($199), our Editors’ Choice winner for general midrange wireless gaming headsets.

What is an open-back headset?

Open-back headphones sound more natural than traditional closed-back models and, because of the airflow, allow you to hear everything around you clearly. Trade off? Zero noise isolation to block out distractions and generally poor low-frequency oomph. Closed-back headsets dampen outside noise, feature more thump, and keep your tunes from leaking out, but you lose the more natural airflow and audio balance that comes with it.

Many audiophiles and audio professionals prefer open-back headphones for critical listening and music mastering, while closed-back headphones are designed for casual listening and recording. However, the Atlas Air won’t necessarily have the same accuracy as open-back headsets designed for music because gaming headsets aren’t typically tuned for purely accurate signals. So you should decide whether you prefer an open, natural sound or beefier bass with less background noise.

Design: A light, comfortable feel

The Atlas Air’s unique design is evident as soon as you look at its large, rounded earcups. They float on springy bands like microphone shock mounts rather than being attached directly to the headband by a rigid strut or pivoting hinge. This leaves the outward-facing metal grill ring unobstructed behind the headband or earcups. The design gives the cups enough flexibility to allow them to rest naturally against your ear, aided by mesh-wrapped elastic suspension that extends along the underside of the headband. This flexibility is important because the Atlas Air doesn’t have many ergonomic adjustments; You can change the suspension tension of the headband using only two small Velcro tabs.

I have a fairly large head, and the Atlas Air fits me comfortably without the need to fiddle with the headband. The earpads are large and round, generously padded with soft memory foam and wrapped in a breathable fabric. It helps that the headset feels pretty light at 10.6 ounces, half an ounce less than the BlackShark V2 Pro and a full ounce less than the $329.99 SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. This lightness is due to its all plastic construction. On the upside, the plastic body doesn’t feel flimsy. On the downside, it lacks the sturdiness of headsets with metal structural components like the Nova Pro Wireless. Still, it’s light and flexible enough to wear for long periods of time.

Apart from the metallic grill ring that indicates the headset’s open-back design, the back of the earcups have large discs with a glossy finish. The disc on the right earcup is just for show, but you can freely twist the disc on the left earcup, which controls the volume of the headset. The left earcup houses all of the headset’s other controls and connections along the front and bottom edges, including the power, source, and Bluetooth buttons; a USB-C port for charging; a 3.5 mm port for wired use; and a short, hinged connector for the detachable boom mic. The mic is a capsule with a removable foam pop filter mounted on a flexible rubber arm that you can move away to mute.

Platform: This is mainly for PC

The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is primarily a PC-based gaming headset intended for use with the included 2.4GHz transmitter. It supports all major game systems and phones via low-end Bluetooth connectivity

Turtle Beach’s Swarm II software offers customization options and wave 3D-based spatial audio. It offers a 10-band EQ with custom preset support and a separate mic EQ. This is a fairly simple app that covers the basics of gaming headsets However, it’s not as powerful as the SteelSeries Sonar software (compatible with the Arctis headset line), which features a parametric EQ and extensive, multi-source mixing controls for streamers.

Mic Quality: Good mic for making recordings

The Atlas Air’s microphone is a huge leap over the cheaper Turtle Beach Stealth 600 in both design and sound quality. The flip-down boom arm is flexible (unlike the Stealth 600), so you can move it to a position that suits your head shape and how you talk. The microphone is also clear. Our test recordings were free of noticeable blurring and were generally crisp without being glossy. However, there are also occasional volume dips in test recordings, indicating overzealous AI noise cancellation.

Sound Quality: Balanced and natural

Fortnite sounds loud and clear using Atlas Air on PC. I easily picked up nearby footsteps and distant gunfire, and periodic musical bursts displayed fairly strong bass. Also, the headset’s Waves 3D spatial audio generally provided good directional imaging that allowed me to understand the approximate area where a threat was located. The technology isn’t as precise as THX spatial audio on high-end Razer headsets or 3D audio on headsets connected to the PlayStation 5, but it’s strategically useful.

The design of the Atlas Air creates a good sense of space. It doesn’t improve spatial audio imaging (and limits how much thunderous low frequencies can sound compared to closed-back headsets), but it’s more open, natural and less isolated.

On our bass test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the bass synth notes and drum hits reach deep enough to provide a decent low-end presence, but they’re not articulate or dizzying. Additionally, sound does not distort at maximum volume levels.

Likewise, Yes’ “Roundabout” sounds great through the headset. Opening acoustic guitar plucks get a good sense of resonance and clear, clean string texture. When the track fully kicks in, the various elements of the busy mix receive equal attention, with basslines, guitar strums, drums and vocals all identifiable and detailed. The default audio profile doesn’t have as much treble response as I’d like, but it’s still a very strong performance. You can boost the higher frequencies for flavor in the EQ, but doing so slightly reduces the finesse of the treble.

Verdict: A top-tier open-back gaming headset

The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is one of the few open-back wireless gaming headsets, but it’s more than that. The headset is comfortable, offers a good sense of space, and has an excellent microphone, earning it our Editors’ Choice award for open-back headsets. Its more airy sound doesn’t mean more accurate spatial audio imaging, so whether you prefer it over a closed-back headset will ultimately be a matter of taste. If you’re not looking for an open-back model, check out the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro, which has the same features as the Atlas Air, plus PlayStation and Xbox options.