Tech Review | STEALTH CLASSIC GOLD ABSTRACT EDITION STEREO GAMING HEADSET

The gaming headset market is a saturated place to navigate, and with fancy promotional materials partnered with misleading packaging aplenty, it’s sometimes tough to know if you’re getting a good product without actually using it first. This is especially true with budget products like the STEALTH CLASSIC GOLD ABSTRACT EDITION STEREO GAMING HEADSET. 

Unlike most other reviews I’m not going to waste your valuable time with all the pleasantries for this product. Let’s just get straight to the point. This product is what I’d consider to be super budget. It’s priced at approximately £25 and frankly I think you could do better for that price. You can grab either a Rig 300 or LucidSound LS20 near that price point, and both are significantly better in almost every way. 

According to the manufacturer you get:

• Over-Ear Design cushions for improved comfort.

• Removable Mic. With Twist N Lock Secure fit.

• 40mm Speaker Drivers for Immersive Audio.

It’s packaging makes it look like you’re getting something really premium, with gold & black trims adorned throughout the box, but what you receive inside is far from that. The headset is made of lightweight plastics painted matte black with an off-chrome design all over it. Due to this being what you’d consider to be cheap plastics, the paint-job doesn’t look very nice at all. There are even portions of it where you can see unfinished or messy details. Minor flaws like this add to the sense of cheapness that this headset exudes. 

The device also has a less than ideal physically construction so it’s not going to be uncommon to find that the mechanism responsible for extending the headset to feel loose. In only a few months of use our review unit already showed noticeable looseness. This was despite limited use of the headset along with careful handling of it. Considering this it was almost unprecedented that they’d stand the test of time, but somehow they did. 

Nothing is all bad

The however isn’t all bad. One of the departments where it shines, or should I say holds up, is with its audio. These 40mm drivers are actually quite component. Audio on them won’t blow you away, but it’s good enough to offer nice clarity and base where needed. You could even potentially use them for listening to music on your phone, but again there are better options out there. 

Comfort-wise, the STEALTH CLASSIC GOLD ABSTRACT is lightweight, but extended use may result in pains on the sides of the skull due to persistent pressure from the frame. Foam covered in cheap pu-leather like material usually doesn’t offer much comfort, or longevity. Such materials breakdown quite easily over time if not proper maintained.

The cables are thick with sturdy feeling rubber joints on the control box, cup and 3.5mm jack with a 90° bend to it so they should last well under standard use. Having a bend will help with that and it comes in handy when using with a controller. If you do the unlikely and choose to use it with a phone or any audio port resulting in the cable being bent upwards, its likely to depreciate easily. 

As for the control box, it uses a simple scrolling dial with a mute switch for controlling the audio. It works as expected, and even includes a clip for attaching it to clothing. 

Mic audio is serviceable enough for use for online gaming or calls, but don’t go expecting to use it for recording a podcast or YouTube Video. This is quite common among all gaming headsets so I can’t fault it for that. I also like that its detachable, since most of the time I don’t actually use mics on headsets while gaming. When connected it locks via a twist and while detached it leaves an unobtrusive hole. 

Final Verdict 

So all in all not really a bad product, but after spending enough time with it I could only recommend buying this headset if you found it on sale for approximately £10 to $15. At £25 there are simple much better options in build quality, audio and comfort. I’d even say add an extra £15 and grab the pdp LVL50 Wired headset which sounds, looks and is constructed much better than this. So in essence it’s hurt more-so by not being quite as good as other products near its price-point.

The CLASSIC GOLD ABSTRACT EDITION STEREO GAMING HEADSET used for this review was provided to us by its manufacturer, STEALTH.