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This is a sponsored post.

If you’re a gamer, you might want to scroll down a little bit and get to the part about why we love the new Turtle Beach Recon 200 video gaming headset. If you’re a parent and you’re still trying to figure out this whole gaming thing, let me ease you into why audio is so important to the gamer in your life.

We’ve been a gaming family for years. It started back in the 1970s when my family got their first gaming console consisting of only one game: Pong. We’ve made out way up through the years switching between most of the major gaming systems. But I thought we’d peaked. We loved our Nintendo WiiU and played it together as a family until that one year…

My son begged me for an Xbox One. I was resolutely opposed to it. We didn’t need it. The games were too violent. It would expose him to the dark, dark world of online gaming. But my husband finally convinced me and I relented. And the rule was absolutely no headphones and no online communications. And then we allowed him to talk with his friends but NO headphones. And then, somehow, we bought him some headphones. I don’t know if they were really for him or just for us. For a little peace and quiet.

But that changes things. If you have a tween, teen, or even spouse, that is a serious gamer, you might be all too familiar with this scene.

I’m happy to report that at no point does this scene ever involve Fortnite. Don’t ask me how we avoided that craze but we did. Evan plays games on his Xbox One (only rated T or less – that is something I haven’t backed down on) until he gets bored. He goes in and out of phases but when he’s in it, he’s in it.

I’m not sure if it was coincidence or not, but one of his favorite games, Destiny 2, came out with new DLC the day he went back to school. (DLC = downloadable content; basically bonus material for the game). So even though we don’t battle with Fortnite, we still battle with a lot of gaming time, especially with this new content, and balancing it all.

Although I don’t play Xbox One (the controls are seriously too complicated for me), I totally get that the audio is a really important part of the game. He plays some first person shooter games (Star Wars Battlefront being one of his favorites) where the direction of the sound is actually really important to the game. I had no idea until I put the headphones on and listened while he played.

 

Using headphones while playing a game like that is a totally different experience than listening to the sound project from the TV. It immerses you in the game and gives you directional clues at the same time. So when his gaming headphones started to die (they survived a good long 3 years), my son was more than happy to try out the new Turtle Beach Recon 200 gaming headset.

Honestly, I figured a headset was a headset. But his reaction told me otherwise. In fact, it was so good that I wrote down exactly what he said when he first tried them on:

I hope they’re not white.

(He opened them. They were white.)

Oh that’s actually cool! As long as the cord is black.

(It is.)

These are so nice. So comfortable!

OMG – that’s amazing! That’s the best audio I’ve ever heard!

Then we dug into why is was so awesome.

About the Turtle Beach Recon 200 Gaming Headset

• Powerful Amplified Audio – it’s louder and clearer. I even tried them on to experience it!
• Bass Boost – I had to explain what bass was to my son but once I did, he got it.
• Surround Sound Ready for Xbox One – this is a Windows platform-specific feature that enables both surround and elevation (above or below the listener) audio cues. I found out that this is pretty critical in first person shooter games.
• Flip Up Mic – the built in mic on the side of the headphones flips partially up for a temporary mute or all the way back for a full mute. And the sound is crisp when talking to others.
• Variable Mic Monitoring – these are the two volume controls on the side of the headphones that allow you to control the volume of your voice inside the headset (why don’t they make this for podcasters?)
• Multiplatform Compatibility – it’s designed for both Xbox One and PS4 but cam be used for Nintendo Switch, PC gaming, and even all those silly little games I like to play on my phone.
• All-Day Battery Life – while you may not want them playing for 12 hours, the headset will last for over 12 hours with a single charge

But I’m just a mom who likes to play Mario Kart and Toon Blast. I can’t possible convince you on my own how awesome this headset it so I enlisted my son to tell you himself.

I thought it would be fun to try a new headset. I didn’t realize Evan was desperate for a new one. More importantly, I didn’t really realize how good this headset was! I know it feels a little too early for that impending holiday season, but the Turtle Beach Recon 200 might be the perfect gift for the gamer in your life (which may be you!).

The Turtle Beach Recon 200 headset retails for $59.95 and is compatible with Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mobile.