Turtle Beach Recon Controller Black - Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC

THIS IS NOT AN IN DEPTH REVIEW. I will not cover the audio side of it or the programmable buttons. I bought this replace an XBox One controller that was used for PC gaming. While I didn't want to go back to a wired controller, it was something I was willing to consider. The connection for it is USB-C, and the cable supplied is braided (feels quality), but also extremely long so if it's going to be used at close quarters you might want to get a slightly shorter cable. As for installation it's plug and play with Windows 10 and 11 (and probably earlier OS versions), and once it's been detected by Windows, you're good to go. Or at least you'd think so. If the controller is shipped with the 1.03 firmware, after a while it can power itself down. Once this happens you have to unplug the controller from the PC and plug it back in again. This is far from ideal because there's an added level of stress on the components and sooner or later something is going to break. After a bit of investigation, it turned out that the controller needed to have the firmware updated. I went to the Turtle Beach site, downloaded the software, and the firmware was updated pretty quickly. This seems to have fixed the issue, so if you have this problem then there's the fix. In use the controller feels sturdy enough. Flex is at a minimum (you really have to apply crazy pressure), and it's not overly heavy nor unduly light. It's got a really nice texture and it's also not as prone to making your hands sweat. You can use this controller for ages and it not be a problem. Something that counts in it's favour is the travel distance of the triggers and sticks. They're slightly less than on a standard controller and this leads to less input lag (smaller dead zone) and increased responsiveness. If you play FPS or racing games then it's definitely better than a lot of other controllers out there. I play a lot of racing and simulation games, and I've noticed that my game has definitely upped ever so slightly. Anything that requires fine control (as opposed to fully depressing a trigger or going in a direction) will require a bit of refinement, but it's not unduly difficult and pretty soon motor memory will kick in with the new values. Something worth noting is that there are also trigger buttons underneath, and these can be mapped to functions. If you've ever driven a paddle shift car or used a paddle shift control wheel, it feels quite natural using these as gear shift buttons, but they're also useful for FPS and simulators. The buttons also have just the right amount of tactile feedback, and you can be fairly confident that a press has registered. Tactile feedback is also where it fails as well. The vibrations are mediocre at best. I've had controllers in the past that have been physically unpleasant to hold and I'm surprised they haven't shaken themselves apart because of the vibrations, but this is a bit of a buzz (my XBox controller danced all over the desk, this doesn't). I don't particularly like overpowered motors, but these could definitely do with a little more oomph. There's the nice addon of a screenshot/video button. This seems to tie into the XBox PC app, and a short press grabs a screenshot, while a long press activates screen recording. This seems to be handled by the XBox client and overlay, but it's useful enough to hit without requiring you to remove your hands from the controller. As far as the lights on the controller go, they're not bad. Visible in bright lighting, and not glaring in low light conditions. When you're playing, you can easily reference what you want, but it's not bright enough that it's drawing attention away from the screen or ruining your vision in low lit areas. If you're a mid level gamer then you can do a lot worse than this controller. Everything seems to be done to the "just right" specification, with possibly the exception of the vibration motors.

I have used the normal Xbox controller with attachments and a series elite 2 as well and for the price this is the best out of them both, I have a wireless headset so I can’t use all the features but I’ve been told that if you also have a wired headset this controller is a no brained as it improves the wired headset with the sound presets and the superhuman hearing function but that aside this controller feels great, awesome response time, great button feel but the sticks are maybe a little to clicks and loud and the bumpers aren’t clicks enough but you don’t notice the sticks when you have a headset on and you get used to the soft feeling of the bumpers, the back paddles are easy to assign and are super good and I actually prefer them over the back paddles of the series’s elite! The most important thing for me is how good the analog sticks feel to actually move though as they have a really nice tension and from coming back to Xbox from PS4 I’ve always loved the controller but the series controllers have also felt super loose when it comes to tension but this recon controller feels perfect and more akin to a DualShock which I like! Makes me want to try more wired controllers in the future but for now I will deffo stick with the recon and I’m going to sell my series elite controller now as this has impressed me so much!

Ok first impression. It is light (due to being wired and no batteries) and has a plastic velvet feel. The grips are a nice touch and prevent the sweaty hands from slipping. The triggers feel shorter press than the official xbox controller and all other buttons feel very tactile. The D-Pad felt a bit strange at first as it is like a deep dish and it has a lot of travel to press in each direction. I tried it on Street Fighter 3rd strike and was initially disappointed. But a few rounds and I was throwing out DP's no problem. I wouldn't say it is as good a D-Pad as the official xbox controller, (but nothing I have ever used is) but it is far and away better than the 8BitDo Pro which I hate for fighting games. Not tried the sound setting yet as I don't use headphones much. But the analogue sticks feel as good as official controller. THe back customisable buttons are great too. Just need to work out how to set them for sprinting in FPS games. Easily the best 3rd party controller I have tried. (and I have tried a few) Edited: couple of weeks of use controller is still a joy to use. Great sound but wonky jack socket where sound cuts out at slightest touch, so unbearable in FPS games.

Always loved turtle beach products, cable length is godly and looks and feels amazing to use, the software on the controller saved me having to buy a headphone adapter only issues is that after a couple weeks stick drift gotten so bad it became unusable and the cable port started to not hold the cable as firmly as it did when I first got it had to start holding the cable a certain angles

At first I thought it might have to be sent back because the sound didn't seem to be working. Followed the instructions and was getting nowhere. I'm going to be honest I've got no clue what we did to get it working properly. Unplugged it a few times, turned the Xbox One X of a few times. It seemed to be giving us sound after pressing the mic down button and now it all works as it should. Already have the wireless or wired 8BitDo Pro2 for the PC and my lads Switch and I much prefer this Turtle beach model. The pro buttons underneath fir my hands easier than the 8BitDo one as that feels a little smaller. The right pro button really does help with head shots etc, it's a great idea. The d-pad on the Turtle Recon is excellent, way better than official one and a different league to the dreadful 8BitDo one. The sticks and triggers are really easy to adapt to and very responsive. The sound controls are great and do help with different sources. The mic is super clear for others hearing me and I can turn them down when they get too excited. The aim helper is fully adjustable mid game BUT this has drawbacks. Great against AI or bots, humans react much quicker though so I try to have it set a certain way for a particular game and leave it there. Humans kill you when you mess about like that in a game. :) Plugged it into the PC and it is just as good, no messing around with anything it worked immediately. No sound on the PC, maybe there's a way to get it to work but I don't know how and it does clearly say the mic port is for Xbox. We need another controller to replace a broken official one and I reckon I'll be buying another one of these soon and not the new 8BitDo for Xbox.

EDIT: Had for a few months now .... have not really used it that much ... but now the fire trigger is pushed in and doesnt work! I would say ... DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! I will NOT buy again. cheers It is OK! Only 4 as I am already experiencing some stick drift. Been using for only 3-4 weeks now and there is already a noticeable stick drift. Have had to increase values for in-game dead zone. Otherwise, despite its plasticky feel, this is a great WIRED controller. Due to price, I am not complaining, and will make for a great back-up controller. ALSO, notable, if you are used to playing with the Longer shaft on your thumb sticks (which I am) ... you will have to re-adjust back to the standard length thumb stick. There are NO options 'in-box' for alternate thumb stick configurations. I game and stream everyday. I have since ordered another Xbox Elite series 2. I hope this one turns out better than the first Elite 2 controller!? (RB failure) I would recommend this Turtle Beach RECON Controller. Hope this helps! Cheers

I've recently purchased the Turtle Beach Recon Controller and the Power A Spectra Infinity and whilst both are really good 'budget pro controllers' with extra features over the official Wireless Xbox One/Series S|X controllers, the Turtle Beach Recon Controller just might be my favourite. + Has a nice weight and feel to it. The controller is slightly lighter than the official Microsoft controller (and also the PowerA Spectra Infinity) + Kontrol Freeks fit fine, I had no movement or turning, same as an official controller. + Ergonomically very similar to the official controller. + Includes the impulse trigger motors for games like Forza (unlike the Spectra Infinity). Vibration doesn't feel as smooth as the official controllers though. + Analogue stick tension slightly tighter and smoother than the official Xbox controller. Which is great for FPS and third-person shooters. + Back buttons are great, placed perfectly and bigger than the Spectra Infinity. Fairly easy to program with 4 different profiles which can be stored and easily selected from. + The microphone monitoring, easy volume and chat controls on the controller are amazing. Tested AKG K361's and Antlion Modmic Uni plugged into the 3.5mm jack and was able to drive them to higher volumes than the official controller. Slight noise floor on the headphones but unlike my Xbox One controller there was no blips or noise when moving the jack in the socket (may be that particular controller). Not that many negatives, although the controller and buttons do feel a bit 'plasticky'. Not as nice feel as the Spectra which has better feeling triggers, shoulder buttons and d-pad. The included USB cable has a slight wiggle in the controller, and the start/select menu buttons are closer to the sticks which makes them harder to reach in the heat of the moment. The triggers also can be slightly noisier given the lip hits the casing. But there are no 'deal breakers' particularly given the price. In the short time I've had with it, I can't talk about durability, but I hope that part holds up well too. Overall I am really impressed with this controller which is fantastic value for money. The back buttons are great, the controller has a light weight to it and with all the grips and ergonomics fits really well. However the key unique selling point is the built in audio controls and features (which seem to match the Turtle Beach Headset Audio Controller Plus adaptor for Xbox One/Series S|X controllers). And those make the controller incredibly useful for online games where you need microphone etc. This controller essentially adds mic monitoring, EQ, volume controls and chat/game volume mixing on the fly to ANY set of wired headphones or headset. And having the mute button and volume controls right to hand all on the joypad can feel like a game changer too.

I enthusiastically purchased this controller with a gift card I was given at Christmas. I have been using cheap PowerA enhanced controllers for a long time now after stopping throwing money away on official Microsoft Elite Controllers. Anyway. Long story short; out of the box I loved it! I recommended it to my gaming buddies right away and had a really positive experience with it until the issues started to arise. I had to return my first one of these within a month because the right stick ended up faulty, it would squeek and not move cleanly. I also had the controller disconnect on a couple of occasions. I sent this back and recieved a replacement from Amazon, hassle free as expected. But now 9 weeks on I have a faulty RB button and this controller disconnects atleast as frequently as the first one did. Now I must add, my schedule as a "grown man" is actually really quite busy. Gaming sessions are few and far between. Infact today is the first session of the month for me and likely only my 5th this year. I'm going to hazard a guess and say this second controller has had <50 hours game play as it stands. No where near the life I would expect out of brand as renowned as Turtle Beach. Afterall I think I'll go back to PowerA. At half the price of these I can justify the life I get out of them. It's ashame because I've always loved Turtle Beach headsets, but this controller really is lacking.

Allt är bra enligt min son, som spelar rank Rocket league.

Bought this as a keyboard alternative for my pc setup, aside the fact that it is in fact a wired only controller. The functionality, feel, build as well as the vibration feedback, buttons, feel exceptional. Facing the main feature of the controller, its audio EQ. You love it or hate it. Haven't used the supernatural mode a lot as it doesn't help as much in competitive matches (in my opinion) but you do you. The other modes however give the EQ a new meaning. The Turtle beach signature sound tune sounds clean, dynamic and just a pleasure to use. The rest other 4 modes could suit you too! The long braided cable allows me to rout the controller to my back USB ports and never worry about it again. Taken it on vacations, friends houses etc., never faced a single issue.

I got a controller that worked fine for a month then it just went crazy. Suddenly the left cursor stopped working. I tried to fix it because it seemed like the problem was in the rubber pad under the cursor but the problem seems to be in the board or the controller system. So I threw it in the trash.I also became skeptical about online shopping.

Sinceramente, no me lo esperaba tan bueno. Mucha funcionalidad (cómo el control de volumen del chat en el propio mando, o la posibilidad de conectar los auriculares... ) buen diseño, buenos materiales, buena precisión. Él único punto débil es la cruceta, es lo menos elaborado del mando, aunque sin llegar a ser mala, las he visto peores... por otro lado me gusta mucho la dimensión y lo concentrado que está todo, cómo muy juntito. En definitiva, buena opción calidad/precio y especialmente indicado para shooters, por los gatillos traseros configurables.

Llevo usando este mando ya desde un buen tiempo y he de decir que... Es un buen mando, por las características que trae (las que se ven en la parte superior del mando), he usado mucho la del sonido envolvente y del aumento del mismo, es una característica que me gustó mucho, los botones y joysticks se sienten bien al tanto y al pulsarlos (la funda de los joystick fue comprada aparte), el cable es super largo, los botones de atrás son para elegir algún combo de botones o usar otros, no le veo mucho problema a eso, pero no trae gatillos ajustables (para ponerlos duros o suaves) hubiera sido una buena implementación, en fin, sigue siendo un modelo que recomendaría por las características que trae, de sonido, ayuda en apuntado, etc.