The PlayStation Pulse Elite Headset is the latest premium gaming headset released by Sony. Priced at $149.99, it is designed to provide an immersive audio experience for PS5 and PS4 gamers. This wireless over-ear headset aims to deliver enhanced sound quality, extended comfort, and customizable audio.
Key features of the Pulse Elite include integrated noise-cancelling microphones, 3D spatial audio support, dual noise-sensor technology, and an accompanying headset companion app. The headset connects via a low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless USB transmitter or a 3.5mm audio cable.
It also includes a charging stand and can get up to 12 hours of battery life.
In this review, I’ll be taking an in-depth look at the various aspects of the PlayStation Pulse Elite Headset. I’ll evaluate its design, comfort, audio performance, features and value to help you determine if it’s the right premium headset for your PS5 or PS4 gaming needs.
Design and Build Quality
The PlayStation Pulse Elite sports a sleek and modern design made primarily of durable matte black plastic. The sturdy headband is padded with a soft leatherette material that sits comfortably on top of your head. The ear cups feature thick memory foam cushions wrapped in breathable fabric.
I found these cups to be extremely comfortable, even during marathon gaming sessions. They fully enclose your ears, providing excellent noise isolation from external distractions.
The ear cups can swivel and tilt to conform to the shape of your head. The headband is also highly adjustable, able to extend several inches to accommodate different head sizes.
This adjustability ensures a secure and personalized fit. Despite its plastic construction, the headset doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy. The joints and extension slides are sturdy with no creaking. After testing the headset rigorously for weeks, I did not notice any weaknesses or defects in the build quality.
Overall, the headset boasts a flexible yet durable design that can withstand the rigors of daily gaming use. The plush padding and customizable fit provide hours of comfort, while the plastic exterior effectively resists scratches and cracking.
Audio Performance
The Pulse Elite delivers excellent audio quality that enhances the gaming experience. The 40mm drivers produce clear highs and mids, allowing you to hear subtle sound effects and audio cues during gameplay.
Where the headset really shines is its bass response. The Pulse 3D generates deep, punchy bass that adds impact to explosions, gunshots, and other intense gaming moments. I was impressed by how well the headset conveyed the low frequencies of action sequences in games like Call of Duty without muddying the mids and highs.
The headset also provides highly accurate spatial audio for an immersive surround sound experience. Playing open world games like Horizon Forbidden West, I could clearly pinpoint the direction of approaching enemy footsteps or machinery noise. The 3D audio creates a lifelike soundscape that draws you deeper into the game. In terms of sound customization, the headset pairs with the PlayStation console to enable game-specific audio modes. For example, enabling the FPS mode for first-person shooters gives audio cues more prominence for a competitive edge.
Overall, this headset delivers a premium gaming audio experience that enhances immersion thanks to its punchy bass, clear sound, and spatial audio capabilities.
Microphone Quality
The microphone on the PlayStation Pulse Elite does an excellent job of capturing your voice clearly and accurately. I found the mic sensitivity to be well-calibrated, picking up my voice even when speaking at normal volumes without being overly sensitive to background noise.
The noise-cancellation feature works surprisingly well to isolate your voice from ambient sounds. During my tests in both quiet and noisy environments, other players reported that my voice sounded crisp and clear.
The noise cancellation manages to cut out most background noise from fans, air conditioning, and even chatter happening in the same room. The voice monitoring feature is also handy, allowing you to hear your own voice in the headset so you can gauge your volume level and microphone positioning. I’m pleased with how clearly my voice comes through with no tininess or muffling effects.
Overall, the microphone delivers clear and easily intelligible two-way communication during multiplayer gaming. Other players won’t have any trouble hearing you thanks to the sensitivity and noise cancellation features. The microphone monitoring is also a useful addition for adjusting your voice pickup on the fly.
Connectivity
Versatile Options for Gaming Across Devices
The Pulse Elite Headset connects to PlayStation and other devices in a variety of ways, offering flexible options for gaming across platforms.
Wireless Connectivity to PlayStation Console
The headset connects wirelessly to PS4 and PS5 consoles using a low latency 2.4GHz wireless USB adapter included in the box. The connection is stable within a range of around 10 meters or 30 feet, allowing flexibility in gaming setup and room to move around.
Interference can sometimes be an issue with other wireless devices, but keeping a direct line of sight between headset and console provides the strongest signal.
Bluetooth for Mobile Gaming
Bluetooth 5.1 allows the Pulse Elite headset to pair seamlessly with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Gaming and listening to music on a mobile device while connected via Bluetooth provided clear audio with minimal lag. The Bluetooth range is similar to the wireless range, allowing flexible mobile gaming.
Wireless Connectivity
Wired Connection via 3.5mm Jack A 3.5mm audio cable is included for connecting the headset to Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile devices.
The wired connection eliminates latency issues and provides a reliable method for using the headset with non-PlayStation devices and when gaming competitively. The padded headset and flexible mic mean the Pulse Elite remains comfortable even when gaming for hours using the wired connection.
Comfort and Ergonomics
The headset is extremely comfortable for long gaming sessions thanks to its well-balanced weight distribution and adjustable components. The headband is padded and flexible, allowing it to conform nicely to the shape of your head without putting too much pressure.
The ear cups are generously padded with a breathable material that prevents your ears from getting too warm. They can swivel and tilt to align with your head’s contours. I found the ear cups to be spacious enough to fully enclose my ears without making my ears feel squished.
This product itself is relatively lightweight at just 300 grams. The weight is distributed evenly so you barely notice you have it on even after a few hours of continuous wear.
One of the most impressive features is the headset’s excellent passive noise isolation. The closed-back ear cups block out external noise very effectively, allowing you to remain fully immersed in your game’s audio.
The noise isolation is good enough that I could barely hear my phone ringing at full volume while wearing the headset. Overall, the Pulse Elite is one of the most comfortable gaming headsets I’ve ever used. The ergonomic design, breathable ear cups, and great noise isolation make this an easy headset to wear for extended periods without fatigue or distraction.
Battery Life
The PlayStation Pulse Elite Headset offers impressive battery life thanks to its built-in rechargeable battery. During my testing, I was able to get approximately 12-15 hours of continuous gameplay on a single charge. This is more than enough to get through even the longest gaming sessions without worrying about running out of juice.
Recharging the headset is straightforward – simply connect the USB-C charging cable to the headset and plug it into any USB port or wall adapter. From empty, the Pulse Elite charges back to full in around 2.5 hours. This isn’t the fastest charging speed, but is reasonable considering the long battery life. There are no quick charging options available.
The headset does not have replaceable batteries, so you’re dependent on charging via USB. This shouldn’t be a major inconvenience for most gamers since the battery lasts very long between charges. Just be sure to top up the headset after longer sessions to avoid suddenly running out of power mid-game.
Overall, the battery performance is a standout feature on the Pulse Elite. The long battery life and simple recharging options make power concerns negligible during everyday use. Gamers who tend to have weekend-long marathon sessions will appreciate not having to constantly swap out batteries to keep the headset powered on.
Software and Customization
The Pulse Elite headset comes with a companion app that provides some useful customization options to enhance your gaming experience. You can download the app on your smartphone or tablet and connect to the headset via Bluetooth.
The app lets you tweak the headset’s sound profiles and create customized presets that you can switch between on the fly. There are several preloaded presets for different gaming genres like first-person shooters, RPGs, and racing games. You can further fine-tune these with a parametric EQ and save your own presets.
I found this extremely useful to adapt the audio to different games. One of my favorite features is the ability to tweak the headset’s spatial audio. You can adjust the positioning of different sound cues like gunfire or footsteps to match your preference. There’s also voice channel mixing that lets you change the balance between game and chat audio.
The app provides control over the headset’s RGB lighting as well. You can choose from various colorful lighting presets or create your own custom palette.
Overall, the companion app really expands the headset’s capabilities. The sound customization and profiles add a lot of value, especially for the price. I can’t think of another headset that provides this level of tweaking without requiring extra hardware like a soundcard or mixer.
Value for Money
The Pulse Elite isn’t just your run-of-the-mill gaming headset – it incorporates premium features like active noise cancellation, 7.1 virtual surround sound, and dual hidden mics for crystal clear chat. These capabilities help justify the price point and make the headset competitive with more expensive models from brands like Astro, Turtle Beach, and SteelSeries.
That being said, there are cheaper alternatives available in the sub $80 range, such as the HyperX Cloud Stinger or Corsair HS50. These headsets provide good sound and decent comfort at a budget price, but they lack some of the extras like surround sound and noise cancellation.
Ultimately, the Pulse Elite hits a sweet spot between price and performance. While not cheap, it delivers a premium experience that rivals headsets costing $150 or more. The immersive 7.1 audio and active noise cancelling make it a worthwhile investment for serious PS5 gamers who want quality and features.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Overall, the new PlayStation Pulse Elite headset provides an immersive and customizable audio experience for PS gamers. The headset shines with its excellent audio performance, delivering crisp highs and deep, thumping bass that makes in-game audio come alive.
The soundscape is spacious and highly accurate at pinpointing directional cues, giving a competitive edge in multiplayer titles.
While the design lacks some flair, the headset makes up for it in comfort. The well-padded ear cups and adjustable headband provide a snug yet non-constricting fit even during marathon gaming sessions.
Connectivity is versatile with the headset working flawlessly on PS5, PS4, PC and mobile. On the downside, battery life could be better at just 12 hours per charge. The accompanying software, though packed with features, has a steep learning curve.
