PlayStation Pulse Elite Wireless Headset

I’ve owned the Pulse Elite headset for over two years now, and I can confidently say it remains the definitive headset for the PlayStation 5 in 2025. The sound quality, comfort, and build are top-tier — truly designed with PlayStation gamers in mind. I also use it regularly on my PC, and it works flawlessly there too. The cross-platform compatibility makes it an even better value, letting me switch between my PS5 and PC without missing a beat. Yes, there were some connectivity hiccups at launch, but Sony has long since resolved those through firmware updates. Ever since, the experience has been rock solid. Don’t let the early negative reviews sway you — this headset has aged beautifully. If you want premium performance and reliability, buy this headset. You won’t regret it! Read more

I bought these for PC gaming after learning these contain planar magnetic drivers for under $200. I have been very impressed. After a month of ownership, these have become my go-to wireless headphones, in addition to being a PC headset. Pros: Lightweight and comfortable. These weigh less than the wired headphones I replaced (Logitech ProX). The headband and cups are unusual, but they give a great fit without needing adjustment. I can easily wear them for hours. Connectivity. These headphones have so many options to connect, wireless and wired! The USB dongle allows lossless wireless audio; it should be your primary connection. The USB dongle itself has great compatibility; it has been plug and play without issue on every device I tested it with. With a USB A to C adapter, I can even use the USB dongle to get wireless lossless audio from my iPhone 15! If your device doesn’t have a USB port, you can connect with bluetooth. Bluetooth will be lower quality than the proprietary lossless wireless used with the USB dongle. A unique feature is to have both connections running simultaneously. I personally have not found this useful, but I can see the use case for console gaming where you want phone audio by bluetooth for music or videos while also receiving game audio from the console over USB. The last option is a wired connection by 3.5 mm audio (aux cord). I love this option for compatibility with in-flight entertainment on airplanes, and a few old devices that don’t support bluetooth audio. This is not a passive wired connection, you will need battery power to listen to wired inputs, and adjust the volume on the headset itself. You cannot utilize any other connection simultaneously with the wired connection. If you use a 4 pole 3.5mm cord, you will utilize the microphone in wired connections too. 3.5mm cord (aux cord) is not included. Audio. Audio is crisp and snappy. You hear everything. No really! Everything! Planar magnetic drivers have a faster response than traditional dynamic drivers; giving more distinct sounds. Lossless wireless audio is a big deal. I love listening to music with these just as much as playing games. Battery life. Not an issue. They claim 30 hours. I never had these die on me, but I am pretty good about charging items not in use. Cons: Microphone. The microphone is acceptable, not good. It does have always-running (software) noise filter; In my opinion this does assist with clarity. People will understand what you are saying; you just don’t sound good while being clearly heard. This is the sacrifice for high quality wireless audio, the bandwidth for the mic. For games it is fine, but I wouldn’t use this headset for conferences. Build. The design is actually quite functional, and style is subjective. I am happy with what was delivered, but there are alot of soft touch plastics in this headset. We shall see how long it lasts. I can see it scratching easily over time. Audio. Audio is shallow. I really like how these sound. You hear everything. These do not sound booming or deep. You will hear the base, it wont sound bad or tinny, but it wont boom. You may be disappointed if you expect deep and booming sound. Mixer and equalizer. Without a PS5, you have no control over the mixer/equalizer. Out of the box these are balanced flat. If you want to adjust your sound profile, you need to do so on a PS5. Once adjusted, the sound profile is stored on the headset. If fine tuning your sound profile matters to you, you need a PS5 or a friend with a PS5 to tune your headset. Documentation. The manuals included in the box are limited. There are plenty of features just not listed in the manuals. It doesn’t even tell you how to turn off the headset! You need to check Sony’s FAQ for this headset online to learn all of its features. System behavior. Two aspects of system behavior annoy me. First, the blue LED that indicates the headset is powered on, is too bright for its prominent placement in front. Second, this headset automatically powers off after a period of no audio input. This period is a little short for me, but the worse aspect is that it does not play a tone when automatically powering off. It can be annoying when you hit play on your music, only to realize the headset is off and needs to be powered on. Please add a tone on automatic power off. Conclusion: This is the best all around headset to buy, even if you use PC and not PS5. You get lightweight, comfortable, great sounding, and wireless headset with tons of features and the unique sound from planar magnetic drivers, for under $200. The mic, while not good, is clear/comprehensible. No software controls for PC may be a deal breaker for some people. Read more

Launch day PS5 and have been using the original Pulse 3D headset for years with zero issues (and a PS4 with a Sony headset for years before that). No complaints. Pre-ordered these excited for some upgrades. The headset started randomly disconnecting while playing. Unfortunately the only way to solve this is to unplug/replug the dongle. Power cycling the headset does nothing. I started researching online and saw many reports of this same issue. I did everything suggested. Was using the front rather than rear ports to avoid heat. Moved it from the USB A port to the USB C port with an adapter. Factory reset. Used a long USB extension cable to get the dongle close to me and away from the console. Disconnects were still common. I called Sony and they asked that I ship them back for warranty service. I did that (on my own dime) and they sent me "new" headset. I put that in quotes as while all the packing and accessories were there, the seal was broken. So this is a refurbishment headset. Worked fine a few times then disconnects started again. One of the disconnects was within 5 seconds of turning on the console. Headphones connected, worked for a few seconds, disconnected, needed to unplug/replug the dongle (so presumably this isn't a heat thing as some speculate). Other times it works fine for an hour then drops. So frustrating that Sony has been making headsets for years with no issues and now can't get their top of the line headset to stay connected. I'm outside my return window so I'm stuck with these. Will likely go back to the Pulse 3D headset until they (hopefully?) release a software update. Do not buy. Read more

This headset is amazing. I love every aspect about it. I had the original and now upgrading to the elite. I am flabbergasted. The sound quality is even better than the original microphone is much better. It sounds way more realistic. It has a longer battery life. It doesn't disconnect from a PlayStation as easily. I haven't had it disconnect once while using it except for one walking very far away. It's very comfortable. I just love it. Everyone should get this Even if you only play single player games. The sound quality very much improves the experience of all games and it makes you feel like you're really there. The only way that you could really feel more just there would be if you had a VR headset on Read more