Hello everyone, today we’re getting hands-on with PlayStation’s brand new gaming headset, the Pulse Elite Headset for the PS5. These come with planar magnetic drivers, a retractable mic, up to 30 hours of battery, and fully customisable EQ settings. And as they support PlayStation, Link and Bluetooth, they should work on most of your devices.
Today we’re going to get these unboxed and then go over the features, comfort and sound quality, and I’ll even do a mic test showing off the AI-enhanced noise rejection.
Okay, so the packaging is as you would expect from any PlayStation or PS5 related accessory. However, they do work on PS5, PC, Mac and Mobile, which I will cover later. There’s also some extra information on the back of the box, including the new planar magnetic drivers, PlayStation link and Bluetooth. But let’s get this opened up and see what we get inside.
Okay, so this is a nice touch. As soon as you open it up, we’ve got a kind of quick dark guy talking us through the different controls and how to link it to each device. Write down to how long you need to press the pair button, so that’s pretty useful. Then under that we have the headset. So it comes with these little pieces of foam that we need to slide out. This is what stops the ear cups from moving around inside the box.
And these look nice. I’m liking the black and white design and even the shape of the band on the side. But I’ll come back to this in a minute. There’s also a USB dongle for PlayStation Link. And if you look really closely, you can see these tiny PlayStation icons on the case. Then we have the manual and warranty information, a USB-C to Type A cable, and a charging hanger. Oh and a guide on how to fit and use it. Now this is designed to be fitted to your wall, but I’ll show you later what I did with mine instead.
And here it is. And our first impressions, these look and feel nice. Very similar to the Pulse headset that we’ve had before, but you can tell straight away this is definitely a step up. Of course we’ve got the typical PS5 black and white theme going on, with the black earcups and the white headband across the top, but this time instead of the headband stopping at the back of the cups, they actually extend around to the front, I actually quite like the look of this. Then we’ve got a PlayStation logo on each side here, and if you look really closely under the band, there’s those signature PlayStation icons built into the frame. And this is something that we’ve seen across their controllers and console covers.
Now one of the big updates on the Pulse Elite headset is the new mic. So rather than being built into the headset itself, it is now a boom arm that pulls out. And what’s cool is they’ve added these little PlayStation symbols onto the of the mic, which not only looks good, but it actually helps with gripping and pulling it out. Weight wise, well these come in at around 347 grams, and don’t feel heavy at all, but also not too light that they feel cheap. As for the controls, on the right side we have the volume up and down buttons, which beep as you press them. There’s a USB-C port that you can use for charging and updating it. We’ve also got a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the power button which also doubles up as the pair button. On the left side, we don’t have any controls or buttons at all other than the mic and a mute button. And just for comparison, here’s how they look alongside the Pulse headset. Now the one I have here is the black one, but it gives you an idea on the overall differences. So as you can see they do look very similar, but with some nice changes to the shape and the placement of the buttons, as the buttons are now on the frame rather than the earcups.
So what devices does this work with, I hear you ask. Well let’s start with the PS5. So in the box it comes with this USB dongle, and this is what gives the headset that PlayStation Link connectivity. Now, the advantage of using PlayStation Link over Bluetooth is it provides an ultra-low latency and lossless audio. Now, it doesn’t matter which PS5 you’ve got, whether it’s the original one or the new slimmer model, just plug it into any available port. On the older model, this can be either the front or the back, whereas the newer one only has USB type C on the front, so you will need to use the back. Now, the first time you plug it in, you will be prompted to update it, so just make sure you’ve connected both your headset and the dongle via USB. It’ll also run through a couple of setup screens. And that’s it, we’re connected. And the Pulse Elite headset will now show up in the sound settings under Output Devices.
Then there’s the PlayStation Portal. So if you have one of these, you’re able to connect to this without the dongle. Just press and hold the power button until it flashes. Do the same with the link button on the top of the portal, and we are now connected. You can now use this wireless or wired, depending on your preference.
For PC, Mac and Mobile, you just need to hold down the power button for a few seconds until it starts flashing. Then, go to your Bluetooth settings and search for new devices. It’ll come up as “Pulse Elite Wireless Headset”. Just select it and you’re good to go.
Overall, I’m really impressed with the Pulse Elite headset. It’s a nice upgrade from the original Pulse headset, with some great new features, and it looks and feels great. The sound quality is really good, with a nice bass response and clear highs. And the mic is a big improvement over the previous model, with AI enhanced noise rejection.
