Pulse Elite Wireless Headset Review – A Link to the Future

Announced alongside the PlayStation Portal remote play device, Sony unveiled their new audio standard known as PlayStation Link. This new audio standard is meant to introduce lag-free wireless audio across Sony’s family of devices, more specifically, the PlayStation 5 and Portal ecosystem. The first product on the market to support the new PlayStation Link wireless format was the Pulse Explore earbuds which previously launched alongside the PlayStation Portal with the Pulse Elite wireless headset launching in February 2024.  We’ve had the PlayStation Pulse Elite headset on hand for a couple of weeks now, using it for everything from Remote Play on the PlayStation Portal to grinding ranks in the latest season of Call of Duty Modern Warfare III.

In the Pulse Elite package, players are greeted by an infographic sheet that shows how to set up their headset for the first time, much like someone unboxing their first Kallax from Ikea. Each side of the headset has separate controls to adjust the volume level and establish a connection via PlayStation Link on one side while the other side merely features the microphone with a small button on the extendable mic to mute. There’s also a 3.5mm line-out if you want to use these futuristic headphones with a wired connection on any of your devices that still offer a headphone jack. Included with the Pulse Elite is a USB dongle to enable PlayStation Link connection on a compatible device that doesn’t have the same native connection that the PlayStation Portal does as well as a USB Type-A cable for charging.

Why Sony opted for a full-sized USB rather than matching a Type-C end is a mystery to me. If you plan on using the Pulse Elite on PlayStation 5, you’ll have one USB port on the front of the console that will most likely be taken up by the USB adapter and then have to use the other port on the rear of the console for the stubby charging cable. Or, you could simply use any other cable with USB Type-C connectors on both ends, such as the one that comes in the box with the PlayStation Portal, and not have to worry about fumbling behind your console for USB ports.

One novel addition that Sony included that’s still a rarity in the headphone space is a display hook that can function as a charging cradle for the Pulse Elite headset. This small two-tone hook can be discreetly drilled into drywall with the black USB cable running down to your chosen wall charger or the back of the PlayStation 5 console. To facilitate charging, there are contacts on the underside of the outer plastic headband. This is a smart move to include a charging hook if only for having players hang their headset on the rigid headband of the Pulse Elite rather than the stretchable silicon inner headband and molding it out of shape if left hanging for months on end without use.

When it comes to comfort for extended use, the Pulse Elite wireless headset can accommodate a wide range of head sizes. A rubber inner headband rests atop the user’s head as they put the headset on and only stretches out as far as needed to secure the oversized earcups in place. There’s virtually no resistance to the headband, resulting in a perfect fit every time my wife and I tried the headset on. The earcups themselves have a 360-degree range of motion and can tilt into position to surround the user’s ears; when not being worn, they have some of the widest rotational range of any headset I’ve used. However, much like the Pulse 3D headset that launched alongside the PlayStation 5 (which also features the same silicon rubber headband design), the earcups cannot be rotated horizontally to lay flat or turned aside to open one ear up to conversation and outside sounds while gaming.

Planar magnetic drivers are the latest headphone innovation to excite me in recent years and provide such a rich, dynamic range far above and beyond the industry standard 40mm neodymium drivers. The downside though is that many of these headsets, branded for gaming or not, typically start at the $299 range. This includes the likes of Audeze’s Penrose lineup that launched alongside the latest console generation. At an attractive $150 price point, Sony has introduced an entry-level planar magnetic headset that will introduce a new generation of gamers to a superior audio quality. PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D Audio can be a game changer for playing first-person shooters and other titles that rely on directional audio to set the scene. Players can customize their listening experience even further with equalizer settings directly from the control center accessible via the PS Home button.

Pairing the Pulse Elite headset to an eligible Bluetooth device runs the same way as PlayStation Link: hold down the central Link button for around eight seconds before the telltale pairing light comes on. Once paired, the headset will automatically connect to that Bluetooth device as well as whichever PlayStation Link device is paired every time the headset is turned on. I ran into quirks with getting the device to resync back up with the PlayStation Portal (twice at very inopportune times when I’m on a lunch break and getting onto the Portal for the first time that day) by unpairing the connection from my Portal and power cycling both devices. The Bluetooth connection didn’t have a similar issue, as I could continue listening to music from my phone without any problems. Each time the Link connection was dropped, it was a combination of the two methods to repair the connection and I honestly couldn’t tell you which of the two made that crucial fix.

Sony is no stranger to offering multiple competing products in the same category and the PlayStation Pulse Elite wireless headset is no exception. Surprisingly, the latest headset from Sony comes in at a lower price than the inaugural Pulse Explore earbuds that launched alongside the PlayStation Portal. At $199, you’d get the Pulse Explore earbuds, whereas the Pulse Elite headset would only run you $149. Consider using that extra $50 in savings to pick up an extra game or top off your PlayStation Plus subscriptions. At the same $199 price point, Sony also has the INZONE Buds, which offer a longer battery life and slightly different features (USB-C dongle versus USB-A). The downside is that the INZONE Buds don’t offer the new PlayStation Link audio format and thus would not work on the PlayStation Portal without some creative workarounds (a 3.5mm to Bluetooth dongle comes to mind). If you’re looking to the future and interested in being an early adopter of a new potential audio standard, Sony’s Pulse Explore Earbuds are a solid way to get into PlayStation Link early on, but I would recommend the Pulse Elite headset at a lower price. It is also better suited for comfort when it comes to lengthy sessions of Balatro or Apex Legends.

For as nice as the PlayStation Pulse Elite headphones are within the PlayStation ecosystem, they suffer in regard to performance when it comes to introducing the USB dongle to your Windows PC. The PlayStation Link adapter will always get recognized with or without the audio device being turned on and sometimes it’s a gamble if turning the Pulse Elites on will sync properly or if you’ll have to go through the old song and dance of holding the power button down first for four seconds to turn off then one second to turn on, or holding it down the full eight seconds to resync the headset to the dongle. Similarly, the mic quality has a high robotic tinge when first entering a call that levels out over time. Whether this is attributed to both PC noise suppression and the built-in virtual suppression systems in the Pulse Elite conflicting with one another is still to be determined through continued use in the future and firmware updates to come. Sony has already introduced other firmware updates for the PlayStation 5 controllers themselves to have better microphone capabilities, so I would anticipate them to do the same for their flagship PlayStation Link audio devices.

In comparison to other headsets that I’ve tested, such as the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless which features Bluetooth dual audio all the same, the Pulse Elite headset has difficulty when using two different audio headsets on PC; the same issue isn’t present when using the PlayStation Portal via PlayStation Link and Bluetooth via a mobile phone. The PlayStation Pulse Elite tends to only allow for one device to take priority, typically the Bluetooth connection. If listening to audio on PC and suddenly a notification or video starts playing on the mobile device, the Pulse Elite headset will shift all incoming and outgoing audio to the Bluetooth device. Routinely, the main way I found to get around this was to disable Bluetooth on my mobile device (as simply disconnecting the Pulse Elite from the Bluetooth menu would simply make it resync when the Link signal is sent) and power off/back on via the PC. Again, this was an issue not seen on PlayStation, and listening to music or playing a gacha game on phones wouldn’t interrupt the audio stream on PlayStation.

If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming audio on PlayStation 5, I would heartily recommend the PlayStation Pulse Elite above any of Sony’s other headsets on the market. While presently imperfect for PC use, perhaps firmware updates can alleviate those concerns. But if you’re one to marathon titles on PlayStation 5 or roam around the house with Remote Play on the PlayStation Portal, the Pulse Elite headset can provide all-day comfort with a battery that can survive even a nonstop weekend of gaming.

Review unit provided by the manufacturer.

Connectivity issues and limited PC features keep the Sony Pulse Elite wireless headset from shining across all platforms. However, if you’re a regular PlayStation user, these can be your entry into planar magnetic headsets at an attractive price.

Buy for $149.99 from Amazon

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