The headset is, as we all know, one of the most important peripherals when it comes to gaming online. So many factors can come into play: comfort, weight, mic sensitivity, etc. The PlayStation Pulse Elite headset, the brand-new offering from Sony, hit my desk this week, but is it good enough to replace my current daily driver?
First things first, as always, we start with the unboxing. There’s not much to be for unboxing a headset most of the time, but the PlayStation Pulse Elite is a different story. In the box, you get the usual stuff like the headset itself, the Get Started manual, and the USB dongle that goes into the console. With the Pulse Elite, you also get a Sony licensed charging hanger and a mounting plate, so you can have a designated place to hang the headset to charge when it’s not in use.
There is a very good reason I mentioned comfort at the top of my list of the most important things to consider about a new headset. It absolutely HAS to be comfortable if I’m going to wear it for hours upon hours. The Pulse Elite is nothing if not comfortable. It features lovely plush ear cushions that seem to envelop your ears, giving a semi-noise-cancelling environment. The head strap adjusts itself as you put it on, to ensure that the fit is always perfect. Hands down, the Pulse Elite is one of the most comfortable headsets I have ever worn, bar none.
Part of that comfort comes from the parts that are actually on your head, and the rest comes from the weight. The Pulse Elite is extremely lightweight and never feels like it’s too tight or uncomfortable. I could wear this headset for hours and never feel like I need to take it off, which is saying a lot since a lot of headsets are significantly heavier than the Pulse Elite. While I was not able to narrow down an exact weight, the Pulse Elite is definitely under 2.5 lbs, and the weight is perfectly distributed across the entire construction.
The sound quality on the Pulse Elite is exceptional, and that comes, in large part, thanks to the planar magnetic drivers found in the ear caps. These drivers allow you to experience a full-spectrum audio environment, equally capturing deep bass and crystal-clear minute details. This is also enhanced by using 3D Audio on your PS5 console and allows you to perceive audio cues with amazing accuracy, keeping you competitive in the game.
“Sound quality on the Pulse Elite is exceptional, and that comes, in large part, thanks to the planar magnetic drivers found in the ear caps.”
The microphone on the Pulse Elite is something to behold as well, as it is attached to a boom arm that hides itself conveniently in the left arm of the headset, unlike competitors such as the Razer Kaira Pro. The microphone is not just a visual feature, as it incorporates some impressive technology in the form of AI-enhanced noise rejection.
What this does is it removes ambient noise from your background and allows the person/people on the other end of your game chat to hear you, and only you, clearly. As I live in a somewhat noisy household, this feature really speaks to me as I am quite sure my racing team does not want to hear my kids asking when it’s their turn to drive.
Most headsets, like the Nacon RIG 900, have every control under the sun on the actual headset, often leading to confusion about what you’re pressing at any given time. The Pulse Elite has gone the other way entirely, having only 4 buttons on the device: the on/off button, the mic on/off button and the two volume buttons. Simplicity is the name of the game here, and I couldn’t be happier. The power and volume buttons are on the right arm, and the mic on/off button is on the mic itself. I didn’t necessarily experience any issues with that, and I chalk that up to some really clever microphone placement as well as the AI-enhanced noise reduction hard at work.
When I am looking at peripherals for my devices, I tend to look at what will go with it aesthetically. For example, I used the Razer Kaira Pro headset for a very long time because I loved it, and it matched the colour scheme of the PS5. The Pulse Elite looks like it follows the same design pattern as the PS5 itself, and when it’s hanging on the charging mount, or sat on the table, it looks beautiful. It’s not until I put it on that the design slightly falls on its face. When it’s off, it’s sleek and sexy, but when it’s on, it is stretched wide to accommodate the wearer’s head, and the sleek and sexy goes out the window.
“The microphone on the Pulse Elite is something to behold as well, as it is attached to a boom arm that hides itself conveniently in the left arm of the headset, unlike competitors such as the Razer Kaira Pro.”
Truth be told when I wear the Pulse Elite, it looks like I am wearing a bell on my head. I guess it’s a minor gripe that I’ll never have to deal with unless I look in a mirror whilst wearing it, but it was bad enough for my partner to point out how it looked, so it must be off-putting at best. I also took issue with the fact that all of the other PS5 peripherals have the textured grip on them but not the Pulse Elite. The DualSense, Portal, and Charging Dock…they all have it, but not the Pulse Elite for some reason.
The last thing I want to talk about with the Pulse Elite is the battery life. Sony claims that the Pulse Elite will yield around 30 hours of battery life on a single charge, and I got very close to that number during my testing. At first, I thought it was defective as I wore it for 6 hours on the first day and the battery symbol on my PS5 didn’t move, it stayed at 3 (full) bars. It wasn’t until the second day, when I wore it for another 6 hours, that I lost a single bar.
Battery life is exceptional on the Pulse Elite, and charging is a treat as well since a quick 10-minute charge will get you roughly 2 hours of use, perfect for those last-minute late-night “one more round, let’s end on a win” situations. When you are done for the night, your handy charging hanger allows you to charge the headset in its own place, hanging on the wall, or TV stand, or wherever you decide to put it.
All told, I really like the Pulse Elite. It’s comfortable to wear long-term, the sound is incredible, and the battery goes on forever. Priced at $199.99 CAD, it’s not so expensive that it’s cost-prohibitive, but it’s certainly not cheap either. I highly recommend the Pulse Elite, and any gamer would be happy to use it for their next adventure.
