The user shares a no-holds-barred review of Sony’s newest PlayStation headset – the Pulse Elite.
A Reddit user, Jakehieu, recently shared his review of the Pulse Elite headset on r/playstation. Unfortunately, despite the initial excitement over the promises Sony shared in marketing the headphones, the user found a lot of flaws that made using the headphones hurt in many ways.
As someone who has been using the Pulse Elite’s predecessor, the Pulse 3D headset, for gaming since 2020, and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for lossless audio on Samsung devices, he hopes his review will help others decide whether or not it’s worth investing in Sony’s newest PlayStation headphones.
Sound Quality: A Double-Edged Sword
The bulk of Jakehieu’s review is about the Pulse Elite’s sound quality. This is because one of the biggest upgrades Sony made for the Pulse Elite is the switch from dynamic drivers in the Pulse 3D to planar magnetic drivers.
He starts by praising the Pulse Elite.
He points out that with the Pulse Elite, gamers can hear every detail in their games more distinctly, making it easier to identify and locate sounds around them.
For instance, he compares the experience of using both headset while playing “The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered”.
However, the OP quickly encountered a challenge with the headset’s initial sound settings.
He mentions that the treble or high sounds were overly “bright” and “sharp” to his ears. This sharpness was so pronounced that he had to adjust the equalizer (EQ) settings to make listening more comfortable.
He also compares this experience to his time with the Pulse 3D headset. Here, he realized that the Elite’s treble levels required some getting used to, and some EQ tuning. The high notes, while enhancing the clarity of environmental sounds and vocals, needed to be toned down for a more balanced audio experience.
Similarly, the bass response in the Pulse Elite was different from what he was accustomed to with dynamic headphones. The bass in the Elite was described as tight and precise, which contrasted with the more robust and rumbly bass he enjoyed with the Pulse 3D.
This difference became particularly noticeable when he tried playing “Returnal.”
To address this, Jakehieu adjusted the bass levels in the EQ settings to ensure the bass was more noticeable and blended better with the rest of the audio, aiming for a sound that was less sharp and more comfortable to listen to.
He also shared his EQ settings in the post to help others who are experiencing the same issues.
Design and Comfort Issues
Jakehieu’s review also brings to light notable design and comfort challenges with the Pulse Elite Headset.
A primary concern is the LED indicator lights, which he finds excessively bright and distracting, especially when playing games in the dark.
Comfort and fit also pose problems.
While the headset is generally comfortable, they’re slightly heavier than the Pulse 3D and their narrow headband can cause a feeling of pressure that may limit extended use.
And, while the earcups provide good isolation, the drivers can put a lot of air pressure on the user’s ears, making them uncomfortable.
Moreover, compatibility with other gaming accessories is another concern. The Elites have the same problem as the Pulse 3D. While you can still use it with the VR2, they don’t fit quite well, so doing so will make the headphones more uncomfortable.
Connectivity and Quality Control Concerns
The OP also brings up quality control issues he discovered on the headphones.
For one, he described the cushions as softer than the Pulse 3D, but “incredibly fragile.” He also notes that the headset has a tendency to emit a high-pitched noise when not in use.
On the connectivity front, the OP points out that the Pulse Elite headset also falls short of expectations.
Despite the PS Link‘s capability to deliver lossless audio, it doesn’t support hi-res sound. Stability issues with both PS Link and Bluetooth connections were also observed, leading to occasional but disruptive audio cut-offs.
The Community Reaction
Upon reading the OP’s review, the gaming community has also shared varied experiences with the Pulse Elite headset.
A lot of the responses agreed with the comments Jakehieu shared, especially with the tuning issues. That’s why a lot of users also suggest playing around with the EQ. One even thanked the OP for sharing his EQ settings as it helped improve his experience.
However, most of the concerns were about the sound distortion at high volumes.
The high-pitched sound that the OP mentioned in his review was also experienced by other users. This shows that it’s not a user-specific case, nor an isolated one.
Many users shared their speculations on the source of this issue – from the drivers to the software. But none of these were verified for now.
