Alongside the PlayStation 5, Sony released a handful of accessories: a DualeSense charging station, a media remote, and an HD camera. Probably the most appealing of all is the $3 Pulse 100D Wireless Headphones.
After spending a few weeks with the headset on while playing PS5 games like Astro's Playroom, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Godfall, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon's Souls, and more, it's clear Sony has an accessory of high quality in the hands. in terms of sound quality. The mic, however, doesn't live up to the same quality.
The PS5 Pulse 3D Wireless Headset review is a bit strange because it's hard to separate the PS5 Tempest 3D audio features from the headset and vice versa. Due to the way the PS5 handles its audio, including the "3D audio" feel, most headsets are going to sound really nice and full, even if they don't have 3D in the name.
PS5 Pulse 3D Wireless Headset review: Well-rounded sound with a low-gloss mic
Comfort, design and build quality
At first I was worried that the headset would be uncomfortable. Since I wear glasses, I'm generally wary of small earcups due to their tendency to pinch my ears on the edge of my glasses, but these cups are just big enough to fully cover my ears and sit comfortably around them.
The leather cups are soft and relaxing with enough depth that your ear won't scratch the inside (I still hate that feeling). The headband is stretchy, yet resistant to bending, so when you expand it to fit your head, it folds down enough to sit firmly without feeling too tight.
It's a clever design that eliminates the need to click the headband open or potentially damage it if someone else puts it on.
The plastic white part of the band, however, looks weak and cheap. I wasn't brave enough to apply pressure and see what happens, but I feel like snapping is a very real possibility with these if you're not careful. I'm terrified of what my three year old might do if left alone with this helmet on!
Visually, it resembles the PS5 and DualSense controller with a white-on-black aesthetic. Personally, the style blossoms for me more and more over time, and it's nice to have accessories that go well together.
Except for the USB dongle.
The Pulse 3D's USB-A dongle is quite large and protrudes when plugged in, so you can plug it into the back. But if you're using the PSVR headset, which takes up two slots on its own, you're only left with the USB-A and USB-C ports on the front. Using this headset with the PSVR means all your ports are accounted for, with no room for an external hard drive or USB stick to transfer files - unless you get a USB hub or extension of some kind.
Fortunately, the USB dongle is extremely easy to use. No configuration needed here. Just plug it into your PS5, PS4 or PC and turn on the headset. In less than 5 seconds, it's connected and you're good to go. There is also a 3,5mm jack if you prefer or need it. (On the box it's marketed as being for PSVR and other devices, as wireless audio still doesn't sync very well with VR).
I particularly like the number of settings on the side of the left earcup. Not only can you adjust the volume and mute your mic easily, but you can even turn on mic monitoring to check your sound and even manually adjust the audio balance of party chat and game on the headset rather than just mic monitoring. have to open a PS5 UI window.
Sound performance and microphone quality of the Pulse 3D wireless headphones
Despite the marketing behind the headset and the fact that it has “3D” in its name, you don't really need this headset to take advantage of the PS3's 5D audio features. In fact, just about any headset should work fine as long as it connects to the console via a USB dongle or by connecting to the DualSense controller itself.
It's worth noting that 3D audio is basically a term that Sony has unofficially claimed as a nickname for its version of immersive surround sound. The best way to describe it is to say that if you're playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, for example, you should be able to hear precisely the direction enemies are approaching thanks to the directional audio. It's also apparent in a game like Godfall, where you can hear which direction an enemy is attacking or a treasure chest of loot is from.
The 3D audio features are impressive and effective, but they don't feel as essential or groundbreaking as the DualSense controller. This is something headsets from companies like Logitech and Audeze have been doing for some time.
Although the sound quality of the headphones is quite fantastic, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the microphone. The Pulse 3D headset uses a dual-mic setup so one mic focuses on identifying and “cancelling” background noise while the other mic listens to your voice.
The undo part works well; background noise was rarely an issue when wearing the headphones. However, the quality of the mic itself seems to suffer – a lot. There is an almost muffled quality to it. It sounds more like someone is sitting across from you, trying to talk over game audio, rather than being in the actual chat channel.
In fact, switching your mic audio to the DualSense's built-in mic sounds better than the Pulse 3D headset's mic, which sounds very unusual (but true from what I've tested). I would even say that the old PS camera mic is better than the Pulse 3D headset mic.
PS5 Pulse 3D Wireless Headset Review – The Bottom Line
Benefits
- Excellent sound quality and depth
- Robust 3D audio presence
- Seamless compatibility via USB drive
- Lots of switches and settings on the headset itself
- Comfortable ear cup design
The inconvenients
- Fragile construction due to plastic strip
- Relatively short battery life (~10-12 hours)
- Poor mic quality in comparison
Overall, the PS5 Pulse 3D headset has earned a spot as the favorite headset for PS5. I plan to leave the dongle plugged into the back and just turn it on if needed to start playing. The mic quality seems pretty good for casual gaming, but for longer sessions or a game that requires more tactical conversation, I'll probably switch to using my SteelSeries Arctis 1 for improved mic quality. Either way, it still benefits from "Tempest 3D Audio" technology, so I'm not losing much beyond consistency of branding and styling.
At $100 you get what you pay for and the ease of use combined with the solid sound quality makes it a good buy for the average PS5 user without a doubt.
(Note: A PlayStation 5 Pulse 3D Wireless Headset was provided by Sony for this review.)
