Sony Pulse Wireless Headset: Elite Edition Review (PS4/PS3)

The Pulse Elite Edition Headset is Sony’s flagship gaming headset. This is Sony’s 2nd gaming headset, the first being aptly named the Sony Pulse Headset. The Elite Edition however is miles ahead of its predecessor in every aspect.

The Pulse Elite Edition was built with comfort in mind. The earcups are big and soft to allow people with large or small ears a comfortable option in gaming headsets. The earcups also slide vertically to allow for any size or shape head you can find. The top section of the Pulse Elite has 2 separate pads to keep it comfortable on your head for those extended gaming sessions. I have personally spent about 6 hours straight wearing them while playing Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 and there was only minor discomfort every 2 hours or so until I changed the position of the headset slightly, then it was like it wasn’t even there again.

Almost everything about the Pulse Elite headset screams quality. The Pulse Elite has a very sturdy build that doesn’t feel like it will break or fall apart for years to come while remaining fairly light and stylish. Even the buttons and sliders built into the earcups feel strong enough to take a beating without any damage which is a good thing because those buttons and sliders are going to be getting a good bit of use.

On the Pulse Elites earcups you will find a few buttons and sliders that control the many different features this headset provides. While all the sliders and buttons can be a little overwhelming at first after about 2 hours you will instinctively know where every button and slider is without even thinking about it.

On the left earcup you will find your power switch, mute button, audio slider and your overall volume slider. The audio slider lets you choose how much of the game you want to hear, basically letting you either turn the game audio up while turning down other people mic’s or vice versa. Pushing the mute button will mute your mic but a little known feature is activated if you hold the mute button. Holding the mute button sets your mic to play thought the headset so you can hear yourself talking and hear what’s going on outside of the headset if you want.

On the right earcup you will find your BassImpact slider and your mode button. The Pulse Elite headset has a feature called BassImpact which sets off pulses in the earcups letting you feel the sound you are hearing. With the BassImpact slider you can set just how much pulse pounding excitement you want running through your earcups right into your brain. This is an amazing feature that I love. It can be a little over powering at times but that’s what the sliders for.

The mode button is also a very nice feature. The Pulse Elite Edition headset comes with 6 pre-loaded modes covering everything from shooters and action movies to all different types of music. Modes are easily changed with the push of a button and a built-in voice tells you what setting you are on. If those pre-loaded modes don’t match what your looking for you can always go download the Pulse Elite Edition Manager app from the PlayStation Store which has many more different modes to load onto your headset (6 at a time).

A few AAA games have used this app to put out custom sound settings for their games. So far BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us have used this feature. Since Grand Theft Auto 5 will be coming with its own custom Pulse Elite Edition headset I expect it and many more games in the future will be using this feature.

The Pulse Elite Edition headset is wireless with the help of its USB RF Transmitter. Once the USB dongle is put into the PS3 or PS4 all that is left to do is turn on the headset and get to gaming. The USB dongle will also work in computers or on TV’s that have a headphone jack.

The USB dongle has a 3.5 MM input to connect it to TVs with a headphone input using your standard 3.5MM audio cable. The Pulse Elite Edition doesn’t need to be wireless though it can work on any standard 3.5 MM audio cable with anything that accepts a headphone jack like for instance your cellphone or Ipod.

When it comes to headsets now at days though we all know looks count. Who wants to be walking down the street listing to music with their headset while people laugh at you for wearing that ridicules looking thing on your head. Well the Pulse Elite Edition has no problems there. Its stylish glossy black earcups are sleek and highlighted by the silver accents on each side.

You wont have to worry about that mic popping out the side of the headset either as the mic is built directly into the left earcup letting this great gaming headset look like nothing more then a high end set of headphones with a small PlayStation logo.

The most important aspect of any headset though is how well it preforms and the Sony Pulse Elite Edition headset does not disappoint. The Pulse Elite Edition features 7.1 virtual surround sound so you don’t just have to look where gunfire is coming from, you can hear where it’s coming from. The audio is clean and clear with no distortion whatsoever. Add to that the BassImpact technology and you have one great gaming headset to use anywhere in your everyday life.

I have personally owned a set of Beats headphones and once I got my Pulse Elite Edition I sold them and use these exclusively for everything from gaming to listing to music when I’m out and about. The Sony Pulse Elite Edition headset is a great all around headset that works best when connected to a PS3 but still great when hooked up to anything else you can imagine.

Since the Pulse Elite has also been confirmed to work with the PS4, this is 1 of the 5 accessories you will want when you get your new shiny system.