ⓘ Sony
Sony’s cheapest planar magnetic PS5 headset yet has a release date and a price that undercuts the Pulse Elite. Something had to give, of course, but the main premium features made the cut.
Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation Pulse wireless headset will launch on November 19 for $99.99, £89.99, €99.99, or ¥15,980, respectively. Preorders open on October 29 in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, and much of Europe. The headset comes in White and Midnight Black.
The Pulse is now the cheapest planar magnetic headset in Sony’s PS5 lineup. For comparison, the Pulse Elite from 2024 currently sells for $149 on Amazon, so the newcomer undercuts it in terms of pricing. The Pulse Edge, which Sony says will arrive in early 2027, sits above both.
Sony has kept the most important part of the premium models. The Pulse uses custom planar magnetic drivers, which the company says deliver strong sound separation and spatial accuracy for picking out footsteps and reloads in competitive shooters. The drivers are larger than the ones in the Pulse Elite, and Sony promises fuller, deeper bass without losing clarity. The difference lies in the magnet count. The Pulse has four per driver, while the Pulse Edge doubles that to eight.
PlayStation Link carries over as well since the USB Type-C adapter of the type that costs $25 is included in the box to deliver lossless audio with very low latency. One can switch between the PS5, PlayStation Portal, PC, and Mac, and the headset can stay connected to a Bluetooth device at the same time. The integrated microphone uses AI noise rejection, and there is a volume control on the earcup. Sony also reworked the design, and the rotating earcups now let the headset lay flat for travel.
Active noise cancelling, the carrying case, a 3.5 mm jack, and the game and chat balance control for PS5 are reserved for the Pulse Edge. The Pulse also has a fixed microphone, while the Edge gets a detachable boom mic with a hidden backup. For a lot of PS5 players, that trade will be very easy to accept, as planar drivers and PlayStation Link were the main reasons to look at the Pulse Elite, and both features now start at under $100.
Daniel Zlatev - Senior Tech Writer - 2272 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
Wooed by tech since the industrial espionage of Apple computers and the times of pixelized Nintendos, Daniel went and opened a gaming club when personal computers and consoles were still an expensive rarity. Nowadays, fascination is not with specs and speed but rather the lifestyle that computers in our pocket, house, and car have shoehorned us in, from the infinite scroll and the privacy hazards to authenticating every bit and move of our existence.
Daniel Zlatev, 2026-10-22 (Update: 2026-10-22)