PlayStation Pulse 3D headset

You have to make sure that your games support the Tempest Audio natively so you can fully understand the upgrade. That means the benefits of the surround stage won’t be prominent if the game devs haven’t injected the good Tempest juice in the files. Only a handful of games support Tempest Audio at the time of writing. Obviously, all Sony exclusives that launched for the PS5 and a few others like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. 

The settings will automatically kick in when you plug-in compatible headphones. There are also five audio profiles to choose from when you want to adjust the 3D audio. They essentially adjust the height at which the audio is thrown at your ears which directly relates to the best possible experience for sound immersion. It’s, in essence, an HRFT audio format that places objects (sound) in virtual space relative to the position of the character on the screen.

Basically, you can pinpoint things in the environment with sound cues. So it’s important to play the right game to properly experience Tempest 3D audio.

Not many gaming headsets get the audio right for under 10K and that’s mostly because it’s tweaked and fiddled by gaming-first brands. But here we have a company with a legacy in audio, trying to achieve the best possible sound immersion for its latest console, with an audio technology notoriously proprietary to its own products. Safe to say that Sony PlayStation knows a thing or two about audio and the Pulse 3D absolutely nails the audio with fantastic immersion and a meatier soundstage.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is probably the best place to enjoy Tempest Audio without feeling out of place. The direction audio adds a new level of immersion with faint sound cues that carefully pinpoint in-game collectables. 

Even Returnal’s spine-chilling audio is heightened by the immersive haptics on the PS5 controller and the Pulse 3D’s surround sound. Again, the faintest sounds that would otherwise be lost on regular headsets, are emphasised and cleaned. The constant rain water droplets on the alien planet are placed naturally in the virtual surround. The Hyperion boss fight truly comes alive on the Pulse 3D with the haunting piano melodies that invoke a sense of dread and the underlying marching drums that force you to act quickly or die. 

B-Side by Khruangbin & Leon Bridges on Apple Music on the PS5 sounds tempered. Unlike most gaming headsets, the bass is not overstepping Leon Bridges’ soothing vocals. The rhythmic charm of Khruangbin along with Leon’s mesmerising vocals are completely free from the Tempest Audio’s immersive clutches. And I mean that in a good way. The Pulse 3D are surprisingly great for music listening. The only other headset we think that could balance gaming and casual music listening was the JBL Quantum 600. And to no one’s surprise, those too are made by an audio-first brand.

The Pulse 3D doesn’t have a protruding boom mic curving around your jawline. Instead, the mics are hiding around these round-shaped headsets and the mic quality is as you’d expect. The mics pick up voice and audio well but they also pick up surrounding sounds too. It’s not too bad but a boom mic would do a better job. Although, you can mute the thing from the PS5 controller’s mute button as well.

Speaking of buttons, the left side of the headset is busy with buttons while the right side has none. There’s a volume rocker, mute and power button, mic monitor slider and a game/chat audio adjustment button. 

The black and white headset is colour coordinated with the PS5’s outfit. Although the build quality is clearly the reason Sony was able to bring the price down. It’s plasticky but not creaky. That’s entirely possible because the earcups are barely adjustable. It’s not a deal-breaker but they tend to rely on clamping over the ears too hard rather than sitting on your head. The cloth between your ears and the grille is also very thin which can cause friction and just long term fatigue from the tight clamping force.

The PlayStation Pulse 3D has up to 12hours of battery life and we got just about the same time as well. The Pulse 3D are the best headsets for PlayStation gaming right now. They take full advantage of the Tempest audio to immerse you in the gaming experience.

The price is not too shabby as well. Although Sony has splurged all the budget into getting the audio correct which leaves little for the build quality. You cannot change the earpads and the earcups are as stiff as your next holiday drink.

Still, the upgrade to better audio quality is worth it. If you can push your budget all the way to ₹21K then the SteelSeries Artics 7P have all the audio quality of the Pulse 3D with Tempest support and the built quality of a premium gaming headset.