Difference in Sony headsets

[American Gunner]

I am looking to finally invest in a gaming headset for my ps3, and I'm hoping that they will be able to be used on the ps4. Does anyone know what the main differences are between the Sony Wireless headset and the Pulse Elite edition? I know the pulse is supposed to have better bass, but is there any other reason to spend the extra $50 on them?

 

[cmdrdredd]

The pulse edition has better bass response and supposedly a more detailed surround sound experience. Many reviews of the original headset noted flat bass and a somewhat muddled sound quality. There's also a pulse audio manager app on the PSN store that is a free download. You can download special sound modes for different games and movies.


I'm not a fan of surround headsets. I prefer a higher quality set of stereo cans. There's a very large market for them though.

 

[American Gunner]

I saw the pulse audio manager app on ps3, but is that only for the elite? I have read a lot of people that complain about the battery life on the elite headset, saying it only last 4-6 hours if you have the bassimpact on. I like using surround because I do a lot of shooters, and I am hoping that since these are Sony brand, they will work on my ps4.

 

[cmdrdredd]

That I couldn't tell you. I did see some talk about marginal battery life. Still, 4 hours in one gaming session isn't that short. I can see where sometimes it could catch you off guard if you forgot to charge them and only get an hour or so one day.

I play shooters too but I'll say one thing, a higher end set of stereo headphones like Sennheiser, Sony, AKG and others does have a noticeable increase in fidelity over gamer specific headsets. They do run quite a bit more expensive. My Sennheiser PC360 headset cost almost twice what Sony is asking for the Pulse elites. The sensitivity and frequency response range can be quite a bit larger offering better sound at lower volume (if that matters to you).

It's gonna be tough to decide with a lot of unknowns for compatibility. I know one way to guarantee compatibility with any PC headset and any console is to get an Astro Mixamp and connect the optical output from your console to the mixamp and it will process the dolby digital stream for you. You connect your headset to the mixamp, and it's good to go via USB on PS3 for voice communication, and it comes with the proper adapter for the PS4 and Xbox 360 controller port. No batteries to mess with either. You just need the Mixamp and a PC headset. Most PC headsets use a USB dongle and have the standard 3.5mm plugs for audio and microphone. This is how the mixamp connects. Something like the Asus Vulcan will work. Unfortunately this solution will cost more.

The only other thing I can say is to try the Sony headset and if you dislike it, return it to amazon.

Just as a test...maybe you've heard this before but plug in some stereo headphones to your computer and watch this video with your eyes closed. Remember that the sound produced is all happening with two microphones recording and only two drivers in your headphones playing it back. Notice how you can pick out direction, estimate distance, and subtle changes in each...all with simply two drivers. Remember also that this is not encoded in 5.1 or played back in 5.1 or virtual surround. Simply stereo. Since games are designed to give you a sense of direction in the audio mix, you will be a similar effect. This is why I do not necessarily prefer surround in headphones. I find it unnecessary and lesser in overall SQ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA