If you are looking to buy a new gaming headset for the PlayStation 4 and/or PlayStation 3, chances are you have already came across the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset and PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset. Both accessories are manufactured by Sony and have received great reviews. So which of the two should you be purchasing if you can only afford one? You can find out in our comparison below.
Content
First off, let’s take a look at what’s included in both products. The PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset (find its current price with this link) includes an 1.2 m audio cable, wireless adaptor and instruction manual. While the USB mini-B cable (which is required to recharge the battery) is not included, you can use the same one that came with the Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers. Otherwide, you will need to buy one.
In comparison, the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset (check out the price tag with this page) comes with more content. It has an 1.2 m audio cable, wireless adaptor, 30.5 cm micro-B charging cable, travel pouch in addition to the following documents: quick start guide and safety & support guide.
Wireless Adapter
The wireless adapters are not the same for the two PS4 and PS3 gaming headsets. While the PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset wireless adapter is much bigger, it also comes with a headphone jack. Therefore, you can connect it to any device that uses the same port and use the Pulse Elite as a wireless headset. The same feature is not possible with the Gold version.
BassImpact
The main differentiator between the two products is BassImpact. If you turned on this feature, the Pulse Elite Edition will send “pulses” to go along with the sound you hear through the earphones. This should increase the impact of what you hear, which should further immerse you into the videogame. The Gold Wireless Stereo Headset does not come with the same feature.
7.1 Virtual Surround Sound
The two do share the same 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound support, however. The Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset apparently has a slightly higher maximum volume when compared against PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset but the differences are not that big unless you are an audiophile.
Battery Life
The Pulse Elite has a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery with a capacity of 925 mAh. If you turn on BassImpact, the gaming headset should last around four hours. On the other hand, its battery life should jump to around six hours if you turn that particular feature off.
The PlayStation Gold also comes with a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery. However, it only has a capacity of 570 mAh. With that said, the Gold version should last up to approximately eight hours if you are using mid-level volumes.
Maximum Communication Range
Both gaming headsets use 2.4 GHz RF to communicate wirelessly. For the PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset, the range is a maximum of 10 m whereas the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset is slightly longer at 12 m.
Overall
Both Sony accessories have advantages and disadvantages when compared to one another. PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset has the exclusive BassImpact feature along with the ability to be used as a wireless headset for other devices. Its 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound support is also considered to be slightly better.
On the other hand, the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset is packed with more content in addition to having a better battery life and communication range. It is also the newer model of the two and may be better supported by Sony in the future.
Overall, if you don’t mind a few shortcomings, the Pulse Elite gets the slight edge as we feel that the BassImpact feature is a good enough advantage to overcome its other faults when compared to the Gold version. You can buy either one from Amazon right now with the next links: PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset and PlayStation Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset.