Anand Agarwal, Sony’s Senior Product Marketing Manager, has provided some new info through the comments portion of the PlayStation.Blog regarding the PlayStation Silver Wired Stereo Headset, PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset and Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset. First off, he clarified that a wired connection is required in order to take advantage of the 7.1 surround sound with the Silver headset. While you can also use the 3.5mm audio jack to connect to the DualShock 4, it won’t be the preferred method:
You need to connect using a wired USB connection directly to the PS4 for getting virtual 7.1 surround sound. This is the preferred way of using the headset. But the headset has a breakaway audio cable with a 3.5mm audio jack that you can connect to the DS4 – in this case it will act as a standard stereo headset.
Mr. Agarwal also talked about the differences between the PlayStation Silver Wired Stereo Headset and PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset. He thinks that both products are great options depending on your tastes. The Silver gaming headset is cheaper as it does not use any wireless components:
Consumers have different preferences. I can see that you prefer a wireless headset which is great, and a large number of PS4 owners have that preference. However, many consumers prefer a wired headset with a boom mic. We are listening to this large consumer base and adding products carefully in our portfolio that can satisfy the needs and preferences of a broad user base. Gold and Silver headsets are both great products that offer great sound quality and other features such as custom audio modes, multi-device compatibility – they differ when it comes to industrial design to cater to the needs of difference consumer tastes. Of course, Silver headset is more affordable because it does not include wireless components, and we wanted to pass on those savings to our fans.
Anand Agarwal then explained why the PlayStation 4 can’t support standard bluetooth headsets, saying that it would interfere with the DualShock 4’s connection with the system:
PS4′s bluetooth system architecture is different then PS3 – more simply a standard bluetooth headset connection can interfere with the DS4′s bluetooth connection with PS4, and thus we are not able to have standard bluetooth headset’s work with PS4 at least for the time being.
Moving on to the Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset, he reassured fans that they are still working to add a sound mode for Destiny:
Yes, we are still working on the Destiny sound mode for Pulse Elite headsets. Sorry for the delay on this, but we intend to let everyone know as soon as it is ready for release.
Last but not least, Anand Agarwal also confirmed that the Far Cry 4 audio modes are also coming to the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset and Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset along with the Sliver version:
Yes, the Far Cry 4 audio modes will also be available for Gold and Pulse-Elite headsets.
The PlayStation Silver Wired Stereo Headset, PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset and Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset are now available in the United States. You can buy all three, along with the two above-mentioned games with the links below this paragraph.
- PlayStation Silver Wired Stereo Headset
- PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset
- Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Stereo Headset
- Destiny
- Far Cry 4
The Silver, Gold and Pulse Elite gaming headsets can be used for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.