Sony has officially launched its new Pulse Explore earbuds for the PlayStation 5, PS5 Slim, and PlayStation Portal. The wireless earbuds, which take some inspiration from the original PS5 Pulse 3D headset, are a pair of white in-ear headphones that could be the difference behind your next pop-off in Modern Warfare 3 thanks to a wide range of audio enhancements.
Much akin to its over-ear predecessor, the Pulse Explore sport 3D audio support, which gives them incredible sound quality specifically for games that also have 3D audio, such as the Demon’s Souls remake.
So where can you get them? Here's where you can find them in stock.
Sony PlayStation Pulse Explore: where to buy
The Pulse Explore earbuds hit stores officially December 6 with a base MSRP of $199 / £199. Those interested can find them on sale across a wide variety of retailers here in the US, the most prominent among them including Sony’s official site, Best Buy, and Amazon.
Sony isn’t a stranger to some incredible audio products, like the InZone Buds that launched this past November. The firm is soon to debut its Pulse Elite in February 2024, which will be an upgraded iteration of its original Pulse headset.
That being said, if you’re in dire need of some quality sound but don’t want to shell out a whopping $200 for earbuds, the original Pulse 3D headset proves a worthy alternative and currently sits at a mere $99.
Video game exploration made audio-immersive
So what do Sony's bespoke gaming earbuds do differently? Inside the earbuds are a pair of planar magnetic drivers, which allow for studio-quality accuracy on varied sounds - whether that be in a game or while experiencing other forms of entertainment. On its official Pulse Explore earbuds webpage, Sony claims these drivers have “near-perfect accuracy along the entire audio spectrum,” which equals incredible audio-immersive qualities for lossless, ultra-low latency audio.
The Pulse Explore earbuds also have AI-enhanced noise rejection, which isn’t to be confused with active noise canceling. Sony’s noise rejection technology simply allows the buds reactive measures in limiting unwanted sound while the wearer is speaking. In other words, you’ll never have to repeat yourself again in a hasty firefight - unless, of course, your friend isn’t paying attention.
Additional features that make the Pulse Explore earbuds stand out are clean, unseen microphones that are seamlessly integrated into the design of each bud, intuitive controls for volume, muting, and more, multi-device connectivity, as well as seamless PlayStation linking.
As one might expect, the earbuds are tailor made for Sony and (more specifically) PlayStation devices. They come with a special PlayStation linking feature, literally called PlayStation Link, which allows them to easily connect and switch between PS5 consoles and the PS Portal, as well as alternate devices like a PC or Mac. They come presented in a small white charging case that allows them up to 10 hours of playtime over the base 5 hours of battery life.
Tom's Guide currently has a review sample and we plan to have a proper review up of the earbuds sooner rather than later.
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