Sony finally revealed the price of the PS5 on September 16, but it’s also quietly revealed how much the 3D sound-enabled Pulse 3D Wireless headset will cost.
Designed to tap into Sony’s new Tempest 3D AudioTech, which aims to deliver advanced surround sound that’s customized to a person's ears, the Pulse 3D Wireless headset will cost $99. There’s no firmed up release date yet, but we expect the headphones to launch at the same time as the PS5 on November 12.
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Given the PlayStation Platinum Wireless headset for the PS4 cost more than $130, the price of the Pulse 3D Wireless headset seems like good value. Especially as it’s promising much more advanced audio capabilities, and, to our eye, a nicer design.
Sony had said its 3D audio tech will work on existing audio equipment, with algorithms figuring out how best to deliver immersive sound; the tech will effectively track more sound sources than ever inside games and deliver a richer soundscape than previous game consoles. But to get the best out of 3D audio, you’ll need hardware that has been configured to work with the Tempest 3D AudioTech.
As it stands the only way to get that at around the PS5’s launch will likely be through the Pulse 3D Wireless headset. We’d expect more audio equipment to come with 3D audio capabilities but that’s likely to come in 2021 after the PS5’s launch is well underway.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X doesn't have any custom audio tech, but it will support Dolby Atmos. That’s a cinema-grade audio standard, so if the Xbox Series X is combined with a powerful Atmos-certified audio system, then it could deliver some powerful sound. But whether it can compete with Sony’s Tempest 3D AudioTech has yet to be seen.
