- Today's video is sponsored by Popcart. The PS5 launched with a bunch of different
first-party accessories, and we actually haven't spent a lot of time talking about those yet, aside from the DualSense controller, which I absolutely love. But what is probably the most popular accessory aside from that is, of course, the PULSE 3D headset. Sony's always been in a bit
of an interesting position when it comes to headsets for the PS5 compared to Nintendo and Microsoft, in that it's really the
only one that offers its own official option. Xbox and Nintendo might have
officially licensed options that they push more than others, but ultimately, nothing is
being made actually in-house, at least when it comes to
a higher quality headset. (upbeat electronic music) And having a first-party option like this is something that is really
appealing to a lot of people because it's something that kind of comes with almost a sort of
basic sense of trust. You would assume that Sony
making their own headset for their own gaming console
would be selling something that is good quality for the price. As a result of this, it is by default a very popular choice for a lot of people. And is very hard to get right now if you already own a PS5
or trying to hunt one down. So I really just wanna
kind of compare this to another third-party option,
just to get a sense for how badly you really need
to use the first-party one, whether it is your best choice or not, and maybe what you should
look out for as far as what it has and doesn't have to offer. To begin with, let's just talk about what exactly the PULSE 3D headset is and what it has to offer. And on paper, it actually
has a lot in common with what was the mainline
option for the PS4, the Gold Headset. This is a wireless headset
going for an MSRP of $99, which is not the absolute cheapest that a wireless headset can get, but it's still a very much
more affordable price. It's definitely on the kind of lower end. But at the same time as offering
pretty good build quality and sound quality for that price point. The headset connects to your PS5 through a wireless USB-A dongle which makes sure that it
has a strong connection that doesn't have any kind of audio lag and preserves as much of the
audio quality as possible. Like the Gold Headset, it is
a very lightweight trim design that does not feature any
kind of protruding microphone. And in this particular
case, it actually makes use of a pair of built-in
mics that work together to make sure that you're getting a nice, clean audio quality. As well as making use of noise-canceling to help make sure that no major ambient noises get in the way. At this point, you might be wondering what's different about this compared to the Gold Headset,
aside from audio quality? And there's really two major things aside from changes there. One, the physical design is different. It's not just simply a new shinier look, but it is a different
approach to the headband. The Gold Headset made use of just a cushioned to
singular band at the top, whereas this has that kind
of supporting rubber liner. This is a big upgrade over the
Gold's design comfort-wise, though I do wish the band was
made out of a softer material. It does give a decent bit when you're trying to get
at just on to your head, but just something about the
kind of hard flat plastic, I'm not as big of a fan of. What is another big difference though, is the addition of 3D Audio support. This is something that
PlayStation did mess around with a little bit back on the PS4, with their more expensive headset option, the Platinum Headset. But now it is a standard
baseline option for the PS5 and is now included in a lot more games. And is one of the kind of pushed features, as far as something that is
new and cool about the system, aside from the general power upgrades compared to its predecessor. If you're wondering what
exactly 3D Audio actually is, well, it's the headset simulating
the experience of sounds not only coming from around you but more particularly, above,
below, and at equal height. So if there's something
happening in-game above you, you're gonna hear like
it's happening above you. As opposed to having just
one blanketed sound effect at all heights. Note that this is not the
same thing as surround sound where you're getting a
clear differentiation of things that are happening in front, behind, or beside you. That is a separate thing that is not here. This is a stereo headset still, so you're getting left and right, but it is not surround sound,
just that 3D Audio support. In a void, this is a great solid
headset to pick up and use. But again, what we're
kind of looking at here is how it actually
stacks up to competition, whether or not you absolutely have to get the official first-party option. And so, what I wanna compare it against is one of my personal favorite
lines of headset options, SteelSeries, in particular, there are new options branded for the PS5, the SteelSeries Arctis 7P. Now, something about both these headsets is that they are actually
pretty tough to get ahold of, especially the PULSE 3D. So if you've been trying
to track one down, it's really, really difficult right now. But something that can help with that, by the way, real quick, is
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that shows up back in stock. (people cheering) Download Popcart for free today and start testing for yourself to see how much money you can start saving by going to Popcart.com/KevinKenson. Okay, let's get back to headsets now. So, what exactly is the
difference in experience between using a third-party option versus the PULSE 3D headset? Something worth noting real quick about this particular headset
I'm talking about here, this is actually a more expensive one. This is the main one
right now it's SteelSeries is kind of leaning to
branding for the PS5, but it is a $150 headset
as opposed to $100. There is a cheaper option
called the Arctis 1 Wireless that goes through the
same MSRP of 100 bucks. And the main trade-off there is it's not as solid of a build quality and it has a detachable mic
rather than a retractable one. But as far as audio quality goes, it is actually the same thing. It uses the same drivers. So that's worth, that as
far as audio is concerned, you can grab a cheaper version of this that does go for that
same price as the PULSE. There's also more expensive
ones with other fancy features, but that's outside of what
we're mainly talking about here. The main point is using
something like this versus something like this. First off, let's just talk
about the physical differences between these two headsets. Now, like I mentioned
earlier with the PULSE 3D, I'm not a huge fan of the headband on it. It does its job well. It's not the most uncomfortable
thing in the world. I just wish this was something
that was a little softer. And to be fair, a main reason
why I'm kinda feeling that, is 'cause when I've been
switching between this and the 7P, I really like this material a lot more. It's just a lot more comfortable
on the top of my head. Both of them fit well and snug and don't feel particularly uncomfortable over a long period of time. This just ends up winning out a little bit as far as this comfort on
the top of your head goes. As for ear cups, this is
something that I honestly think varies a lot from person to person. Different people find
different ear cup shapes to be better for their
particular head and ear shape. I've always liked the kind of oval design of the SteelSeries ones. I find it's the right balance of something that's gonna be snug around my ear, but not too tight and uncomfortable. The PULSE 3D actually
works out really well in this regard, as well. These are more circular cups, with just ever so slightly a
bit of an oval tint to them. But I found that once
again, very nice and comfy. Both are good here, but ultimately, I do find that the Arctis 7P
is the more comfortable fit of the two for me. Again, this can vary
with head and ear shape. As for onboard controls, you get a lot of options
on the left ear cup for the PULSE 3D headset. Obviously, the ability to
turn the headset off and on, but more importantly, the
ability to mute your mic, adjust volume, adjust balance
between chat and game audio. Basically, all the major control aspects that you would need easy access to. By comparison, with the
headset that we're using for our main kind of one-to-one right now, the SteelSeries says it offers a lot of the same baseline
things you wanna have, volume control, mic muting. It does not have any chat mixed balance, which is something that can be really nice if you need to adjust it on the fly. You can still adjust this
using the PS5's quick bar, but it does take you a little more out of the action of the game, compared to just being able
to do it on the ear cup. Also worth noting, something
about the SteelSeries headset, and really the majority of
third-party headset options out there for PlayStation, is that it does involve a microphone that actually comes out, as opposed to the built-in microphone present on the PULSE 3D. Trying out the mics on
both these back-to-back, both sound good and usable, though the retractable mic on the 7P did result in my voice
coming through cleaner and less compressed sounding. Both are good. The Arctis
just has the edge here. Now, comfort and microphones
are all good and great. But what really is the big
focus here is, of course, what kind of audio quality and experience we're getting from these
different headsets. The PULSE 3D has been my
primary headset for the PS5 since picking it up because
I got them side by side and I've just been defaulting to using it. But I did start using the 7P recently in order to start
comparing the experiences. And it's actually really interesting what I've been noticing. That's something worth
pointing out really quick is that again, one of the big deals about the PS5 when it comes to audio is new 3D Audio support
being in a lot more games. Now, while this is something that is being very heavily pushed about the PULSE 3D headset, it is not a unique feature of it. 3D Audio is something that is supported by third-party headsets for PlayStation, the 7P being one of them. However, in my experience in using these, playing different games that
include 3D Audio support, like "Spider-Man: Miles
Morales" and "Demon's Souls", I really feel like the PULSE 3D does end up delivering on
this aspect quite a bit more. If we're dealing with games
where all things are equal and it's just flat sound
quality on one over the other, I actually do like the
SteelSeries a little more. But when it comes to
the sense of 3D Audio, in terms of differentiating
where things are above, below, and around me, there's a certain level of immersion I'm experiencing with the
PULSE 3D that is not present on the SteelSeries headset. It is present on the 7P, it's not as though it's
just not there at all. It's just that when
I'm using the PULSE 3D, I'm getting a much
cleaner and clearer sense of what's happening in terms
of verticality in-game, which is really cool. And in general, just ends up
feeling a lot more immersive. The sound of my character's footsteps. The sound effects when I
hit enemies with a sword. The sound of a dragon flying above me, breathing fire down on its enemies. All of it just has this much
clearer separation happening on the PULSE 3D that just
isn't happening on the 7P. One other thing that does work well in the PULSE 3D's is favor is the convenience of
switching audio source from headset to TV. On the PULSE 3D, as soon as I turn it off, the PS5 knows to switch back to TV. While on the Arctis 7P,
I need to manually switch using the PS5's quick bar, or
even just unplug the dongle. A minor hassle, but still,
in comparison, it's a hassle. Now, to be fair, there are other aspects of these headset's performance that I think is important to note that actually plays a bit
more against the PULSE 3D. First off, there is no ability to mess with the equalizer on the PULSE 3D. There is no longer a dedicated
headphone app on the PS5, instead, these are now
all baked-in settings. But most of them just involve things like turning on and off 3D Audio and how you wanna adjust
that particular setting. There is no EQ. So if there's ever anything in particular about how you hear things,
where you would like to adjust the EQ balance of your headset, that's not something you
can do on the PULSE 3D. The SteelSeries headset,
on the other hand, along with a lot of other
third-party options out there, does include software you can use on a PC to adjust the EQ balance
of the headphones, which will carry over to your experience playing on PS5. It's also worth throwing out that the PULSE 3D has that does
have a shorter battery life than a lot of other competitors out there. For instance, the 7P that we're using here has a battery life of roughly 24 hours. While the PULSE 3D is
half that at 12 hours. As long as you're really good at being on top of keeping
your stuff charged, it's really not that big of a deal. Not a lot of people are
always pushing themselves to do longer than 12-hour
play sessions of a game. But if you do happen to play that often, or you're really bad at being
on top of charging your stuff, it is something worth noting. So, going back to our original question, is the PULSE headset the be-all-end-all main headset you need to grab for the PS5? No, there are plenty of
other options out there at price points that you can find that have their own
strengths and weaknesses in comparison to it and
can be worth grabbing. That being said, though,
at its price point, for the kind of features it's offering and the quality that it's giving, it is definitely one of the first options a lot of people should consider. Given how difficult it is
to get a hold of right now, that might tempt you to not wait on it and grab something else. And I think you should feel
secure in that decision. But if you do hold out on grabbing one or you managed to get one right away, you should feel happy that, yes, this is a good choice to go for. Headsets, to me, I think have been always one of the more annoying things for people to sometimes have
to compare and choose from because there are so many different minute details as far as
how audio quality works that not everyone's
necessarily gonna pick up on. And aside from obvious
things like battery life and ease of setting up, there's not a whole lot else to go on. And there are a lot of
headset options out there. And so again, I think this
is one of the nice things about Sony having their
own first-party option, is that there is something there that is sort of an obvious
first choice for a lot of people and it lives up to its name. There are other options you
can still grab that work. But this is just a good,
all-around easy choice.
