The Sony PULSE Elite are Sony's first over-ear gaming headphones equipped with planar magnetic drivers, following their purchase of Audeze in 2023. They have a closed-back design, a retractable boom mic, and a nifty charging hanger. Visually, they feature an ornate, dual-headband design that wouldn't look out of place in one of the Tron movies. They're aimed primarily at PS5 users, who can adjust a range of settings via the PS5 interface, although there's support for PS4 and PC users, too. Users have reported an array of disconnection issues when connected via their dongle, though, which you can read about in the Wireless Connection (Dongle) section.
Our Verdict
The Sony PULSE Elite are okay for sports and fitness use, although they're not intended for this purpose. While they're decently comfortable and have a long continuous battery life, they're quite bulky and don't have the stability required to stay on your head during jogs. They also have some physical controls, but they can be finicky to use, especially on the fly. It's possible to use them via Bluetooth without bringing the transmitter around, which is a bonus.
- Very good, 53-hour continuous battery life.
- Clunky, unintuitive control scheme.
The Sony PULSE Elite aren't designed for use while traveling. They're decently comfortable and have a long continuous battery life, and you can use them via Bluetooth for a transmitter-free wireless experience. However, they're not very portable and provide very little attenuation against ambient noise. They'll struggle to block out conversations nearby, let alone the roar of bus engines. They also have some weak points in their construction that could be damaged on daily commutes, and their control scheme isn't formatted intuitively, so it can be difficult to input controls on the go.
- Very good, 53-hour continuous battery life.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
- Clunky, unintuitive control scheme.
- Bulky and not very well-built.
The Sony PULSE Elite are passable for office use. They're decently comfortable and don't leak much audio, which is great for quieter office settings. Their 53 hours of continuous battery life will also get you through the entire workweek without a recharge. Their main downside is disappointing noise isolation performance which means they won't block out the sound of chatty co-workers.
- Great mic recording quality and noise handling.
- Very good, 53-hour continuous battery life.
- Simultaneous pairing via the transmitter and a Bluetooth device.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
- Clunky, unintuitive control scheme.
- Bulky and not very well-built.
The Sony PULSE Elite are satisfactory for wireless gaming. They're decently comfortable and have a long, continuous battery life that's perfect for gaming marathons. They have a low-latency wireless performance using their dongle, while their boom mic has a very good recording quality and excellent noise handling, so you'll be crystal clear on the comms. That said, they have some caveats. Their sub-par frequency response consistency means they struggle to reproduce audio in the same way between gaming sessions, especially if you wear glasses or have a larger head. Depending on your unit, there might also be some planar crinkle present during everyday listening, which can be frustrating to deal with.
- Great mic recording quality and noise handling.
- Very good, 53-hour continuous battery life.
- Simultaneous pairing via the transmitter and a Bluetooth device.
- Graphic EQ and presets via the PS5 interface.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
- Tough to achieve consistent audio delivery.
- Clunky, unintuitive control scheme.
- Bulky and not very well-built.
The Sony PULSE Elite are decent for wired gaming. You can connect them to PCs via an analog 1/8" TRRS connection, as well as PlayStation and Xbox family consoles, for a low-latency performance. They're generally pretty comfortable, and their mic performs very well in terms of recording quality and noise handling. Their 53 hours of continuous battery life is perfect for gaming marathons, too. However, they're let down by their poor frequency response consistency and very uneven treble response. This means that, even if you can achieve a solid fit, sibilants alternate between dull and piercing.
- Great mic recording quality and noise handling.
- Very good, 53-hour continuous battery life.
- Graphic EQ and presets via the PS5 interface.
- Poor noise isolation performance.
- Tough to achieve consistent audio delivery.
- Clunky, unintuitive control scheme.
The Sony PlayStation PULSE Elite have alright audio reproduction accuracy. Their sound profile is generally balanced, so instruments and voices, for the most part, sound life-like. They also have a little extra bass and treble, which can make in-game effects feel more exciting. In pure performance, their stereo mismatch performance could be better: our units' left and right drivers were mismatched in phase and frequency, so footsteps and sound cues can sound skewed to the left or right, depending on the pitch. Still, the drivers produce clean audio, with harmonic distortion levels below what's audible.
The Sony PULSE Elite are bad at blocking out noise. They don't have any ANC feature, so they isolate passively but aren't able to attenuate any bass-range sounds at all. If a bus drives past your open window, you'll hear the rumbles from its engine loud and clear. They also don't block out much mid-range sound, so you'll hear any nearby conversations. Finally, they leak a lot of audio, so people around you will hear your audio, even if you're listening at moderate levels.
The Sony PULSE Elite have a great microphone system. They do a very good job recording your voice, so you sound natural and life-like, and they do an excellent job of separating your voice from any noise around you.
The Sony PULSE Elite have bad frequency response consistency. Physical features and accessories like glasses impacted the headphones' audio delivery in multiple configurations. Notably, if you wear glasses, expect a significant reduction in the bass you perceive relative to our measurements.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Mar 12, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
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Updated Sep 23, 2025:
After noticing an error in some target deviation calculations, we updated this review's Bass, Mid-Range, and Treble Target Compliance scores, as well as its Peaks and Dips score. As a result, some Usages and side-by-side text may also have changed.
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Updated Apr 25, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony PULSE Elite come in one color variant: 'White,' which features a black inner headband and ear cups with white accents.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Sony PULSE Elite are Sony's first foray into planar-equipped over-ear gaming headphones. They feature a retractable boom mic, a 53-hour continuous battery life, and a low-latency performance via their wireless transmitter. A natural comparison can be made with the planar-equipped Audeze Maxwell, especially considering Sony acquired Audeze in 2023. While the Maxwell have a higher retail price, they're much better all-around gaming headphones that deliver audio very consistently, are more comfortable, and are better built. Sony also make the Sony PULSE 3D Wireless, a cheaper alternative to the PULSE Elite. While they're also closed-back and have a similar monochromatic design, they lack a retractable boom mic, opting for an integrated one instead. As a result, their mic recording quality is worse, and the noise handling performance isn't as good. However, they deliver audio more consistently and have better build quality. If you like the idea of the Sony PULSE Elite but are put off by the reputation planar drivers have for poor quality control, consider the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7. The SteelSeries performs very similarly to the Sony but uses more traditional dynamic drivers.
If you're looking for more alternatives, check out our list of recommendations for the best PS5 gaming headsets, the best wireless gaming headsets, and the best gaming headsets.
The Sony PULSE 3D Wireless and the Sony PULSE Elite are both closed-back gaming headsets that share the same monochromatic aesthetic that's borrowed from the PS5. Unlike the PULSE 3D, the PULSE Elite have Bluetooth connectivity and a dedicated retractable boom mic with great recording quality and excellent noise handling. They're also more comfortable and have a longer continuous battery life. On the other hand, the PULSE 3D can deliver audio more consistently, are better built, and have a more intuitive control scheme.
The Sony INZONE H9 Wireless and the Sony PULSE Elite are closed-back gaming headphones with slightly different feature sets that will cater to different uses. While they both feature support for non-Bluetooth wireless and Bluetooth connections simultaneously, the Sony PULSE Elite Wireless can be used with a wired connection, making them a more versatile choice. The PULSE Elite are also a natural choice for users who value microphone quality, as their retractable boom mic has a great recording quality and excellent noise handling. On the other hand, the INZONE have an ANC system that helps attenuate much more ambient noise than the PULSE Elite are able to.
The Audeze Maxwell are better gaming headphones than the Sony PULSE Elite, and they're better for most uses, too. Although both use planar magnetic drivers, the Audeze are better built and have a more balanced default sound profile. They also have a more intuitive control scheme and a longer continuous battery life and feature Bluetooth multipoint connectivity. That said, both headphones are similarly comfortable and have similarly performing microphones. The Audeze retail for quite a bit more, though.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 and the Sony PULSE Elite headsets perform very similarly. They both offer warm sound, good microphone performance, and poor noise isolation. The SteelSeries have a number of console-specific variants that allow for wider compatibility, while the Sony has limited functionality with Xbox consoles. Still, the Sony runs for 20 hours longer on a single charge.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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