By and large, these problems won’t be fixed any time soon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to settle for fewer features on a console. Editor’s note: This review was updated on April 15, 2021 to include a microphone score based on the results of our reader feedback poll. Even slight pressures can become pretty acute after a couple hours of gaming, and this seems designed for too narrow a range of ears. The PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset connects to devices using a 2.4GHz RF USB adapter, so you won’t have to worry about the audio lag Bluetooth sometimes brings. Sony doesn’t make any claims about how long the battery for this headset is supposed to last, but in our testing we found it managed just over 8 hours and 8 minutes of continuous playback. Playing games with the PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset is a pretty easy experience, with a couple of drawbacks. The headset brings 7.1 virtual surround sound to PlayStation 4, without the need for added software—it’s just (yet another) a button on the left headphone (to be clear there is an optional app, but you’re not missing anything by ignoring it). Playing games like Fortnite and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, it became immediately apparent how well the surround sound function works.
When you plug the PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset into a PC, the computer side volume control fully doesn’t work. When playing games, this means you shouldn’t have any issues making out the sounds of footsteps or speech, even when confronted with a hail of gunfire. In music, the significant de-emphasis in the very low bass range means some sounds, many of which are most common in EDM, might be a little bit harder to hear than they otherwise should. Likewise, the de-emphasis in the high’s might make the sounds of some strings and cymbals a little bit harder to hear, but nothing too major.
The Stan Rogers classic Watching the Apples Grow features myriad guitar and fiddle parts all layered on top, but the PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset never struggled with clarity at any point. The average open and close of a door or the whirr of the fridge aren’t exactly the big distractions and noises something like ANC is built for. There’s a pretty significant issue with clarity here, and it seems to largely stem from the fact that the mic is embedded in the left headphone, rather than attached to a wire.
The inclusion of surround sound, and without the need for additional software no less, makes this is a very solid pair of wireless gaming headphones.
If you want something geared more towards extended voice chat sessions, even a wired headset like the HyperX Cloud Alpha or the Fnatic React would probably be better. If you’re in the market for something with slightly more battery life, headsets like the SteelSeries Arctis 7, HyperX Cloud Flight S, and Razer Thresher Ultimate are all great wireless options, albeit at increasingly higher prices.
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PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset Review (2018): Finally Golden
Sony’s 2014 Gold Wireless Headset also angered gamers due to a fragile, crack-prone headband. Like a Model T, this headset is completely black, from earcup to headband, with part of it wrapped in a soft leather-like material. Underneath all that faux leather, its entire headband is a single curved horseshoe piece of metal (or possibly an extremely durable plastic) that you pull apart to fit your head.
The earcups don’t flex forward and back a whole lot (just a wiggle), but they can slide up and down the band itself, which makes for a surprisingly comfortable fit.
A little rotation in the earcups would also make resting the headset on your shoulders and neck far more comfortable in-between matches. The only area on the PlayStation Gold that isn’t brushed or leathery are the glossy vinyl-like edges of the earcups, where all the buttons and controls are located.
Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset Review
It doesn’t feel quite as luxurious or sound quite as good as the higher-end model, but if you want to stay wireless without spending much money it’s a very solid choice. The headband is wrapped in black faux leather, and the lightly padded over-ear earpads are covered in the same material. The headset is reasonably comfortable, but the light padding of the circular earcups can feel a bit cramped for larger ears. The front edge holds a thin rocker switch that adjusts the balance between game and chat audio. Following that edge down toward the back are a pinhole microphone, a power/mode switch that toggles between standard and bass boost modes, a 3.5mm jack, a micro USB port, a mic button, a volume rocker, and finally a button to activate virtual surround sound on the top of the back of the earcup. It showed up as a generic wireless headset when we plugged it into a Windows 10 test computer, and worked perfectly fine this way. Sony doesn’t specify how long the Gold’s battery lasts, but we tested it for several hours without needing to charge it again. The opening guitar notes in Yes’ “Roundabout” show a good amount of string texture, and while the electric bass doesn’t get much power, the track manages to sound fairly rich. The high-mids and high frequency-heavy sound effects and voices can be easily heard through the headset, neither fighting amongst themselves or with the score for your attention.
The Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset is a solid and affordable accessory that makes some concessions in comfort for its $100 price. The Steelseries Arctis 7, the Astro Gaming A20, and Sony’s own PlayStation Platinum Headset all feel nicer and offer more powerful sound without wires, but you’ll be spending closer to $150 for any of those options. The Bottom Line The PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset is an affordable, cable-free way to get game audio and voice chat through your PS4 or PC.
Sony PlayStation Platinum Wireless Headset review
As price goes up, you may get a few extra features, but the core sound quality tends to remain fairly low, with a tendency towards overbearing, woolly, ill-defined bass. We have tested headsets costing over £300 that sound markedly worse than many £50 pairs of ‘normal’ on-ear headphones. Before PC and Xbox gamers stop reading, it’s worth bearing in mind that this official PlayStation headset will work with your games machine of choice, too.
The cups are large enough to completely surround all but the most elephantine ears, and they create a decently noise-isolating seal without too much pressure being exerted on your head. There are two big advantages to using the Platinum Headset with a PS4: bespoke sound profiles for specific games and 3D Audio for a handful of first-party titles such as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone. Stick to simple stereo sound, whether wireless or wired, and you get a crisp, punchy and balanced performance.
There’s more than enough weight and punch to the bass but, unlike many gaming headsets, it isn’t a muddy, monotone morass and doesn’t overwhelm the midrange and treble. It is an exciting delivery, but never shrill or bright, and there’s a neutrality that means you hear your game’s soundtrack more than the character of the headset – always a mark of quality audio kit. The only other thing to consider before opting for the Platinum Wireless Headset is that its hidden microphone picks up more room noise than the stalk-mics of many rivals, so your online gaming friends won’t thank you if you play when other people are chatting in the background. You may be drawn to the PlayStation Platinum Wireless headset for its promise of Virtual Surround Sound and 3D Audio, but the former is pretty poor in action and the latter is available on only a handful of games.
Sony’s NEW Gold Wireless Headset Review: The Good, The Bad, The Mediocre Microphone
When I finally got around to reviewing the original Gold headset back in 2016, I lamented that Microsoft didn’t have a competing surround sound product. Last year, Microsoft launched Windows Sonic for free, and Dolby Atmos for $15, allowing Xbox and Windows users to access high quality virtual headphone surround systems on any pair of headphones. Suddenly, the $99 that Sony charged for the Gold Headset, and by extension access to their own virtual surround tech, seemed a little silly. And the $159 Platinum headset, while having a 3D surround system that competes quite well with Atmos, also still suffers from a lack of titles with full true 3D sound support.
Now, Sony has introduced a new headset into their lineup, and rather than come up with a new name for it, they’ve just gone the route of Nintendo and put “new” onto the front of the old name. It is better than the old Gold headset in a number of key ways…but I still wish Sony would just go the route of Microsoft, and sell their virtualization software for use with any headphones plugged into your PS4 controller. There’s also a standard 3.5mm jack and included 4 pole cable for connection to phones and any other device with a headphone port. The default setting is a moderate bass boost, and you can use the headset companion app on a PS4 to store a variety of profiles there.
Unfortunately, the headset no longer collapses…but given the amount of crap Sony took over those plastic hinges before, this is probably a good thing. I had to crank it a little higher than other headphones I own to get a solid listening level, but it still offered impressive bass performance and pleasant detail in the upper ranges.
In spite of being a more expensive solution than Dolby Atmos or Windows Sonic, this can still proudly compete with those in terms of surround quality. In general, this feels like they took the Platinum design and scaled it down a touch to create the new Gold Headset.
Today, after several days of use, this comfort issue no longer exists, so the headband must have stretched out a touch. The Astro A10, Steelseries Arctis, HyperX Cloud lineup, Turtle Beach Stealth 600, Plantronics RIG 400, Logitech G433, and Corsair HS50 all offer a fit that’s better. They were still adequate for loud coffee shop use, but nowhere near a private cocoon of audio that you can get with some other closed back headsets.
In wireless mode, sound is over-compressed with a hard digital edge, and a bit too quiet.
You can also use the mic with the wire, and it does sound better…but then you lose all the noise-cancelling and the processing, so if you’re in a loud room, forget it. But a lot of wired mics sound better and still cancel out the background, like those on the Arctis, Astro A10, and RIG 400.
If you need access to Sony’s amazing 7.1 virtual surround sound in a sleek, durable wireless package for your PS4, this is the headset for you.
PlayStation Platinum Wireless Headset review: Is this the best PS4 headset money can buy?
There’s a healthy glut of high-end gaming headsets on the market right now, all aimed squarely at aspiring professional gamers or the “hardcore” crowd, but the most feature-rich tend to cost £200 and more. However, with its wireless PlayStation Platinum headset, Sony has managed to bring a similar feature set to market for a “mere” £130 and, in the process, add a clutch of extra capabilities thanks to its close relationships with developers. A mix of brushed stainless steel and the same matte-black plastic the PS4 is made from, the Platinum really nails the high-end feel. Its clean lines, sturdy build and smart placement of discrete audio controls mean these could easily pass for a pair of normal over-ear headphones. Using large, 50mm drivers, the PlayStation Platinum headset is capable of delivering crisp highs and punchy bass, and the virtual 7.1 surround sound makes a big difference when playing titles such as Destiny and Battlefield 1. Guns have weight; melee attacks have true presence; you can hear the rustling of grass around you and the crunching of boots on gravel. Don’t worry if shooters aren’t your thing, either: every game on the PS4 benefits from the 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound tech in the Platinum headset. It also means your voice isn’t channelled directly into the headset’s twin microphones, so it can sometimes sound muffled and quiet on the other end. Its internal battery may not last quite as long as that of one of the Siberia 840’s power cells but, impressively for a wireless headset that’s half the price, the PlayStation Platinum can easily last a good five- to six-hour solid gaming session before you have plug it in.
Sony PlayStation Wireless Headset Version 2.0 Black
With an attractive price tag, a beautiful design, wireless functionality and excellent support for use with the PlayStation family, the headset scores very well on paper. You can also use it on a normal PC or Mac, the wireless functionality is completely Plug & Play and extremely user-friendly. The first impression when seeing the headset is quite positive: Sony has traditionally brought a nice-looking product to the market with a stylish and contemporary design. Also handy to know: you can fold the headset to save some space and the faceplates with the well-known symbols are interchangeable to your own taste. Something that struck me is that Sony really likes to use durable plastic, especially for the hinges a slightly sturdier material would have been a more logical choice. For a wireless device that costs barely eighty euros, the sublime audio quality is a very big plus. After several hours of The Last of Us: Remastered, Star Wars: Battlefront and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, I quickly came to the conclusion that the Sony Wireless 2.0 is a fantastic device and has an incredibly immersive value. It is true that with a headset like this you notice a lot of details in games that you would never hear otherwise: just think of falling bullet casings and the silent footsteps of your opponents. Not only gamers, but also people looking for an excellent wireless headset with good value for money will be pleased with the sound quality and comfort provided by these headphones.
Sound quality, wearing comfort, battery life and possibilities: the Sony PlayStation Wireless 2.0 Headset has everything to be labeled as a top product.
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