Sony has been on a roll lately with lots of gaming peripherals (including the Inzone H9 II gaming headset that may actually justify its big price tag), and it’s apparently not ready to stop just yet. PlayStation just announced its Pulse Elevate wireless speakers, which support PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, and the PlayStation Portal, and they may potentially be useful for anyone who doesn’t love constantly wearing a headset.
Inside the Pulse Elevate, Sony says it’s including “studio-inspired planar magnetic drivers” that are designed to give you “lifelike sound across the entire audible spectrum.” I can’t say for sure what that sounds like yet, but if it’s anything close to the audio quality of the H9 II, it’ll be a hit for me. There are built-in woofers, too, so you’ll still get some low end. On top of that, there are also built-in mics with “AI-enhanced noise rejection,” which is just a fancy way of saying the speakers will cancel environmental noise while you’re talking. If this feature actually works as advertised, it should be good news for anyone who plans to substitute a gaming headset with these speakers, either fully or partially.
Another nice addition is PlayStation Link compatibility, which means you’ll be able to get low-latency sound on PS5, PC, Mac, and PlayStation Portal. As always, you’ll need to use the provided dongle for Link, which transmits audio faster and at higher fidelity than a standard Bluetooth connection. One last twist here is that Sony is building in some portability to the Pulse Elevate. The wireless speakers have rechargeable batteries, so you can take them elsewhere to use with your Portal (again, if you have one of those) and then charge them in a provided dock when you’re done. If you want to connect a phone or another device with a standard Bluetooth connection, you can do that, too.
One thing we don’t know is how much the Pule Elevate speakers will cost, but Sony says they’ll be available in Midnight Black and White when they’re released sometime next year. PlayStation gaming peripherals have been pricey as of late, so I would expect a decent-sized price tag. That being said, if they sound as good as the H9 II, they might be worth every penny.
