PULSE Explore Wireless Earbuds

Alright so this is my day 1 review. I’ll update it after a bit of time or until something happens that makes me want to change what I said. It took me a long time to figure out if I wanted to actually get these or not. There are an abundance of negative reviews on here that made me question it, but I made sure to take a look at several other peoples thoughts and figured I’d give it a go myself. How good this device is depends fully on what you want to use it for. Do you want all inclusive earbuds for all your devices? DO NOT BUY THIS! It seems people don’t understand that this is primarily NOT A BLUETOOTH DEVICE! Bluetooth is a secondary feature. For those that are not aware, the connection technology used for these, PlayStation Link, is something Sony created specifically to work better for gaming over Bluetooth. I’m not particularly sure of what the technical differences are other than maximizing the reliability and lowering the latency, as far as I’m aware, all you need to use this new technology is the use adaptor that comes with it in the box. It is however mainly for the PS5 and PS5 portal, but I tested it on the Nintendo Switch and it works fairly well. Max audio seemed a tad quiet but that might just be me. Based on that anything with a USB slot would likely work with these! As I’ll get into later though, it’s not for every device since the Bluetooth is not the best. Ok so, how good is this new technology? People have left several reviews here and elsewhere saying they have connection issues occasionally, however, most are from launch day purchases. Like any new technology nowadays, expect software updates. In fact, when I got mine, I had to update them by connecting it to my PS5. The update specifically was for connection issues. So again, if you don’t even have a PS5, please do not buy this. Anyways, they worked and are working flawlessly and the audio is crisp and most importantly, there is none of the slight delay Bluetooth has with some devices. If I experience any major issues I’ll note them here, but I’m expecting Sony to fix any other software issues that might pop up. What about the Bluetooth? Yes. It does have Bluetooth capabilities, but it seems quite rough when compared to Link. You notice it mostly when listening to music. For reference, I use the second generation AirPod Pros and the Pulse Explorer’s are quite a bit worse than those. YouTube audio is fine though, but don’t use the Bluetooth connection for music. However, there is one super fantastic feature I’m surprised is getting overlooked. You can connect to a PlayStation Link connection AND a Bluetooth connection at the same time! What you would want to use this for depends on the user, but you can be playing on your PS5 while on a call on your phone, all with private audio. It works great too! I personally decided to get these mostly because I truly despise corded anything. I move around a lot and end up ripping things off and out of my ears, and I do not like headphones. So, everything being said, if you prefer Bluetooth earbuds over headsets, this seems like it’s easily the best option for PlayStation 5 users. Just be sure not to buy these if you are expecting them to be the best option for everyday earbuds 👍

I was very weary about getting these from all of the negative reviews I had read, with almost all of them being about the connection issues, but I had seen as of the newest system update that added Discord they apparently updated these earbuds stability and etc and seen people here and there saying it was much better on forums before my purchase and I can confirm I have not had a single connection issue whatsoever. I haven’t seen any more recent reviews since this system update and it truly does appear Sony fixed it almost entirely. PSA: THE EAR TIPS FOR THESE ARE NOT GOOD AT ALL. I ordered foam tips ahead of time ($10 for good quality assorted pack) to use for them and I can 100% confirm the default ear tips are not that great at all. With the third party foam tips though, the experience is truly great. Not excusing Sony for shipping them with such bad ear tips, but for a few bucks for aftermarket tips it’s like a night and day difference, just do yourself a favor and get them the same time you order these, trust.

Okay, I can't take it anymore. Walk with me on this journey of pain. I have a lot of hair, so I tend to buy earbuds and avoid over-ear headphones. I've been waiting for some gaming earbuds for at least five years so I thought these would be perfect! and at a price tag of $200, I assumed I would be getting some very high-end hardware. My patience had paid off! How wrong I was. My fiancée split the cost with me, so I could afford them, so I tried to tough it out for her sake, but even my love for my betrothed is not stronger than my disdain for these headphones. First of all, lets discuss the attention to detail. They're awkwardly shaped and its often difficult to know which is the R or L side. They fit comfortably, but its annoying when I often have to take them out (more on that later) and I'm fumbling in the dark afterward trying to read the tiny print to see which side is which. The second issue is the fact that they still need a USB-A dongle to function. its 2024, a USB dongle of any kind is inconvenient, takes either my front USB I use to charge my controller, or my rear that I use for my cooling fans, or my external hard drive. And then what's worse is it constantly overheats, which disconnects my headphones entirely, often in the middle of a game. And when machine gun fire suddenly blasts through the speakers at 1AM and wakes up everyone in the house, that's a huge problem. Thirdly, lets discuss the range, cause its freaking ABYSMAL. I typically buy $20 earbuds from Amazon of whatever knockoff brand is available. When paired on my phone, i can leave it anywhere in my house, leave, go mow the lawn, work on my motorcycle or car out back, and walk all the way to the street corner, and it will still be connected and transmitting audio. I'm talking 40+ feet of range through walls and doors. These headphones cannot leave the room. I mean sub 15 feet from the dongle in the FRONT USB port, and even less in the rear. I disconnect as soon as I step around a single wall. Want to go to the kitchen for a glass of water? Water down your expectations. Step outside for a smoke break? Smoke the connection before you can light up. Just insanely bad range. But oh, did you think I was done? That I couldn't possibly have another axe to grind? Buckle up boys, girls, and they/thems, cause I'm Paul Bunyan today. The microphone quality is literally lower than a 10 year old, single ear $4.99 Xbox aux headset that I found in a box. I'm constantly reminded in chat parties that I sound like a robot, or that no one can hear me because the mic is too low (the settings on the PS5 are almost always at max). And whenever I get overzealous and step out of range, it disconnects first one, then the other headphone and when it reconnects (not automatically, I have to manually click the button on the underside of each ear first), BOOM, I'm suddenly Will Smith's co-star in I, Robot. Which brings me to the next problem. Whenever this happens they have to be fully reset. Like, put them both back in the case (which is awkward because of their shape), walk over to the playstation, disconnect the dongle, reconnect it, take them back out and wait for them to reconnect. This has to be done during games when I'm trying not to wake my partner after a desperate scramble for the remote to hit the mute button on the TV, during COD lobbies while being shot at, even mid-air in Rocket League. Doesn't matter. Mic goes crazy, only a full reset will solve it. Still not done. The case. My god, the case is abysmal. My $20, Temu brand ear buds with triple the range and mic quality have a built-in battery worth 24 hours of charge. These have none. The case feels like the cheapest plastic available and slides awkwardly to open. The fact that I have to carry it around with me to reset the earbuds makes it worse, cause I can't just charge one when its battery dies (we'll get to that later) and then swap it out. I have to plug the case in (there's no ports near my couch) which means i have to get up (again) to address it. And god forbit the case be in a different room than I am, which disconnects the second bud. Nightmare fuel. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Its insane that the batteries are this poor. I've had the headphones for about 8 months and I play for 1-3 hours at a time, usually very late in the evening after work and home life have wound down. After a single session, if I don't gather them up, case them, and plug them back into the wall outlet (remember, my PS outlets are dedicated to the dongle and my other accessories) then the next time I use them, there's zero chance they have more than 1/3 battery remaining. The left one always dies first too, which shouldn't happen but oh well. If I really wanted to, I could continue, but I'm a busy man, and have things to do. Too busy for this crap. Don't spend your hard-earned money on this. Buy a state-of-the-art surround sound system instead, connect with optical audio and link some $20 earbuds to that. You won't have a mic, but at least your friends won't think you've been possessed by Skynet every 20 minutes.

I had some Amazon gift card credits on my account and was getting myself a 45th bday present for myself and I'm glad I found these! I've been using a Sony Gold 2 headset for a long time and really like them but these are unparalleled in sound quality and I can also have these linked to the PS5 and at the same time have music playing on my phone bluetooth connected to the ear buds as well and I can listen to my music, take a call, get notifications from my phone while I play a video game. That's pretty sweet if you ask me! The case is a charging dock so you can charge the ear buds in the case and the ear buds get charged fully and the case gets charged fully then when you put the earbuds back in the case the case will charge the earbuds back up a number of times before you need to recharge everything all over again. The ear buds are very ergonomic and fit my ears well, the sound is great and there's a lot of sound deadening to them which I was surprised about when my wife told me she had called my name and I didn't hear it at all. I went into the sound setup on the PS5 and adjusted sounds and the equalizer and man these things are so clean and have such good highs, mids and low bass sound. They're not cheap, but seem to be a great addition to PS5 tech that make the experience that much better.

First of all, I believe that all the negative views are based on the high price of the earbuds. If this was round $129 or so, it would be more favorable. This (and the upcoming PS Pulse overhead headphones) are the only sound devices you can link wirelessly and directly to PS Portal. I purchased solely for this purpose. Sound Quality: 9/10 - I was surprised with the sound quality. The magnetic planar drivers definitely make more wider sound stage than Sony's WF-1004 or even Airpod Pro 2nd gen. It is very clear, perhaps clearer than the Airpods Pro or WF-1004. And with the latest PS5 firmware, there is an equalizer you can set on PS5 that will save to the earbuds permanently that carry over to the other devices (like your phone). For gaming clarity, this is probably one of the best for PS5/PS Portal. As for music sound quality, it is also great, however, there is no active noise canceling, and you can tell. If you crank up the bass on the PS5 EQ, it is bumpy with clear trebles and mids. Features: 3/10 - This is the area where these buds lack greatly. No active noise canceling, physical controls do not change the tracks or volume on your android device. Volume buttons only work with Playstation devices. Only positives here are multi-connection (one for Playstation Link device and one for bluetooth) and the sounds are MIXed and are output to the buds. This is nice. You can be on the call on your phone and at the same time you can hear the game. The mic for the voice cancels out all other noise other than voice, which also works nicely (eating noise, dogs barking, toilet flushing all get canceled out so you don't have to mute). But as with the EQ addition with the PS5 firmware, as Sony updates firmware for the earbuds, these features may get added later. Design: 5/10 - Okay I get the whole PS5 aesthetics, but the design is just.. okay. They fit okay, but it is not as comfortable as Airpods or even WF-1004's. Case is huge, but the slider opening mechanism feels pretty solid. The buds get a bit warm when using for prolonged period mostly due to silicone tips. The included silicone ear tips fit fine, but they are bit small (Even for the largest size). But it passively reduces background noise just fine. Connectivity 8/10 - I am not sure why people are having issue with connectivity. When you plug the USB dongle (front USB port is best facing the earbuds) to the PS5 and take one bud out, PS5 immediately shows a notification that the Pulse is nearby. Then you press the PS button to connect right away. Also, with PS Portal it was straightforward following the instructions on the menu. I played until the battery died, and I had zero connectivty issues. PS Link will start cutting out if you go over 35ft or so. I went downstairs to get a drink, I could still hear the game. Perhaps the better connectivity is due to the latest firmware. The bluetooth connection is via AAC (android), therefore you can go pretty much anywhere in the house and it will still play connected to your phone. If you have trouble connecting to PS Portal on the first try, reboot the Portal and you will be fine. Price: 5/10 - So the issue is the price. It is pricey for what you get. At this price, they should have included active noise canceling and proper android control via physical buttons. Some control over the earbuds via the Playstation android app would be nice. But note that these functionalities may come in the future via a firmware update.

Well worth the price, my husband loves the fit and the sound quality

This is an initial review as I first used these yesterday. The setup is easy but takes about 10 minutes to update firmware, etc. The sound is good buy by no means equal to the pulse headset in terms of immersion, fullness or base. The battery life is probably only 4 hours at full charge, much less than the pulse headset. The mic works well, and they fit in my ears well. When you walk out of range sometimes you have to re-set them in the case, but if you leave them near the PS it's fine. Would not have bought if I did not already have a portal, it's more for that, have not tried it with the portal yet but don't expect any issues there. The secondary bluetooth was also a factor, without the pulse and the 2nd bluetooth to take phone calls I would not have forked up the $200

Worked phenomenally and packaging was safe. Completely weightless. Can’t hear thing when I got em on. Great volume and quality especially with the microphone