Sony's Wireless Stero Headset (2011 PS3 Peripheral)

[NayusDante]

Has anyone else picked one of these things up? I've been looking forward to it since the announcement, and finally took the plunge on the way home from class. Ever since my PS3 BD laser died, it's become a DVD player and Netflix box for my bedroom, but the TV in there has pretty bad speakers. This fits my need perfectly.

I haven't tried it for gaming yet, but watching video is pretty good so far. There's pretty strong wifi and a cordless phone system in my house, but I don't hear any interference noise. It's just stereo on DVDs and Blu-Ray, but Netflix DOES allow the virtual surround on content with 5.1 audio tracks. I had Evangelion vol. 2 in the DVD drive, and that sounded perfectly fine, then I listened to the 5.1 audio of The Crow on Netflix. Bass is good, mid-range might be a little lacking. I can't say how good the virtual surround really is, but disabling it made everything sound much more "forward."

Also noteworthy, you could paint these things white and pull off a Lobot cosplay. Yeah, they're that big.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Interesting that they went wireless with a dongle instead of Bluetooth.

Can Bluetooth not handle the 5.1 audio profile?

[NayusDante]

I'm guessing it has something to do with either bandwidth limits or latency. Possibly both. Still, the USB dongle results in pretty painless setup. I had to update to FW3.70, but you just plug it in and turn them on and everything works.

I do wish these things had RCA inputs, or optical in, or some way of using them with sources other than the PS3.

[c0ldb33r]

can you use them on other devices?

[NayusDante]

Just computers, and there's no virtual surround.

When using these on the PS3, volume is adequate at maximum. If you try them on a computer, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LOWER THE VOLUME. You will go deaf. Well, it's not so bad after a minute, but the minimum volume is comfortable on my PC.

I've seen people complaining about low volume on these things, but it must have something to do with the driver on the PS3. It's considerably louder on my PC. Or maybe it's because I'm not 10 feet from the receiver?

[Jive3D]

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[Jive3D]

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[Cornelius]

I was lucky enough to order a set of these from Amazon before they were released and on sale for $65. I've primarily used them while playing Dragon Age Origins, and frankly they are pretty disappointing (for that). I got a lot of static but in kind of odd ways that make me suspect it is not the headset's fault. For instance, I could guarantee obnoxious static during the loading to talk to a certain character. It also seemed to happen more during big orchestral music while loading maps. Suspecting interference, I turned off pretty much every piece of electronics in my house (baby monitor, wifi, wifi devices, cell phones, etc etc) and it didn't make a significant difference.
I also played the intro sequence of Infamous without problems, and watched some Doctor Who on the computer without issue. I nearly returned them for a replacement, but don't feel I've tested them enough to be sure, and I couldn't find anything online mentioning a similar problem. Hoping it is just that one game.
Anyway, even with the occasional static I continued using them because of extra detail I could hear. For my home surround system I just can't turn it up loud enough to hear all that when the kids are in bed, so I stuck with the headphones.


When using these on the PS3, volume is adequate at maximum. If you try them on a computer, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LOWER THE VOLUME. You will go deaf. Well, it's not so bad after a minute, but the minimum volume is comfortable on my PC.

I've seen people complaining about low volume on these things, but it must have something to do with the driver on the PS3. It's considerably louder on my PC. Or maybe it's because I'm not 10 feet from the receiver?

I'm very surprised to read this! Mine are sometimes too loud on the PS3 at the very lowest volume setting. It is kind of annoying actually, because the slider has quite a bit of movement to it even after it hits the point where mute kicks in. I didn't notice a big difference using on the PC, but I've only done that once.

They are pretty comfy, too, with soft padding that goes up over the top of the head. I much prefer the around-the-ear because anything on or in my ears starts to hurt after 30 minutes or so for me.

[NayusDante]

So I've been using them a lot lately, and I think I have a good idea of how they work.

For movies, the stereo mode is good. They're solid wireless headphones, in that area.

For Netflix, however, the surround mode kicks in. Even for content that's not 5.1, you can turn on the surround mode and it really fills out the sound. Stereo mode sounds lacking in bass, by comparison.

For gaming, the only thing I tried with it was Killzone 2, which I figured would have decent surround. There's not much of a "front" audio presence, but the sides are a little more defined. Things above or below sound the same as if they're right next to you. It does give a better sense of positional audio, but it's not a profound difference.

On a computer, it's a plug and play headset. The volume in the Windows driver is overridden by the on-device slider, and I know the PS3 shows volume on-screen when you change it. I'm hoping someone writes a cool alternate driver for these to emulate the surround mode...

Battery life has been adequate. I can watch an hour or so of Netflix before bed or fall asleep with a CD playing for three or four nights before they need to be charged.

[Cornelius]

I've been using them with dark souls at night and I've found that the light on the mic is really annoying. I wear glasses and it throws up some glare. Ill have to put some electrical tape on it.

[8-bitNesMan]

Put me in the corner that says these things are great! I've been using them to watch Netflix and so far, so good. Two big thumbs up from me!! :)