Subj : Sonys PlayStation earbuds and headphones might secretly be a barg To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Aug 24 2023 12:15:04 Sonys PlayStation earbuds and headphones might secretly be a bargain for audiophiles Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2023 11:05:53 +0000 Description: Planar magnetic drivers for this price? Sony might be spoiling us with some high-end tech, here. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Sony recently revealed full details of its upcoming PlayStation Pulse Explore wireless earbuds and Pulse Elite wireless headset , which are made to work with both the PS5 and PlayStation Portal handheld. Announced with prices of $199 for the earbuds and $149 for the headphones, theyve raised a lot of eyebrows. They look expensive on paper, especially the earbuds. But reading the announcement, I came to the opposite conclusion. They might be a bargain because of one easily overlooked aspect: the audio driver technology inside. According to the PlayStation blog , both of these devices will use planar magnetic drivers, which are a seriously high-end choice. Its classic PlayStation to quietly throw super-advanced technology into something (see also: OLED in the PS Vita, the first 90Hz OLED screen in the original PS VR), but I wouldnt have predicted this in a million years. Planar magnetic drivers are quite different to the speakers you get in most headphones. Instead of a cone of material with a magnet in the center, which is driven back and forth over a distance, planar magnetic systems use an ultra-thin membrane thats suspended in a magnetic field. The advantage is precision and dynamic control. Traditional cone drivers have momentum in their movement, which you have to overcome if you want to have a sudden shift in sound and that can affect their precision. Obviously, audio companies have become very good at overcoming it, but its still always a consideration. However, the ultra-thin (and therefore ultra-light) membrane of planar magnetic drivers doesnt have this problem. Its extremely agile and easy to manipulate between the magnetic fields, meaning it can deliver supremely precise detail in sound, and switch instantly from booming to delicate. The ability to offer accurate detail is probably why PlayStation has chosen planar magnetic drivers over regular dynamic drivers. Its especially useful for creating convincing spatial audio effects, so its great for the 3D audio Sony is pushing for its headsets. If you want to give the feeling of sound coming from a precise point, the audio itself needs to be equally precise, otherwise it wont be as convincing. The price doesn't look so high now Why dont all headphones use planar magnetic drivers if theyre so good? Well, because theyre seriously expensive and not easy to power. We recently fell head over heels in love with the Edifier Stax S3 wireless headphones for the sound quality they offer from their planar magnetic drivers, at a lower price than pretty much any other planar headphones before them and they still cost $349. The PlayStation Pulse Elite headphones are priced at $149 The PlayStation Pulse 3D Elite and Explore both use planar drivers for much cheaper than anything else around. (Image credit: Sony) Planar magnetic true wireless earbuds are actually still almost unheard of, though a company called PWB announced a pair with a dual planar for a cool $500 Sonys are $200. Wired planar magnetic earbuds, such as the incredible-sounding Audeze Euclid , can regularly go for $1,000. So you can see why Im so excited about these as an audio fan (and someone who still has their nearly 10-year-old Oppo PM1 planar magnetic headphones), and why I think theyre secretly a bargain, even if theyre more expensive than people usually pay for the best PS5 headsets . Whether theyre tuned in a way that actually works well for music is obviously a totally different question though. I doubt theyll have the noise cancellation and app control options wed expect if theyre really to challenge the best earbuds on the planet for general listening. Lets not forget that Sony is also promising lossless audio transmission without latency to really make the most of the audio resolution that planar drivers should be capable off granted, that lossless transmission is only from a PS5 or or Portal, not your phone, but still. It's possible that their Bluetooth support will include high-quality support too ( Bluetooth LE Audio or LDAC, maybe), but that's unconfirmed. I think the earbuds especially might turn out to be a surprise package that offer astounding immersiveness without wires, but that youll be happy to take travelling with you too. And considering that so many of the best true wireless earbuds cost over $200 anyway, theyre looking like a good deal to me. Well find out for sure whenever we can get our hands on them. You might also like Solid-state driver earbuds are real and they're going to change portable audio These wired Made For iPhone earbuds deliver the lossless audio your AirPods wont Meta Quest 3 video leak shows off thinner design and new controllers ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/sonys-playstation-earbuds-and- headphones-might-secretly-be-a-bargain-for-audiophiles --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .