It’s been a big week so far for PlayStation audio and the hits just keep on coming.
Sony has announced its PlayStation division has purchased the luxury headphone maker Audeze in order to build on Sony’s own advancements in gamer-centric personal audio.
Sony says the California company will continue to make audiophile-grade studio headphones and gaming headsets for multiple platforms – at least in the short term.
Bose QuietComfort II drop to new low price
The Bose QuietComfort II noise cancelling wireless earbuds are just £209.99, which is a few pennies shy of £70 off the asking price.
However, Sony also plans to leverage Audeze expertise to assist PlayStation gamers. In a press release, Sony said it was “excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.”
The terms of the deal have not been announced, but many will be asking why Sony is splashing out presumably many millions of dollars on a headphone maker, when Sony already makes some of the best and most innovative consumer headphones in the world.
Just yesterday Sony announced a new, branded headset and pair of wireless earbuds. The Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore products which will go on sale soon. Key to the new audio hardware and its ability to connect with PlayStation Portal handheld is a new wireless audio technology Sony calls PlayStation Link.
It is designed with low latency in mind, to support lossless audio and make it easier to switch between a number of devices – i.e. the PS5 and the new PlayStation Portal handheld design for Remote Play. The headset/wireless buds will be accompanied by a USB hub that’ll help to deliver the PlayStation Link functionality from PS5 to the ears the gamer.
“This new tech allows the PS5 console, PlayStation Portal, Pulse Explore wireless earbuds, and Pulse Elite headset to achieve low-latency, lossless audio,” Sony said in a blog post. “The vision is to enable players to bounce between devices at home, freely swapping between their PS5 and PlayStation Portal to play games and bringing their audio devices along for the jump.”
