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PS4: Difference in headset audio quality for plugged into controller vs PS4 USB out?

A

adamy

Banned
I was wondering if there is a difference in audio quality/mic quality when comparing the below:

Headset plugged directly into PS4 controller (auxiliary)
vs
Headset plugged into the PS4 USB port

I have a PS4 slim so optical out isn't an option

thanks in advance!
 
J

Justinh

Member
RoboPlato said:
What kind of adapter would you need to hook up a standard 3.5mm headphone jack to the USB anyway?
Click to expand...

Some headsets have usb connectors. If I remember right, OP bought a Sound Blaster that I think will work as a headset with the PS4 through USB.

Unfortunate he has a slim, as I think the optical out sounds better, I'm not sure about that though. (edit: actually, I doubt this is true. Go USB OP)
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
I've had much better luck using earbuds plugged into the controller. I have the BT wireless Gold headset, but often find the audio fades in and out and disconnects often when playing some games.
 
Rhazer Fusion

Rhazer Fusion

Member
The 3.5mm jack in the DS4 sounds is serviceable for the most part, but the USB connection will definitely give you noticeably crisper, cleaner and more powerful sound at least for the device I am using.
 
Anos Voldigoad

Anos Voldigoad

Member
I use DAC with my headphone always, superior sound overall. But mostly the biggest difference between jack and uSB connection is the sound volume.
 
M

modsbox

Member
OP, the PS4 slim comes with he revised dual shock 4 controller (ztc2 I believe) variant. This one supports a feature where, when connected to the system via a USB cable, you can enable a mode in settings to do all communication with the controller via USB.

You should try plugging in your controller via USB and enabling that option, then plug in some headphones to the controller and see what the sound quality is like. I'd be kind of surprised if it isn't better than when you're playing the audio to headphones attached to the controller via Bluetooth.
 
S

SixStringPsycho

Member
adamy said:
I was wondering if there is a difference in audio quality/mic quality when comparing the below:

Headset plugged directly into PS4 controller (auxiliary)
vs
Headset plugged into the PS4 USB port

I have a PS4 slim so optical out isn't an option

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Optical is an option, if your TV supports Optical Out. Just done this and it works like a charm.
 
G

Gusto

Member
For me I can plug in my Astros in Controller or mix amp and the sound is night and day. Controller works fine but way better with USB mixamp.
 
S

Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew

Banned
DieH@rd said:
DS4 jack outputs totally fine audio signal. I never had issues with it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't know what people are talking about. Its using Bluetooth, I've been using 3.5mm headphones forever on PS4 and it works great. I know my audio and I can tell there's no diminishing degradation of audio quality, whether it's game or music. Some placebo effect going on here, fam.

I recommend everyone to use it. The only degradation you will get is if theres a lot of signal interference in your house (if you have loads of gadgets), and even that is a rare hiccup for a few intervals (Of course, this is issue with Bluetooth, and you will face it regardless).
 
S

Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew

Banned
Alcotholic said:
Those shitty little mic sets my PS4 came with are surprisingly ok for being free.
Click to expand...

Yeah. No. They're garbage lol. Use any other 3.5mm headphone. I always recommend folks buying PSPGo or PSVita headphones. They're good build quality, really cheap (find it on sale for $10 or less, generally $20), and have an option to use mic (comes with a mute slider).
 
J

J_ToSaveTheDay

Member
I have found that my Hyper X Cloud IIs via the controller versus my old Astro A50s via their USB output (granted, it was then wirelessly transmitted) sound roughly as good as one another to my ear when it comes to game audio delivery. The USB-based sound card that the Hyper X Cloud IIs come with do sound noticeably more powerful and deep when I'm using them that way on my PC, though, so I do think there's some degradation to audio via the controller (as expected, considering I don't think the DS4 was designed for high quality audio handling), but for me it's pretty negligible difference when it comes to gaming specifically.
 
P

PrankT

Member
Using the controller sounds good to me. For me, being more mobile is a greater upgrade than connecting to the console.
 
Oublieux

Oublieux

Member
shagg_187 said:
Yeah, I don't know what people are talking about. Its using Bluetooth, I've been using 3.5mm headphones forever on PS4 and it works great. I know my audio and I can tell there's no diminishing degradation of audio quality, whether it's game or music. Some placebo effect going on here, fam.

I recommend everyone to use it. The only degradation you will get is if theres a lot of signal interference in your house (if you have loads of gadgets), and even that is a rare hiccup for a few intervals (Of course, this is issue with Bluetooth, and you will face it regardless).
Click to expand...

The degradation people are talking about is only really relevant when using more mid- to high-tier headphones. A wide range of them usually are paired with a dedicated amp to properly drive them otherwise they aren't performing to their potential (low volume, narrow range, etc.).
 
H

Hazaku

Member
I'd give the audio jack of the DS4 a shot before deciding on buying an external sound card/DAC. It's fine for most people and their choice of headsets. I only use mine for convenient volume and mic gain controls.

* I use a Creative soundcard with my PS4
 
M

Mr.Monitor

Member
Was actually wondering about this the other day. Was playing BF1 with headphones and couldn't help but feel like it could sound better. Any recs for PS4 DACs?
 
I

Inorganic

Member
I use my Sennheiser HD598 via the controller 3.5mm jack and I think sound quality is perfectly fine for games and movies, though I do have to turn up the volume really high on the controller.
 
G

GLAMr

Member
The audio quality through the controller is passable and better than nothing. If you can tolerate the garbage headphones that come with an iPhone, you'll be fine with audio via the DS4. I have the Gold 2.0 headset, and I mist say it's quite impressive for the price (AU$99). They outperform wireless headsets with price tags twice as high. Most of the time, I play with my Solo 9C's cranked via optical... Awww yyyeeeah.
 
ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
23qwerty said:
Audio quality through controller is greatly diminished, definitely use another method if possible
Click to expand...
Is this similar to onboard motherboard audio vs dedicated sound cards, where the supposedly inferior motherboard route is passable to a lot of people?

I'm glad I lack the ears to appreciate the difference
 
Electret

Electret

Member
Would love to see any hard data on controller v. direct output, as I exclusively use headphones. Do we know how it's encoded? Is there a Bluetooth audio standard?

As far as I know, headphone impedance determines whether or not to use an amp. You're probably going to want to drive higher impedance phones with an amp. The Sennheisers for which I've looked at the specs tend to be these kind of phones, as an example.
 
Reallink

Reallink

Member
Guys it's a $50 controller with a very high profit margin for which audio out is a fourth or fifth priority feature at best. Honestly how good do you think the Amp and DAC can possibly be?
 
P

Phreak47

Member
If you've got the optical out, Astro A50s are the shit.

I listened to Glenn's head get caved in on these last night, such a wonderfully solid smack of sound it was.
 
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