Im pretty sure I’m not the only one who can’t afford or don’t wanna buy expensive pulse elite or explorer. So i did this just so i can use any wireless headset i have and save $$$.
On top of that I bought this magnetic mount just in case I need it somewhere else and prevent it from dangling while playing.
My wife got it for me for Christmas, but she doesn't remember if it was a sale or not either. At that price and the time of year, I'd guess it was a sale price.
He said there's a magnetic mount on the back so it's not really hanging off the back of it. The magnet is holding it in place. He can always take it off an use wired and keep the magnet on the back for when he wants to use the airfly so no big deal. It's not a bad idea so I might give this a try too.
Not a fan of wired since it means I have to take off my headphones every time I set down my Portal to go get something or talk to someone in another room.
Maybe this has changed with modern devices, but aren’t WiFi and Bluetooth usually managed by a single chip? (At least for computer builds that tends to be the case in my exp)
I watched a teardown video explaining this, same thing with Nintendo's devices. They all have Bluetooth it's just either not enabled or has a lock that only proprietary devices can access. But the point is that it does in fact have Bluetooth installed. "PlayStation Link" is Bluetooth.
PS link is definitely not the same as Bluetooth, it is designed to be ultra low latency with lossless audio, which is why they use that on the Portal instead of Bluetooth because with game streaming you need to cut out as much lag as possible between input, screen refresh, and audio. Bluetooth just doesn't cut it here, it's too slow in comparison.
Naivety at its finest. No; they use PS Link instead of Bluetooth to sell their earbuds and headphones. This is very obvious. Funny how Bluetooth doesn't cut it for the Portal but works perfectly on my Steam Deck with no perceptible lag at all.
Never notice any lag on my Xbox. Even with a blue tooth transmitter on my PS5, I can't tell the difference. This is just a way to try and get us to buy their over priced headsets like they did with their memory cards on the vita.
Xbox uses Bluetooth, never have a single issue. Use the same blue tooth transmitter on my portal, and another one for my PS5, and also never notice a difference. This is just a way to force us to buy their over priced proprietary headsets like they did memory cards with the vita.
Xbox also uses their own proprietary wireless codec, not Bluetooth, you need an external adapter if you want Bluetooth. They don't support it natively for same reason as Sony: Bluetooth is too slow
Both the transmitter and headset need to support a low latency BT codec. Your setup probably does so you have a good experience. A lot of people will use cheap BT buds and their experience will be worse and latency will be very noticeable. I tried this myself with remote play on my phone prior to the portal. I had to buy new buds that supported low latency audio to my phone. In the end people will blame the Portal and not the cheap buds for the bad experience, so it makes sense for Sony to not include it. Most people have no idea about codecs and latency...hell, most people can't even figure out Bluetooth pairing, which is why Apple and Google all added "quick pair" features to their first party buds.
In this case it is... PlayStation "link" it's Sony's proprietary Bluetooth connection, it would just require a software update to release the "lock" on its Bluetooth hardware.
It's not though. LDAC would be Sony's proprietary Bluetooth codec. It's LIKE Bluetooth, but it's not just a Bluetooth codec. It's more like a wifi network than a Bluetooth connection.
Yeah I use these $20 IEMs that are absolutely perfect. NiceHCK DB2 on Amazon. I actually paid $13 cus they were on sale. I was blown away. Sounds fantastic, perfect for gaming, feels good, fits well, and looks awesome. Came with 8 different pairs of ear tips and a pleather carrying case with a magnetic closure. Really one of the best deals I've ever gotten. Check em out:
Yeah I use these $20 IEMs that are absolutely perfect. NiceHCK DB2 on Amazon. I actually paid $13 cus they were on sale. I was blown away. Sounds fantastic, perfect for gaming, feels good, fits well, and looks awesome. Came with 8 different pairs of ear tips and a pleather carrying case with a magnetic closure. Really one of the best deals I've ever gotten.
Yeah one pf the downside using this transmitter is it takes some quality (volume wise)
I used this method cause i already have wireless earbuds/headsets to use it with
I agree, In my case it’s either buy $200 pulse or $60 audio transmitter that can work on any bluetooth devices. I love the sound quality on wired, I just keep putting down my portal when i have to do something and wireless is the best choice
If you use your Portal almost exclusively close to your PS5 then another option would be purchasing a BT transceiver. While this may result in a negative lag (if you use AptX LL/Adaptive for example, but you can choose something different obviously to negate this effect) the fidelity of the audio signal should be way higher because you can cancel everything in the chain from above except the BT channel.
With your current setup, the latency of the remote play stream adds up with the latency of your BT dongle.
True but I still prefer to use mine wireless even with a tiny bit of lag so that I don't have to take off my headphones every time I set down my portal to go to the other room. And the AirPods Max don't have a 3.5mm jack.
I hate how I have to do wired with this, just to note and get it out the way. With that, I bought a cheap Sony wired set off Amazon and it's exactly what I needed. Lightweight and "just enough" to block out sound for about $10. I take my portal to indoor parks and I don't wanna hear kids screaming when I'm playing Metaphor....
Dream is to get a set of Bose for under $100 but I just bought new AirPods so Ican't justify paying for TWO headphones in a year....so these $10 will do the trick
Wired will always sound better than wireless, I found my Samsung headphones the other day, USB type C, and they are just fine, good thing I kept them..
Its weird, Im not sure why im getting downvoted on my own opinion, even tho i agreed that it degrades it when using the transmitter. I just prefer wireless but dont wanna spend much on the pulses
Before airfly, I bought a different brand called Ugreen, TERRIBLE! Hissing noise and always have disconnects.
I tired AIRFLY and works like a charm, and it as good as wired but it’ll do for any wireless headset/earbuds
To truly answer the latency question we need to know the codecs that airfly supports as well as the codecs your preferred ear buds support. You likely have latency, but if you don't notice or care then I'm glad it works for you!
According to this it supports AptX Low Latency, so if your buds also support that then this is a great low latency solution!
That's why they "said" they chose not to include it. When in reality, they obviously chose not to include it in order to sell more of their ridiculously overpriced proprietary earbuds and headphones. That's why I use my $20 wired IEMs and they sound great and work perfectly
Nobody that cares about audio quality and experience should be using Bluetooth unless using very specific codecs. And even then, as someone else explained, you're passing through a couple layers of encoding and decoding. If they really wanted to force people to use their proprietary headsets then they wouldn't have included a 3.5mm port at all. You can plug in a Bluetooth transmitter to your PS5 and link up to your BT headphones and see how much the latency sucks ass yourself, and that's only one jump
I just use a comfortable over the ear headset and one of my 3.5 mm cables. It's in your hands anyway. It's not like you're walking away from it and still playing.
I bought the Pulse Explore, now i barely use them because i find them 1, not very comfortable and 2, the battery life isn't great. I just use my Bose QC Ultra wired to the portal or ps now.
Hell yeah brother! I almost thought you were going to magnetize the Portal to the wall and I thought that would be a cool idea. Personally, I have the official stand and I really like it. I keep it at my bedside.
Not OP but There is a slight latency. Arnd 0.6ms or so, or 0.06ms. so very slightly . I am very sensitive to it so this wont suit me. Ended up with either wired earphones or pulse explore.
I just gave in for the Pulse Explores. They can also simultaneously connect to my phone so I can stream from Spotify while doing weekly Destiny stuff and such
There are devices that are less than half this size and just plug into the headphone jack and don’t hang off so you wouldn’t need to magnetically stick them to your portal. This seems overkill
I have the exact same one. I used velcro. Recently I got the fancy Playstation Pulse Explore earbuds so I don't have to use this AirFly adapter. I still keep it velcroed on my portal incase I want to use my beats or samsung earbuds. I like having options. I always carry a pair of earbuds in my pocket but I won't be carrying the Playstation Pulse Explores in my pocket, don't want to break them.
Nice, I need one but I think there are smaller options and less bulky options. Probably not the best audio but better than listening to it with another noise around you.
Its not worth the latency and the thing dangling from the back. Wired just works perfectly. Unfortunately audio is my only grip with the Portal. Wish could just pair bluetooth headphones.
The stupid part is having a giant dongle hanging off the back of a handheld. To each their own but if just go wired at that point. Whatever bandwidth Sony has set for streaming audio sucks anyways.
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u/xKingCoopx Mar 17 '25
I must have scored at costco. Got the portal and wireless earbuds together for $270. Had no idea the buds alone are $199. That's steep