PlayStation 4 is a pleasure to play with headphones. Especially with good headphones. I'm not a PS fan, I rarely play, but the difference between the sound from the TV and headphones was appreciated. Even if your TV produces good sound, or a good speaker system is connected to it, you still somehow immerse yourself in the game with the headphones. And there are situations when you want to play, but you can't make noise. In order not to disturb anyone, we just plug in the headset and play.
In this article, I will show you how to connect wired and wireless headphones to your PlayStation 4 (Pro and Slim versions). Of course, using wired headphones is not as convenient as using wireless ones, but there are nuances here that I will also tell you about. There are several connection options:
- Via bluetooth. I must say right away that ordinary Bluetooth headphones or a Bluetooth speaker cannot be directly connected to the PlayStation 4. It just doesn't support Bluetooth audio devices. Solutions: connect wireless headphones to a TV (which outputs audio via HDMI). Or use a special USB Bluetooth adapter or transmitter.
- Through the joystick. It's not really wireless, but it's also very convenient. I use it. We just connect any wired headphones to the joystick and the set-top box outputs sound to the headphones through the gamepad.
- Via USB. We are talking about wireless headphones that connect to the console via a USB adapter (transmitter). This is how most headphones, which were designed specifically for the PS4, work. Including branded Sony Gold and Platinum.
Let's take a closer look at all three options.
How to connect bluetooth headphones to PlayStation 4?
For some reason I always thought that since the PlayStation has built-in Bluetooth, a section in the settings, then you can connect any Bluetooth headphones or speaker to it. Initially, I planned to connect AirPods at all 🙂 But as it turned out, PlayStation 4 does not support Bluetooth headphones at all directly (via built-in module). Even branded Gold and Platinum headphones are not connected via Bluetooth, but via a USB adapter. I tried to connect my JBL earphone, Redmi AirDots, AirPods, SONY speaker. The game console finds devices (under "Devices" - "Bluetooth devices"), sees them, but an error appears when connecting "PS4 system does not support Bluetooth audio devices". 
You don't even have to try to connect - it won't work. But there are solutions. And there are several of them.
1. Special USB Bluetooth adapter for PS4
There are a huge number of special adapters (transmitters) that connect to the USB port of the PlayStation 4, or to a gamepad and transmit sound via Bluetooth to headphones or a speaker.
The disadvantages of such adapters: audio delay, possibly poor sound quality (usually on cheap models) and problems with the headset (microphone) in games. Are there many nuances with codec support? both from the side of the adapter and from the side of the headphones. To ensure the minimum audio latency, it is desirable that the transmitter and headphones support the aptX-LL codec.
These adapters look like this:
How these adapters work:
- The adapter connects directly to a USB port, or via a USB extension cable to the PS4.
- The console detects it as a USB headset.
- The connection mode is simultaneously activated on the adapter and on the headphones. The devices are connected.
- The PlayStation outputs sound to an adapter (like a USB headset), and the adapter transmits audio to headphones via Bluetooth.
I re-read a lot of information, and I often met comments that if possible, it is better to buy original headphones from Sony than to use similar devices.
2.Bluetooth transmitter + PS4
Another device that can receive sound from a game console, or from a TV via cable and transmit it to headphones, or a speaker via Bluetooth.
Important! The microphone on the headphones will not work with this connection.
I talked in detail about Bluetooth transmitters and how to use them to connect any Bluetooth headphones to a TV in a separate article: Bluetooth transmitter for TV (headphones). What is it, how does it work and how to choose? Perhaps you can connect a Bluetooth headphone to your TV directly. This is even better. The game console transmits sound to the TV via an HDMI cable, and we receive sound from the TV (directly or through a transmitter) to wireless headphones.
You can also connect the Bluetooth transmitter directly to the PlayStation 4. But only via an optical cable, since it does not have the usual 3.5 mm output. This means that the transmitter must have an optical audio input (SPDIF IN). I have such. Now I will demonstrate.
Of course, with this connection there is a delay in audio. And as far as I could estimate, the delay is decent.
We connect headphones through the PS4 joystick (gamepad)
A great solution that I use myself. If you do not have special wireless headphones that are connected using a USB adapter, then we take any wired headphones, connect them to the gamepad, select the headset connected to the controller as the sound output source in the PS4 settings and enjoy the sound from the headphones. The cable from the controller to the headphones doesn't get in the way at all. And between the controller and the console, sound is transmitted via Bluetooth.
If you have headphones with a microphone, the game console will see it as a source for audio input and will use the microphone in games and programs.
You need to connect headphones to the 3.5 mm output on the DUALSHOCK 4 controller.
If the sound on the headphones does not appear automatically, then go to the settings, in the section "Devices" - "Audio devices".
- Input device (microphone) - The headset is connected to the controller.
- Output device - Headset is connected to the controller
- Microphone Level Settings - You can check if the microphone is working on your headphones and adjust it.
- Volume control (headphones) is understandable.
- Headphone out - you can select all sounds, or just the chat sound.
- Automatic switching of output devices - I recommend turning it on. In this case, the PS4 will automatically switch the audio to the headphones after they are connected to the controller.
Everything is very simple and convenient. Thanks to Sony at least for this opportunity, since they removed the ability to connect the headset via Bluetooth.
Connecting headphones via USB
There are different models of wireless headphones for PS4 from SteelSeries, HyperX, Razer, Sennheiser, Sony and other manufacturers that connect via USB. Included is a USB adapter that plugs into a USB port on your game console and sends audio wirelessly to your headphones. All of these headphones are usually equipped with a microphone. Sony Gold and Sony Platinum branded headphones connect and work in the same way.
Simply plug this transmitter into your console and turn on your headphones.
In the PlayStation 4 settings (under "Devices" - "Audio Devices"), the headset is defined as "Wireless Stereo Headset". As a source for audio output and input. Well, in the "Headphone output" menu, you need to select "All sounds".
I think there won't be any problems with connecting such a headset.
Conclusions
If there is no possibility, desire, or need to buy a branded headset from SONY, or other popular manufacturers, then the best solution in my opinion is to connect the headphones through a gamepad. Any (with 3.5 mm jack) can be connected there and they will work. All these Bluetooth transmitters and Chinese USB Bluetooth adapters will work, but you probably won't like the audio quality and latency.
Since I am never a gamer, I may have missed something. You can share useful information in the comments. Explain how you connect the earphone to your Playstation.
