PS5 Audio Settings — Get Every Footstep Advantage

In competitive shooters, audio is information. The footstep, the reload, the door behind you, the Pulse that just dropped — every sound is a position. Players who hear better win more. The PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech is the most accurate spatial audio engine on any console, but the default settings don’t showcase it. This guide walks through every PS5 audio setting that affects competitive performance.

This is not the “turn HDR off, sound is so much louder” tier of advice. This is the actual configuration the pros use. Where settings come from public pro disclosures (player setup pages, official tournament rigs) we cite them; where settings are best practice without a single source we say so.

What this guide covers

I · Tempest 3D AudioTech Setup

The PS5’s Tempest engine processes spatial audio at the system level, applied to any game that supports it. It does not need game-specific support to work — even non-3D-Audio games gain a small spatial boost via Tempest’s system-wide upmix.

Set this to On. Skip the rest of this section if you’ve already done it.

Tempest profile selection

After enabling 3D audio, the PS5 prompts a profile picker. Five built-in profiles are available; the right one depends on your ear shape.

What 3D Audio actually does in competitive titles

• †Call of Duty (Modern Warfare III, Warzone): Tempest applied to in-game sound emitters. Footsteps, gunshots, vehicle engines all carry positional info. Most pros enable.
• †Apex Legends: Native 3D Audio support since Season 18. Critical for footstep tracking and ult detection.
• †Counter-Strike 2 (PS5 port, 2026): Tempest applied; subtle benefit. Most CS2 pros play on PC, but the few on PS5 enable.
• †Valorant Mobile (PS5 port): No native 3D support; Tempest’s system upmix provides a small benefit.
• †The Finals: Native 3D Audio support since launch. Strong recommendation to enable.
• †Single-player games: Tempest is excellent for cinematic immersion; no competitive impact.

II · Headset Selection and Calibration

The PS5’s 3D audio is only as good as the headphones reproducing it. Open-back, closed-back, wired, wireless — every choice affects spatial accuracy.

What to look for

• †Closed-back over open-back for competitive. Open-back leaks sound and lets ambient noise in. Closed-back isolates you. Sound stage on closed-backs is narrower, but for competitive that’s acceptable.
• †Wired over wireless. Bluetooth introduces 100–250ms of latency. Even “low-latency” wireless protocols (PlayStation Pulse Elite, USB dongle wireless) add 30–50ms. Wired 3.5mm controller jack adds zero. For pure competitive, wired wins. For comfort and convenience, wireless is acceptable.
• †Stereo, not surround. Don’t buy “7.1 surround” gaming headsets — those are stereo headsets with built-in speakers labeled by simulated positions. Tempest does the spatial work; the headset just needs accurate stereo. A flat-response stereo headset (e.g., Sennheiser HD 660S2 wired into the controller) outperforms most “surround” gaming headsets at twice the price.
• †Frequency response. Look for headsets that don’t boost low frequencies aggressively. Bass-boosted headsets mask footsteps in CoD and Apex.

Recommended PS5 headsets

Calibration after headset selection

After 3D audio profile is set:

Set this around 70–80% of max. Anything higher risks hearing damage on long sessions; anything lower means quiet sounds (footsteps from 20 meters out) drop below your noise floor.

Set to Linear PCM (not Bitstream / Dolby). Tempest does the processing; bitstream output bypasses it.

III · EQ Profiles per Game Type

The PS5 does not include a system-level EQ. EQ happens at the headset (if it has DSP) or via a separate audio interface. Here’s the per-genre EQ rationale; apply it on whichever device you have control over.

FPS / Competitive Shooters

Goal: Maximize footstep, reload, and door-creak audibility.

• †Boost: 1–4 kHz (footsteps, door sounds, gear rustling) — +3 to +6 dB
• †Cut: 80–250 Hz (gunfire low-end, explosion bass, ambient music) — −3 to −6 dB
• †Cut: 8 kHz+ (cymbal-like high frequencies that mask close-range cues) — −2 dB

This profile makes gunfire feel less impressive and footsteps feel surgical. That’s the point.

RPG / Cinematic Single-Player

Goal: Cinematic immersion, full frequency range.

• †Flat response. Modern game audio is mixed for flat playback; any EQ degrades the experience.
• †Optional +1 dB at 60 Hz if your headset is bass-light and you want subwoofer feel for explosions.

Music / Listening Mode

Goal: Audiophile playback for the in-game music or external streaming.

• †Flat response with mild +1 dB shelf at 80 Hz for warmth.
• †Disable Tempest 3D Audio for music — it’s designed for game spatial cues, not music spatial imaging.

IV · Party Chat Routing

Party chat audio routes through the PS5 by default, mixed with game audio in the headset. Two adjustments matter.

Voice/Game balance

Pick a balance that lets you hear party callouts above game audio without burying gunfire. Default is 50/50; competitive players typically run 60% game / 40% party (party is foreground info but shouldn’t bury enemy footsteps).

Party chat priority over game audio

In the same menu, look for Prioritize Customized Audio Settings. Set to On — locks your party chat ducking behavior.

Party chat as recording-only audio (for streaming)

If you stream and don’t want viewers to hear party chat, you have two options:

Option A (recommended): Use the PlayStation App party chat on PC and route it to a virtual cable that’s only on your local recording track. OBS-side configuration handles the rest.

Option B: Route the entire PS5 audio (game + party) into your capture card, accept that party chat goes to viewers, and trust your party not to share spoilers / unmixed information.

Most competitive streamers use Option A.

V · Mic Monitoring

Mic monitoring (sidetone) is the feature that lets you hear yourself in your headphones with low latency. Without it, you can’t tell if you’re shouting or whispering, and you over-talk.

Set this around 30–40% of max. Low enough that it’s subtle, high enough that you can hear your voice.

If your headset has its own sidetone (PlayStation Pulse Elite, Sony INZONE), use the headset’s implementation instead — it has lower latency than the system-level option.

VI · Output Device Path

The PS5 supports several audio output paths. Each has tradeoffs for competitive players.

HDMI to TV/Monitor speakers

For: Couch play. Casual.
Against: Imprecise positional audio. TV speakers can’t reproduce Tempest 3D well. Avoid for competitive.

HDMI to AVR with surround speakers

For: Cinematic immersion. Movies.
Against: Speaker placement matters more than the panel quality. Untrained spatial setups give worse competitive info than a $200 closed-back headset.

USB headset

For: PC-style direct USB headset support. Bypasses controller jack.
Against: USB DSP can color the sound. Verify your USB headset isn’t adding its own “virtual surround” on top of Tempest.

Controller 3.5mm jack (wired headset)

For: Lowest latency. Most predictable signal path. Most pros use this.
Against: Cable management. Sound quality limited by the controller’s DAC.

Wireless USB dongle headset (PlayStation Pulse, Sony INZONE)

For: Convenience. Decent latency (~30ms).
Against: Latency is real. Battery management. RF interference in crowded WiFi environments.

Bluetooth headset

Not recommended. PS5 supports Bluetooth audio in select 2024+ firmware, but the latency is competitive-killing (100–250ms). Use only for casual play.

VII · Pro Settings Reference

Pulled from publicly disclosed PS5 audio configurations of pro players in active competition (FaZe Clan and OpTic CoD rosters, NRG Apex Legends roster). Settings drift; this is current as of April 2026.

What this profile does

The pro setup prioritizes:

1. †Lowest latency signal path — wired controller jack, Linear PCM, no Bluetooth
2. †Tempest spatial accuracy — 3D audio on, profile tuned, headset-appropriate
3. †Party chat audible but not dominant — 40/60 split keeps callouts clear without burying enemy audio
4. †Sidetone for self-monitoring — present but subtle, prevents over-yelling

The casual default profile sounds “more impressive” — louder bass, more reverb, larger soundstage. The pro profile sounds drier and more clinical. That’s the trade.

VIII · PS5 Pro Specific Notes

The PS5 Pro added:

• †Enhanced Tempest processing — same engine, more headroom for additional sound emitters per scene
• †HDMI 2.1 output for 4K HDR audio bitstream — relevant for AVR setups, not headsets
• †No new 3D audio profiles — same five as the base PS5

If you have a PS5 Pro, the settings above all apply unchanged. The Pro’s benefit is in audio engine throughput (more concurrent emitters in busy scenes), not configuration options.

Closing

Audio is the cheapest competitive upgrade in console gaming. A $200 wired closed-back headset with Tempest 3D Audio configured properly gives you positional information that wireless surround setups twice the price can’t match. The settings above take 20 minutes to configure once and pay back over hundreds of hours.

Footsteps don’t lie. Calibrate accordingly.

For a wider rig overview, see the Best Gaming Monitors 2026 and Best Capture Cards 2026 roundups.