We usually don’t think about how isolating headphones are for virtual reality because the overall goal is to immerse yourself in the virtual world only by hearing this world. To explore something new in VR, immersive audio can be a powerful way to feel like you’re in a game, but there are plenty of PlayStation VR games where it’s important to hear yourself and others.
Luckily, your PlayStation 4 has a feature that lets you adjust the microphone so you can enjoy the immersive sound and reality of your own voice. It’s called sidetone volume, and here’s what you need to know!
Turn on the sidetone volume.
As you know, PlayStation VR uses a separate block for sound processing. This box means you can’t use wireless headphones, but it means there is probably a microphone near your head. The location of your microphone may differ depending on which headphones you are wearing, and so adjusting the sidetone volume is more than just an on/off switch. Instead, it’s a volume slider so you can adjust the volume until your voice sounds natural through the headphones.
Step by step instructions
- On the PlayStation home screen, select «Settings»
- Select Devices from the Settings menu.
- Select Audio Devices from the Devices menu.
- Select the volume of the side tones
- Increase or decrease as needed
The best possible setup will be where you can hear your voice without hearing tons of outside noise. The less you hear in your physical environment, the better, and the closer you can hear your voice, as if you weren’t wearing headphones, the better. Once you’ve got everything set up the way you want it, it’s time to play!
