Setting up 3D Audio on PS5
How to enable and calibrate PS5 3D Audio, and which headsets it works with.
PS5 3D Audio places sounds in a sphere around you — including above and below — rather than in a flat ring. It is one of the console''s most underused features, partly because the calibration step is easy to skip.
What is PS5 3D Audio?
Traditional surround assigns sounds to speaker channels. 3D Audio positions each sound as a point in space and works out how to reproduce that point for your ears specifically. The result is directional audio with height, which conventional surround cannot produce.
In practice this means you can tell that something is above you, not just behind you — genuinely useful in shooters and horror games.
How do I turn on 3D Audio?
For headphones:
- Connect your headphones — wired into the controller, via USB, or a wireless headset.
- Go to Settings > Sound > Audio Output.
- Confirm 3D Audio for Headphones is enabled.
- Open Adjust 3D Audio Profile and run it.
The calibration plays a sound at five different heights and asks which one is level with your ears. Because ear shape differs between people, this genuinely improves accuracy. It takes under a minute and it is the difference between 3D audio working well and working vaguely.
3D Audio also works through TV speakers on supported sets, though the effect is much weaker than through headphones.
Does 3D Audio work with any headset?
Yes. Any wired or wireless stereo headphones work, because the positioning is created by the console''s processing rather than by the headset''s hardware. You do not need a PlayStation-branded headset.
What a dedicated PlayStation headset gives you is convenience — easier pairing, controls that work with the console — rather than better 3D audio. A good pair of wired headphones plugged into the DualSense works just as well as an expensive wireless set for this specific feature.
One practical note: plugging headphones into the controller''s jack is the simplest route and works immediately. Wireless headsets that use their own USB dongle also work fine.
Which games support it
Support is decided per game, and most large PlayStation releases include it. In a game without support, the setting simply has no effect — nothing breaks.
Worth doing?
Yes, and it costs nothing if you already own headphones. It is one of the few audio features that improves how you play rather than just how the game sounds — knowing where an opponent is has practical value.
See our PS5 page for headsets.