Yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it signed an agreement to acquire Audeze, the California-based brand of high-end headphones. Audeze will continue to operate independently and its products will still be multiplatform, but they will benefit from being part of the PlayStation ecosystem. For its part, Sony believes the acquisition will allow continued innovation of the audio experience of PlayStation games. The financial terms of the deal will not be publicly disclosed.

　　Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President of Platform Experience at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in a statement:

　　Audeze is a premier brand for headphones, and this acquisition highlights Sony Interactive’s focus on innovation and providing the best audio experience to PlayStation players. We’re excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.

　　Sankar Thiagasamudram, CEO at Audeze, added:

　　Sony Interactive provides Audeze with a unique opportunity to scale our business as we continue with our mission to deliver best-in-class headphones to recording professionals, audiophiles, and gamers. We’re also looking forward to contributing to Sony Interactive’s efforts to take PlayStation audio experiences to the next level.

　　The news comes just after Sony unveiled of the Pulse Elite wireless headset and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds. Both of them are equipped with 'custom-designed planar magnetic drivers', which are the signature of Audeze products. They'll also utilize PlayStation’s new wireless audio technology called PlayStation Link which purportedly delivers low latency, lossless audio thanks to its USB adapter. PlayStation Link will support PS5, PC, Mac, or the upcoming streaming focused handheld device PlayStation Portal.

　　Sony announced the pricing of the Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore: $149.99 and $199.99, respectively. There's no release date yet, but they're expected to launch before the end of the year.