This guide will help you connect a Turtle Beach Ear Force® stereo headset (compatible: PX3, X12, X11, XL1, X32, X31, XP300old) to your Sony PlayStation® 4 controller.
I had an old Turtle Beach Ear Force X31 wireless headset (from my Xbox 360 days) collecting dust. So I began looking for a way to convert the Ear Force X31 headset to be compatible with the PS4 controller. There are two issues to overcome:
Issues:
- Playstation 4 does not have a stereo RCA out.
- Second, the Ear Force X31’s stock cable is not compatible with the PS4 controller.
Solution:
Digital Optical Coax to Analog RCA Audio Converter Adapter
Turtle Beach Ear Force Chat Cable – PlayStation 4
BlueRigger Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable (3 feet)
Total Cost: $30 (to salvage a $100 headset) 🙂
How it works:
- Connect your PS4’s optical out jack to the Digital Coax and Optical Toslink to Analog Audio Converter using a Toslink cable.
- Connect the RCA jacks from the Turtle Beach X31 to the Digital Coax and Optical Toslink to Analog Audio Converter.
- Connect your Ear Force X31 headset to your PS4 controller using the Talkback cable.
- In PS4 settings: PS4 Support page
- select [Sound and Screen] > [Audio Output Settings] > [Primary Output Port] > [DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL)].
- Select [Sound and Screen] > [Audio Output Settings] > [Output to Headphones]. Leave default setting as [Chat Audio].
- Select [Sound and Screen] > [Audio Output Settings] > [Audio Format (Priority)]. Set to [Linear PCM].
Viola! You’re rockin’ a pair of X31’s on the Playstation 4.
While I’ve only tested this solution on my X31 headset this should work (at least for Stereo headsets) for the following models per the listing on Amazon:
- Ear Force® Stereo Headset Compatibility: PX3, X12, X11, XL1, X32, X31, XP300. Requires RCA OUT (stereo) jacks on television or audio receiver for PS4 game audio.
