Some PS5 Pro's are louder than others - ours has pulsating coil whine

Shipping hardware is hard! And sometimes it's hard to guage the scale of an issue. Just look at early shipments of Amazon's new Kindle Colorsoft, many of which had a "yellow band of discoloration" at the bottom of their screens. Amazon announced it was cancelling all shipments of the device until it solved the problem. On the other hand some hardware issues can only impact a small percentage of shipped units. Just look at any of Apple's many service and replacement programs, which generally impact a small enough portion of customers that devices aren't all recalled.

Sadly, it looks like a similar hardware lottery is happening for PS5 Pro buyers. While my PlayStation 5 Slim runs in silence, my new PlayStation 5 Pro has a pulsing high-pitched whine and a much louder fan. It looks like I'm not alone either.

This is the closest example of how my PS5 Pro sounds, from @satf01 on YouTube:

I feel like if the sound was consistent it wouldn't be as noticable, but it would still be something to get used to.

Soundcloud user Iwens Fortis has a more consistent high-pitch hum when using their PS5 Pro:

The noises depend on the content being played. On the PS5 Pro homescreen the fans and coil whine doesn't sound too loud, but as soon as games are launched the sound begins. At first I wasn't sure if it was genuinely a ringing noise happening outside my home or if it was the console itself, it was that distracting.

On Reddit, Resetera and GameFAQs a number of users have posted about the Pro's louder sound profile. Some replies claim to have quiet PS5 Pro's, while others agree that their console is louder. Some also have a pulsing sound like my unit. A user in this Reddit thread claims to have exchanged their console for a new one 3 times and every new unit had the same issue:

Another user also identified different fan parts being used in different consoles.

Regardless of the scale of the issue, I'll be returning or exchanging my console. I find the noise to be too distracting even when using Sony's PULSE 3D wireless headset or having my soundbar turned up to a decent volume. Even in Rest Mode I noticed an unusually loud pulsating sound.

Gloss Australia has reached out to PlayStation for more comment and to see if there is any acknowledgement of the issue or potential firmware fixes. We have not heard back yet