Oculus Rift Earphones

Developer	Oculus VR
Requires	Flathead Screwdriver for Installation
Image
Optics

'Oculus Rift Earphones are headphones from Oculus. They are in-ear earbuds. They are an alternative to the built-in headphones that are shipped with Oculus Rift CV1. The earphones were launched at the Oculus Connect Developer Conference in 2016.

The Oculus Rift Earphones produce high-quality, clear, and well-balanced sound with low distortion. With this noise isolating earphone, users of Oculus Rift VR headset will now enjoy fewer sound distractions.

Hardware[edit]

On the Oculus Rift VR headphones, the dangling earphones may look less than impressive, but it does its job for which it was designed. The ear buds fit snugly into the ear canal and cut out the outside noise, almost completely. The earphones are loud and clear; the wearer can discern the sounds very clearly.

Installation[edit]

The Oculus Rift VR headset comes with its own built-in headphones. In order to install the new Oculus Rift Earphones, the inbuilt headphones need to be removed. The removal and the installation of the new earphones can be done using a small flathead screwdriver that is made available to every customer as part of the Oculus Rift VR headset package. Rift customers who have misplaced/lost the screwdriver, need not worry. Customers get a flathead screwdriver along with the new earphones. A small coin or regular screwdriver could be used, but to avoid scratches it’s advisable to use the tool that comes with the earphones.

The installation process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Unscrew the old headphones and in its place screw-in the earphones. The design of the earphones clearly indicates which side of the headset, it’s meant to be placed. The earphones are also marked R and L for easy identification. If installed correctly the audio contacts will automatically align.

Comfort[edit]

The biggest advantage the Oculus Rift Earphones have over the on-ear headphones is that it’s designed to completely cut off the surrounding sound. The over-the-ear headphones do not completely shut out the outside noise, largely due to its design. In the case of the earphones, the buds are designed to sit inside the ear canal and block the unwanted sounds from the surrounding. Earphones that, to a large extent, block the outside noise to create a more immersive sound experience. The Oculus Rift Earphones are particularly useful when the Rift virtual reality headset is used in a noise-heavy environment.

To benefit from sound isolation, it’s important to get the earphone tips right. The tips that users choose also affects the quality of the sound. When it comes to the Oculus Rift Earphones the type of tips the user selects has little impact on the noise isolation and bass. Small, medium, and large – all three tips perform equally well.

Noise Isolating Earphones[edit]

Attendees of the Oculus Connect developer conference were given a pair of the Oculus Rift Earphones. Tech gadget reviewers who tried the earphones were more than impressed with the product. The most striking quality of the Oculus Rift Earphones is its ability to block the outside noise.

The earphone’s biggest advantage is also its biggest drawback. Wearing the Oculus Rift VR headset the user is visually cut off from the surrounding environment. Earlier, the wearer relied on sound to understand what is happening in the surrounding. The loud and clear sound from the Oculus Rift Earphones completely immerses the wearer into the virtual world. He/she will no longer be aware of the surrounding events, which is, sometimes, not the best thing to happen. Moreover, the user won’t be able to share the Oculus Rift Earphones with others. The earphones are a personal item.

Performance[edit]

Since its release, experts have put the earphones to several tests to demonstrate its advantages over the built-in Rift headphones. The tests show that rumble and sizzle in both low and high frequencies were much better in the earphones. This significantly improved the quality of audio.

It was found that the sound emanating from the Oculus Rift Earphones was clear and impactful. The ears could clearly discern the source of the sound in the 3D space and the users never felt that one part of the frequency spectrum overshadowed the others. The Oculus Rift Earphones perform slightly better than the Oculus Headphones. Even though it’s only a slight improvement, the difference is clearly noticeable. The audio from the earphones sounds much more natural. The performance of treble and bass frequencies is clearly boosted in the Oculus Rift Earphones.

Cost[edit]

The Oculus Rift Earphones are a must have accessory for those who own an Oculus Rift VR headset. The new earphones alone would cost $49, but it’s worth the price. Keep in mind, the Oculus Rift Earphones are meant exclusively for the Rift VR headset. It cannot be used with any other gadget or virtual reality device.

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