But sensor drift and headphone comfort were real issues. Without a proper solution for routing the cables, the headphones kept pulling to one side and, despite the padding, broke my nose and cheeks.
I’ve done hours-long endurance races with several mass-market virtual reality headsets. After 15 minutes on this one, I was ready to quit.
Projects like this are never really finished.
Credit: Tim Stevens
Projects like this are never really finished.
Credit: Tim Stevens
Final thoughts and future updates
My total outlay for this project was $239.93. But that includes the extra $62 I had to spend on a second set of screens. Avoid that costly mistake and you’ll end up with around $180 worth of components.
That’s about half the cost of a Meta Quest 3S, one of the cheapest headsets on the market right now. It’s a substantial saving, but I would certainly recommend most people pay more. The tracking issues on my headphones are infuriating, the picture quality is average at best and this is by far the least comfortable headset I’ve ever used.
However, all of that can be fixed. Some projects use a MinIMU-9 IMU, which appears much more accurate and is less likely to be counterfeited, but is also substantially more expensive: $35. You can also upgrade to higher quality LCD displays or even small OLED panels that come with all the color and contrast you could want. There are options for integrated battery packs, wireless adapters, and of course you can spend as much time as you want designing an ultra-comfortable case for it all.
But even if you ignore the time commitment, once you start adding those upgrades, you won’t be far off the cost of that Quest, a headset that’s far from perfect and still works effortlessly and comfortably out of the box.
As always with these projects, it depends on what you want. If you just want a cheap, simple, and reliable headset for your next-gen immersive gaming solution, this probably isn’t the one for you.
However, if you want a fun project that helps you appreciate the industrial design required to create an attractive and comfortable wearable device, this might be it. I learned a lot and, despite the frustrations, I am glad I embarked on this journey.
That said, while I’ll continue to tinker and probably release a few more updates to this thing, I don’t see it replacing my other headphones for regular running duties, no matter how outdated they are.
