One thing that still bugs me about the Oculus Quest is the integrated audio solution they use. Previously we have checked out KIWI Design’s Quest Headphones, but now they have also released Ear Muffs, which will still let you be aware of movement in your space. We have now put these through some testing, but, did they do a good job?
Whats in the packet?
In the packet that arrives you will get two separate Silicone Ear Muffs, one for each side of the Head Mounted Display (HMD), and that is it. The instructions do not come in paper form, instead these are printed onto the rear of the packaging.
Connecting them to the HMD
Connecting them to the HMD takes no time at all. These will connect over the plastic side bands on the headset. With them being silicone all you need to do is push this over the top of the side bands and then slide them down until they are in place – that is it, they are now ready to use.
Benefits
The aim of the Ear Muffs is to allow for a reduced sound distortion and the leak of the noise from the audio – which is one of the main issues of the Quest audio solution. This is done by directing the sound in the cup of the muff, that will be positioned around your ear – but, with a little distance between your head and the silicone cup.
As aforementioned the product will allow you to play your games without being cut off from anything going on around you. Meaning if you prefer this than being cut off from others when playing VR, this product will allow for that, if not we would recommend the KIWI Design Headphones as a solution.
Testing the product
As this product is designed to offer a different audio solution, we tested this over different genres of games where sound is important. So, we took a rhythm game, a shooter, a story driven short and of course Tetris Effect.
For the rhythm game we went into out favourite Synth Riders and played our favourite track with and without them on. We found that the ear muffs really did help with the music clarity, which is great when playing this sort of game. We then went into Onward with the same test and found it did help keep you aware of the noise around you and help differentiate what side they were coming from. So, they did give you some advantage when using them. For the story driven short we jumped into the charming The Line, and to be honest we did not really feel much benefit of playing this with or without them connected. For the final test we had to jump into Tetris Effect because of the soundtrack, and as with Synth Riders having the games awesome soundtrack in better clarity did show a use of the ear muffs for this game.
reviewed using oculus quest
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a sample provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a press sample does not affect my judgement of the product.
Review Overview
At first we were quite sceptical on how putting a silicone cup over your ears would manage to make the audio seem improved. But, after playing a track on Synth Riders, Tetris Effect and maps on Oward with and without them attached to the HMD you can really tell the difference – especially the audio leak. If you are looking for away to improve your audio without being cut off from your surroundings KIWI Design Silicone Ear Muffs are worth considering.
