In its new Steam Frame VR headset, Valve put dual audio drivers on each side in the included head strap. That puts the audio near your ears while you’re wearing it, and in my brief time trying the device at Valve’s headquarters recently, I thought the sound was just fine. But the choice to have those dual drivers also helps reduce audio vibrations, which helps the headset with tracking while you’re playing games in VR, Valve hardware engineer Jeremy Selan tells The Verge.
The Frame, like many other VR headsets, uses outward-facing cameras built into the main part of the headset for tracking. However, audio with good bass “induces vibrations into the headset,” which can affect that tracking, according to Selan. But on the Frame’s included head strap, the dual drivers per side are “mounted opposite to each other,” which creates “vibration cancellation inherent in the design.” That allows for “better tracking, even with good audio,” Selan says.
We answered your burning questions about Valve’s new hardware.
We hosted a subscriber-exclusive AMA about the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller, and you can check out our responses here.
Pretty cool! The headset is modular, too, so theoretically, you might be able to use other head straps with other audio solutions later. It’s a really interesting headset — I recently got to try it for myself.
