Credit: Logitech
Logitech is once again getting into VR hardware with the launch of its new Chorus audio solution for the Meta Quest 2.
This new accessory is designed to provide “the lifelike sound gamers crave with the comfort and convenience people need,” said Matt Green, senior director of acoustic engineering at Logitech, in an August 17 statement.
Rather than relying on earbuds or over-the-ear speakers, the Chorus accessory uses “custom-tuned out-of-the-ear acoustics” emanating from a pair of open-bottomed rotating speakers , placed right next to the user’s ears.
Comfort and realism at the rendezvous
Logitech seems to believe that this combination of an open design and close sound reproduction offers the best blend of comfort, sound reproduction and realism. It should be noted that it offers very little privacy, however.
Logitech has made it clear that it wants the Chorus to blend smoothly into the Quest 2’s design, without taking away any of its features. To that end, it designed the Chorus to use the headset’s built-in USB-C port to power its audio output, while providing a pass-through port for charging and data connections. That means the Chorus can live on the Quest 2 full time, with its included speakers folding flat to the sides of the helmet for storage.
At $99.99 the Chorus will rival the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap, which also has built-in headphones, but also includes a full head strap. Although this accessory was, as the name suggests, designed for HTC’s Vive series, it has been widely adapted for use with Meta – and before that, Oculus – headsets as well as others. The combination of comfort and audio fidelity has meant that it has remained on sale long after the original headsets for which it was designed have been discontinued.
Although Logitech’s Chorus doesn’t include a full head strap system, it could still appeal to those who weren’t happy with the audio component of the HTC-branded option. For my part, I continue to use the deluxe audio strap on my Quest 2, but I removed the included headphones in favor of a pair of earbuds.
Source: ZDNet.com