VROne

I always found no matter the adjustment there was more pressure from the bottom of the HMD - under my eyes and on my cheeks - than I'd like. Not after just a lengthy session but as soon as you put it on. Since the Pro tilts, I wanted a way to be lock it a certain angle while maintaining the seal at the bottom to avoid ambient light. At the same time, I wanted to be able to loosen the back to further reduce the feeling of wearing a headset but keep it secure to move my head. I jerry-rigged a couple of elastic power supply ties from Dell power cords. By sheer luck the knob on the tie snaps into one of the rectangular holes at the top of the HMD (see pic below). It's small enough that it can be pushed in and pulled out without - as far as I can tell - causing damage but big enough to stay secured and not come out by itself. At the back it's just tied around once locked into the second strap in a hole that resulted in what I felt was best. The nice thing about this is it's adjustable simply using a different hole. It has honestly made a huge difference for me. As soon as I put it on it immediately made the headset feel lighter and alleviated the pressure off my cheeks. Then I could loosen the back knob to make it feel even less like wearing a headset while keeping it secure enough to move my head. It's exactly how I expect a premium headset to feel, no offense to HTC. You could obviously use any elastic but if you feel the same way about the bottom of the headset being not particularly comfortable, I'd try a similar approach with the obvious disclaimer that this may affect your warranty and you could break something, though I feel like you'd have to be really clumsy. As to figure out whether this would make it more comfortable for you, you can obviously test it by putting on the headset, adjusting it to what you normally do, and then slowly tilting the HMD upwards to see if there's a distance that relieves the pressure from your face but still seals under your eyes. It has made an even bigger difference to long sessions which I've been doing in Half Life Alyx. I take the headset off and there's none of that feeling of your skin having been squeezed for hours. It's like I never put it on. FYI I also use the fake leather replacement front pad and the Gear VR lens mod. To me, this combination of things makes the VIVE Pro look and feel how it should have been out-of-the-box but that's another topic.

Considering moving to the Pro Eye from a Pro. Plan on selling the current setup and put it towards the new, so considering I'm not paying the (absurd) full price for Eye, did any of you who moved from one to the other think it's worth it in terms of the technical improvement? Thanks.

Just to be clear: there's no scenario where you're tearing anything down on the HMD (original or Pro). The only tearing down you may do is if you choose to buy the Gear VR and make your own adapter, in which case you'd be tearing down the Gear VR. If you're buying the kit which has the Gear lenses already in an adapter (like the one I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/323285586590?ViewItem=&item=323285586590) then it's just a matter of prying the original lenses from the Pro. They are not fixed to the rims so you can remove and replace them as necessary. Installing the adapter/lens kit is as simple as snapping them in after removing original lenses. There is no dismantling or removal of adhesive or tearing down involved here.

Pro owner here. Got my lens + adapter kid today off ebay for a little less than $60. https://www.ebay.com/itm/COMPLETE-GEAR-VR-LENS-AND-ADAPTER-UPGRADE-MOD-V3-3-FOR-HTC-VIVE-AND-VIVE-PRO/323285586590?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Honestly, I was expecting a marginal improvement. Having used it now for a couple of hours in many games, I can tell you it's more than that. FYI: I wear glasses. Both with them on and off (but obviously better when on) - the picture is noticebaly improved in the following ways: Godrays essentially eliminated "Sweet spot" much larger Smaller objects sharper/clear Most noticeable of my tests: various consoles in Elite Dangerous. Major improvement. Running at max VR settings on 7700k and 1080Ti. Bottom line is it's much more than I expected. I'm sort of amazed a DIY product was able to make such a significant improvemet over an $800 HMD. No offense to HTC but you guys should look into this.

Got them off. Thanks to both for the help.

John, How do I remove the audio component? Thanks.

Got it. Thanks.

Double-post.

To be clear: I don't believe I'm experiencing any bugs. The audio sounds fine. Is it the quality I'd expect from an $800 HMD? No but that's another issue. Point is I have a pair of Bose noise canceling headphones and absolutely no need to use the Pro's audio. As for comfort: sorry but I completely disagree. Weight distribution is slightly better but overall comfort for me the original wins hands down. The deluxe strap adds a ton more plastic and makes the entire thing bulkier and harder to take off and because I'm using my own headphones I've got the Pro's headphones getting in the way. I'm constantly re-adjusting the headset while playing. Now instead of just having elastic around my head, I've got a ton of plastic. It is heavier and more cumbersome to wear and I feel like my head gets hotter and is suffocating if I want to have the headset on so it doesn't move too much. What's truly baffling is that you think people who would spend $800 on a VR headset don't already own at least a decent pair of headphones or gaming headset, at most a nice pair, and would abandon it to use subpar audio and microphone on the Pro. Where is the logic in that? At the least, for this price, there should be the ability to remove it and go back to the original.

Bump.

I use Bose headphones and the deluxe audio strap makes the Pro more cumbersome and bulkier than the original. I find myself constantly readjusting it. Is it now or will it ever be possible to swap to the original strap? The Pro has slightly better weight distribution but overall I feel it's harder to put on/take off and less comfortable, all to have on-board audio which isn't particularly good and I would think most people won't even use.

What does it sound like exactly? I can confirm there’s not a ton of bass but I don’t think I’m getting the “tiny” sound you’re talking about. The volume goes up quite high and it sounds fairly normal. You’ve checked your sound settings and playback device selection?