cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Rift-S Audio Improvement Idea

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP
We all know that the Rift-S audio is kinda on the weak side.  For the most part this does not bother me but today I tried something that I found amazing.  While I was in a game (does not matter which one) listening to background music I cupped my hands over each ear facing forward and WOW, what an improvement.  Actually sounded as good as my Rift cv1 headphones.  Also, I went into the win10 sound options for the rift headset properties/enhancements and selected the bass boost.  This made it sound even better.

I think that the Halo headband speakers (situated at the rear undersides of the front headband pad) just needs some kind of channelling thingy to capture and better direct its sound to our ears.  I have not been able to figure out a way to do this yet.  I'm currently playing around with old toilet paper roll tubes, lol!  Hopefully someone will come up with a good solution because I think it would be nice not to have to rely on compact headphones and/or earbuds for better audio performance.
i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers
6 REPLIES 6

Anonymous
Not applicable
Yeah the Rift S audio driver is quite good, I get some rockin sound in my Klipsch Earbuds and excellent bass.
I too have had bass boost enabled.

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP

dburne said:

Yeah the Rift S audio driver is quite good, I get some rockin sound in my Klipsch Earbuds and excellent bass.
I too have had bass boost enabled.

Ya, bass boost worked better than I expected.  Actually I think I got the idea to try this from you on another thread.  Still, it would be nice if we could get good results without resorting to external devices imho.
i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

Techy111
MVP
MVP
It's really bizarre, you cup your hands where your ears are with the S like you are trying to listen to something and the sound boost is amazing. Maybe we need Mickey mouse ears on our head to direct the sound. Go on, try it as Tom said by cupping your hands where the sound comes out on the halo lol 
A PC with lots of gadgets inside and a thing to see in 3D that you put on your head.

jayhawk
Superstar
I joked about cupping under your ears in an earlier thread to enhance the S audio, but it does work even in a real world scenario if you need to hear better. Before that I suggested some sort of clip on molds that funnel the sound more directly.

Anonymous
Not applicable
Yeah I did the same and joked on it to wear TIN FOIL but it works!
A Xmas Party Hat will also work OR make your own Card Crown. That Oculus box comes in handy!

SkScotchegg
Expert Trustee

TomCgcmfc said:

We all know that the Rift-S audio is kinda on the weak side.  For the most part this does not bother me but today I tried something that I found amazing.  While I was in a game (does not matter which one) listening to background music I cupped my hands over each ear facing forward and WOW, what an improvement.  Actually sounded as good as my Rift cv1 headphones.  Also, I went into the win10 sound options for the rift headset properties/enhancements and selected the bass boost.  This made it sound even better.

I think that the Halo headband speakers (situated at the rear undersides of the front headband pad) just needs some kind of channelling thingy to capture and better direct its sound to our ears.  I have not been able to figure out a way to do this yet.  I'm currently playing around with old toilet paper roll tubes, lol!  Hopefully someone will come up with a good solution because I think it would be nice not to have to rely on compact headphones and/or earbuds for better audio performance.



LOL @ using toilet paper roll tubes! haha

Yeah I noticed the exact same thing with my Oculus GO, that works the same way. Sometimes when I'm sat on the sofa watching YouTube VR I will cup my ears with my hands and I will instantly hear all the sounds better and louder. It's really quite amazing and makes a really big difference. I wonder what kind of add on we could use to make it better, I'm really not sure.

One thing I know for sure though, I'm not using my toilet paper roll tubes like OP! That's where I draw the line!! hehe  😛

EDIT: Thanks for the base boost tip in windows though, I didn't think of that, I'l enable that tonight too, good advice!
UK: England - Leeds - - RTX 2080 - Rift CV1 & Rift S - Make love, not war - See you in the Oasis!