Best Saber has been nothing short of a phenomenon.
Coming out of nowhere in the middle of 2018 it went on to win Fan Favorite VR Game at the Gamer’s Choice Awards that year.
And with it selling over 1 million copies to date, it doesn’t appear that Beat Saber is going away any time soon.
When it comes to hardware, the best headset for Beat Saber is often hotly debated.
In this article we will be giving our opinion on the best VR headset for beat saber.
“Hi I’m Tom from Aeon Reviews.com and here we will look at the best VR headset for Beat Saber”
Beat Saber VR Headset Considerations (What Makes A Good Beat Saber Headset?)
If you have played or even seen Beat Saber you will know it is a fast paced game, where reflexes are everything.
For this reason, you will need technology that supports you to transfer your real world movements into the game world. And as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
For this reason, the responsiveness of the tracking will likely be the most important factor when choosing a headset. But what do the different tracking ratings mean on a VR Headset?
Tracking – 3Dof and 6Dof (Degrees of Freedom)
Degrees of freedom is basically the amount your headset is able to track your movements in a 3D space.
3DoF means that you will be able to stand in place, look around, look up and down. But any movement forwards, backwards, up or down won’t be tracked.
6DoF however actually has the ability to track your location within the actual physical space.
The tracking space can vary.
The HTC Vive for example offers a large tracking area. This really improves immersion as you are able to physically walk around virtual worlds, bend down and also retrieve items from the floor.
In a nutshell, 6DoF offers a more immersive and realistic experience, ideal for Beat Saber.
Other considerations…
Controllers
A VR controller is used to mimic the use of hands in 3D environments.
Examples of such controllers include Vive Wands and Oculus Touch, which are included with their respective headset.
As controllers are your gateway into the virtual world, allowing you to reach out and interact with the environment, controllers are a very important consideration when it comes to picking a VR headset for beat saber.
Some offer true 1:1 positional tracking while others don’t .
Typically the likes of HTC Vive offer true 1:1 positional tracking.
You will also wish to consider other features such as the field of view, brightness, and resolution.
Resolution, Refresh Rate, and Field of View (FOV)
Ensure you check the headset specification for the above attributes before buying.
Resolution – This refers to the quality of the picture displayed by the headset, with the higher number being the better display.
However, refresh rate is arguably more important than the resolution.
Refresh Rate – This is how often the headset changes the displayed image.
If the refresh rate is terrible then this can lead to motion sickness.
90Hz is the ideal minimum refresh rate for a video game, but ensure you aim for at least 70Hz.
Avoid anything with less than 60Hz, as this can lead to lag and motion sickness. Fortunately, headsets with this level of refresh rate are now few and far between these days.
Field of View (FOV) – For the field of view, the higher the number the more immersive the VR headset is.
Human eyes have a FOV of around 220 degrees, so the closer to this the better. Aim for a headset with 100 to 110 degrees for Beat Saber.
Best Overall VR Headset For Beat Saber?
If we had to pick one headset for use with Beat Saber it would be the HTC VIVE. Keep reading to find out why the HTC VIVE is ideal for use with Beat Saber.
HTC VIVE
Pros
Best Tracking
Upgradeable
Cons
Average Mic
Best Tracking
Upgradeable
Average Mic
Spec:
Tracking – 6 DOF
Weight – 470 g (1.04 lb)
Refresh Rate – 90hz
Resolution – 2160×1200 (1080×1200 per eye)
Field of View FOV – 110 degrees
The VIVE has an outstanding reputation as being the headset with probably the best tracking on the market currently. Not even an Oculus Rift with additional sensors enabled can compare.
It offers excellent one-to-one movement tracking, which is great at reducing nausea for when you get into a really intense saber session.
You will also experience a natural 110-degree field of view.
The VIVE meets the minimum recommended refresh rate for such a game (90hz) and offers resolution of 2160 × 1200.
Any movement with the VIVE just feels natural. And the controllers are arguably some of the best VR controllers available on the market today.
Another neat touch with the controllers is that they very much feel like light sabers when gripped in your hand. Ideal for Beat Saber!
The ‘chaperone mode’ is another useful feature which will stop you bumping into things in the real world if you get carried away in a long Beat Saber session.
You can also use your own headphones, which is useful for a game which has such a heavy focus on music.
Just ensure you take regular breaks, as the 470g weight of this HTC VIVE is focussed on the eye/forehead area.
Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) VR Headsets For Beat Saber?
If the HTC VIVE isn’t for you then you could always check out the Samsung HMD Odyssey. One of the best Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets around.
Samsung HMD Odyssey
Pros
Best Display
Most Comfortable
Cons
Tracking Inferior To VIVE
Best Display
Most Comfortable
Tracking Inferior To VIVE
Spec:
Tracking – 6 DOF
Weight – 645 g (1.42 lb)
Refresh Rate – 60/90hz
Resolution – 2880×3200 (1,440 × 1,600 per eye)
Field of View FOV – 110 degrees
The Samsung Odyssey comes with quality headphones, adjustable lens distance, and has the highest resolution of all the WMR headsets.
The Samsung HMD Odyssey goes toe to toe with the HCT VIVE in many areas.
The display resolution is 1600 x 1200 per eye, which is actually sharper than the VIVE, and uses OLED technology.
One of the main advantages of the Odyssey is the inside out tracking.
This basically means that this headset does not require external sensors for tracking. Tracking is managed via two front mounted headset cameras.
This tracking system works surprisingly well and rivals the excellent tracking system on the VIVE.
Although great, the controller tracking doesn’t quite match that of the VIVE.
However, a nice feature is the built in motion controls on the controllers. This means you don’t have the problem of the headset not being able to detect the controllers once they leave the field of view.
The Odyssey is a great portable headset as well, and there is no need to set up a base station or external sensors for use.
Conclusion
Both the HTC VIVE and Samsung HMD Odyssey are great choices for a headset for Beat Saber.
If you feel the quality of the display is the deciding factor you when it comes to choosing a headset, then the Odyssey wins in this area.
We feel however that the VIVE edges it just slightly overall for our recommendation due to it’s superior tracking.
Although Beat Saber has incredible visuals, it is ultimately how well your movements register on screen which will make you successful at the game.
Really though, these are both great headsets for use with Beat Saber, and it is unlikely you will be disappointed with either of these.
We hope this article has helped you choose the best VR headset for Beat Saber. Keep checking here at aeonreviews.com for more content like this.
And if you enjoyed this article, please check out our article on the Best VR Headset For VRChat.
Love this game, really got to stop overdoing it and cracking myself on the head though 🙂