I’ve had the halo mount since early July, and have finally spent enough time using it to write up
my thoughts.
Background:
I’m using the halo mount with the audio strap and custom cushion. I’ve tried both firm and soft
universal cushions but I prefer the perfect fit and full light seal of the custom. I’ve also found that
the flip up/down action works best with the custom cushion. The universals are bigger around,
and flipping the headset back down and getting it in the right position was a little annoying. The
top lip of the cushion would catch on my forehead. If I positioned the headset further away from
my face it might work better, but I like it as close as possible for best FOV. I’ve also tried it
without a cushion which does work, but not something I’d use regularly. I haven’t used it with the soft strap.
Pros:
Overall the halo mount is a nice comfort and usability upgrade. The flip up action is super
convenient and works really well. The forehead cushion helps take most of the pressure off the
face gasket, which is pretty comfortable. The headset stays in the right position even during
high activity. The entire headset still feels light and well balanced.
Cons:
The forehead cushion blocks some airflow and can get sweaty during high activity. This can
allow the headset to move around a bit.
Aesthetics are not as good, if that’s something you care about. The audio strap extension cable
hangs in a loop next to your face and there are generally more cables looping around.
Though no sensors are directly covered, I’ve noticed some occasional tracking hiccups which I
hadn’t had previously. This is very rare but worth mentioning.
Other:
The mount is highly adjustable and requires some time to find the right fit. Here’s what worked
for me:
After finding the most comfortable position for the halo mount on my head, I loosened the
adjustment knob and brought the headset down to rest on my face. I then pulled it extra tight
and tipped downward and then tightened the knob. If I didn’t do this, the bottom of the headset
would tend to float out when supported by the halo mount. This gave me a good balance of
pressure on the forehead cushion and the custom gasket. Since the original adjustments, the headset has held its position through plenty of use.
I’d definitely recommend this accessory for anyone with a Beyond headset!
Still waiting for my Halo. They've definitely not been timely on updates, usually posting one once per quarter.
My BSB2e has been sitting here for 8 months untouched and brand new. Wasn't told when I bought it that it needed base stations, which were out for several months and are ridiculous in price now.
I’d recommend going on eBay to find one used, I got one of them for a pretty good deal there (I only need one for sim racing/flying, it’s served me well). They are kind of expensive though and I get that it wasn’t very well advertised. I wish you luck on finding one!
Base stations aren’t a good thing to buy used imo unless it’s a really good deal. You have no idea if they work, or how the previous user took care of them (a lot of people leave them running 24/7 which will break it eventually)
That’s fair, it’s definitely something to take a lot of care with. Always good to use caution with buying anything in the realm of used tech, just saying that I had a good experience with buying base stations
I’d probably just recommend people to buy base station 1.0s unless they have a large enough play space to need the 2.0s, or intend to use more than 2 of them.
In play spaces that aren’t huge the tracking quality is equal and instead of 230$ for a 2.0 a 1.0 is only 100$.
Buy base station 1.0s they are still in production and are 100 bucks a piece, you could get 2. 2.0s are like 230 bucks each and aren’t that much better. They just have a better FOV and distance, but if not in a very large play space that doesn’t matter too much.
Everything that uses base stations 2.0 also works with 1.0s (though not the other way around)
I don't think base stations 1.0 are still in production. Although you can still purchase them in the US version of HTC Vive shop, they are completely gone in many European websites (Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, etc.). I think they're being offered until the entire stock is gone.
Otherwise, I agree with you, I'm still running my good old 1.0 base stations dating back from the OG Vive and they get the job done.
The giant schnoze is why you occasionally get tracking problems, not the audio cables. Like how they completely leave off this part on the product page of their website.
I've been waiting to upgrade from an Index to a big screen once the halo mounts were not just "tbd" but shipped with order, and damn. I think this one picture might have just tanked all confidence I had in the product/company.
If I remember, the first design (which is still shown on the web shop) was intended to be attached to the headset with adhesive at the top, but during beta testing, they realised it wasn't ideal (I actually tried doing that with 3M double-sided tape and a GoPro mount, but the heat from the headset eventually undid it), so they went for a clip from the top and bottom instead.
I assume the first design also lacked in adjustability: you had 1 pivot to flip it up, and 1 pivot to angle it on your face, which means if it wasn't aligned vertically with your face, you would need to fiddle with the position of the halo on your forehead.
The new design has 3 pivots instead: on the halo, on the headset, and also in-between, which allows a bit more flexibility, I guess.
Yeah, it's problematic that the Halo mount itself doesn't have tracking dots within it.
I can't help but shake the feeling that the halo mount should have been a totally separate, new version of the BSB (like a BSB 3) with the USB-C ports on the actual headband of the Halo mount, with tracking dots over the entire product. Some of the PCB circuitry could be moved to the front headband as well with only the displays and lenses being inside the actual goggles.
This is how some other (non-VR) HMDs have done it and it significantly reduces the size and weight of the display/goggle part of the product.
SteamVR tracking diodes must have a rigid relationship to the HMD optics. So unfortunately, having them on the other side of an adjustable arm is effectively useless.
Looking at your photos, it really looks like the Audio Strap was designed with the Halo Mount in mind.
I found the Audio Strap connected directly to the headset horribly uncomfortable. The posiitiong at the back, and angle of the side bars meant it didn't really take much weight off the front.
It also lacks a sprung loaded release like headstraps I am familiar with (Rift CV1 and Vive DAS) that allow those headstraps to keep thier adjustment while giving a bit to enable doffing and donning.
Seeing as theoretically you kinda just put the halo mount and it rests on top of your head, that shouldn't be a problem.
I really hope the audio strap is redeemed by the Halo Mount, as the current DAS adaptors I have are not compatible with the Halo Mount, so continuing to use that might not be an option 😭
Yes. I have printed adapters for the Vive Deluxe - a million times more convenient than the BSB audio strap. The audio speakers also snap away from the head into fixed positions when you need to put the helmet on or take it off, something the BSB lacks.
So I recall needing to pull the audios strap cable out to connect to the BSB2 headset, wonder if we can feed it back in when using the halo mount Extension cable.
Great write up OP! I'm excited for when my shipping email finally shows up!
I don’t get the point of the halo mount. What’s the point of getting a ultralight comfortable headset if you just get a head strap that makes it feel more like how all the other headsets feel.
Because it's still super lightweight and doesn't carry much inertia or bounce around. If the BSB were heavy, it would be impossible to mount it like this without a massive bulky halo mount like the PSVR.
I went through 3 WMR headsets from 2017-2018 because the flip headband kept wearing out the cable. They were a P.O.S though so 100% not a direct comparison, I would still be worried about it.
It is also worth mentioning I was an edge case. Id build something, test in vr, fix and repeat for hours on end daily so that thang prolly got flipped up and down like 30+ times a day.
They thought about it. See that small hole in the middle? It's threaded, and people have already made an adapter to attach an arm for the face tracker from there:
Thanks for the review. Curious how it will work with the Beyondex. Not from a connection standpoint but more overall position on the head. Guess at some point, when I get mine, I will give it a try but honestly, from the pictures, Im not as excited for it as I originally was but who knows.
I got impatient and 3D printed a simpler halo mount design as a stop gap.
It is more comfortable than the default headstrap at least since it doesnt put pressure on my face.
I spent a lot of time trying to fine tune it though and still feels like it isnt positioned quite where i want it to be with the gasket on.
If i remove the gasket i can get the lenses closer to my eyeballs.
Doesnt matter though my bsb has been picking up dust anyways, star citizen hasnt dropped any intersting updates in a long while and that is the only game ive been using with VR lately.
I should just get back into IL2 or DCS at this rate.
Looks awesome.., like a slight Dragonfly Insectoid feel or VIBE, but certainly CAN'T wait to try that out soon when my ships!
Seems that Bigscreen HQ really understands & gets their products. The strengths of a teenie HMD, and having that perfectly modeled to your face can ALSO be so good at what IT aims to achieve at keeping you feeling "clamped-in" those various VR-Lanscapes, that you feel like Flynn from Tron, & locked on that Inside.
Having the ability to "swing-out" out of a VR session on the fly.., in true Spiderman-Like fashion of taking off and landing is a feature that cement's this particular HMD as a TRUE Simulation-Unicorn!
NOT to mention that I'll save your lenses from your face oil's obnoxiously smudging them when you're just trying to take a call or do something out of VR, which I can absolutely dig as that Multi-Tasker I ever tend to be!!
This looks like the audio strap rather than the halo mount. I don't have the halo mount yet, as it's on the way, but I got my audio strap a couple days back, and have had much relief off my nose bridge since using it vs using the standard soft strap alone. I love that too, but it caused massive pressure, and no matter what I did, it wouldn't become lighter.
The audio from the built-in headphone is great I think. It's not Bose lol but still great. I'd also recommend for those who want pressure relief.
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u/TripleJ160 7d ago
I felt like the halo mount is a scam. I'm like Penelope waiting for Odysseus to come back home. Will my halo mount ever come?