Virtual reality (VR) technologies have become increasingly widespread, extending beyond their traditional military and professional training applications to areas such as education, simulation, gaming, and entertainment. Most modern VR headsets are equipped with built-in near-ear speakers, commonly called nearphones. Between conventional headphones and loudspeakers, these devices and nearphones offer a convenient and lightweight audio solution without physically enclosing the ear. However, their impact on spatial audio perception and localization performance remains underexplored. This study explores how nearphones integrated into head-mounted displays (HMDs) perform relative to traditional headphones, focusing on identifying the specific acoustic and perceptual factors that enhance or hinder immersive audio experiences in virtual reality. Using the Oculus Quest 3 as a test platform, the research was divided into two parts. First, the frequency response of both headphones and earphones was measured to assess differences in sound quality. Second, a VR first-person shooter game was developed in Unreal Engine to evaluate sound localization. Participants identified targets based on audio cues alone, and performance metrics such as target accuracy and reaction times were collected to compare localization effectiveness. Besides localization accuracy, this research explored which users prefer audio devices. The results suggest that while traditional headphones generally offer more accurate spatial localization, nearphones provide greater comfort and convenience, highlighting a trade-off between acoustic precision and user ergonomics in VR applications.
