FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The new headstrap feels very lightweight and flexible - almost a cheap feeling in hands. The build quality is pretty good tho - check the images above. However, my first thought was "holy shit, how can this be 130 bucks?", but I own a pair of Sennheiser HD25 for DJing ($200 headphones) and I know this means nothing. You can remove the headphones from the strap and even the cables for it, so the audio part is completely modular, which is a big plus!
REPLACEMENT
So there are no instructions how to remove the original strap in the manual - just a link to the vive support page. I'm happy I found this video a few days ago on the Vive Tutorials YouTube Channel. You can remove the headphones btw, but you will need a screw driver:
http://imgur.com/a/m11pa The replacement was pretty simple and almost self-explaining. No screws, no stuck pieces, very easy to remove through a simple click-system. If you feel unsure, just watch the 2 minutes tutorial on YouTube.
COMFORT
MUCH better now. The original strap is always slipping off when you play games, where you have to look down a lot or just turn around very fast. This is very annoying, becuase you are losing the sharp sweetspot inside the lens quite often and you need to readjust it every few minutes. BelkoVR and RacketNX are two good examples, that expose the low quality of the default strap. You need to readjust the headset every few minutes and you always notice the headset moving on your head and losing the sharp sweetspot.
Also putting the HMD on and off is always a bit of fumbling since you have to open all the velcro bands to fit your head size. All of this is almost fixed now. You can put the headset on within seconds. Just open up the adjustment dial on the back, put the whole Vive on your head and rotate the dial at the back to adjust the fit. The whole headset feels more stable and fixed on your head - I really like this. The only one left velcro band on top seems to have a higher quality as well, but we will have to check this in a few months for a final conclusion.
As you can see on my images, the 3-in-1 cable is now attached to a clip on the right side of the strap. I highly recommend everyone to use the included velcro cable tie to center the cable position in the back of the strap again. Otherwise you will feel the cable constantly on your shoulder, which is very annoying while moving your arms.
So overall the new headstrap is tighter and more stable on your head (no suprise here). It doesn't slip so fast anymore, but I still noticed a slight movement while I was turning my head very fast. There is still room to tighten it up a bit, but I'm pretty sure this will feel uncomfortable in longer sessions. The HMD itself is just too heavy and too big, so we won't get a 100% satisfying solution in this generation. There is no way I will ever put a Vive on my head with the old headstrap - it's just crap and feels like a cheap china version after you tried the new one.
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION
Yes it is better, but not a total game changer. The HMD itself is pretty big and heavy and it still remains front-heavy. What's more important for me, is the fact, that the new strap is able to handle the weight better. The whole headset sits more stable and fixed on your head. The old strap always felt very loose and cheap and I stopped playing because of this - this is fixed now. It's an improvement, but don't expect wonders.
HEADPHONES & SOUND QUALITY
The integrated headphones are pretty balanced overall. I feel like the high-frequencies are a bit more dominant, but that's alright and doesn't stand out too much (I'm usually listening to EDM, so I prefer slightly bassy sound). Of course they can't keep up to my Sennheiser HD25, but the integrated headphones are pretty decent. I would say most casual people won't notice a difference between these and some random (neutral) headphones for 50-100 bucks. You could say they are on par with all the mid-range gaming headsets below 100 bucks - just with more neutral sound, which I personally like. I tested the integrated headphones with Elite Dangerous, Arizona Sunshine, BigScreen Beta (watching movies and trailers) and also with just playing some 320kbps music files in Windows.
I won't replace them, since they feel really comfortable with the new strap. You can perfectly adjust them with a small finger move - there is nothing to complain here. The noise-cancelling is almost non-existent, but that's good for home-use. I don't like headphones with high noise-cancelling, because you start to scream around and don't understand your friends in the room. We are talking about usual on-ear headphones and you will be fine, if you don't play on very crowded places.
CONCLUSION
So is it worth the money? Yes. Is it a must-have for Vive-owners? Unfortunately, yes. The old headstrap is a piece of shit. It feels loose, you always need to readjust it and putting the headset on and off is always so much fumbling around. I literally stopped playing with my Vive, because some games really exposed the low quality of the old strap and wearing additional headphones was annoying too - especially the audio cable. The comfort with the new strap is MUCH better. It's not perfect, because the weight of the HMD itself is also a problem, but I can deal with it now. The integrated headphones are decent and the audio quality is good - nothing to complain here. For 130 bucks you can fix 2 big issues of the Vive (integrated audio & more comfort). If you tried the new strap, the old one looks and feels like a joke.
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