I have entertained the idea of getting a VR headset for some time now. I'm not really interested in the most expensive one (at the moment at least), as it's more of a curiosity of trying it out than a real need for it.
What should I be looking at? Is there a great difference between tethered and mobile headsets? Are integrated headphones preferable, and what about controllers?
Would something like e.g. this one or this one be "enough" or would the experience be significantly better with a more expensive model?
The specifications for these two models doesn't really tell me anything so I don't know whether I should expect much or little from them (suppose the latter due to the prices though). There are so many models out there, and as I don't really know what to look for, I don't know what's worth it and what isn't.
What you should be looking for is experiencing VR at at least to some degree where it's showcasing some of the potential it has in terms of playing games. What I mean is you don't want to try some half arsed headset or game and come away with a bad experience that will give you a false impression of it, and there are plenty of things out there that will do that.
My advice is to, at the very least, try a headset that has the full 6 degrees of motion. Mobile phone devices can't do this. You can only look side-to-side, up down, and around. You can't move through space. That's not to say you can't get a good experience with that, but its limited. A VR cinema app on a Gear VR for example, is still brilliant. If you can, try that first. It wont make you sick, and its immersive enough to give you an idea of whats possible. It really does feel like you are sitting in front of a giant cinema screen inside an actual cinema. Try ebay for the Gear VR. You'll get one for about 20 quid, even if its used, don't worry about it. As I say, though, it might be OK if you've not experience a proper HMD, but trying one with a wider FOV, better screen, better visuals, and the full tracking is night and day. Try and get on a PSVR or a Rift if you can. Pretty much guarantee if you do, you'll want one.
Oh, just to be clear, those mobile headsets are just shells to put your phone into. I'm sure you already knew that, though.