Rumours of Sony's PS4 virtual reality headset have been running rife since last year, but now an inside source has told TechRadar that they've spent some time with the helmet behind closed doors - and it's almost ready to be revealed.

Our confidential tipster said that they were impressed with the quality of Sony's Oculus Rift competitor. "The quality and resolution are really, really good," they said. "People will definitely be impressed with what Sony's built".

They also told us that they understand Sony plans to announce the headset at GDC 2014, which kicks off in San Francisco on March 17.

Virtually just around the corner

With rumours that Sony might show off some VR games at E3, it makes sense for it to unveil the headset beforehand and keep Las Vegas focused on the software.

Talk of Sony's headset surfaced last year with word that we'd see it unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show, something that never materialised.

Our source told us that "Sony has deliberately taken its time to tweak and polish the headset before revealing it", rather than taking Oculus's approach of releasing the Rift to developers in stages.

Oculus Rift recently told TechRadar that it saw the PS4 and Xbox One as too limited for its headset, so it's good timing for Sony to swoop in and give console gamers a dose of virtual reality.

We approached Sony regarding this story, but it refused to comment.