Pimax Crystal – High-Resolution Virtual Reality Headset
Pimax Crystal – High-Resolution Virtual Reality Headset for PC Gaming
Pimax Crystal – High-Resolution Virtual Reality Headset for PC Gaming
Das Bild ist rein optisch wirklich super. So viel erstmal dazu.
Die Anleitung die bei der Software mit dabei ist stimmt mit der Anleitung in der pdf Datei nicht berein. Kontrolle koppeln sind z.B. andere Tasten. Hat mich viel nerven gekostet bis die Kontroler gekoppelt waren. Das das laden des Akkus und der Controller, sie laden nicht an allen usb Anschlssen. Sondern nur an welchen mit geringen Strom und sie untersttzen keine Qi Gerte, da geht das Netzteil einfach aus.
Das Headset selber ist wahnsinnig schwer, die krzer klappern( was man mit ordentlich Sound nicht hrt) das Gesicht des Headsets ist nicht so mein Hauptproblem gewesen viel mehr das es einfach zu locker sitzt an den Seiten und oben. Es wackelt immer hin und her selbst meine alte occulus Quest 2 sitzt da besser. Was die Lichtdichte angeht muss ich aber sagen die ist super. Genau so wie das eye Tracking und der Pupillenabstand.
Das Akku Wechseln nervt. Bin Flugsimulator Spieler und alle 2-3 Stunden das Teil wechseln naja. Man glaubt nicht wie schnell die rum sind wenn man so immersiv eingetaucht ist. Ja man kann whrend des Betriebs laden. USB c rechte Seite an der Brille aber Achtung starkes Netzteil erforderlich und zweites Achtung die Brille wird dann wrmer und schaltet sich da nach 5 Stunden ab.
Alles in allem super Anstze. Tolles klares Bild und kein ruckeln. Lasst den blden Akku weg. Sorgt dafr das die 2 usb und der 1 DisplayPort ausreichen und die Brille leichter wird oder besser sitzt. Dann htte ich sie behalten.
I will address the factors that many other reviewers or potential buyers made me nervous about this purchase:
Weight, Size and Comfort – I agree that this aspect is not as good as the G2. The G2 v2 was a perfect fit with the Apache Strap and counterweight. The 11mm thick face foam gasket leaves a little too much space at the side of my face leaving plenty of room for wearing glasses if I wanted. I re-used my G2 apache strap on the Crystal and the Crystal sits ok on my face and holds the sweet spot. It’s not too heavy for me. I have ordered the 15mm face foam gasket and I will make tweaks to get the perfect fit. One thing I have noticed that is improved is that the G2 could get very warm and my eyes dried out after a while. I don’t have this problem in the Crystal. It seems to stay cool. Perhaps this is due to the fans keeping the chip cool and the side gaps. There is no light leaks either. The Crystal is ok for long sessions for me and will only get better with more mods.
Software – I have heard so many complaints about the Pimax software. However, I have found that the speed of booting up, shutting down, rebooting is quicker and more reliable than with Windows MR. I use the headset for playing DCS. I have also noticed that I no longer have to Alt-Tab out and back into DCS to stop the game hanging when loading in missions like I did with the Reverb G2. The game just works better. People have complained about trouble getting the Crystal to shut down properly. I noticed this at first when trying to do this with the power button on the headset. However, I shut it down using the shutdown function in the Pimax Play software and this is quick and reliable.
The Battery – Not really a problem for me. I leave the headset plugged in when not in use and therefore the battery is at 100% whenever I start playing. I normally only fly 2 to 3 hours max without a break. So far the battery has only lost 1 bar (20%?) after my longest session.
Aspheric Lenses – A negative is Chromatic Abberation is quite noticeable on the edges of the view and is only invisible in the middle of the headset. Positively – the clear focus sweet spot is so much larger than the fresnel lenses on the G2. This is a major upgrade and outweighs the CA issue.
The eye tracking and DFR in DCS, the higher resolution, higher fps performance, the local dimming QLED panels, and the 72Hz option all represent a major upgrade over the G2. That’s why I give it a good rating.
I’ve had hands-on experience for just under a month now, and the experience I’ve had has been pretty streamlined. The Pimax Crystal is pretty unbeatable in terms of resolution. It’s probably one of the clearest VR experiences I’ve had to date.
Coming from the Valve Index and Quest 2, I had mediocre expectations when I bought it. I was originally worried about having software and compatibility issues during setup, but it only took a few minutes of setup to plug all the cables in and run the software to get everything working. It seems like they have definitely improved the software, as I was hesitant to buy it coming from all the negative reviews at that part. The headset also works perfectly fine on Windows 11, and I have not encountered any issues.
I did encounter a couple issues on my first. Notably, severe stuttering and audio latency. After a couple settings changes in the App, everything was smooth sailing. Note, this was not a performance issue, as my specs are high-end, with a 13700K and 4070TI and 96GB of ram.
One thing to note, it did take me a fair while to figure out that you have to calibrate the eye trackers before you can use them accurately, as I was having numerous issues with the module until I calibrated it.
As for the 6DOF tracking, it’s alright. It’s not the greatest tracking in the world, but it’s certainly not the worst. I lost tracking quite a bit when playing beat saber. Optionally, you can use the lighthouse cover (not included) along with base stations for tracking, which is what I did instead. I have also had issues where my play area would go through the roof for no reason, so I would have to keep recalibrating it. This issue was no longer present when using base stations.
The final part is comfort. This headset is pretty heavy, but that isn’t my issue with it. As the weight is pretty well-balanced for my head, I found myself barely ever noticing it. The issue is the back of the headset. As the battery is there, I’ve found the back of my head hurts after very long sessions (6-7 hours) due to the shape and pressure on that area. It would be fine if it was able to sit a bit lower at the back, but this isn’t possible. It can be uncomfortable at times and is the main annoyance I have with the headset.
I’m a DCS player, running a 3080, i9 + 64GB of RAM upgrading from reverb G2 to this.
The setup, install etc was straight forward, and youtube & their official site has loads of tutorials, guides etc.
The visuals are undoubtably superior, even without using OpenXR toolkit sharpening tools, the FOV and clarity is excellent out of the box (identical DCS game settings as the G2), which was really impressive as I never thought I would be able to have such clarity without upgrading my GPU again.
Installing the Dynamic foveated rendering using Quadviews, PimaxXR was also straightforward, with again a lot of guides online on how to do this, including the Pimax site itself, which is really refreshing seeing a company embrace 3rd party applications to their products.
Setting up the eye tracking however was a little more awkward, simply because for me the connectivity would drop out, resulting in the eye tracking just stopping, and with no way to restart without removing the headset (which is tough to do mid flight during a multiplayer session).
However to their credit since its all USB & display port connections you have alternatives, so when I plugged into my own powered hub the eye tracking seemed to be a lot more reliable and after playing around with Quadview settings have boosted my average FPS from the 40s (low alt + urban areas + AH-64) to around 60+ fps, never dropping below 50fps.
Its a little odd that it requires a battery but to be fair you get a spare + external charger, and at full charge you’ll get a good ~4hr playtime, and again if you need longer you can source a solution yourself via a direct USB C port on the headset + fast charge USB charger and you’ve got a near constant power source.
My biggest issue however is the audio which out of the box is awful little nubs that don’t even reach your ears. It may be fine for a casual user but for a flight simmer like myself the audio is an important part of the experience and I found it to be so bad I removed them so I can ONLY JUST make space for my own headset to fit over the top.
Again, not perfect and you can resolve the problem with either buying the improved headphones or source it yourself using your own headset, but its a little disappointing for such a premium product it has some sub par features.
The deprecation of WMR and the overall age of my G2 certainly sped up my decision to upgrade, that combined with Pimax being open and willing to accept feedback (both to me directly, and via various forums & communities), firmware updates and embrace 3rd party software makes me really optimistic for the future of my headset.
Overall I’m very happy with my purchase but it is one that does require a little patience, trial & error and concessions to really make the most of it.
Setting up is really easy. There is a quick instruction video which will guide you through the set up step by step. I would advise people to watch the video.
I had it set up really quickly. And i have to say i was blown away with the visual quality. I have a really good PC and was running really high system settings with other headsets. You do have to turn settings down for the crystal. But the quality of the visuals allows you to and its still way better than the hp and quest 3.
It is expensive but i see it as a long term investment for my gaming. My 4090 was expensive but i wouldnt have anything less now.
Now for the bad bits.
Only thing id say is the eye tracking tells you where to out your headset after you put it on. Thats fine. But of you lift it up for a few seconds you have to go through all that again. So maybe not a bad thing but can get a little annoying.
You do have to know what you are doing. It isnt exactly plug and play but it isnt difficult to set up.
If you have a decent set up and play a lot of vr games. Then id say go for it. You wont regret it.
The Pimax Crystal was a replacement for the HP G2. I have been so
pleased with the step up in visual clarity and performance. Everything
is so much clearer in flight simulator now. The sound quality is
excellent and the headset is really simple to set-up and to use. It
connected first time through the display port. The battery is not an
issue as it lasts for longer than most of my flights. I have been
impressed with the increased FoV and the headsets responsiveness with
settings maxed out. I would thoroughly recommend if you are looking to
upgrade from a lower spec headset.
Para empezar recibi las gafas en un empaquetado cuidado con mimo, me sorprendio lo bien que viene todo.
La calidad de los materiales sin ser muy premium, no hay ningun pero que ponerle a las gafas y sus perifericos.
La claridad de la lente se presumia crystalina, por todos lados dicen lo mismo. Panel y lentes impresionantes y voy a explicar que me sucedio.
Para empezar tengo miopia, -0.75 y al usar mis gafas de dioptrias con las crystal puestas, como hice con todas mis anteriores gafas vr sin ningun tipo de problema, resulta que veia borroso.
Mareo, neblina, dificultad para enfocar… unos problemas que jamas tuve en aos de vr.
Tanto leer y leer llegue al problema, la distancia focal de las gafas vr es 2metros. Es decir que si necesitas gafas para ver bien a 2 metros en la vr las necesitas.
Pues resulta que las crystal tienen una distancia focal de 1 metro solo. Que quiere decir esto? Pues que para ver a un metro no necesito mi dioptria de -0.75, necesito menos!!!
Comence probando gafas de -0.25 y veis bien pero sun estaba lejos de lo que se presumia, aumente a -0.5 y por fin vi cristalino y definido como tanto dicen de estas gafas. Por fin solucione el problema.
Hay gente que las devolvio diciendo que veian nublado, seguro que este ers su problema. En caso de tener miopoa tu dioptria real debe ser disminuida algo para compensar esta distancia focal tan cercana.
No puedo estar mas contento con las gafas.
2 baterias que no se descargan, el software esta muy pulido, no falla, y la nitidez, el color, los negros, una pasada.
La pega es que necesitas equipo para mover bien estas resoluciones… pero es un gustazo
Las recomiendo encarecidamente
The process of buying was quick easy and simple. The headset has stunning visuals in MSFS 2020 and sound quality is good too. Easy to setup and get working. Support from Pimax has been first class. Thoroughly recommend for anyone interested in VR gaming.
I also purchased the DMAS speakers. They have added more immersion. The quality of the sound is fantastic. Would highly recommend these as an additional purchase. Easy to fit onto the headset.
Software = Like many, I heard bad things about software issues when it first launched. This was one of the factors stopping me from making my purchase, but I’m pleased to say it has improved a lot and it was just as easy to set up as my Metas. No major issues and the software has many more PCVR-related features that make it the best for PCVR for me. I’ve had minor issues with the eye-tracking, that can easily be solved by resetting the software. I have had software-related issues with my meta devices as well so this is not bad at all. Overall, I would give it an 8/10 (could be better, but it is also pretty good)
Comfort = Out of the box, it definitely felt heavier than any other headsets I have previously owned, although not as heavy as pictures would lead you to believe. I got the Pimax top strap and the 15mm face cushion and it is much more comfortable now. after those upgrades, the weight is no longer an issue. The top strap should come included with the Pimax, it makes such a big difference in relieving some of the weight at the front. If you get the Crystal get yourself the top strap as well, you won’t regret it. I would rate comfort 6/10 out of the box, with the top strap 9/10. And as a side note, having the battery at the back does help with counterbalance, I haven’t had to charge or change the battery since I got it. Im not sure why people were complaining about the battery, I would rather have it to balance the weight, just like most people do with their Q3s and the Bobovr headsstraps.
Visuals = Let’s be honest, this is why you are considering this headset. I thought my Metas were good. Wow! The crystal is on another level! Not only the resolution is incredible with my 4090, but the colours are vibrant! and the local dimming makes darker scenes life-like! Truly the best VR experience I’ve had so far! I always wanted a Varjo Aero but the price + having to get base stations stopped me from getting that. The fact that the Crystal can do inside-out tracking and has a bigger FOV makes it a Varjo killer for me. Sim racing is breathtaking. I use the UEVR injector as well, and I’m telling you, this is what gaming will look like in the future. The Resident Evil VR & Luke Ross VR mods look amazing too, im re-playing a lot of these titles, the Crystal just makes them into a whole new experience! Also, the FOV is very good, feels like my Quest 3 & pro but a bit more vertically. Surprisingly, the Crystal is the first time I can finally enjoy and appreciate 3D movies in VR. The 3D effect is incredible and combined with the resolution and vibrant colours, makes it so I actually want to watch a full movie with it. If you plan to watch movies in VR with the Crystal, look into the Almalence plugin, this plugin brings them to life.
Audio = The included smas speakers are pretty decent actually. They are louder than what the quest 3 has, but to get the most out of them I do use a third-party app to play with the EQ band and they do a pretty good job. I do plan to get the dmas shortly.
Upgradability = This is something I wasn’t expecting to like or care for as much as I do, but I like having the options the crystal has to offer and some more that are coming like being able to switch lenses. You can also get base tracking if you prefer that as well or upgrade the audio solution if you want a more premium setup. The wide FOV lenses look promising as well.
Overall, I’m giving it 5 stars because is the best VR experience I’ve had in the last 8 years since I got into the hobby. If you are serious about PCVR and you have a PC that can drive the Crytal, I would highly recommend it. A lot of the issues they had on launch have been worked out and it is a much better experience now. The headset looks a feels premium as well. Pimax is doing a great job improving their overall experience and I can’t wait to see what they have to offer in the future.
Not experienced any issues with quality or setup. It looks well made and after a weekend of use it’s been performing well for me. The setup was straightforward for me at least. I didn’t have any issues that I’d heard about. I think they have put a lot of effort in to improving the software lately. The support via discord has been amazing! I raised one question about purchasing via Amazon and had two of their support team message me directly answering my questions. The support team even went out of their way to follow up after purchase to check how I had got on with the unit. The screen quality is amazing and blows my old vive headset out of the water.
I’ve been using the Pimax VR headset for weeks now, and it has truly exceeded my expectations. The visual quality is stunning, providing sharp details and vibrant colors for an immersive experience.
Great product, recommended.
Great for MS Flight Simulator or DCS or flight sim enthusiast best on the market.. I upgraded from a
HP g2 Reverb and what a difference the Pimax crystal makes both in terms of clarity and performance .. G2 was good but Pimax crystal is excellent.. Make sure you understand the technicals and config though. Great intuitive configuration software well supported this.. you might have to buy extra accessories I am just adding the DMAS speakers make sure these are in the package. But not a problem if not as they are internal speakers that do the job for flight simOverall absolutely outstanding VR system headset cannot recommend highly enough…Bes
The headset for me almost worked straight out of the box and with first setup of the Pimax software. I did have an issue where I had three screen plugged in when I first set it up, and it won’t work with three screens, reduced it to two and then it connected fine without any issues. The three screen issue I believe is an Nvidia limitation rather than Pimax’s. Connected fine and gave great visual clarity. It does have some chromatic abberation, and I have experienced some connection issues, but overall when working this is an excellent headset with the low latency and the high clarity expected with a headset being used over a DisplayPort cable and with the high resolution. I have never had to change the battery, as my sessions aren’t over a few hours at a time. The controllers are the basic standard which is now accepted with them being a close comparison to Quest 2 controllers. Pimax support has been good, and any tickets youi raise will be responded to within a day or two. With the price having dropped this is now an excellent choice, especially for racing or flight sims
The Pimax Crystal is an amazing HMD with crystal clarity that I have never seen before, I’ve been using VR since 2015 tried nearly every headset from the GearVR to the Quest 3, the crystal took my breath away with it’s clarity and sound quality, but it is more than that, its the customer service, Pimax has improved in leaps and bounds in customer service and I am happy to be a Pimax customer and use the amazing tech. looking forward to the future of VR.
I have waited until now to order in anticipation that pimax had worked out a lot of their growing pains (that and the lightning deals :)). Thats why 4 stars instead of 5, although at the rate its going, im pretty sure pimax will get to 5. They mostly have solved the issues and they have released the features that i care about. I have a top end computer and it runs great with the pimax. btw, even my 4090 is not enough to squeeze every bit of performance out of this device. Cant wait to see what a 5090 can do. There have been a couple of times where it did not connect or would not properly shut down and i had to restart some of the services and once reboot to make it work properly. This is all things that software can handle and I expect will get fixed. (One thing to note, i never once had connectivity issues with my qpro/q3. However, the g2 when it first came out was aweful and was fixed with their new powered cable) Compared to how this device started on release, this is a rare occurrence. I also havent experience any noticeable audio lag.
Final thoughts, if you are computer savy and are a seated vr user, this device is fantastic. It can be made very comfortable for that use case. This is a tinkerers device and based on the polar opposite reviews and discussions on the device, i would definitely buy it from amazon for the ability to return if it does not work for you..
Having used VR headsets for a while now I have been blown away by the amazing visuals of this headset, not only that but the built in speakers aren’t bad either all in all I have to say this is the best HMD on the market and well worth the money
I have wanted this product for a while now but had been waiting a bit longer to see more reviews. When I saw the sale on at Christmas time I thought I would jump and get it, when it arrived I was like a kid at Christmas and it didn’t disappoint!!
The graphics on these vr headset are unreal and like most reviews have said the size of the headset would make you think they would be uncomfortable but there not. You really do forget they are there sometimes.
You won’t be disappointed in them, I was nervous at first to spend that much on vr headset but I’m so glad I did now.
Such a great product!!!
Coming from a HP Reverb G2 (rev2) this is definately is a clear night and Day upgrade in clarity and size of sweet spot. Due to it not using windows mixed reality, also performance is right on par with G2 even given the large uplift in pixels, so if your system can run HP reverb comfortably, I’d say it will cope with the Pimax.
Du coup je me suis dcid a commander le crystal.
Je l’ai reu trs rapidement 2/3 jours max et j ai pu enfin le mettre sur ma tte
Et la je n’ai pas t du !!!
Je prcise que je suis joueur uniquement sur simulation voiture et arienne.
L’image est vraiment incroyable, la premire chose qui saute aux yeux c’est la nettet qui est affolante, on a enfin atteind la qualit et nettet en VR comme sur un cran et je dirai que je prfre maintenant l’image en VR !
, le sde a compltement disparu, la nettet la prcision d image est folle.
Dans DCS par exemple on peu tout lire , mme dans un cockpit comme le M2000 on peut lire les Petites critures et les frquences sur la jambe du pilote c est incroyable.
La nettet de loin est aussi folle, fini les tas de pixels on distingue compltement les adversaires fini de confondre un arbre avec un mig lol
Mais autre chose que la nettet saute aux yeux c est la clart, l’image est incroyablement clair, les contraste et couleurs sont d une beaut !!!
Il suffit de lancer un jeu comme PC2 ou AMS2 pour voir une image avec des couleurs incroyables.
Fs2020 n’est pas en reste non plus , les verts des forts de l herbe, le bleu du ciel et de la mer quel bonheur
Le fov est plus grand que celui de l Aero alors pas le double non plus mais suffisamment en vertical pour que je ne me sente pas frustr !
J avoue que j avais une grande crainte concernant la batterie (2 sont livres) et le hub aliment de pimax fait un excellent travail la batterie ne bouge pas ou quasiment pas !
A moi les longues cessions VR !
Le son est correct mais sans plus , mais pour moi ce n est pas un point important car je joue avec un systme 5.1 qui sera toujours meilleur que n’importe quel systme audio d un casque VR.
Le poid du casque ne pas du tout choqu car je viens d un 8KX du coup pas de problme pour moi et en simulation ce n est pas ce que je regarde en premier.
Le crystal un tracking inside (ne ncessite pas de base station) et c est trs apprciable car le tracking est reconnu de suite , fini de bouger le casque dans tout les sens pour le faire dtecter lol
On lance pimaxplay et le tracking se fait tout seul
Le confort est trs bon et je suis habitu a la forme du pimax mais c est trs subjectif car nous avons tous une forme de visage diffrents
La sangle est trs bien faite et la mousse repose trs bien sur le front et vite les pression sur le nez.
J ai apprci aussi que pimax ne mette pas un ventilateur comme sur le varjo Aero qui me souffle dans les yeux et me fais pleurer les yeux a les asscher.
L ipd est en rglages automatique, la aussi c est une excellente chose car fini de commencer a jouer avec le mauvais idp et de s abmer les yeux…. a + la nettet fini de se tuer la vision.
Le fdr f
(Suivis des yeux) fonctionne trs bien et permet un gain de fos trs apprciable.
Alors concernant le logiciel pimaxplay il y a encore plus d options et de possibilits
Non ce n’est pas une usine a gaz il suffit juste de lire et prendre un peu le temps.
On peu trs bien jouer en 2 clics o alors pour les utilisateurs avancs changer pleins de rglages
Choix de la frquence 72, 90 , 120hz , le rendu etc
Et surtout il est super stable on peut jouer en 2 clics et il ne plante jamais, je dis car ceux qui ont connu pitool au dbut c tais difficile a imaginer.
Le support de pimax a normment changer la aussi.
Si on a des questions sur le casque, il suffit d ouvrir un ticket et les gars du support vous rponde rapidement !! La aussi ce n’ tait pas le cas au dbut ….mais maintenant on voit que pimax concentrer ses efforts sur ses anciens points ngatifs.
Bien sr que pour profiter d’une image comme celle du crystal il faudra une grosse configuration PC, mais c est valable aussi pour un triple cran si on veut jouer en triple 4K sur tout les jeux simulation il faudra un trs gros pc.
Parlons aussi
Well I have been blown away by the pimax crystal! Sure it’s a bit bulky and heavy but I’m actually finding it pretty comfortable and the visuals are so amazing that you forget about the weight pretty quickly when you are so immersed in the games!
Vertical fov is a huge upgrade over the aero as are the optional dmas off ear headphones.
Set up was also easy and so far the crystal has worked faultlessly every time I’ve put it on.
So if you have been put off by other reviews I would say just try it for yourself, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Pros:
-Visual clearity is unparalleled. Gone are the days of looking through screen doors. The colors are vibrant and pop. The blacks look great – I know the index is a poor comparison for black levels, but really, they are very very good.
-FOV is good! I’ve never used and 8k so I can’t compare to that, but vertically is feels like it’s more than my Index and horizontally about the same as my Index (if not the same, slightly more).
-Dynamic foveated rendering is a game changer. I bought this for cockpit flying and I always had pretty low frame rates (in Microsoft Flight Simulator especially) and just dealt with it. With DFR enabled I now get consistently higher frames and am actually able to bump up my graphics settings so I’m not only getting a smooth flying experience, but the games look better too.
-Inside out tracking is really pretty good! If using this just for cockpit flying, there is no need for lighthouses. The inside out tracking hasn’t left me feeling the need for anything better. I do have the lighthouse faceplate so I can use my Index controllers.
-Support from Pimax for their product seems good. They are constantly making improvements with firmware updates and they seems they are receptive to community issues.
-Pimax as the manufacturer and seller may have been a con previously – they have been known for their poor customer service which caused me to hold off from purchasing a 5k or 8k- from what I have seen, they have had good support for their product, and when I made the purchase, there was mistake on their end, but they still honored the deal that was agreed upon – which is a HUGE deal. Good for them! That’s how you get return customers.
-The facial interface blocks out light very well. With most other headsets I have tried, I can usually see down around my nose (which I actually like for using my phone or typing something so this may be a con for you) but this facial interface blocks most light very very well and helps with immersion.
-Automatic IPD adjustment is a really nice feature I could live without but makes life a whole lot better. It is great to know it is set correctly every time you put the headset on and very convenient for sharing the headset.
-Good microphone. Not the best but it is good and better than other headsets.
Neutral:
-The controllers are okay. They look and feel like Quest controllers. They work as intended and they track pretty on par with other inside out tracking headsets. It’s nice to have them there just in case. I hope to use my Index controllers when I get the lighthouse faceplate in.
-Having a battery is meh. The battery is a con for most people. I used this headset all weekend and didn’t need to swap the battery out. It seems with the firmware updates they have had pretty much fixed the battery issue when using the usb hub. This is a neutral point for me because I’d rather it not be there, but it doesn’t really affect me at this point. Works fine! It is NOT as difficult to remove as people say. Once you find the best method it is fairly easy.
-Comfort is fine WITHOUT glasses. The Index is more comfortable. I do wear glasses and use prescription lenses although they haven’t arrived yet – I get pressure from my glasses being pressed into my face which gets old over time. I do not believe the weight is that big of an issue. I don’t notice it being heavier than my Index although it is by a small amount. I am using this mostly for cockpit use – if I were using it for active games like Pistol Whip having the weight of the front of the HMD might be a con. I didnt have any serious discomfort in Onward though due to the weight. I am getting a thicker facial interface because my prescription lenses will be very close to my eyes.
-This was FAIRLY EASY to get connected and working on my computer. Using it with SteamVR works pretty easily, but using OpenXR is better. Like many other headsets, it make take some fiddling with its software or a third party software to work well with some programs. This would be a con but it is very common in the world of VR so I am leaving it here as a note.
Cons:
-Audio quality is TERRIBLE. Maybe worse than the Quest 2? Maybe equal? I haven’t compared 1 to 1. Coming from the Index it is abhorrent. I have the DMAS headphones on order and cannot wait to swap these out. They work. Sound comes out of them. They will do the job for me until I get replacements. This would be neutral but $1700 is a lot to not include a decent audio solution. A plus is that they are easily swapped but it adds to the price.
-Foam material. This is a MINOR con. The material for the face gasket is like a porous foam material that I am not a large fan of. It will absorb sweat and oil and get yucky. Valve did it right with the Index and even with that I put a silicon cover over it. This face gasket would be fine if I could find a silicon cover available.
-I am seriously missing the system button that I had on my Index to get into my desktop view. The button could be used to select and open files like you would with a mouse. This came in very handy when in a cockpit and you didn’t want to or couldn’t lean forward to grab your mouse. Pimax should have some sort of software that allows you to bring up a desktop view while in game and should add a button so that you can interface with your desktop. It’s not a deal breaker, but it will force you to remove your headset more than I have in the past.
Is the headset worth it? If you are coming from another high end headset that released in the past couple of years, or are playing very active VR games (I will still use my Index for active games) maybe not. For me, YES! The difference in my VR experience flying or racing is night and day. I am coming from a headset that was released about 5 years ago – I expect that this headset will get last me another 5 years. The technology has come so far since then. Visuals (including FOV) are most important to me and this headset comes out on top for consumer VR. Audio is also a bit deal – the DMAS headphones have great reviews and should fix that issue for me. I am mostly using this headset sitting and the comfort is completely acceptable with no serious concerns when you are wearing it properly. I also have the hardware to run the headset at high settings. I feel like my cons are fairly minor compared to the pros. I am thrilled with this purchase and at the time of this review, am thrilled to have this Pimax piece of hardware.