Time for a new headset -- what to choose?
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@Snake122 Yeah, my G2 crashes/stutters if I have AA on, but have not really noticed a difference with or without.
I’m really conflicted on this one. The higher vertical FOV on the Crystal seems to be a very strong factor, but setup/reliability/software all seem to be issues for some and not-at-all for others. @Archer what is your experience with setting up the Crystal? Reliability with tracking?
@Icer do you see a difference in picture quality with 35ppd vs 39ppd for the Aero? Is there a difference in performance?
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@Atlas Setup with Pimax was horrible, But once I got it going it was solid. Here this will explain a lot:
If you get it and you need help come find me in discord and I will setup you up in 5 mins.
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@Archer What’s your Discord name?
I’ve watched quite a few other videos as well talking about setup pains and even intermittent loss of tracking in certain situations. If I do opt for the Crystal, it seems that a few other mods/add-ons are needed for sanity/comfort.
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@Atlas My discord: https://discord.gg/9sWa3RBRS6
I never had a issue with tracking at all. What I’d say I bought the top comfort strap for better comfort. It was around 19$
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@Archer I think I’ve sent you a message on Discord, but not sure if it’s you
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@Atlas my experience with the Crystal setup has been great, much better than other Pimax headsets I’ve owned, 8k X, 5K. I think the vertical FOV is definitely important to flight sims, head down TGP/radar work and then looking to your lift vector in BFM.
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@Atlas said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
@Snake122 I’ve not expected the vFOV to be such an important factor but it is what is keeping me from writing off the Crystal as an option. Big thanks to @Archer as well for answering a lot of my questions about the Crystal.
Any Aero owners here care to provide more input? @Icer ?
Not much to say, love my Aero and the active cooling (I can actually feel the airflow) is a blessing. I don’t think Pimax is going anywhere (and an 99.9% sure Varjo isn’t) so it’s really down to which features are important to you. From what I hear the Crystal is on par with the Aero for “clarity”, and if FoV is the deciding factor Pimax wins. For me, the fit and almost weightless feeling of the Aero (I did add the Apache headstrap), active cooling, well developed software, and perfect tracking (but of course you need lighthouses) makes me feel confident I made the right choice (again, for me). I really don’t think you can go wrong with either… best would be to try both, but that may be a bit difficult… One thing i’m not familiar with is Pimax’s Foveated rendering, but will say Varjo’s works great if the software supports it…
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If you are wanting a new Aero, now is the time:
https://www.uploadvr.com/varjo-aero-is-off-the-market/ -
I have had the Aero for a little while, and it is good quality.
Pros:
- Build quality
- The clarity is incredible
- Sweet spot is enormous (some say “edge-to-edge”, but I wouldn’t go that far)
- Capacity for foveated rendering (be great to see in BMS one day)
- Excellent software
Cons:
- Chromatic aberration
- Red shift issues.
- Lower vertical FOV - can be a bit of a pain in dogfights
- Requires lighthouse base stations, if you don’t already own any.
Cost used to be a con, but I’d grab one while you can after they cut the price in half. Though, they may go up in price, now that they’re being discontinued.
But I hear bang-for-buck, the Quest 3 is excellent value (if you can stomach the Meta factor)
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@S3NTRY @Snake122 @Icer
Thanks for the input guys! Ended up getting the Crystal due to that higher FoV. So far, so good!I’ve not really noticed the issue with weight or comfort but my longest session was about an hour for now. I guess coz I’m used to having a motorcycle helmet on and maybe with somewhat better neck muscles due to years of TrackIR it’s not as bad compared to people who are just used to having nothing but a VR headset on their heads.
I’d still like to try an Apache headstrap soon, or maybe the official headstrap from Pimax and see how that fares. Incidentally, I found that the default face foam wasn’t too comfortable or rather, that my face was more comfortable with the 15mm face foam.
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I finally pulled the trigger and got the Pimax Crystal. I had a HP Reverb G2 before and was holding out to see if the perfect headset came.
I’m extremely happy with my purchase, the clarity and FOV is phenomenal compared to the G2. No installation issues and I find the comfort fine, actually better than the G2, though I have placed a pre-order for the official comfort strap.
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So…
I ordered the Pimax Crystal early this year but had issues with it so returned it. It took over a month just for Pimax to acknowledge they received the returned headset. At that point, I had no confidence in them and requested my money back. Unfortunately, there seems to be no reliable way to acquire the Varjo Aero now that Varjo has dropped it.
What other options are there that can compete with the Crystal or Aero? Meta Quest 3? Or is there a headset coming out that I might as well just wait for? Somnium VR?
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@Atlas What issues were you having with the Crystal?
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@Archer
The displays weren’t working properly, I would get visual artifacts all over the place. -
@Atlas Hmmmm maybe a bad unit. With the new firmware that just got released a month ago, it has been flawless. The battery life with the power Hub has passed 8 hours of run time.
I am waiting on the wide FOV lens now. Also the comfort was improved a 1000 times with the new comfort strap.
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@Archer
Yep, and Pimax agreed, thus the return. However, they botched the whole process so bad that I have a very much reduced confidence in them considering the cost of the headset. If they can’t do a smooth return-and-replacement with a headset that was at that point 2-3 weeks old, then what sort of hassle would I have when returning in 6-8 months’ time? -
@Atlas My headset went bad too. My return and getting a new one was fast in a week. They have a warehouse in US now. I think there most delays are due to custom issues.
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@Archer They have one here in the UK too. Not even an hour away from me. I think it was 5 weeks after I posted the headset and they were still “processing” my return. I asked for a refund which took another 3-4 weeks as they kept asking for another chance and that my replacement headset was being processed/expedited/on-the-way. I was clearly liaising with someone on the other side of the planet instead of someone on the same timezone as myself.