Time for a new headset -- what to choose?
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I started with the HTC Vive which was good for VR games but not really so much for flight simulation. Next up and what I’m currently using is a HP Reverb G2, PC is a Ryzen 5900X, 32GB DDR4 RAM, and a RTX 3080 on Win10Pro. Earlier this year, I posted issues I was having regarding being able to spot the tanker in the AAR TE; I could spot it much sooner if using my monitors but I couldn’t see the tanker until much later in VR.
I’m also building a replica cockpit so maybe it’s time to upgrade other parts of my system too. After all, Slaw seems to be coming out with a new set of rudders soon and Christmas is coming up…
I’m currently thinking of getting the Varjo Aero due to the better picture, better company background and product history, and the fact that the face area is vented — getting foggy/clammy/sweaty with the headset on is a big issue for me and I currently have to “ventilate” my face and the headset every so often with the G2. I’m hoping for more comfort on the Aero.
I was considering getting the Pimax Crystal but have heard some bad reviews on it and especially on Pimax’s customer support so I’d rather not deal with that until the Crystal has a bit more time to mature. It also seems that the Pimax is heavier (about 0.85kg vs Aero at just over 0.71kg), but that’s not really a big concern.
Same thing for the Bigscreen Beyond — while the smaller form factor is great, it seems that the picture is not as good as the Aero and the other main selling point - the customised faceplate - will only make the foggy/clammy/sweaty issue worse.
I’m waiting a little bit to see how things develop and to get the major expenses of the replica cockpit out of the way but hoping to be able to order a new headset for Christmas. Anyone have any of these headsets or maybe have a different one that I should be considering? I’ve very briefly looked at the new Quest headset but as far as I can tell, the picture isn’t better than the G2, in fact, some reviewers IIRC say that it’s not worth getting the new Quest if one already owns a G2.
Thanks!
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@Atlas I am using the Quest Pro.
In open-xr sims it is possible to use Fovetead Rendering…
Bms is still OpenVR so this feature is not supported.
But the clarity of this headset (pancake lenses) and the good required hardware for BMS VR makes it possible to have a smooth experience also without eye-tracking.
Nominal resolution is less than the G2 and the Quest 3, but the clarity (in comparison to the G2 that I had) is much more thanks to pancake lenses.
If you get a good deal I suggest to try it (now seems possible to find it at 500 euros or similar). -
I’m probably at the same stage as you. I’ve gone from the Quest 2 to the G2, and I’m looking for an upgrade. I also considered the Varjo Aero, but the smallish FOV and the fact that it’s a couple of years old already threw me off. I decided to wait and see for now.
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I’m dealing with the same dilemma at the moment.
I’m currently on a Cosmos Elite, but I’ve previous done the Gear VR lens mod (and then back again due to warping) and have a couple of small blemishes on my screens as a result. Still ok but between that and my pure, unadulterated hatred of Fresnel lenses it’s time for an upgrade.
I think I’m going to end up pulling the trigger on an Aero, but I wish it didn’t feel like such a compromise.
I want to (and have started) building a pit and ideally, I’d be able to use some software to “mask” my physical cockpit into the VR headset using pass through, kind of like what Varjo offers on their beefier commercial headsets. There are already some crude options for doing this using headset passthrough, so the Aero not having ANY passthrough really sucks. Additionally, FoV is not great.
My other option is probably a Quest 3 as the high quality passthrough would be ideal for masking off a physical cockpit. Unfortunately, the PCVR compatibility sounds terrible with the charging and compression issues. I’d be happy to take the hit to resolution if the PCVR compatibility was a bit less janky.
It annoys me because it seems asinine that in 2023 we have to compromise between good quality pass through and good PCVR compatibility.
So, I’m likely going to bite the bullet on the Aero and hopefully by the time I’m done with it high quality passthrough and good PC compatibility are standardised in at least a couple of different headsets.
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@Atlas said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
I started with the HTC Vive which was good for VR games but not really so much for flight simulation. Next up and what I’m currently using is a HP Reverb G2, PC is a Ryzen 5900X, 32GB DDR4 RAM, and a RTX 3080 on Win10Pro. Earlier this year, I posted issues I was having regarding being able to spot the tanker in the AAR TE; I could spot it much sooner if using my monitors but I couldn’t see the tanker until much later in VR.
I’m also building a replica cockpit so maybe it’s time to upgrade other parts of my system too. After all, Slaw seems to be coming out with a new set of rudders soon and Christmas is coming up…
I’m currently thinking of getting the Varjo Aero due to the better picture, better company background and product history, and the fact that the face area is vented — getting foggy/clammy/sweaty with the headset on is a big issue for me and I currently have to “ventilate” my face and the headset every so often with the G2. I’m hoping for more comfort on the Aero.
I was considering getting the Pimax Crystal but have heard some bad reviews on it and especially on Pimax’s customer support so I’d rather not deal with that until the Crystal has a bit more time to mature. It also seems that the Pimax is heavier (about 0.85kg vs Aero at just over 0.71kg), but that’s not really a big concern.
Same thing for the Bigscreen Beyond — while the smaller form factor is great, it seems that the picture is not as good as the Aero and the other main selling point - the customised faceplate - will only make the foggy/clammy/sweaty issue worse.
I’m waiting a little bit to see how things develop and to get the major expenses of the replica cockpit out of the way but hoping to be able to order a new headset for Christmas. Anyone have any of these headsets or maybe have a different one that I should be considering? I’ve very briefly looked at the new Quest headset but as far as I can tell, the picture isn’t better than the G2, in fact, some reviewers IIRC say that it’s not worth getting the new Quest if one already owns a G2.
Thanks!
I went from a G2 to the Aero and am quite happy with it. I was also looking at the Pimax Crystal and felt the same way about support, so Varjo won out. Cost is almost identical if you factor in the Lighthouse. I think the Pimax wins out performance wise in the FOV department, but I don’t find the Aero an issue. It’s very well built with all quality materials, excellent support, and now correctly priced for the market. I did add the Creative Apache headstrap, makes it feel almost weightless…
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I’m quite happy with the Quest 3.
Some issues I’ve noted:
-The link cable seems a bit dodgy with current firmware/oculus software. -Audio is glitching out and sometimes I can’t get the connection to work.
Overall, it’s the best headset I had so far. The display is sharp enough, the fov is finally somewhat acceptable and it’s great for standalone use too. It feels like a mature product.
When it comes to get BMS running, I have exactly the same computer hardware as you and I have Falcon at default max settings but I cannot move the pixel density above 1.0 or it stutters insanely.
Haven’t had the time to tweak it further but I guess I can remove some shadows and what not.
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I think getting a Aero now will be a mistake… because this headset has been out for 2 years now. The FOV is not any better then the G2.
I’d personally recommend the Pimax Crystal but it might be out of the price range of lot of people, also the comfort is medium with active cooling.
But when it come to image quality Crystal has no equal. Please also note that you will need a very beefy CPU, GPU combo to push that resolution.
Somnium VR 1 is also worth looking at when that comes out.
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Has anyone had experience with the Beyond headset yet?
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@MCDeedle said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
I’m dealing with the same dilemma at the moment.
I’m currently on a Cosmos Elite, but I’ve previous done the Gear VR lens mod (and then back again due to warping) and have a couple of small blemishes on my screens as a result. Still ok but between that and my pure, unadulterated hatred of Fresnel lenses it’s time for an upgrade.
I think I’m going to end up pulling the trigger on an Aero, but I wish it didn’t feel like such a compromise.
I want to (and have started) building a pit and ideally, I’d be able to use some software to “mask” my physical cockpit into the VR headset using pass through, kind of like what Varjo offers on their beefier commercial headsets. There are already some crude options for doing this using headset passthrough, so the Aero not having ANY passthrough really sucks. Additionally, FoV is not great.
My other option is probably a Quest 3 as the high quality passthrough would be ideal for masking off a physical cockpit. Unfortunately, the PCVR compatibility sounds terrible with the charging and compression issues. I’d be happy to take the hit to resolution if the PCVR compatibility was a bit less janky.
It annoys me because it seems asinine that in 2023 we have to compromise between good quality pass through and good PCVR compatibility.
So, I’m likely going to bite the bullet on the Aero and hopefully by the time I’m done with it high quality passthrough and good PC compatibility are standardised in at least a couple of different headsets.
The passthrough is definitely a great disadvantage with the Aero! I do hope the big price reduction recently, is because they’re clearing out storage for a new consumer model.
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Im on the Oculuss cv1 and honestly im pretty happy with it. I think i will keep it a bit longer.
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Coming back to this topic as I’m about to finish my cockpit. So far, the competition seems to be the Aero or the Crystal.
Aero
- established company
- good software
- excellent build quality
- I hear that you can push past 35ppd in the software, is this true?
- I already have the lighthouses from my Vive so that cost is not an issue
- cooling/ventilation inside the headset – this is one of the most important factors for me as one of the limiting factors of me using my G2 is that it gets very warm after some time
Crystal
- higher vertical FOV – this is really the only thing that is keeping the Crystal in the running if I’m honest, but is also an important factor especially for dogfighting
- reportedly better colours
- I’m getting mixed reports of cooling – is it just for cooling the headset or does it cool the inside space too like the Aero?
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Pimax Crystal Sim version 1299$ win win!!!
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I’m very happy with Quest 3. Great lenses and resolution, mature product and software. Goos price for what you get.
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@Archer said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
Pimax Crystal Sim version 1299$ win win!!!
It’s only a $50 price difference
@b0bl00i said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
I’m very happy with Quest 3. Great lenses and resolution, mature product and software. Goos price for what you get.
I am looking for a higher PPD headset. Quest 3 is 25PPD, the Aero and Crystal are 35PPD.
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@Atlas , the Aero goes to 39PPD, image from my Varjo Base app…
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@Atlas is your 3080 going to actually push 35 ppd smoothly.
I ended up getting a Q3 because neither of the big two do what I want for the price. Big thing for me was stepping away from the fresnel lenses and improving clarity and the Q3 does this for a good chunk less than half the price of either of the other two while being lighter and more comfortable (from all reports) than the crystal and having a fov that is greater than double digits. It does have its faults (big one for me is that the canted panels seem to introduce aliasing of thin lines that at a specific width is terrible), but bang-for-buck it’s very good.
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@Atlas said in Time for a new headset -- what to choose?:
Do you have any info that would indicate it won’t?
Just my experience with my 3070 with various headsets.
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A big problem with 3080 and below is VRAM of you use antialiasing. At VR resolutions, you can fill up 10GB VRAM easily.
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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?