New headset : Pimax Crystal

Soldato
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I think out of all the content creators I find Marco (from MRTV), Bradley (who is openly biased towards Valve) and Karl (who doesn't like wired VR) seem to just say it as they see it. I would put more weight into their impressions and feedback than most others and Twitter is getting so bad now with wannabe influencers I'm gonna have to start blocking people. Seriously barely an hour goes by without some tool trying to raise the profile of some organisation into VR/AR without any substance, beginning to think they're bots.
MRTV is the one that tends to hype up every headset unless it's made by Meta?
 
Associate
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I think out of all the content creators I find Marco (from MRTV), Bradley (who is openly biased towards Valve) and Karl (who doesn't like wired VR) seem to just say it as they see it. I would put more weight into their impressions and feedback than most others and Twitter is getting so bad now with wannabe influencers I'm gonna have to start blocking people. Seriously barely an hour goes by without some tool trying to raise the profile of some organisation into VR/AR without any substance, beginning to think they're bots.
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On a £1300 headset lolz.
And then you also go on to mention that you're sure the teething problems will get fixed!

Yeah, hard pass thanks.

I hope you're looking forward to the absolute zero support you get from a pimax product.
No problems at all, then very next post you describe a problem and having to fix it with tape and foam. On a £1300 headset lolz.
And then you also go on to mention that you're sure the teething problems will get fixed!

Yeah, hard pass thanks.

I hope you're looking forward to the absolute zero support you get from a pimax product.
No problems at all, then very next post you describe a problem and having to fix it with tape and foam. On a £1300 headset lolz.
And then you also go on to mention that you're sure the teething problems will get fixed!

Yeah, hard pass thanks.

I hope you're looking forward to the absolute zero support you get from a pimax product.
No i did not,go back and take the time to read my post,the idea of tape and foam as a fix is just that an idea.Some are having problems that need fixing,i'm not.And if i do start to have problems,i'll just buy a Varjo Aero.
No problems at all, then very next post you describe a problem and having to fix it with tape and foam. On a £1300 headset lolz.
And then you also go on to mention that you're sure the teething problems will get fixed!

Yeah, hard pass thanks.

I hope you're looking forward to the absolute zero support you get from a pimax product.
 
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OP
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^ good news for base station / index controllers users but i'm avoiding needing them, i want to get rid of my base stations for reasons of declutter and being easily able to play in different areas. Up to now Pimax's inbuilt tracking is reviewing poorly, that and the missing wifi and high price is why i haven't bought it.
 
Soldato
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Eye tracking and auto IPD etc working fine for me… very slick really, put the headset on and it prompts if it’s not in the right place, then sets your IPD in a few seconds.

Quad views (currently only Pavlov and DCS) is legitimately a performance game changer… the “normal” stuff via Pimax or OXRTK is not massively better than fixed foveated rendering in most stuff I’ve tried.

Currently very happy with my crystal, which is no small feat given how my experience started… it’s improved a lot over the last month or two.

Hopefully they’ll deliver on wireless, and interested in how the mixed reality faceplate works out.
 
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Hows things with the Crystal nowadays..
I'm getting the itch to upgrade from a G2. Struggling with the sweat spot!
I recommend anti-perspirant for your sweat issue :p :D

The Crystal seems to be coming along, new features are being added like eye tracking, no wifi yet though. @Zeeflyboy is a Crystal owner and might be able to provide insight, iirc used to own (or maybe still does) a G2. I don't own a Crystal as nowadays i won't buy a hmd without wifi but i own a Pimax hmd. Pimax have their detractors, their support if something goes wrong can be iffy, but i've had no real problems. If you decide to buy I'd advise to buy from Amazon if you can.
 
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Soldato
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I recommend anti-perspirant for your sweat issue :p :D

The Crystal seems to be coming along, new features are being added like eye tracking, no wifi yet though. @Zeeflyboy is a Crystal owner and might be able to provide insight, iirc used to own (or maybe still does) a G2. I don't own a Crystal as i won't buy a hmd without wifi but i own a Pimax hmd. Pimax have their detractors, their support if something goes wrong can be iffy, but i've had no real problems. If you decide to buy I'd advise to buy from Amazon if you can.
It was the available on Amazon that is swinging me more towards it.

And I typed Sweet too. Damn autocorrect (thats the excuse i'm sticking too)
 
Soldato
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Honestly there is no comparison at all between a G2 and the crystal (as you would hope for the price)... well I suppose the audio is comparable!

Things are generally working very well for me at the moment, and I'm in a happy state with the headset after my questionable start. Image quality (in all aspects: colour, contrast, brightness, lens clarity, FoV etc) is a pretty big jump up from the G2 and I'm pretty sure most who try it coming from a G2, assuming their PC is up to the task, would start off with something along the lines of "wow". I did a little back to back with the Q3 yesterday and while the resolution is obviously a bit higher, its the sheer depth of the image with the colour and contrast that really changes the experience... seems much less like looking at a screen sometimes. Comfort with the Apache strap and the thicker 15mm facial interface is good, and the weight doesn't bother me much at all for most stuff, but anything involving rapid head movements will show up the inertia.

Software seems to behave well enough now (except for an annoying bug with play space that requires you to set the floor height each time), and tracking has greatly improved. Controllers still aren't on the same level as eg Quest 2/3 but are massively better than they were (and coming from a G2 in particular I doubt you'd be disappointed in the current state of controller tracking). Eye tracking is performing well, performance is particularly improved in Pavlov and DCS where you can use Quadviews and Mbucchia has the crystal well supported with PimaxXR and quad views foveated etc.

Missing features still - the wide FoV lenses haven't materialised yet, which should take the image to around 120ish degrees horizontal which would be a really nice thing indeed, the wireless (both wifi and wigig) are still MIA and standalone is currently pointless.

I think my biggest concern about the Crystal is that it won't age well. It doesn't really justify it's sheer size and bulk in the face of something like for example Quest 3, Bigscreen Beyond etc. I think the next year or two will see headsets that offer everything the crystal does but in much, much smaller form factors. At least with the supposedly upcoming 12k you are getting seriously high FoV and resolution in return for strapping over a kg to your head and looking like a hammerhead shark... so my gut feeling is a year or two from now the 12k might still make sense whereas the Crystal won't.

That said, looking only at what is available right now for PCVR for me it'd come down to BSB or Crystal (or perhaps the Somnium VR1 but that's unreleased and as yet totally unproven) and the answer would purely depend on personal preferences - both have their upsides and downsides and you wouldn't be wrong going for the crystal.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,308
Honestly there is no comparison at all between a G2 and the crystal (as you would hope for the price)... well I suppose the audio is comparable!

Things are generally working very well for me at the moment, and I'm in a happy state with the headset after my questionable start. Image quality (in all aspects: colour, contrast, brightness, lens clarity, FoV etc) is a pretty big jump up from the G2 and I'm pretty sure most who try it coming from a G2, assuming their PC is up to the task, would start off with something along the lines of "wow". I did a little back to back with the Q3 yesterday and while the resolution is obviously a bit higher, its the sheer depth of the image with the colour and contrast that really changes the experience... seems much less like looking at a screen sometimes. Comfort with the Apache strap and the thicker 15mm facial interface is good, and the weight doesn't bother me much at all for most stuff, but anything involving rapid head movements will show up the inertia.

Software seems to behave well enough now (except for an annoying bug with play space that requires you to set the floor height each time), and tracking has greatly improved. Controllers still aren't on the same level as eg Quest 2/3 but are massively better than they were (and coming from a G2 in particular I doubt you'd be disappointed in the current state of controller tracking). Eye tracking is performing well, performance is particularly improved in Pavlov and DCS where you can use Quadviews and Mbucchia has the crystal well supported with PimaxXR and quad views foveated etc.

Missing features still - the wide FoV lenses haven't materialised yet, which should take the image to around 120ish degrees horizontal which would be a really nice thing indeed, the wireless (both wifi and wigig) are still MIA and standalone is currently pointless.

I think my biggest concern about the Crystal is that it won't age well. It doesn't really justify it's sheer size and bulk in the face of something like for example Quest 3, Bigscreen Beyond etc. I think the next year or two will see headsets that offer everything the crystal does but in much, much smaller form factors. At least with the supposedly upcoming 12k you are getting seriously high FoV and resolution in return for strapping over a kg to your head and looking like a hammerhead shark... so my gut feeling is a year or two from now the 12k might still make sense whereas the Crystal won't.

That said, looking only at what is available right now for PCVR for me it'd come down to BSB or Crystal (or perhaps the Somnium VR1 but that's unreleased and as yet totally unproven) and the answer would purely depend on personal preferences - both have their upsides and downsides and you wouldn't be wrong going for the crystal.
Massive thanks buddy,

Suppose if i order from the rainforest. I can try and return if It doesn't live up to expectations.. Its being sold as standalone too. So if thats not there yet its missold.

Plus I can get it for tomorrow.. lol
 
Soldato
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It's technically there, it's just **** lol

Amazon is very low risk - you could come up with anything to return it there. I mean on the amazon page it advertises wifi 6e and wigig, neither of those is available. I see it's selling now with those little speaker things - I have the DMAS that you got with pre-orders so my comments re audio won't be valid (although you could upgrade to DMAS easily enough of course, they just don't seem to be included anymore).

Make sure you apply the 240 quid voucher on amazon if you do get it!
 
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Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,308
It's technically there, it's just **** lol

Amazon is very low risk - you could come up with anything to return it there. I mean on the amazon page it advertises wifi 6e and wigig, neither of those is available. I see it's selling now with those little speaker things - I have the DMAS that you got with pre-orders so my comments re audio won't be valid (although you could upgrade to DMAS easily enough of course, they just don't seem to be included anymore).

Make sure you apply the 240 quid voucher on amazon if you do get it!
Ordered. With Dmas which was discounted and £240 voucher £1633.50 all in down from £1948.
 
Soldato
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Jersey
Some rambling thoughts.....

You will 100% want the apache strap. It's a game changer comfort wise for the headset. For sims there is no equal apart from the areo. It's a PITA at times with the batteries and small quirks but once dialled in there isn't much that can touch it. Is it worth the grand over the Oculus 3? No, but as with all things it's diminishing returns after a while. Now that they have eye tracking up and running, it can make a big difference in some games. DCS for example is amazing. Personally, standalone is a gimmick it doesn't need and all it brings is extra weight and headaches with the batteries. It will never be as polished as the Quest 3 for stand alone. The main difference over the G2 is G2 + sharpness across the whole eye piece. It's not perfect though, there is Chromatic Aberration on menus but you don't notice it while gaming.

Playing Project Cars 2 yesterday for the first time and was hitting 120FPS. That's a great looking game in VR. DCS as mentioned is amazing with eye tracking as you can get it upto 90fps.

I feel in a way it's a beta product for the 12k. I think you will be impressed though once up and running. Oh and FOV is nothing to write home about horizontally.
 
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Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,308
Some rambling thoughts.....

You will 100% want the apache strap. It's a game changer comfort wise for the headset. For sims there is no equal apart from the areo. It's a PITA at times with the batteries and small quirks but once dialled in there isn't much that can touch it. Is it worth the grand over the Oculus 3? No, but as with all things it's diminishing returns after a while. Now that they have eye tracking up and running, it can make a big difference in some games. DCS for example is amazing. Personally, standalone is a gimmick it doesn't need and all it brings is extra weight and headaches with the batteries. It will never be as polished as the Quest 3 for stand alone. The main difference over the G2 is G2 + sharpness across the whole eye piece. It's not perfect though, there is Chromatic Aberration on menus but you don't notice it while gaming.

Playing Project Cars 2 yesterday for the first time and was hitting 120FPS. That's a great looking game in VR. DCS as mentioned is amazing with eye tracking as you can get it upto 90fps.

I feel in a way it's a beta product for the 12k. I think you will be impressed though once up and running. Oh and FOV is nothing to write home about horizontally.
I've got it for DCS. Thats all I play. Although I have HL Alyx in my Library which is supposed to look fantastic too.
I have everything dialled up full in DCS with the G2 and it looks good... But not good enough....

I'll get the apache strap ordered too then
 
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