Somnium VR1 Headset First Test | FS Expo 2024

I share my honest views & opinions with you, after a short test, on this high-end and high priced VR Headset. Is it for you? Note prices shown exclude any local taxes & duties etc.
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[@SomniumSpaceVR]

Thank you for coming to our Stand and testing VR1! It was a pleasure to meet you!

[@SimHangerFS]

Appreciate the opportunity to test the ''cutting-edge'' of VR headsets!

[@sparkerinvr526]

It was good to meet you at FSExpo this year. Thanks for your honest first impressions of the VR1.

[@SimHangerFS]

Really appreciated you coming up and saying hello 🙏

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

Great first impressions Mark and thankyou kindly, for the shout out ☺

[@claybomb1064]

We need a Somnium Light!

[@FinalBossRises]

I also tried on the VR1 at the show and thought it was the best VR headset out all the ones I tried on.

[@x32i77]

Yeah it's ridiculously well done . Unfortunately very very heavy

[@artursychov]

Thank you for kind words!

[@mururoa7024]

Graphics and large FOV are extremely important to me for all sorts of reasons (and I'm willing to put in the money), but does look very bulky. I think they chose DCS because from what I understand it has better VR support.

[@wittyname-sy5je]

After going back and brushing up on my optics, it makes sense for Somnium to have enhanced the sharpness/clarity with the use of the second lens. Distributing the refraction across two lenses and helping to counter distortion and error with something akin to a single dual-aspheric lens would make for a better image. I still have a hard time justifying the price though when the XR-4 exists with its notably higher PPD and dual stacked aspheric lenses as well. After conversion to dollars, the similarly equipped ultimate version is only ~$250 less. If they had a version with 5K panels I might consider it. Also they should consider trying to cut back the price of the eye tracking. 600 euros is a bit much, even if Pimax is currently doing something similar. They also need to offer refunds outside of Europe and a warranty longer than 1 year.

[@SimHangerFS]

I think you raise valid points.

[@SargonDragon]

I was shocked to discover the lack of a refund policy for US customers. For such a premium priced headset to have subpar product support is outrageous. And the attitude that Artur expresses about that is a big red flag for this being a company that is not going to take care of you. Even Pimax has better support policies. This company wouldn't have a refund policy at all if the EU didn't require it by law. I am more than willing to pay a premium price for a premium offering. But that's the whole the package, not just a pretty display. I've been following the VR1 with interest, but nervous about it being made by a sleazy crypto company. And I think the reality of that is starting to become evident now.

[@SimHangerFS]

@@SargonDragon I wasn’t aware of no refund for USA. Yikes!

[@artursychov]

​@@SimHangerFS We do not offer a no questions asked 14 days refund due to the fact that in would cost customers hundreds of dollars to send it back to our HQ in CZ + customs. We might still offer it if customers are willing to pay transportation costs.

[@hanskrohn]

I am closely following the VR1 for some time. The top model is almost on par (price-wise) with the Varjo XR-4, but I heard from Varjo that a new, higher price is just around the corner. So I might be tempted to invest in the VR1… the fact that it is modular makes it future proof (wishful thinking, I know :-) )

[@B76SkyWarrior]

I think we had different experiences at the Expo. I did the same demo and was left unimpressed. There was some image tearing and slight lag. Colors seemed to be off. They did the pass through demo and i was really disappointed by the graininess. My first thought was that they did not optimize this for their DCS install. Glad you had a better experience but mine was disappointing.

[@SimHangerFS]

Maybe they changed settings? The colour had a vibrancy I havent seen before, due to the brightness of the display. No lag, but to be fair was only in the headset for about 10 minutes.

[@artursychov]

Dear Warrior, I am sorry to hear you had not a good experience. We did over 120 demos and overwhelmingly people LOVED it. Sometimes, it happens people did not adjust it right. But in any case thank you for stopping by.

[@stevejones924]

Mark, youre the expert as far as I know. On the official MFS page it listed something about Canadian cities under "Tin Cities". ???What the heck is that? It said "Abbotsford" which is where I currently live. Any idea's? Other viewers? Please comment.

[@SimHangerFS]

A TIN used to represent terrain is often called a digital elevation model (DEM), which can be further used to produce digital surface models (DSM) or digital terrain models (DTM). It is a more detailed & accurate method of determining terrain shape & form compared to DEM ( digital elevation model).

[@charlesc7723]

My only question is, how much do you have to go through to set it up? I know there is always some tweaking needed. Also the pass through is attractive. I have a Quest 3, stopped using it for flying now just use it stand alone. Just could not get it to the standards I wanted. I will say it was better than some of the older VR headsets.

[@SimHangerFS]

I don’t know to be honest, I don’t have one to refer to. Check out VR Flightsim Guy channel, he has reviews on it.

[@supersprit5733]

If image quality is better than crystal ( light), in terms of percentage how much better it is either in sharpness, clarity, depth, brightness or colours. That might give an idea about buying it or not.

[@SimHangerFS]

@@supersprit5733 this is hard to quantify, but I would estimate + 15-20%

[@poolhallshark]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@MrLolof1]

Thank you so much for this excellent vidéo 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😍 You and Steve #VrflightSim vr has same review : VR-1 it’s better Vs Pimax Crystal But VR-1 it’s better Varjo XR-4 as they are same price ? Aplushhss 🇫🇷👍🏻😇

[@SimHangerFS]

Sorry I can not give an opinion as I have not tried the XR4 yet.

[@MrLolof1]

@@SimHangerFS No problem . Thank you so much from France 🇫🇷 👍🏻👍🏻😍

[@apprentice_pleb]

Imagine that huge lump stressing out your neck after an hour or less. Not for me

[@artursychov]

VR1 is much lighter than it looks and we already improved the strap to accommodate to it

[@x32i77]

​@@artursychovawesome, can't wait for my visionary edition 🙂

[@SargonDragon]

@@artursychov How much does the VR1 weigh?

[@moncimoov]

i dont want to wear bulky headset no matter how good is the visual and fov.. nah.. gonna stick with bigscreen beyond

[@stephenmckinnell7791]

What exactly is a pro flight simmer? 🤔

[@MrWilfAdventures]

KZbinrs mainly who get sent free stuff for "impartial" reviews.

[@stephenmckinnell7791]

@@MrWilfAdventures Ah, I did wonder. 😊

[@SimHangerFS]

I am referring to a person who has a high level of disposable income, avid flight simmer & will only settle for best available.

[@SimHangerFS]

@@MrWilfAdventuresthanks for the sarcasm, do you think Somnium gave me their show sample? 😂 I have no connection to this company at all.

[@MrWilfAdventures]

@@SimHangerFS nope that wasn't implied. But there are plenty of youtubers who get free kit to review. I was merely suggesting what the definition of a pro flight simmer could be as its an odd term. Streamers are pro flight simmers if they are making any money from youtue/twitch etc. Anyone using their own funds to buy the hardware who are not making money from it are not pro flught simmers, they just have more disposable income.

[@jamiesalmonsculpture8599]

On a 3080? That's very hard to believe they'd use that

[@B76SkyWarrior]

I asked and the rep clearly and explicitly told me it was a 4090

[@artursychov]

​@@B76SkyWarriorit was 4090

[@10KenHall]

Sorry, not at that price, eventually better headsets will come out at a much cheaper price

[@zorbakaput8537]

Eventually? Some people have been waiting 10 years already hopefully you are young in years.

[@x32i77]

Not interms of visuals and fov unfortunately

[@scarryharry1]

The story continues. Windows Mixed reality does not get any New updates. Gonna break at some point. I Saw no audio on the headset. Graphics very good. Weight on front.. Not balanced. This product much overpriced in relation to the pimax Crystal Light. Still Waiting for the mailman. 😂 Thanks Mark. ❤

[@artursychov]

What does it have to do with Windows Mixed Reality? This is native SteamVR / OpenXR lighthouse tracked headset.

[@SimHangerFS]

This is OpenXR/Steam VR Headset. No WMR required 😀

[@PhiLikeFlying]

So your just getting better clarity (probably not by a much compared to the Pimax light), and slightly bigger FOV! Way overpriced!! I fly for a good 2 hours a time and with that bulky heavy lump on the front that time will go down to about 20mins!! I think Pimax will be the winners here without a doubt - especially for flight sims!

[@vyacheslav_potapenko]

what a stupid comment. you will be surprised with amount of VR1 orders happening right now. people who appreciate quality and best possible VR tech for today are selecting VR1 over Pimax.

[@sirgriffinman]

You get better tracking, better screens and calibartion, you get some of the bets pasthrough on the market, you get hand tracking, you get eye tracking that actually works natively in applications without needing 3rd party applications, you get better fov, you get better optics, better clarity, better warping profiles, you get better software in general. AND THE LIST GOES ON. We get it, you can't afford it, and that's ok.

[@justinspirational]

Surely they didn't demo on msfs20 as it's more demanding than dcs (the latter can take advantage of dfr which msfs can't) so maybe the vr1 isn't up to msfs as much with even a rtx 4090 and will be better served by a rtx 5090.. that said even though it's currently theoretical I'm waiting for the pimax crystal Super later this year which potentially will be just as good (minus mixed reality) for a much better price.. I'm not going to make a repeat of getting the varjo aero for $2.1k to be superseded by the crystal light with far better optics for only $699 not long after.. I'm going to wait and just enjoy the still unbeaten to this day widest fov of my 8kx and aero clarity when I need it till the dust settles

[@Heli_Junkie]

So is my aero.. not spending thousands again with a companys that drop the product soo fast!

[@artursychov]

Why would you think that we will drop this product? We have been developing VR1 for almost 3 years.