The 5 Things You Need To Consider Before Deciding on the Pimax Crystal - Our Initial Review

In this initial review of the Pimax Crystal, we break down the Top 5 things you need to consider when deciding whether to buy a Pimax Crystal VR Headset. With footage on a RTX3080Ti from iRacing, DCS and Microsoft Flight Simulator we tackle the common objections being raised about the Pimax Crystal, our experience with the unit and our thoughts on those objections plus what they mean from a Flight Sim and Sim Racing perspective. Should you upgrade to the Pimax Crystal?
00:00 Intro
00:25 1. Setup & Stability
03:30 2. Comfort & Weight
05:24 3. Do You Need to Upgrade to a 40 Series GPU?
06:37 4. Battery
09:10 5. Image Quality & FOV
12:05 Final Thoughts
Check out the Crystal and ORDER NOW on Player1 Sim gear: p1simgear.com.au/products/pim...
Shout out also to Will and the team at Boosted Media ( / @boostedmedia ) Please check out their channel if you haven't already. We are huge fans of their work and this video is in no way a criticism of their Crystal review. We respect their views and opionions, and just want to showcase that our experience with this unit has perhaps been different and yours may be also.
Useful Links:
- Crystal Q&A: pimax.com/crystal/
- Setting Up Pimax XR Runtime and OpenXR Toolkit: pimax.com/how-to-run-openxr-o...
- Crystal set-up: pimax.com/product-setup/
- Crystal Software Client: Download PIMAX version 1.8 and uninstall PIMAX version 1.10. Download Link：drive.google.com/file/d/1dA-l...
- Crystal Package & polycarbonate lenses & Fiber optic cable & announcement: pimax.com/crystal-shipping-up...
- Crystal Specs: pimax.com/crystal/
- Crystal Tips: pimax.com/crystal/
My PC Specs:
Intel Core i7 12700k 5GHz
Gigabyte RTX 3080ti Eagle OC 12GB
64GB Crucial 4800MHz DDR5
SSD

[@player1simgear]

Let us know below what your experience has been with the Crystal if you have one, and what GPU are you planning to run with it if you're planning to pick one up?

[@neogeo9117]

Just fulfilled my pre-order, running a water cooled 4090. Probably over the top for my first VR headset... 😅😅 Just found your channel and have bookmarked your store site. Enjoying the content.

[@player1simgear]

@@neogeo9117 Thanks so much! Please do keep us posted re how the Crystal runs on that beast of a rig!

[@daveone191]

AVOID PIMAX!!!! Customer service is a 0 from 10. Setup is fine, performance is fine, image quality is fine but AVOID JUST because of the Customer Support. It really is that bad! Irrespective of how good the Crystal headset is the Pimax customer service is shockingly bad. My 8KX developed audio issues after 6 weeks and I returned it in April (23). Its now the end of July (23) and I've been told they can't replace (as they have none) and all they can offer is a discount on a 12K. To be released when?! I've asked for either a refund or to pay the difference for a Crystal. 2 weeks ago they said they would get back in 3 days. After 2 chasding emails still nothing. I guess I'll have to take them to court to uphold their guarantee. AVOID PIMAX - don't say you haven't been warned!

[@babenkoff]

Thank you for the honest review! One question, does it has diopter adjustment? for those who wear glasses.

[@daveone191]

@@babenkoff I wear glasses (short sight) and have not had any issues. VR headsets generally don't have diopter adjustment. It is possible to get inserts to go in front of the lenses if needed. However, I'd suggest trying first as you will likely not need any.

[@techfun123]

I finally received my crystal and my setup didnt have any hassle. I scratched my head when watching the bradley video, havent had any of his issues.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Bradley has always hated pimax for some reason, its quite clear. Its really hard for him to say anything positive about pimax.

[@player1simgear]

Yeah likewise we had a very different experience!

[@Lucas_Pit]

My man. This is such a high quality video. Not because you are telling me a little bit what I hoped and would want to hear, no, the honest and straight forward way of explaining your experiences. Great job.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙

[@EbonySeraphim]

Small note: your flight sim must not include DCS multiplayer where you can't pause and if you fully aim to accomplish what a real pilot would as soon as they enter the cockpit (cold start, flight, ingress, attack, RTB, land) you are looking at substantial mission times of over an hour. #1 is/was killer for me and I have an RTX 4090. I ordered a Pimax Crystal a few weeks ago and it would not turn on in PCVR mode. I wasted a lot of time trying random USB power configurations (even though my USB power setup is clearly good), and switching up different display ports and unplugging monitors -- despiting have an RTX 4090 which should be able to do the basics to drive 2 monitors plug enable a VR headset display. I had a remote session with tech support and the outcome was that I needed to full unplug my main monitor, and my secondary monitor needed a drop in resolution back to 1600x1024; literally something from 20 years ago. For me, this makes the Pimax unsable for two reasons: 1) I task switch a bit while flight simming and only being able to alt-tab to a single monitor at a stupidly low resolution just for the headset to not CRASH my system is ridiculoous. The fact that being shy of these requirements even causes a crash is also extremely worrisome. 2) doing this makes launching into DCS even more troublesome and a hurdle that makes me less likely to want to play it. I already start TrackIR, VoiceAttack, VPC LinkTool sometimes for LED lighting, SimShaker or ButtKickerHaptiConnect, plug in the ButtKicker cable to my chair -- not too bad having a 5950x and 64GB of RAM it all starts up and runs just excellent, but now I have to go to a physical plug that is inconvenient to access and change the resolution down on the other monitor below native? And undo that when I'm done? Nope...I don't have a dedicated sim machine, I have one. As a reviewer, you shouldn't miss the significance of "oh, just unplug a monitor and everything works great!" That is not minor. Consider that not everyone sims on a dedicated machine, and if it is a sim rig, accessing that cable to unplug may be very inconvenient. Some VR simmers have solid multimonitor setups before VR and still use it for desktop productivity. What was also disturbing to me is that the Pimax tech support session person seemed to be quite aware of the issue and said a future firmware update will fix the problem. I don't like this at all. I don't trust that the problem will be fixed either. I'm returning my headset. And let me be clear: I'm not saying the Pimax Crystal is bad for everyone. If you don't have the problems I have, it can work for you. However, my issue is that Pimax isn't open about the current issue, and resolving it before letting a customer make the purchase knowing they're basically going to be hamstrung.

[@GYGOtv]

Wow, let me just say the production value of your content is top notch. As a content creator myself, I know the difficulty in doing this level of production. Hats off to you, and you certainly deserve far more subscribers! Not to mention, your info is outstanding as well! Best of luck to you and your channel.

[@gibilator]

Neil is killing it isnt he. Can't wait for your opinions as well! That B2B with the aero is going to be a doozy.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much, Its still very much a work in progress on the production side, learning heaps with every vid though! Love your channel too btw - have subscribed!

[@GYGOtv]

@@player1simgear Thanks for the Sub... I already Subbed here too. All I can say is if you are still learning, you are on the right track. Keep up the good work!

[@andrew777au]

Best crystal rewiew on youtube! Thanks!

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much!

[@Mkwhite1974]

Thanks for your great unbiased review unlike others I won't mentioned you got a new subscriber

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙

[@colinwright7242]

Fantastic to hear you thoughts, l was slightly on the fence about cancelling my pre-order after Will's review. Definitely buying now first VR headset can't wait😊

[@player1simgear]

Nice! Feel free to pm me directly if you have any setup challenges when your one arrives!

[@benjaminh4290]

best review out there, thank you very much.

[@nickcutting4556]

Great review , have mine on preorder and feeling more confident about some of the issues people have you having :)

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙 Let us know how you go when your one arrives!

[@nickcutting4556]

@@player1simgear will do :)

[@staffanstuff]

Nice to see an overall positive review for once.

[@GlennCorbet]

Awesome review, thanks guys.

[@player1simgear]

Our pleasure! Thanks very much for checking it out Glenn, let us know if you have any questions.

[@rhadiem]

Glad to hear Pimax is growing up and starting to make great products!

[@sunoiler]

Thx i am SO LUCKY that i get mine soon - thx for that Review - great Channel

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙

[@ervmoore1111]

Excellent! Thank you Sir! Thanks for sharing!

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙

[@Zeeflyboy]

Agreed I've had little by way of problems... its been pretty solid, and much better than my G2 ever was! I was initially pretty unhappy with the overall experience due to the plastic lenses being very poor with distortion, focus problems, CA etc. Thankfully the glass lenses arrived and now no distortion, no problems with focus and only mild CA... I can finally enjoy the headset and I think it's fantastic. Hopefully soon Quad Views Foveated rendering will be enabled soon for DCS and then performance will be great for that game at least

[@player1simgear]

Awesome, my glass lenses are due to arrive today - I've had such a good experience even with the plastic ones, can't wait to try the glass.

[@kingjamez80]

I think some folks just set in their mind that it's Pimax so they hate them and will post a video complaining about all the things in the past that Pimax has had problems with and thus "clicks". Appreciate the non-biased perspective.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙

[@metalmanexetreme]

I’d say Pimaxes QC is spotty and you play a lottery when getting any of their devices (I won with my 5k+ but lost with my 8kx [left audio was DOA, not the speaker, the whole circuit, tried getting replacement but pimax support just sent speaker & closed ticket]) the same concepts seem to apply with the Crystal (some people are getting plastic lense, or copper wires, and some get the superior glass lenses or fiber optic cable) I still love pimax and it’s devices but I can’t honestly tell someone they are guaranteed a fully functional product, and it ust is what it is.

[@marcjean2472]

@@metalmanexetreme All Crystal VR headsets are now shipped with glass lenses. 🙂

[@dathyr1]

Thanks for your review of this headset. Nobody ever mentions the most crucial VR requirement which is - it helps to have two eyes??? LOL!!! Just Kidding. I currently have the same GFX card in my computer as you - RTX-3080TI but do not have any PIMAX products. I am holding off for when the lower cost Crystal lite headsets come out and watch the reviews on them to see what people think of them. The current Crystal VR headset is too costly for me. With the newer Crystal Lite headsets, I really don't need a battery or eye tracking since I only do sitting down - SIM racing games. It is nice that these have the same optical specs and the headset connects directly to the Display Port of my GFX card. So far as connections we are back to the PCVR headsets similar to my Oculus Rift S. Thanks again and take care.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks mate! Yep good call, the new Light models will be a great addition to the VR space - perfect for simmers, if the fixed eye tracking works as well as we hope it will

[@chrisbenes1582]

First time viewer and new subscriber. Extremely well presented and balanced video. Part of me really wants this headset for my next upgrade (currently have a 5k+) but the battery kills it for me. Although you made some great points on the battery I think there are 2 issues that are not considered: 1. Batteries degrade over time. 3 to 4 hours now could be 1 to 2 hours in a couple of years time and even worse beyond that. Yes these can be replaced, which leads to the second point. 2. These batteries are designed in a specific form factor, meaning you can't just plug a couple of AA batteries in to replace. Hence you will need to order replacements from Pimax. At some point they may stop making them, particularity if future headsets are made without batteries or are a different form factor. Now that may be a long time down the road and perhaps I'll have upgraded to a newer headset by then. But this is a significant investment meaning I should still be able to use this headset for years to come. Not a criticism, more of a food for thought. As mentioned great work and looking forward to more content.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks Very much for the sub and your comments! You raise a great point re longevity on the batteries. It will be very interesting to see how Pimax tackle that in the future if it becomes a problem.

[@jeffsandford6464]

I can get seasick watching a puddle but this review makes me want to go out and buy one of these in the hope I can use it for my iRacing

[@tomlawson3157]

I love your 'puddle' content!

[@AndrewAffolter]

Would love to see a dedicated video from you on the Pimax Crystal + iRacing experience. Your thoughts on clarity, how you have it configured, OpenVR vs. OpenXR, etc.

[@player1simgear]

Great suggestion! It's on its way!

[@Simmymind360]

I have been up in the Air about this headset,however I'm a Sim racer and this i think will be the go to headset for me..thank you

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate your support. 🤙 Let me know if you do have any more questions, happy to help!

[@Simmymind360]

@@player1simgear absolutely, I have owned the valve index, Reverb G2 a d Oculus quest 2 I'm sure I will alpy the upgrade 👍😜😍

[@julioc2441]

👏👏👏 excellent video!

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much!

[@axev133]

Thanks!

[@a320sideslipproblems4]

Very few people seem to be discussing Smart Smoothing. As a DCS user, Clarity is one thing - Clarity and smooth performance is another. If Smart Smoothing is not working with DCS as yet and people are getting as low as 40FPS without frame interpolation then that’s a no go for me, for now at least.

[@player1simgear]

Even without it, the smoothness is really effective - there are no noticeable jittering or stutters for us.

[@a320sideslipproblems4]

@@player1simgear

[@a320sideslipproblems4]

@@player1simgear ok thanks for that.

[@soundscaperecordings1111]

Now im really excited.. eta 2 days!

[@AliAli-xc8sw]

Thank you so much for an amazing review . I just got rtx4090 i do use triple monitor at1440 at the moment i am using rverbG2 with no problems with all the 3 monitors and var connected My question will i need to disconnect one of my screens ? Thank you for your answer

[@glitchinthematrix9306]

man this review made my decision on going either tripples or vr even more interesting and more difficult to choose!

[@player1simgear]

Yeah I hear you! I have been all about triples forever, but I'm moving now to VR. I recommend going the other way and starting with VR, then seeing if you need to make the move to triples later. VR is just more engaging and more convenient too if you have the budget to do it well.

[@Sean_Coyne]

Nice, balanced review, thanks for that. My pre-order is paid for and is due for shipping in a week or so. It will be coupled with a 5800x3D plus a 4090, exclusively for Microsoft Flight Simulator, so really looking forward to upgrading from my current G2 and Pico 4.

[@player1simgear]

Thanks so much, you'll love it -on that rig it'll blow you away on MSFS, Let us know how you go when it arrives!

[@Sean_Coyne]

@@player1simgear I got it a day ago and it has just blown my mind. For flight sims it is hands down the best headset currently on the market and that includes the Varjo Aero. The image quality is outstanding; super sharp, no screen door effect, great colours and with local dimming fantastic contrast with true blacks plus a great FOV. Probably not for beat sabre crowd, but for simmers it's the bee's knees.

[@player1simgear]

@@Sean_Coyne I totally agree, for simming, easily the best headset on the market.

[@DarkDMD]

I was playing within 5 minutes of getting the Crystal. The hardest thing to deal with is the stupid battery release mechanism. If you close your fingers on it and then rock it back and forth, it removes pretty easily, but you need to know that otherwise its a PAIN.

[@player1simgear]

Yep agreed - great to hear you also got up and running quickly! Which sim titles are you running mostly?

[@DarkDMD]

@@player1simgear acc and assetto corsa. I also did f1 23. Tonight I'm gonna try a few others.

[@gavancorrigan8813]

Thanks for the review. Looks like I’m investing…

[@player1simgear]

You won't regret it, these headsets are awesome!

[@heikogehrig]

Does the headset have the "CE" logo printed anywhere on the box or headset itself? (ie - compliance with EU directive )

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

Nice to see a positive overview about the crystal for a change. I just made the final payment for mine, but I was hesitating a while because of all the negativity all over the place. I understand all the critique and where it's coming from, but I don't understand how so many people only talked about the lenses, cables and software issue but failed to even mention the most important thing of all - the visual quality 🤷‍♂️

[@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews]

When did you place your pre-order?

[@nickcutting4556]

@@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews got my final confirmation last Sunday, preordered March 25th...

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

@@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews I got the "complete your order" about 2 weeks ago and I made the pre-order in end of January. The email says it'll be shipped within 2-3 weeks though.

[@player1simgear]

We're stoked it was helpful! Thanks so much for checking out our channel.

[@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews]

@@nickcutting4556 Nice. Things are moving forward then. Placed my pre-order late May

[@georgetazberik6834]

10:35 thanks for bringing this up, this is key to my immersion in many different kinds of games considering that all VR headsets have less than 100% human FOV. I just figure that my character in game is wearing something. In medieval combat it could be a big metal helmet, many real world examples of which had extremely limited FOVs, in Half Life Alyx I figure the main character WOULD wear some kind of protective eyewear in such a dangerous environment with dust and alien spores floating around, and in racing and piloting, yeah you wear helmets. So really, imperfect FOV isn't as immersion breaking if one thinks about it.

[@yaongyaong4415]

Great review! Have you tried big screen beyond? How is the crystal's colour reproduction compared to OLED screen? I'm worried about washed out colour and it's the only thing that's stopping me from buying crystal.

[@player1simgear]

Not yet! I can't wait to give it a go though!

[@player1simgear]

And the colours on the crystal is it's biggest selling point for me, it is super bright and vibrant - the local dimming really makes a big difference.

[@JozefTrubac]

What is the measured horizontal FOV? Not from a spec sheet but actually measured. Thanks

[@richardPalmisano]

fantastic video my man. my questions for you are does the pimax come with the glass lenses and not plastic right? and what about the extra lenses that was supposed to come with it i think its the 42 ppd larger fov ? because i did preorder in march of this year and really want to not cancel the preorder after watching some reviews , but after watching your video i am confident of this headset and will be a success for my i racing and msfs. thank you for that

[@player1simgear]

Thanks very much! Your feedback is very appreciated. :-) All the Crystals now are shipping with the glass lenses, but just the 35PPD ones. Pimax haven't said yet whether the larger FOV lenses 42 PPD will be sent later, or if they have changes to make them a paid optional upgrade yet. Given how good they have been sending out the HUBs I'm hopeful they will send the wider FOV lenses also for free, but we'll keep you posted on that one!

[@richardPalmisano]

@@player1simgear thanks for the fast response. i am surprise that in your video you are using DLSS over TAA with DX 12 ive seen videos that DLSS isnt really up to par yet. anyway i have the reverb G2 and was wondering if i can use your settings and see what i get , although i do have a 4090, but what do you think about the override resolution that you have set 2968x3192 will do with the reverb g2 just a thought. thanks

[@nickcutting4556]

@@player1simgear Joshua at Pimax has said pimax have dropped the 42ppd lens due to negative feedback( it was meant for virtual desktop use ) and are now working on a free wider fov lens which I think is great news:)

[@rubberonasphalt]

I just came to the realisation that a VR headset with a helmet form-factor would be awesome for a sim racer like me. You can get extra comfort, & weight is distributed across an area, instead of a few points of contact. Not sure it would appeal to the mass market though

[@player1simgear]

That would be so cool! haha, might be super-niche market wise, but I'd definitely give it a go! :-)

[@tayloraverett3138]

With a helmet headset you’d have to put on the full suit, boots and gloves at that point! I would love that as well.

[@DrR1pper]

Have you tried the Varjo Aero by any chance? I'm trying to decide between it and the Crystal.

[@tayloraverett3138]

Anyway you could share the resolution downscaling tweaks you made to get such good performance?

[@player1simgear]

I am still working that out tbh - in this vid it was downscaled to around 2700 x XXXX on OpenXR. I am finding though that clarity wise ~ 3000 may be the sweet spot for me.

[@TheHiddenTrueSecrets]

Is the FOV of the crystal affected negatively by the comfort gasket?

[@player1simgear]

No I believe so, they are about the same thickness. The comfort just goes higher up your forehead

[@lebanese000]

No issues at all when setting it up. Always works as expected.

[@player1simgear]

Likewise! The new firmware has really helped with this too

[@Anonnymouse53]

I got the Pimax 5K back when it was pretty new. I dipped on the 8KX, because I thought my GPU would be a too underpowered for it, I struggle with night/rain and large WEC grids on the 5K with my 3070 in AC. But all I need from a headset is a seated experience, I don't care about dealing with some tech/comfort issues off the bat - so long as I get what I need from a headset which is the best panels I can get. From what I'm hearing, I'm finally going to be upgrading to a Crystal and a 4090 this year.

[@player1simgear]

I agree - that's our exact use case for a VR headset too, And the Crystal delivers on that in spades.

[@Anonnymouse53]

@@player1simgear I was a bit reticent as I'd heard about the battery thing & them not arriving with the glass lenses, along with general grumbles about software, etc. The battery longevity probably would be a problem for me, I do frequently run 4hr stints on the weekends and sometimes do local-coop endurance races with pals that can run up to 12 hours but it's probably not enough to put me off. Glad to have seen your review which focuses on what we care about in sim, other reviewers seems to be concentrating on minutiae that doesn't really concern me at all.

[@FierceFire14]

I was wondering, how is the heat of the headset? I have a pico 4 and it can get pretty hot on my face sometimes leading to a headache, and I was wondering if the pimax has good cooling on the face

[@player1simgear]

Hi there! its really good actually, i race long (4hr) sessions and its really comfortable.Thanks for the question!

[@AutoconProductions]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the standalone feature has still been shipped. I think that is something that some should consider outside the sim space.

[@player1simgear]

Correct yes the crystal does have a stand alone feature but it is not enabled yet - it is due to be enabled in a software update any day now.

[@Lakedistrictrider]

Can you wear a normal gaming headset over the top to prevent sound leak? I normally play in a shared room where others watch tv so off ear audio is an issue

[@player1simgear]

No not really, it is quite a big headset. Earbuds would be fine though.

[@Lakedistrictrider]

@@player1simgear thanks 👍

[@brent4770]

Does it fog up any? I like my Aero's fan to keep it from fogging.

[@player1simgear]

I do get a small amount of fogging the first 5 mins or so of use, but I get that with all HMD's as the wife tells me I make too much noise when racing, so my home rig is in the garage, and its winter here in Australia so it gets freezing out there! 🙂 But after 5 to 10 mins and maybe 1 or 2 wipes with a lens cloth, it doesnt happen again. Overall the Crystal is really cool on your face, though again I am currently playing in a fridge so that helps!

[@Madeyes6]

Do you know if you can use index lighthouses & controllers?

[@player1simgear]

Yes! there is an update coming soon to enable exactly that!

[@vicotg7987]

What about tracking ? I Ve heard it drifts a lot in iracing ?

[@nickcutting4556]

Got my Crystal preorder fulfilled yesterday, so weeks away from trying out my first ever VR headset! will be getting a whole new system to run it, rtx4090, intel i9-13900, 64gb ddr5 ram, will be playing DCS mainly but will also get ms2020 sim, Star Wars squadrons and half life Alex to try with the new set up, what can I say, Coming from an gtx970 with a 24inch 1080 screen, I cant wait! :)

[@valrond]

Get a 7800x3d if you're going to use it for simulators (or 7950x3d). Sims benefit A LOT from the 3D cache. I really don't get how many simmers don't know this and they just go for the more expensive and less performing Intel CPUs.

[@nickcutting4556]

@@valrond someone in my flight group has that chip i think, shall have a chat with him, thanks for the advice :)

[@valrond]

@@nickcutting4556 NP. Thanks for taking it as advice. Most of my mates from the sim group I am got a 5800x3d or a 7800x3d because of that.

[@nickcutting4556]

@@valrond which sims do you fly?

[@player1simgear]

You'll be blown away, That first time sitting in a plane and feeling that sense of height - its a moment you'll remember.

[@marywow9659]

Yeah been looking into this one. Got allot of well things to work out huh. How much you wanna bet those will not be talked about. Every one should really search read up because yeah they were not talked about

[@Skippy2Ton]

What do you think the timeline is for currently unreleased features?

[@player1simgear]

We are already testing the software, its working great. I think GA release of the new software wont be far away at all.

[@viper03x99]

So you can't use it without the battery? I like doing endurance races on iRacing 1,4,6,12,24hr races usually in a team. That's a big mistake if you can't run it off of a extra power cable or high wattage USB C cable.

[@player1simgear]

The new hub gives 6 to 8 hours battery life, and Pimax have advised if you run another cable into one of the USB-C ports you get pretty much unlimited battery life. Wow tho, a 12 or 24 hr enduro is impressive! Doing those is on my must-do list!

[@viper03x99]

@player1simgear ok cool. I've been working on upgrading my pc/rig. Started 1080p, went 4k, now currently G9 ultra wide. But there's been a few times being able to look around would have been beneficial. Jump to vr will be expensive. I'd want a better card than my 3080 for high fps and having side mirrors on in iracing. The higher the resolution, the better.

[@ogiwanshinobi380]

You know thats an ad when there is zero negative poinsts

[@MatasVinikaitis]

You said that you had to buy it like everyone else had to do, the only thing i wanted to ask was. How long did you have to wait from the point you preordered one until you actually got it? Asked over on the pimax yt channel but no replies..

[@player1simgear]

It took about a couple of months, but we ordered very early - the times are coming down a lot now as they ramp up production. I believe 4 to 6 weeks is the eta if you order now, but that could come down quickly too.

[@MatasVinikaitis]

@@player1simgear Nice! my preorder was on the 5th of June, hopefully it should be around the corner :D

[@naxalar]

Got my preorder please pay in full email, will be running it with my 4090 and used for flight sim and racing.

[@player1simgear]

Awesome! Let us know how it goes! It will be epic on that card.

[@barnold62]

Also just found out today that the final price does not include duties and taxes.

[@yuiop2703]

I'm so torn between this and the Bigscreen Beyond as I am not a simmer. I want to play Beat Saber, B&S, Half Life Alyx, Subnautica, VAIL, Pavlov, etc. The allure of not having to deal with sweet spots or light leak on the Beyond is amazing, but I also hate the FOV and Hz loss

[@player1simgear]

Its a tough call, but tbh, the Crystal is a big headset, i think the low profile nature of the big screen will be a winner for non-sim use cases (ie non sitting ones!)

[@lavir74]

So the comfort face gasket is not included? You have to purchase it separately? I didn't know it as all reviewers I watched had the larger face mask installed so I thought it was in the box. It's a strange decision on their part to not include a more comfortable face mask for those who prefer it.

[@player1simgear]

No, it is included for free. The Crystal ships with 2 gaskets; the normal and the comfort. But the normal comes already installed on the unit, the comfort is separately packaged in the box.

[@lavir74]

@@player1simgear Ah, ok, thanks. I misunderstood what you said in the video. In fact it seemed to me such a bizarre decision not to include the comfort face gasket, if it would have been so. Thank you for the clarification.

[@player1simgear]

@@lavir74 My pleasure - i just re-watched that part of the vid and you're right, it is not very clear!

[@kendil22]

I'm still waffling on this vs the Varjo Aero. Both look good, but the Aero has good track record and crystal is new so we don't know if it'll hold up long term. Pimax has had some misses in that department with early versions of headsets.

[@DrR1pper]

In the same boat but from what I can find and it seems to be a sufficient number of unique voices, the Crystal is the way to go. So I'm leaning that way right now.

[@kendil22]

@@DrR1pper Yeah I put in a pre-order but I'm wondering if the Quest Pro is "Good Enough" and if I should just get that. I'm pretty happy with my reverb g2 and most people think the pro is a upgrade to that. I just know artifacts or any motion issues would drive me nuts and I've seen some in lenses footage that makes think the pro isn't for me.

[@alexsp7086]

The Varjo support is good… I mean they are from Finland, they are good sorted out people. Only prob is I have heard allot of issues with screen burn in’s

[@kendil22]

@@michaelturner9638 I ended up cancelling the Crystal and getting the Quest Pro. I'm pretty happy with it and I don't use VR enough to justify almost double the price tag for the Crystal. I'll hold on to the Pro for a couple of years and then see what's out.

[@bomkata]

thanks for this video its hard to fully trust youtubers that get the headsets sent to them. I am currently on a quest 2 and have been on the fence to get this headset or the aero or quest pro or wait and see for quest 3 camp.

[@kangjames2492]

don't get the aero. trust me.

[@Wistbacka]

​@@kangjames2492why?

[@bomkata]

@@kangjames2492 expand on that pls.

[@SisterPain]

or the deckard the valve 2 one they have kept secret. i also am on the quest 2 that i use for pcvr. ive already paid for my unit so hopefully soon the shipment will go out. i dont want to buy another headset soon i want to be able to get a great time proof headset like the index that still sells despite being on the market i think they said for 5 years.

[@nw7738]

👍

[@user-yy8ln9rg4s]

You sure about that? Coz my Crystal was literaly DOA, it just didn't want to connect to the PC and I'v contacted Pimax technical support team, we got it to boot up and I had a white screen after the Pimax logo then the technical support guy from Pimax told me to wait as he needed to check with whe R&D team, then he told me that i need to return the headset. Buying Pimax is like going for a lottery, you're obiviously the lucky one, i do agree with the comfort though, but the software is definitely still a mess compared to Pico and Meta.

[@player1simgear]

Oh no, sorry to hear that! Please do let me know how you get on with the resolution.

[@armurf]

What g card you using

[@gibilator]

3080ti.

[@armurf]

Thanks

[@youngyingyang]

Motion sickness is NOT related to clarity, but FPS / refresh rate. If you keep the FPS above 90 or the lower than 11ms, the motion sickness should go away.

[@Simmymind360]

For crying out loud..it's still in Beta fellas. Just like any New device..there will be updates

[@David-nb2bc]

If we go by your logic, every product out there that can be updated is a beta? There will never consider a production unit because there will always upgrade/update coming soon?

[@Woopass90]

Battery charging is an unnecessary annoyance IMO. I often jump into a sim race at the last minute. I would be livid if my HMD went black mid race due to a flat battery. I'll go with a BigScreen Beyond.

[@player1simgear]

I understand the concern for sure, but its one of those issues that seems bigger in theory than in practice. It's actually pretty simple to keep the battery in the hmd topped up, and if you did forget, just throw the spare battery in before you start. Hasn't been a problem for us at all.

[@SisterPain]

from my understanding if your battery dies your headset doesnt shut down right away but prompts for a new battery. but if you can play for 6 to 8 hours at a time i feel that is plenty unless we are simming an around the world flight then it wouldnt be fitting i expect.

[@brianstone6463]

7:45 "There is the potential of overcharging the battery." How is that even possible? This is a solved problem. It's not even a difficult problem to solve.

[@player1simgear]

Agreed - we are looking into it more with Pimax - it might just have been a support rep being overly careful.

[@dustinfletcher5562]

What a salesman! Take my money 😂

[@poolhallshark]

♥♥♥♥♥

[@jackadams8299]

“They didn’t need to make that a free addition” bro we’re paying $1.6K for this headset. “Free” battery pack wouldn’t be exactly how I describe it 😂

[@player1simgear]

Fair call, I meant the USB Hub that they included though, lots of other sim brands like to include hubs as paid add ons. Just nice to see Pimax add it at no cost.

[@Totem9519]

Two past awful experiences with Pimax says I'll pass...

[@ClinchRiverHomestead]

Same here their customer service is horrible

[@player1simgear]

Hopefully those days are behind them now, their support seems to be much improved. I totally understand though, a bad customer experience is tough to get past.

[@Totem9519]

Having support staff available stateside would be a start. Having a 12 hour time difference with China only added to the frustration...

[@EazyE11]

​@@ClinchRiverHomesteadMy Crystal arrived with a broken head strap. Customer service responded the next day and sent out a replacement.

[@Anothersimracer666]

All this only for the incredibly low price 3k…… VR won’t appeal to the masses until the pricing is reasonable and its plug and play, Iracing updates have killed VR for me (reverb g2 with 4090/7900x3d).

[@player1simgear]

Yeah fair call for sure, its been great to see the evolution in recent years - we are getting there for sure, but def some way to go in terms of accessibility and cost.

[@ndoki9]

What about non-sim players that want to play Half Life Alyx for 6 hours standing

[@player1simgear]

That's a very fair point! I havent tried that myself!

[@RTSchramm]

I heard that the Pimax has poor tracking.

[@player1simgear]

I've found it to be very good in a seated position for sim stuff, I must admit I havent yet tested the controllers or the stand alone mode which is due to be enabled shortly.

[@egamez1]

Set up is a breeze.....it is a plug-and-play VR headset. It is the best VR headset money can buy right now. DCS and MFS look spectacular with the Pimax Crystal. ALL other VR headsets are trash compared to the Crystal, INCLUDING the Varjo Aero. I'm sorry to say, but China is at the forefront of VR technology right now.

[@alanday5255]

Since you are a VR professional, I would serious question your credibility if you could not set it up and use it. However, as NOT a VR professional my knowledge base is much less.