the Crystal is my first and only VR headset. I waited deliberately for the tech to get to a point where it had the features I wanted... wide view angles and that high res detail in all its glory. I am not disappointed as the experience is just so so immersive and enjoyable. The only thing that surprises me is that you need a lot of applications to get this thing to work smoothly i.e open XR..open composite, quad views etc. I am not complaining but I just thought that besides STEAM Vr why do VR head sets seem to rely on Github developers to get smoother compatibility with DCS and MSFS. The problem I find is that there are now like 6 separate menus and configurations to set up including the PIMAX native set up the game graphics settings and even the video card settings. Ok its mostly straight forward but even so why is not everything in one application? It makes setting stuff up long winded and confusing. Even at this point its still trial and error trying to achieve optimum settings. Skil is it possible to point me towards or better yet make a quick vid on set up of the applications? ALSO very nice summary video and I enjoyed your review vid.
I agree it’s by far the best for flying. Really wish it would be cleaned up somewhat because I had to become a VR expert to get all of the DFR and whatnot setup and tuned. There are some amazing references and videos online now that should help anybody get it right.
Thanks for the notifacation but think that vr stuff an me be too much.I do enjoy the pc things i do ie games an such,but as for the real life experiances its tough enough just freeway driving in the states today lol.Please keep up the work you guys do an i keep watching
@@gr-skil Yeah I have recieved mine and it never runs out of battery. I just plug a USB-C cable into a charger and the Crystal's battery power bar never goes further than two bars after a ten hour session. I've never needed to change my battery. I'm just trying to test record footage from inside it and get it looking good in 4K. It's a shame the Almalense license is going to run out on the 15th of March.
Read loads of comments and Crystal reviews. I have a Reverb G2, great headset, but I'm looking for more visual clarity. I have a 4090 and today took the plunge and ordered a crystal. I'm CPU bound in DCS at the moment so I think DFR may be the way to go to get the maximum benefit for my rig. it arrives tomorrow.
Very much agree with your option about standalone. I currently have an index with lighthouses & controllers. I’d certainly buy the crystal if it was compatible with those. I don’t want batteries & don’t have any issue with a tethered headset. It’s just one of the things you have to accept if you want to play in VR. Though to be honest if you’re gonna spend over £2000 on a PC & £500-1000 on joystick, chair, pedals etc I think you’ve already proved that the cost of a crystal shouldn’t be an issue. In fact you could argue that with the realism a HMD provides it should be in the list right after the PC. For those who have never tried DCS in VR there’s no comparison. as for the pass through I have a trackball for DCS & other than that it’s kore muscle memory for the keyboard. Tho I’d very much like some kind of maguffin that could attach to your hand so you can reach out & flick switches etc. I saw one years ago in development but I’ve heard nothing since.
To anyone who is considering buying: Pimax crystal has no edge-to-edge clarity compared to pancake lens such as Quest 3 and Pico 4. And it is very heavy. No doubt, it is crystal clear at the center if that is what you are looking for.
@@gr-skil thats weird. My lens is 35PPD. I can see double text at the edge. For example, if my head is level ahead, the text of menu button in MSFS2020 at the bottom left is doubled.
what I'd like them to make is a battery bypass. They still need to fix the audio delay, its pretty noticeable and low latency sound option sounds horrible.
Colors, visuals, and performance are pretty darn good in the Quest 3 for me. Plugged in and it actually worked perfectly the 1st time. No need to wait a year for the software to be up to usable standards either. It’s a shame that those that choose to be very early adopters pay the same price for the units as the retail buyer that just wants everything promised available at launch. Crazy concept I know. Having watched all the initial impressions videos on the Crystal, I feel many reviewers were just not critical enough. I get it, they send out a free headset for a review and tell the reviewers it’s a very early pre production model to adjust expectations. But then the retail models show up and 80% of those pre production issues still exist. All that and for a form factor that basically went obsolete at launch once Big Screen Beyond showed what is possible in the next few years
My Pimax Crystal experience is an ongoing nightmare so far. I have an RTX 4090 with a 4k@120hz + 1440p@120hz monitors plugged in. When I plug in the Pimax Crystal with the Pimax client running, and the 4k monitor is at all plugged in (not enough to be disabled in Windows) and the other monitor's resolution hasn't been lowered to 1600x1024, Windows hard crashes on me. This isn't an acceptable hurdle to start play DCS in VR as it hamstrings my system and there's already so much I have to arrange/set up on my desk since I use it for productivity as well. Pimax customer support did not honor my first request to return, and on my second request to return, they pointed me to their refund-return policy, which basically says "open a ticket" (they already ignored one), so I opened a new ticket and they just closed it saying "we're busy." I'm one phone call away from working with my credit card company to see if they can just take the money back for a defective product being sent to me and the company will not take it back.
That’s about right for a company like Pimax. My Crystal hijacked all of my USB ports the minute I plugged in. Windows would try to constantly re recognize all the generic usb controllers. If you have triple monitors on running anything over 1080p you can forget it too as that is too much for a graphics card to handle in combined resolution. So ok, unplug 2 monitors to finally get the pc to recognize the Crystal to be able to navigate through its incredibly buggy software. Then open a support ticket to a company 1/2 around the world and wait a day or 2 for them to reply back with “Have you plugged in your cables correctly?” Good luck with the RMA process also. Mine went on eBay less than a week of receiving it
HP Reverb G2 is a great headset, although starting to show its age now with the fesnel lenses. I hear good things about the Quest 3, although I haven't tried it. With your system, you should be good for a decent VR experience with most headsets.
I tried the Quest 3 in Curry's and the lenses were amazing! So much better than my Reverb G2! Screen Door effect is still there though. The Quest 3 also has a 120Hz mode and I think a 72Hz mode as well as the standard 90Hz. If I could afford the Crystal I would get that myself but I don't think I have the credit for it on Amazon.
@@leedove7255 I'm sure I remember seeing a slight screen door effect when I tested them in Curry's. I notice it in my Reverb G2's even, whenever their is bright scenery I can see thin black grid lines. I ended up upgrading my Warthog HOTAS to the WinWing HOTAS instead of getting the Quest 3. I have a few more Axis for Radar controls now! :) Do you wear glasses? I do and I would be worried about scratching the lenses myself as I can't sell my Vive Pro HMD's due to a scratch on the lens apparently. If I do get the Quest 3 in April I would definitely want to protect the lenses.
What about motion blur of the display itself? Is there any techniqe like black frame insertion or similar or is the display so capable that there is no motion blur? Its a form of lcd after all, so I would imagine some motion blur to be present. Thanks for your review!
I dont see any motion blur from the display at all. The only blurring I have seen is when DLSS or DLAA is enabled in the games, but the display itself does not suffer from it.
This "motion blur" ur talking about is persistence blur, or in simpler words eye blur, caused by sample and hold displays. All mainstream panel types are sample and hold, OLED, LCD, mini LED etc. They all have persistence blur. Pixel respone time isnt affected by BFI btw.
I can only comment on the experiance I have had and the only hardware issue I have had is that I found the USB cable for the supplied USB hub was too short to be particularly useful, so I am usingf my own powered USB hub instead.
@@supermilo Which controls can you use this way? I have no experience aside from a simple stick and keyboard. I don't think I could ever use gear with buttons everywhere, or even a keyboard without looking.
As Milo says, muscle memory and feel. There are some tricks, like tactile dots on certain buttons to help locate where your hand is on specific controls.
@@svensvensson2724 I have a HOTAS with lots of buttons, but your right, the keyboard is a pain. So I just make sure I need it as I little as possible, if at all (I use it for the F-keys only these days).
I totaly agree... after numerous headsets I used in the past (including Aero, 8kx, G2, Q3, Pico 4, CV1 ....) this is the best consumer headset, with only a few drawbacks (comfort not perfekt and price).
I have the crystal and the aero. But I always have the feeling that in the Crystal I am slightly cross eyed. Especially for things that are close to me in the cockpit.i don't have it with the aero at all
@@TheDarkman222 That's not good, of course. I don't have this problem. Maybe there is something wrong with the Pimax or it could be an individual problem, which of course wouldn't help either.
Hello, great channel… I love it!! I need some help. I have a Pimax Crystal, but… I have a double image in everything that is in motion relatively to my airplane in DCS, even a little in MSFS. Do you know what that is? How can I fix it? I have tried every possible settings, and I even thought it was IPD adjustments, but no changes what so ever… even if I close one eye the double image is still there!!! Low resolution or ultra resolution in DCS and in Pimax settings app, the problem is always the same. 2 imagens of everything, one is more transparent then the other. Even inside the cockpit if I move my head side to side the numbers get a little double too. I have a 4080, 64Ram bla bla bla… Thank you for your attention
Good headset -- unbelievably expensive. For just about ALL folks, watching this video, is going to be as close as they ever will get to this overly expensive POS. That is the reality!!! Right now, this thing costs MORE than one month of my MORTGAGE. Is that understood? That should put it into perspective! My goodness, it's time to get a grip on reality.
With how you were talking, I thought this was going to be over $2K. It’s 1.5-1.6. Eh? Some people want fidelity at any cost. That’s who this is marketed towards. Not someone who worries about how much it costs compared to their mortgage.
With how much I have in my pc alone to drive this thing (potentially I've never messed with vr) and how much a flagship monitor costs idk. It doesn't seem that bad honestly. I've been afraid of vr because I don't want to be let down with crappy performance but this is getting close to swaying me. People save up to upgrade for this stuff too. It's not like you have to miss a mortgage payment. That's how I have what I have. Bit by bit. Do you know how much you can spend on a TV if you go crazy? We're talking brand new car territory. Or a couple.
It is an expensive headset and you will need an expensive PC to run it and get a decent performance in DCS. Is it worth it?? That can only ever be answered by the user/potential user. I have used many headsets over the years and this is the first one when I have felt like the image quality was at least as good as a good monitor and i wasn't missing out on visuals/performance. I personally think it is worth the extra cost, but that is a decision everyone will have to make for themselves.
I am sorry dude but you are not the sharpest knife. "SPOILER It is the best headset !" compared to what? Your phone and some cardboard? Continue play games.....❤
the Crystal is my first and only VR headset. I waited deliberately for the tech to get to a point where it had the features I wanted... wide view angles and that high res detail in all its glory. I am not disappointed as the experience is just so so immersive and enjoyable. The only thing that surprises me is that you need a lot of applications to get this thing to work smoothly i.e open XR..open composite, quad views etc. I am not complaining but I just thought that besides STEAM Vr why do VR head sets seem to rely on Github developers to get smoother compatibility with DCS and MSFS. The problem I find is that there are now like 6 separate menus and configurations to set up including the PIMAX native set up the game graphics settings and even the video card settings. Ok its mostly straight forward but even so why is not everything in one application? It makes setting stuff up long winded and confusing. Even at this point its still trial and error trying to achieve optimum settings.
Skil is it possible to point me towards or better yet make a quick vid on set up of the applications? ALSO very nice summary video and I enjoyed your review vid.
Its simply the state of VR, we are only starting to move into standards like OpenXR.
I agree it’s by far the best for flying. Really wish it would be cleaned up somewhat because I had to become a VR expert to get all of the DFR and whatnot setup and tuned.
There are some amazing references and videos online now that should help anybody get it right.
Plendid flying Skil. Exactly my sentiments on the Crystal. Well done. 💯
You nailed that Title ❤️👍
Oh man, your accent sells the product, I am convinced
Haha yes i will wait for themplug and play version.
Thanks for the notifacation but think that vr stuff an me be too much.I do enjoy the pc things i do ie games an such,but as for the real life experiances its tough enough just freeway driving in the states today lol.Please keep up the work you guys do an i keep watching
The one bad thing is the battery.. I don't ever have to worry about my G2 running out of battery!
Their is a way to get infinite power with the Crystal. I think it's on Reddit.
I have mine coming in twelve hours but it's the default Sim version.
Non issue, mine never runs out.
With a decent powered USB hub, the battery continues to charge whilst you use the headset, so it has become more or less a non issue.
@@gr-skil Yeah I have recieved mine and it never runs out of battery. I just plug a USB-C cable into a charger and the Crystal's battery power bar never goes further than two bars after a ten hour session. I've never needed to change my battery.
I'm just trying to test record footage from inside it and get it looking good in 4K.
It's a shame the Almalense license is going to run out on the 15th of March.
needs passthrough for when you forget where all the trash on your desk is and what your fingers are punching
Passthrough is coming soon!!👍
Read loads of comments and Crystal reviews. I have a Reverb G2, great headset, but I'm looking for more visual clarity. I have a 4090 and today took the plunge and ordered a crystal. I'm CPU bound in DCS at the moment so I think DFR may be the way to go to get the maximum benefit for my rig. it arrives tomorrow.
So let us know what do you think compared to your g2 😊
Very much agree with your option about standalone. I currently have an index with lighthouses & controllers. I’d certainly buy the crystal if it was compatible with those. I don’t want batteries & don’t have any issue with a tethered headset. It’s just one of the things you have to accept if you want to play in VR. Though to be honest if you’re gonna spend over £2000 on a PC & £500-1000 on joystick, chair, pedals etc I think you’ve already proved that the cost of a crystal shouldn’t be an issue. In fact you could argue that with the realism a HMD provides it should be in the list right after the PC. For those who have never tried DCS in VR there’s no comparison. as for the pass through I have a trackball for DCS & other than that it’s kore muscle memory for the keyboard. Tho I’d very much like some kind of maguffin that could attach to your hand so you can reach out & flick switches etc. I saw one years ago in development but I’ve heard nothing since.
To anyone who is considering buying: Pimax crystal has no edge-to-edge clarity compared to pancake lens such as Quest 3 and Pico 4. And it is very heavy. No doubt, it is crystal clear at the center if that is what you are looking for.
Hmm, I find that my Crystal has as very close to edge to edge clarity as my Pico 4.
@@gr-skil thats weird. My lens is 35PPD. I can see double text at the edge. For example, if my head is level ahead, the text of menu button in MSFS2020 at the bottom left is doubled.
what I'd like them to make is a battery bypass. They still need to fix the audio delay, its pretty noticeable and low latency sound option sounds horrible.
I haven't had the audio problem, but I have seen others talk about it.
@@gr-skil Pretty annoying, I've had as much as a two second delay.
I don't have the same issue
Colors, visuals, and performance are pretty darn good in the Quest 3 for me. Plugged in and it actually worked perfectly the 1st time. No need to wait a year for the software to be up to usable standards either. It’s a shame that those that choose to be very early adopters pay the same price for the units as the retail buyer that just wants everything promised available at launch. Crazy concept I know. Having watched all the initial impressions videos on the Crystal, I feel many reviewers were just not critical enough. I get it, they send out a free headset for a review and tell the reviewers it’s a very early pre production model to adjust expectations. But then the retail models show up and 80% of those pre production issues still exist. All that and for a form factor that basically went obsolete at launch once Big Screen Beyond showed what is possible in the next few years
hmm interesting... Why someone happy with the Quest3 spent so much time writing such a long comment under a DCS-related video?
because he wants to share his experience ??@@melvinf78
good job keep going
Try Quest 3 and make price to quality comparison
My Pimax Crystal experience is an ongoing nightmare so far. I have an RTX 4090 with a 4k@120hz + 1440p@120hz monitors plugged in. When I plug in the Pimax Crystal with the Pimax client running, and the 4k monitor is at all plugged in (not enough to be disabled in Windows) and the other monitor's resolution hasn't been lowered to 1600x1024, Windows hard crashes on me. This isn't an acceptable hurdle to start play DCS in VR as it hamstrings my system and there's already so much I have to arrange/set up on my desk since I use it for productivity as well. Pimax customer support did not honor my first request to return, and on my second request to return, they pointed me to their refund-return policy, which basically says "open a ticket" (they already ignored one), so I opened a new ticket and they just closed it saying "we're busy." I'm one phone call away from working with my credit card company to see if they can just take the money back for a defective product being sent to me and the company will not take it back.
That’s about right for a company like Pimax. My Crystal hijacked all of my USB ports the minute I plugged in. Windows would try to constantly re recognize all the generic usb controllers. If you have triple monitors on running anything over 1080p you can forget it too as that is too much for a graphics card to handle in combined resolution. So ok, unplug 2 monitors to finally get the pc to recognize the Crystal to be able to navigate through its incredibly buggy software. Then open a support ticket to a company 1/2 around the world and wait a day or 2 for them to reply back with “Have you plugged in your cables correctly?” Good luck with the RMA process also. Mine went on eBay less than a week of receiving it
Hot tip. Best is Varjo.
Well if you want to spend 4k, most people wont. They dont make the aero anymore.
Hello, is that mode where you got hd quality where you look and low rez around any good?
Yes, it works great!!
Nice but out of my price range at the moment. What other headsets work well? I'm running an RTX4080 with a 13900K CPU and 64 GB or DDR5 RAM
HP Reverb G2 is a great headset, although starting to show its age now with the fesnel lenses.
I hear good things about the Quest 3, although I haven't tried it.
With your system, you should be good for a decent VR experience with most headsets.
I tried the Quest 3 in Curry's and the lenses were amazing! So much better than my Reverb G2! Screen Door effect is still there though. The Quest 3 also has a 120Hz mode and I think a 72Hz mode as well as the standard 90Hz.
If I could afford the Crystal I would get that myself but I don't think I have the credit for it on Amazon.
I don't see any screen door in my Quest 3.
@@leedove7255 I'm sure I remember seeing a slight screen door effect when I tested them in Curry's. I notice it in my Reverb G2's even, whenever their is bright scenery I can see thin black grid lines.
I ended up upgrading my Warthog HOTAS to the WinWing HOTAS instead of getting the Quest 3. I have a few more Axis for Radar controls now! :)
Do you wear glasses? I do and I would be worried about scratching the lenses myself as I can't sell my Vive Pro HMD's due to a scratch on the lens apparently. If I do get the Quest 3 in April I would definitely want to protect the lenses.
@@British_Dragon-4K-Simulations Quest 3 adjusts to make clearance for Glasses. I also think you can get prescription lens to save wearing glasses.
What about motion blur of the display itself? Is there any techniqe like black frame insertion or similar or is the display so capable that there is no motion blur? Its a form of lcd after all, so I would imagine some motion blur to be present. Thanks for your review!
I dont see any motion blur from the display at all.
The only blurring I have seen is when DLSS or DLAA is enabled in the games, but the display itself does not suffer from it.
This "motion blur" ur talking about is persistence blur, or in simpler words eye blur, caused by sample and hold displays. All mainstream panel types are sample and hold, OLED, LCD, mini LED etc. They all have persistence blur.
Pixel respone time isnt affected by BFI btw.
Are we just going to deliberately ignore the CONSTANT quality control issues Pimax has?
I can only comment on the experiance I have had and the only hardware issue I have had is that I found the USB cable for the supplied USB hub was too short to be particularly useful, so I am usingf my own powered USB hub instead.
How do you even play with this stuff on your head when you can't see your controls?
Muscle memory and feel. Same as in a car. You quite quickly get used to where things are and never need to look.
@@supermilo Which controls can you use this way? I have no experience aside from a simple stick and keyboard.
I don't think I could ever use gear with buttons everywhere, or even a keyboard without looking.
As Milo says, muscle memory and feel.
There are some tricks, like tactile dots on certain buttons to help locate where your hand is on specific controls.
@@gr-skil I think I'm too clumsy & confused for this stuff. Thanks for the anwers anyway.
@@svensvensson2724 I have a HOTAS with lots of buttons, but your right, the keyboard is a pain. So I just make sure I need it as I little as possible, if at all (I use it for the F-keys only these days).
I totaly agree... after numerous headsets I used in the past (including Aero, 8kx, G2, Q3, Pico 4, CV1 ....) this is the best consumer headset, with only a few drawbacks (comfort not perfekt and price).
I have the crystal and the aero. But I always have the feeling that in the Crystal I am slightly cross eyed. Especially for things that are close to me in the cockpit.i don't have it with the aero at all
@@TheDarkman222 That's not good, of course. I don't have this problem. Maybe there is something wrong with the Pimax or it could be an individual problem, which of course wouldn't help either.
Hello, great channel… I love it!!
I need some help.
I have a Pimax Crystal, but…
I have a double image in everything that is in motion relatively to my airplane in DCS, even a little in MSFS. Do you know what that is? How can I fix it?
I have tried every possible settings, and I even thought it was IPD adjustments, but no changes what so ever… even if I close one eye the double image is still there!!!
Low resolution or ultra resolution in DCS and in Pimax settings app, the problem is always the same.
2 imagens of everything, one is more transparent then the other.
Even inside the cockpit if I move my head side to side the numbers get a little double too.
I have a 4080, 64Ram bla bla bla…
Thank you for your attention
VULCAN HOWL❤❤. That is all.
Haha!! Aye, I even stopped talking to let the howl come through!!😂
it's not even oled....
Good headset -- unbelievably expensive. For just about ALL folks, watching this video, is going to be as close as they ever will get to this overly expensive POS. That is the reality!!! Right now, this thing costs MORE than one month of my MORTGAGE. Is that understood? That should put it into perspective! My goodness, it's time to get a grip on reality.
With how you were talking, I thought this was going to be over $2K. It’s 1.5-1.6.
Eh? Some people want fidelity at any cost. That’s who this is marketed towards. Not someone who worries about how much it costs compared to their mortgage.
With how much I have in my pc alone to drive this thing (potentially I've never messed with vr) and how much a flagship monitor costs idk. It doesn't seem that bad honestly. I've been afraid of vr because I don't want to be let down with crappy performance but this is getting close to swaying me. People save up to upgrade for this stuff too. It's not like you have to miss a mortgage payment. That's how I have what I have. Bit by bit. Do you know how much you can spend on a TV if you go crazy? We're talking brand new car territory. Or a couple.
It is an expensive headset and you will need an expensive PC to run it and get a decent performance in DCS. Is it worth it?? That can only ever be answered by the user/potential user.
I have used many headsets over the years and this is the first one when I have felt like the image quality was at least as good as a good monitor and i wasn't missing out on visuals/performance.
I personally think it is worth the extra cost, but that is a decision everyone will have to make for themselves.
That is why the Quest 3 makes sense. No eye tracking but with the new lens you don't need it and it has good passthrough. 1/3 the cost.
Some people have more money than others. Just the way it is.
Every 6 days, on average, another country celebrates independence from Britain.
I am sorry dude but you are not the sharpest knife. "SPOILER It is the best headset !" compared to what? Your phone and some cardboard? Continue play games.....❤
Haha, thanks, I guess you just weren't paying attention, but no worries, I'll go get my cardboard...😂