Can you recommend the Crystal to a happy Quest Pro owner?

[Flextremes]

Happy Quest Pro owner here,

I am delighted with the visual crispness the Quest Pro can run DCS using 4xMSAA and significant oversampling that is possible with Dynamic Foveated rendering using the Pro's eye tracking. Apart from a few niggles, I do not have anything to complain. Did not expect this, but my gamble to try the Pro until the Crystal became available was way more successful than expected.

Now the Crystal is available, I have doubts if I should order one. 

So my million-dollar question is: are the Quest Pro owners here that are happy with their move to the Crystal. Sure, if you are coming from the G2, the Crystal seems an easy recommendation. But coming from a finely tuned, smooth as butter, crispy crisp Quest Pro experience in DCS, how does the Crystal compare in practice? 

[Willie Nelson]

Wait until dynamic foveated rendering and or smart smoothing is released and working properly (nobody seems to be using DFR in DCS anyway at this stage, I don’t know why not) and then you can get a definitive comparison from an objective and independent coherent review.

Until then, hold your fire. Hard to be patient when we all want the next big step, me too, but right now it will be a definitive step backward in terms of performance even though the image quality itself is for most people outstanding.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Willie Nelson

[Tshark]

If you are happy with your current VR experience and not sure, then wait.  At least until it is available on Amazon where they have a 30 day money back guarantee.  I did this when the Rift came out and was glad I was able to return it.  Couple years later I got the G2 with the same return policy and have been using it ever since.  VR is VERY personalized with regards to fit, visuals, sound, etc, and buying from a place that allows full money back returns is the smart way to go.

That said, I got my Crystal yesterday and I am thrilled with it.  You are right that coming from a G2 it just makes sense to upgrade to the Crystal.

Hope this helps

[WipeUout]

I considered going for it and even shelled the 30 bucks.  I changed my mind and I will not get it.  Based on the reviews out there, I think that the crystal is a transitional HMD and not offering enough from what I can do with my 8kX, the tradeoffs would simply be too much.  I had a hard look at the quest pro also, it is a slick HMD which sports DFR and local diming also with a much more mature design.  Going from the Quest Pro to Crystal will bring you basically more resolution, a tad more FOV but a the expense of performance, then you will have to scale down settings and quality to achieve a decent FPS rate.  I don't think it is worth it.  For me, I will wait and upgrade my GPU instead as I am still not exploiting the full potential of my 8kX with present hardware.

Edited August 9, 2023 by WipeUout
Typo

[Blazerrr]

Hi guys, first time posting here.  Here is my take on this.  I own the 8kx and the Crystal so I have some experience with Pimax.  The Crystal is very clear but there are severe chromatic abberations.  Maybe they are present on the 8KX but less apparent because the clarity is not as good.  A lot of people are reporting the CA issue.  The other owners may not have it (they won the lens lottery) or they just don't know what CA is.  Nevertheless, funny enough, the clarity makes the fringing very apparent and distracting to me.  No software adjustment will make those go away.  Either the lens are bad or the seating is no good (yes I did reseat my lenses).  I tend to think it's the lenses.  Nikon and Canon have decades of experience desingning to get rid of optical imperfections.  Can Pimax resolve this?  Maybe but I am starting to have my doubts.  There are serious issues in this company.  They always overpromise and their customer service sucks.  I reported the issue to Pimax a while back and they haven't responded.  Also when I bought the Crystal, I got the famous email saying my hmd was ready and to complete the payment.  Well they did take my money but the Crystal was NOT READY.  It shipped a month later when I got the different credit entities involved.  You just don't take money when the products are far from ready to ship.  Are they cash strapped?  Their customer service people seem non existent.  Then I could talk about all the issues I had with the 8KX and the Pimax company.  Finally the Crystal is not as comfortable as the 8KX.  The head strap is too narrow, the weight balance is off and the nose piece is a bit flimsy. Oh I also have to mention for those with the 8KX that the FOV is disappointing but to be expected.  Let me know your thoughts.

[Hippo]

I, like you, have a Quest Pro and am very happy.  I haven't tried the Crystal but would be very wary of changing at this time.  Main reason: this guy puts it very well.  Just do the math and be very sceptical of YTs reporting butter smooth frame rates.

Second reason, in spite of multiple YT videos singing its praises, is that Pimax QC and customer service are very suspect.  I find this guy tells it like it is although I suspect his particular experience in this case might have been sub-optimal. 

[markturner1960]

Not got the crystal, but do have the Pro ( upgraded like you from a G2) and am extremely happy with it. Clarity is amazing, performance excellent and the winning factor for me is the comfort...so great not having a mask clamped to your face.........I would advise keep it. Its a lot of headset for the money .......

[Flextremes]

Really appreciate everyone's comments here. I share most concerns mentioned here about the Crystal and I do agree, the Quest Pro is an impressively good headset (in all aspects). 

However, I am looking forward to actual Pimax Crystal owners experiences who upgraded from the Quest Pro.