What are the best VR headsets (for DCS) on the market right now?

[Buckeye23]

I'm considering switching to VR for DCS and need to know, from the best of the best (you guys!), what are the best VR headsets on the market right now?

One question about VR headsets - since some missions last HOURS, do VR headsets get uncomfortable after flying for an hour or more?

[Gun Jam]

I think there are quite a few of us that are holding their breath for the somnium vr1 but thats probably 3 months away still and no one has really seen one for real but it does look promising.

as for right now people will fight over pimax crystal vs Varjo Aero. The crystal has better visuals the Aero is a better headset (fight!) I own neither but I suspect thats what a poll would show.

[Motomouse]

VR sets are uncomfortable (the experience makes up for it), you can fly several hours in them, the Aero is more comfortable than the Crystal.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Motomouse

[DayGlow]

Personally I really like my QPro. Decent FOV, edge to edge clarity with the lenses. Eye tracking for DFR and wireless for better VR outside of sims. 

Pimax Crystal is king of clarity, but my experience with Pimax with my 8kx is that there is a lot of jank in their headsets and software. 

[Phantom711]

I don`t think there is that one definite answer to your question.

If you are used to 2D, you must be ready to make some compromises with VR! You will have to tune down your DCS graphics settings....yes, even with a 4090.

So instead of going for a Mercedes as a first car, go and get a Toyota instead! The HP Reverb G2 once was one of the go-to headsets for flightsims due to its (back then) high resolution. It probably still is one of the bread-and-butter headsets amongst DCS VR players...and they are pretty cheap now on ebay. I think this might be a good appoach for dipping your toe into the dark and muddy VR-waters. You will learn about different settings and tweaks and what they do. It will give you a baseline upon which you can build an educated opinion about what you like and what your priorities for a newer headset might be.

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Phantom711

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

First, budget. Not only for the headset, you will need to consider the accessories. Not to mention that the PC itself must have to power to push VR. If you want to use it for long hours, no matter how comfortable the headset would be out-of-the-box, you will need accessories.

Then for the headset graphics quality, here is a personal (not mine) comparison of Aero, QPRO and Q3.

 

[Dangerzone]

2 hours ago, Phantom711 said:

I don`t think there is that one definite answer to your question.

If you are used to 2D, you must be ready to make some compromises with VR! You will have to tune down your DCS graphics settings....yes, even with a 4090.

Even with DFR? 

Re the HP. I have a HP Reverb, while I like it - I acknowledge it's old tech now. That, plus certain issues with the cable being the weakest link (and difficulties getting a replacement depending where you live) would have me questioning buying a HP Reverb as a replacement. On Ebay - I'd be wondering how many have 'begun' to have issues with their cables and how long they will last. 

For my next purchase, I won't touch headsets that can't support DFR. From what I'm finding - this is a huge deal (even more than the GPU you use) when it comes to performance if setup right. While there may be cheaper headsets and save some money - I wonder if the price difference between a budget one, and a good VR headset with DFR is more cost effective than what would be needed to 'up' the GPU for the equivalent. 

[dburne]

Really loving my Aero with a Studio Form Apache comfort strap.

[ssg]

I have been looking upgrading Q2 to something else and I have looked into pretty much every headset.

Top ones are not in any particular order. 

Varjo Aero

Quest Pro

Pimax Crystal

Each one of these has their own advantages and disadvantages. There is not a singular best one, it depends what is important to you. Pimax Crystal seems to be the king of the hill, but for folks in EU it is extremely expensive compared to the competition. 

There is also Quest 3, but it does not support DFR so it is not good fit for DCS. However if you are willing to for go that feature and are on budget it is the best choice easily. Some people even say it is better than Varjo Aero but I am bit sceptical about that. 

Older gen headsets like G2, Index etc. all lose to Q3 in every metric. However if you are unsure about VR or just want to try it out without big commitment second-hand G2s are cheap and it is excellent headset.

I am personally leaning towards Quest Pro. It is decently priced, good overall, only major downside is the compression.

Pimax Crystal is double the price compared to Aero or QPro here in Europe.

Varjo seems to have dropped support for Aero. There are still no local dimming or reprojection which could come in handy on heavier missions. It also has abysmal vertical fov. 

 

Somnium V1 seems interesting but there is literally zero information about its pricing and real specs. Like we see with Crystal the specs on paper can be very different than in reality. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by ssg

[Phantom711]

@Dangerzone

DFR certainly can be an improvement, but it‘s not a holy grail.

I just switched from a G2 to the Quest Pro yesterday.

My G2 is about 18 month old, still with the old cable. It happened, that the G2 wouldn‘t connect, but that was rather rarely and unplugging the power briefly always solved the issue. Don‘t know about the v2 cable, but that even has a power button.

Now I deliberately made the decision to trade the slightly higher res of the G2 for more edge to edge clearity and DFR. And still remain at a reasonable price. 
But that‘s my whole point, if you are new to VR, you simply can not know, which specs are important to you. The G2 would be a cheap and yet solid HMD to start off of. It’s also rather easy to set up. I would not have been able to set up the Quest Pro yesterday without the help from this forum.

The question is not „what is the best headset?“ but „what is the best headset for you?“. The OP is not asking for a replacement, but for a first headset fir DCS.

But sure…don‘t get it all wrong: I‘m not saying, the G2 is „the best headset“.

[Motomouse]

... Varjo seems to have dropped support for Aero. There are still no local dimming or reprojection which could come in handy on heavier missions. It also has abysmal vertical fov ...

 

... seems to have dropped support ... I feel quite well supported  There just was a new upgrade to the varjo software

... no reprojection ... There is reprojection. It is called motion smoothing on the Aero. I prefer to just run 45 FPS sync without this feature and I am able to run high DCS settings in this mode on a 5600&3080 (Visib. Range Extreme, ...) It looks quite nice

... abysmal vertical fov ... Coming from the Reverb I do not feel a difference

 

The Aero is performing much better on the same hardware than the Reverb. Many people can perhaps forgo a hardware upgrade by switching to the Aero.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Motomouse

[dburne]

22 minutes ago, Motomouse said:

... Varjo seems to have dropped support for Aero. There are still no local dimming or reprojection which could come in handy on heavier missions. It also has abysmal vertical fov ...

 

... seems to have dropped support ... I feel quite well supported  There just was a new upgrade to the varjo software

... no reprojection ... There is reprojection. It is called motion smoothing on the Aero. I prefer to just run 45 FPS sync without this feature and I am able to run high DCS settings in this mode on a 5600&3080 (Visib. Range Extreme, ...) It looks quite nice

... abysmal vertical fov ... Coming from the Reverb I do not feel a difference

 

The Aero is performing much better on the same hardware than the Reverb. Many people can perhaps forgo a hardware upgrade by switching to the Aero.

 

 

Fully agreed! I so love my Aero !!!!

[Mk1_Trebuchet]

Having personally owned and used a Quest2, Reverb G2, Quest Pro, and now the Aero (All on the same system)  I can say that the Aero outperforms the others without question.

Does it have the best FOV? No (About the same as the G2 to my eyes)

Is it the most comfortable? No (Quest Pro with Globular Cluster wins that one for me)

Does it have aftermarket accessories? No (Quest series has most, Aero has effectively none)

But the performance and clarity are amazing. And it achieves this without the need for tweaking 3rd party mods (OXRTK is amazing, and required for the G2/Quests - But turned off for the Aero) With the Aero, the only thing I use is Mbuccia's Varjo Foveated app.

It's all subjective, but that's been MY experience. 

 

And I'll echo what's been said here before, if you make the jump from pancake to VR, temper your expectations. It WILL require balancing graphics with performance and you need to go with as high-end hardware as you can to have the best experience.

 

13900K - RTX4090 - 64GB RAM - M2 SSDs

[MIghtymoo]

No one is mentioning Pico 4? 

Equivalent to Quest 3 and you can get them dirt cheap used.
Got mine for 180 Euros and just love it.

You get much more out of your VR experience with a RTX4090 and a Pico/Quest3 compared to keep an older GPU and go for a VR-headset with DFR.

Basically you need great HW to have a really good VR experience, regardless of headset...

Good luck on your VR-adventure.

 

[Motomouse]

Varjo Aero + about 12 DCS modules provides substantial more fun and than a 4090 and costs less if you already own a 3080  

 

I will upgrade my hardware when there is a GPU with >16 GB VRAM and double the bandwith of the 3080 for less than 1000 bucks. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Motomouse

[MIghtymoo]

18 minutes ago, Motomouse said:

Varjo Aero + about 12 DCS modules provides substantial more fun and than a 4090 and costs less if you already own a 3080  

 

I will upgrade my hardware when there is a GPU with >16 GB VRAM and double the bandwith of the 3080 for less than 1000 bucks. 

 

A Varjo Aero with base stations are not that much cheaper that a RTX 4090. 

And with all due respect an RTX 4090 outclasses an RTX 3080 when it comes to VR performance.

My point is, spend money on a good PC-rig before buying high end VR-headsets...Both is the best (if you can afford it).

[Motomouse]

1500 < 2200

(Aero + 2 Base Startions) < (4090)

4090 not necessary with Aero @ 45 FPS, that is the point 

... And with all due respect an RTX 4090 outclasses an RTX 3080 when it comes to VR performance. ...

It should at double the price  With a 4090 I could probably use high textures instead of medium. Else I would experience no difference at 45 FPS.

(Ok, increase the resolution a few percent as well )

Edited October 31, 2023 by Motomouse

[MIghtymoo]

23 minutes ago, Motomouse said:

1500 < 2200

(Aero + 2 Base Startions) < (4090)

4090 not necessary with Aero @ 45 FPS, that is the point 

... And with all due respect an RTX 4090 outclasses an RTX 3080 when it comes to VR performance. ...

It should at double the price  With a 4090 I could probably use high textures instead of medium. Else I would experience no difference at 45 FPS.

(Ok, increase the resolution a few percent as well )

 

1. You can get a new RTX 4090 for around 1800 Euros.

2. Agree that you do not need a 4090 for any VR-headset on 45 fps...

For anyone considering entering the world of DCS VR, it's crucial to emphasize that a superior VR headset alone won't guarantee a great experience; a powerful PC-rig is equally essential.

[dburne]

56 minutes ago, MIghtymoo said:

A Varjo Aero with base stations are not that much cheaper that a RTX 4090. 

And with all due respect an RTX 4090 outclasses an RTX 3080 when it comes to VR performance.

My point is, spend money on a good PC-rig before buying high end VR-headsets...Both is the best (if you can afford it).

 

Aero has been reduced to 990 USD now.

Aero plus DCS = incredible experience due to tracking.

Edited October 31, 2023 by dburne

[Mk1_Trebuchet]

14 minutes ago, Motomouse said:

Else I would experience no difference at 45 FPS.

No intent to enflame things here... but with the 4090 and Aero I'm pretty well locked at 90fps.

 

I've been building gaming rigs for just about as long as they've been around... I'm talking swap meets in MIT parking lots days... and it's always been an arms race between hardware and software.  I eventually settled on two core strategies. (Your mileage and situation WILL vary)

1 - Spend money INSIDE the box first, and peripherals second (including displays). 

2 - Save longer if I must, but I never invest in last-generation tech to save a buck. It only means it will be underperforming (or obsolete) sooner.

I take your point about a 3080 being enough, because it very well can be.  At the end of the day this can be a very expensive hobby and the individual must make their own decisions about where their time and resources are spent. I would NEVER advise someone to spend more $ just for the sake of 'shiny and new' but with the speed at which the tech advances, an individual decision must be made that balances cost/performance and longevity.  I wholeheartedly agree that the current prices of equipment are INSANE and largely unwarranted for the uplift, but this is not really a new phenomenon. (A hundred dollars for a 16-bit sound card was nuts to me once upon a time)

There are only 2 ways to be a perfectly happy PC gamer.... Be independently wealthy, or live within your means and temper your expectations.  I lean heavily on the latter. 

[Motomouse]

I am not so sure my 5600 would be good for 90 FPS even with a 4090

[MIghtymoo]

You need a fast CPU to maintain 90 fps across the board.

I upgraded from 10600K to 13900K and all my stutters/reduced fps with the Apache disappeared. 

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

For comfort among Meta headsets, here is one (not mine) opinion:

 

[Dangerzone]

19 hours ago, Phantom711 said:

@Dangerzone

DFR certainly can be an improvement, but it‘s not a holy grail.

I just switched from a G2 to the Quest Pro yesterday.

My G2 is about 18 month old, still with the old cable. It happened, that the G2 wouldn‘t connect, but that was rather rarely and unplugging the power briefly always solved the issue. Don‘t know about the v2 cable, but that even has a power button.

Now I deliberately made the decision to trade the slightly higher res of the G2 for more edge to edge clearity and DFR. And still remain at a reasonable price. 
But that‘s my whole point, if you are new to VR, you simply can not know, which specs are important to you. The G2 would be a cheap and yet solid HMD to start off of. It’s also rather easy to set up. I would not have been able to set up the Quest Pro yesterday without the help from this forum.

The question is not „what is the best headset?“ but „what is the best headset for you?“. The OP is not asking for a replacement, but for a first headset fir DCS.

But sure…don‘t get it all wrong: I‘m not saying, the G2 is „the best headset“.

That's all fair points. I guess it depends on your world view / priorities. I take the approach of "Buy right, buy once" - so I'm prepared to spend the bigger bikies up front if it means I'm not losing money long run to crawl before walking. (Although I failed on that one when I though the X56 should do the job for me and then had to go again with the VKB and Virpil combo's). 

From my perspective, there is a lot more you can know without having to try first. I bought my last motorcycle that way. Ordered it without a test ride. (Partly out of necessity because I don't live anywhere where I could get a test ride even when it did come in), but there's enough reviews, etc that gave me a decent understanding of what to expect and I could make a relatively informed decision. Same with the 4090, never got a chance to give it a test ride.

I don't know what the G2 is going for now on ebay, but maybe it's far less than I'm thinking. I guess the important thing is for us to back our thoughts with why, so the OP (and others) can make an informed decision not just based on our thoughts, but why we come to those conclusions to start with. Thanks for the detailed reply!

[markturner1960]

A really really big plus point the quest pro has over all the others that no one has mentioned, is the fact it does not clamp on your face like a scuba mask, which all the others do. I have 2 rigs and 2 headsets - quest pro and a G2 and the pro is so much more enjoyable to use. Plus you can see out from under to use hardware and sim pit. I love my quest pro.

Edited November 1, 2023 by markturner1960