Virtual reality has come a long way since its revival, but there are still two problems: image clarity and field of view. When the user's field of view is limited by a screen placed directly in front of the user's eyes, users with headsets tend to have the illusion that they are passing through binoculars**.
Limited field of view – That's what the Pimax Crystal aims to solve, with a larger field of view and higher pixels than any other VR headset, but its asking price of $1,599 (currently down to $1,440) and strict system requirements have raised questions about its price-performance ratio.
After John Linneman put the Pimax Crystal through a few weeks of testing, he said that despite the many hurdles to overcome (and some puzzling design), the PiMax Crystal is really not bad, and the VR experience it provides to users is truly amazing.
After all, VR games are unique in that the headset used to play games can have a big impact on the user's experience. Unlike typical traditional PC games, headsets control the user's input, the user's movement, what the user sees, and the clarity with which the user sees. All of these must be balanced with weight, size, and **, which makes the process of choosing a headset more challenging. That's why John Linneman wants to introduce more users to his experience with Crystal, so that VR enthusiasts can judge if it's right for them.
Looking at the outer packaging, when the user opens the Pimax Crystal from the large box, they see a large number of cables and accessories, including multiple batteries, a set of USB cables, and a USB hub, as well as with the main hardware itself. Compared to products with streamlined all-in-one designs such as the Meta Quest, the Pimax Crystal is more complex.
The headset itself is wide and heavy, weighing more than 1 kilogram and featuring a unique angular design. A quick glance along the edges reveals an astonishing number of buttons, switches, and connectors for a variety of accessories. The materials feel to be of high quality, though. The Pimax Crystal also comes with a pair of controllers that mimic the original Oculus Touch design, but with additional "Pi" controllers of its own. However, John Lynneman should point out that these controllers feel much cheaper than the headset itself, but the light weight is good for its usability.
The setup of getting started with the pimax crystal is very cumbersome, and if you just plug everything in, it's obviously impossible to expect it to work right away. The user will need to first install a battery in the rear bracket of the headset. Even when connected in PC mode, the Pimax Crystal does not work without a battery, for which a dead battery means that the image cannot be displayed. However, the actual battery compartment itself is also cumbersome to use, and the plastic clip that holds it in place is difficult to press, and the whole process feels unpolished.
Next, the user needs the PIMAX client application for Windows before connecting all the devices to the user's PC port. John Lynneman finds this part a bit frustrating, as the headset may not be detected if the connection order is not correct. John Linneman found that first connecting all the devices to the hub, then powering them with the included power block, and then plugging them into the computer, often worked the most reliable, but even that wasn't perfect – John Linneman found that this drained the battery faster.
Once everything is connected, it's time to go, and the user is next faced with a choice: the Pimax Crystal can be connected to the user's computer or used as a standalone headset. Hidden behind the right corner of the visor is a small switch that allows the user to switch between the two options.
In its current state, though, John Lynneman believes that despite the modern Snapdragon XR2 chipset, the standalone experience of the Pimax Crystal is slightly inferior compared to the products of Meta or Pico, especially when there is not enough power to drive such a high-resolution display, let alone enough software support, and it feels like a VR device for PC.
After switching to wired mode and launching the client application on the PC, the user will see a setup process that includes placing the Pimax Crystal around the room and letting the software calibrate everything. This process looks like an external tracking system is needed to continue, but in reality this is not the case, as the necessary camera is built into the headset itself. John Linneman found this process to be very unclear compared to the Quest, PSVR2, and PICO 4, which allow users to view through an external camera, while allowing users to manually define their own play space.
Then it was finally time to try some games, and John Linneman said that given the Pimax Crystal's high-resolution panel, he decided to start with a cockpit-based game, F1 2023, which offers native VR support. The results were clear, and the PIMAX Crystal impressed John Linneman. Every dial and gauge in the cockpit of the car is clearly visible, while the expansive field of view helps the user immerse themselves in the game world. That's the Pimax Crystal's biggest strength – delivering clarity and immersion that surpasses any other headset of the current generation.
In a VR headset, two key aspects of the optical system determine the clarity: the resolution of the internal display and the actual lens specifications used for the display. One of the key innovations of Pimax Crystal, and perhaps one of the reasons for it, is the use of aspherical glass lenses. Most VR headsets use Fresnel lenses, which have limited optimal operating points and halos in high-contrast scenes. As a result, when looking around in VR, the edges of the image often appear blurry and out of focus. Pizza lenses, such as those found in the Meta Quest 3 or Pico 4, greatly improve this, with greater edge-to-edge sharpness, but they still show some smudging.
Spherical lenses, like those in Pimax Crystal, are brighter, clearer and more durable. Essentially, these lenses better direct light from the display to the user's eyes without reducing brightness. The edge-to-edge effect is exceptionally clear, virtually eliminating glare. In addition, for people who wear glasses, this real glass lens actually helps to minimize the possibility of scratches when the two come into contact compared to plastic lenses.
Secondly, there is the display itself, with the Pimax Crystal reaching 2880x2880 pixels per eye and 35ppd per degree at 72Hz, 90Hz or 120Hz. Therefore, such a hardware base combined with the lens results in an excellent quality presentation. Initially John Lynneman was disappointed that they didn't opt for an OLED screen, but luckily thanks to the fact that these displays support powerful local dimming, the contrast ratio is stronger than all the other VR headsets John Lynneman has tested.
Next, John Lynneman tried other cockpit games, including Athletic Corsa and Microsoft Flight Simulator, both of which really showed the benefits of Pimax Crystal. Compared to the Quest 3, which excels in terms of PC VR content, the gauges and buttons are much sharper. The user can read essentially everything in the cockpit from a normal distance. Another benefit of this design is the wider field of view (FOV). One of the realities of VR headsets is the "goggle effect", but this allows the user to see the rounded edges of black in the user's peripheral vision. While the Pimax Crystal doesn't completely eliminate this problem, it's closer to eliminating these visual discomforts than any other headset John Linneman has tested: the Pimax Crystal's left and right bezels are much smaller and less distracting, while the vertical visual sensation is largely unhindered. Thanks to this design, the game feels more immersive, especially cockpit games, where the user can focus on what's in front of them.
However, this clarity poses a big catch, and that is that it takes a powerful computer to drive so many pixels. Even with a computer with an RTX 4090 and a Core i9 12900K, John Linneman had to be as stable as possible in these games to get high resolution and decent performance. In fact, while the Pimax Crystal software and SteamVR itself offer options for a more silky experience, John Linneman found that they didn't work as well compared to the more powerful features on the Meta headset, meaning that users do need to reach their target frame rate if they want a jitter-free experience.
Like PSVR2, Pimax Crystal supports eye tracking for dynamic foveated rendering, and with this feature enabled, John Linneman experimented with Half-Life Alyx, Boneworks, and Talos' Law. Among them, the details of each ** in ALYX are fully reflected, which is not possible with other headsets.
While playing cockpit-based games, though, the user is mostly sitting and looking forward, but once the user stands up and starts moving around, the weight of the PIMAX Crystal becomes apparent. So while reviewer John Linneman was shocked by the visual clarity of the ALYX, he was unable to play for long periods of time due to comfort issues. Of course, it has to be admitted that comfort is very subjective, although John Linneman hopes that wireless gaming on PC will at least reduce the weight of the machine itself, thus improving the problem to some extent.
Overall, the PiMax Crystal performed well in this John Linneman test, making it one of the best VR headsets John Linneman has ever reviewed. The clarity, brightness, and field of view are top-notch and highly immersive. If users are particularly fond of cockpit games, such as racing games and flight simulation games, there is no better option than Pimax Crystal.
The downside is that the Pimax Crystal isn't user-friendly enough to set up, and it's not very comfortable for room games, but John Linneman is sure that this will vary from person to person, but for these space games, John Linneman prefers to use the Quest because it's lightweight and more comfortable. Considering the high price of the PIMAX Crystal, John Lynneman advises users to try it out for themselves before making a purchase.