I own an 8KX and clarity is fine - IPD adjustment is challenging, and you will need to set it 3mm-ish lower than your expected IPD. Only had sparkling when using an extension (1 meter) for the DP. Also, I get no warping when moving my head around.
I have a 5k + I only sim race so i dont need lighthouses or controllers, i use bluetooth headphones, i have zero light leakage. This is THE sim racer headset. If your a gamer then probably not. Its really that simple.
As a backer I just can't recommend PiMax as a headset or company.They did a lot of scummy things during the Kickstarter. The really big problem is the edge warping of the image. How much warping you see on the edges depends on the Z depth of your eyes to the screens, you may be able to shim the headset to fit or find something OK from the pads they provide by getting closer or further but its a lot of fiddling about and you might never get it usable. It makes most people very motion sick when its wrong. In my experience around 30% of people can't make it work at all. The sweet spot discussion has happened a lot within the backers. Its caused by looking at an angle to the screens, some people manage to improve it a little by adjusting the settings to bring the focus point down 1-2 points but its not really fixable and it does seem to be a quality control issue with lenses to screen distances. PiMax has gone back and forth on fixing this and right now its mostly a no so you may just get lumbered with a bad unit. PiMax refuses to even acknowledge many of these problems going back years at this stage so I don't see them solving it anytime soon. You can definitely see the potential of wide VR headsets from these headsets but for many they just aren't comfortable to wear due to the warping and lack of clarity nor the actual straps that really don't work so well for such a heavy headset. The quality is definitely all over the place and its years after the first versions went out to backers and its still the same unsolved problems. Part of the reason they aren't likely to fix them is because they have spent considerably effort kicking out the people from their tech support and backer forums who have issues. Its not a nice company and its a deeply flawed set of products.
Is the warping at the edges affected by what FOV setting you use at all (Large/Normal/Narrow) ? I would think that using the "Normal" FOV setting (at 150°) would make the warping mostly disappear, but I would like to know from someone who has used the headset and knows this first hand!
@@KevinS47 I personally don't notice any at normal, perhaps I just got used to it. At large it's there but I can easily ignore it in racing, flight sims etc but for more movement based games like Alyx, Boneworks etc then I set it to normal.
The strap sucks. Totally agree. I've use the Vive DAS headset along with a thicker leather face pad on 5k+ and 8kx. That fixes the ergonomics but should not be necessary on a top of the line headset. Sweet spot takes some moving of headset on face, but not much different than G2 I have. I don't have blurry motion. Wonder if you have some SteamVR or iRacing option set incorrectly??? I'm getting 90fps in iRacing with 5950x and 3080. Did you contact support when your FW bricked? Being able to see both mirrors and more with the large FOV can't be beat. Can't go back to looking thru paper roll tubes.
Thanks for writing this, I've been leaning towards the 5k because in racing I think the higher fps will be more enjoyable than graphics I don't notice because I'm to busy racing
Yeah different panels, sadly this doesn't effect the overall fit, comfort and horrible warping when using the wide FOV... He mentions the image is more stable then in a small text pop up says it hasn't improved the warping at wide FOV settings, pointless as this is only reason to buy a Pimax headset! lol
sounds like your 8KX has either has a defective cable or needs reseating it would explain the clarity issue that isn't there for me, you could try reseating the cable at the hmd its hard to pull out but should click when you push it back in
@@NayveYT Yeah I've heard enough about this company to keep me far away. Rather than put their heads down and work on getting 1 solid product out there, they seem to be all over the place.
You can 3d prind spacers for the interface to get the headset to fit better on your face. But the warping is a bit annoying. And the blurry edges was also annoying. I did not have enough time to test my 8k+ out cause the controllers start drifting in games.
thank you for this. But regarding simracing , personally Im not convinced a huge FOV is that important , I mean, in a real car you really cannot see (in) two side mirrors at the same time. Adding to that if a wear a helmet I dont have a massive fov also. When on triples it adds a lot of immersion, but watching lots of videos about this I´m not convinced it works the same in VR. I want to look at the apex with my head instead of only my eyes.
You can literally glance left to right (either with your eyes or head) to look for other cars and see the apex just as in real life... imagine blocking off your door windows then trying to race, thats what having a single screen is like.
big problem with these headsets (and all of the ones with this design, so StarVR etc included) - is there's no room for prescription lenses, I tried some while I had some tiny frameless glasses on and it just mashed them directly into my eyeballs (and for sure would scratch).. so uh.. only you 20/20 users may apply I suppose.
I recently bought one of these and I f*cking despise it. The comfort is absolutely appalling, and the foam is horrible; I have never worn a more uncomfortable headset. The headstrap is beyond atrocious; it's terribly uncomfortable and it wobbles all over the place. The cable quality is horrendous and the audio is crackling after I stepped on it ONCE (on soft carpet, might I add). The fishbowl effect across the entire lens is nauseating, and the edge distortion is completely unacceptable. The weight is also just ridiculous; the flimsy headstrap doesn't balance it at all. The resolution is bloody dismal, hardly feels like an upgrade over my CV1, and the peripheral vision was so blurry that I'd rather have blackness. I've spent days and days changing foam thickness, headstrap angle, physical IPD, software IPD, vertical adjustment, etc etc, and this headset is just straight up awful. My nose is killing me and I'm absolutely fed up with it. Going back to my CV1 was more bliss than disappointment. The 8KX may be great for sim racing and flight simming if you can get it to be slightly comfortable while not moving your head, but the 5K Super is just horrible all round. I regret every bit of this purchase, and I'm never buying anything from Pimax again.
![Pimax 5K Super Review - 200 degrees at 120Hz of awesome [Gaming Trend]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AAM8t5BIYo4/mqdefault.jpg)
I own an 8KX and clarity is fine - IPD adjustment is challenging, and you will need to set it 3mm-ish lower than your expected IPD. Only had sparkling when using an extension (1 meter) for the DP. Also, I get no warping when moving my head around.
What do you mean lower? Do you mean undershoot or overshoot?
Cracking review as always Karl 👌 the honesty and in depth talk is what we love
I have a 5k +
I only sim race so i dont need lighthouses or controllers, i use bluetooth headphones, i have zero light leakage.
This is THE sim racer headset. If your a gamer then probably not.
Its really that simple.
I absolutelt hate mine for sim racing. The aliasing is abysmal and it's the most uncomfortable pos in the world
this is best VR reviewing channel by far
As a backer I just can't recommend PiMax as a headset or company.They did a lot of scummy things during the Kickstarter.
The really big problem is the edge warping of the image. How much warping you see on the edges depends on the Z depth of your eyes to the screens, you may be able to shim the headset to fit or find something OK from the pads they provide by getting closer or further but its a lot of fiddling about and you might never get it usable. It makes most people very motion sick when its wrong. In my experience around 30% of people can't make it work at all.
The sweet spot discussion has happened a lot within the backers. Its caused by looking at an angle to the screens, some people manage to improve it a little by adjusting the settings to bring the focus point down 1-2 points but its not really fixable and it does seem to be a quality control issue with lenses to screen distances. PiMax has gone back and forth on fixing this and right now its mostly a no so you may just get lumbered with a bad unit. PiMax refuses to even acknowledge many of these problems going back years at this stage so I don't see them solving it anytime soon.
You can definitely see the potential of wide VR headsets from these headsets but for many they just aren't comfortable to wear due to the warping and lack of clarity nor the actual straps that really don't work so well for such a heavy headset. The quality is definitely all over the place and its years after the first versions went out to backers and its still the same unsolved problems. Part of the reason they aren't likely to fix them is because they have spent considerably effort kicking out the people from their tech support and backer forums who have issues. Its not a nice company and its a deeply flawed set of products.
Is the warping at the edges affected by what FOV setting you use at all (Large/Normal/Narrow) ?
I would think that using the "Normal" FOV setting (at 150°) would make the warping mostly disappear, but I would like to know from someone who has used the headset and knows this first hand!
@@KevinS47 I personally don't notice any at normal, perhaps I just got used to it. At large it's there but I can easily ignore it in racing, flight sims etc but for more movement based games like Alyx, Boneworks etc then I set it to normal.
The strap sucks. Totally agree. I've use the Vive DAS headset along with a thicker leather face pad on 5k+ and 8kx. That fixes the ergonomics but should not be necessary on a top of the line headset. Sweet spot takes some moving of headset on face, but not much different than G2 I have. I don't have blurry motion. Wonder if you have some SteamVR or iRacing option set incorrectly??? I'm getting 90fps in iRacing with 5950x and 3080. Did you contact support when your FW bricked?
Being able to see both mirrors and more with the large FOV can't be beat. Can't go back to looking thru paper roll tubes.
Thanks for writing this, I've been leaning towards the 5k because in racing I think the higher fps will be more enjoyable than graphics I don't notice because I'm to busy racing
Good review, very usefull, I'll be staying with my HP Reverb G2
I think the 8kx was secretly upgraded this month. MRTV claimed that he waited to buy it cause he heard they'd be changing some things.
Yeah different panels, sadly this doesn't effect the overall fit, comfort and horrible warping when using the wide FOV... He mentions the image is more stable then in a small text pop up says it hasn't improved the warping at wide FOV settings, pointless as this is only reason to buy a Pimax headset! lol
sounds like your 8KX has either has a defective cable or needs reseating it would explain the clarity issue that isn't there for me, you could try reseating the cable at the hmd its hard to pull out but should click when you push it back in
I would bet 100% that you got an 8kx with bad lenses
Maybe. But then we’re so many people who got bad lenses. Inexcusable for the price.
@@NayveYT Yeah I've heard enough about this company to keep me far away. Rather than put their heads down and work on getting 1 solid product out there, they seem to be all over the place.
sounds like hit or miss..
Does the warping get better running at lower FOV?
Yes a little... but then why buy a HMD with a large FOV in the first place?! lol
You can 3d prind spacers for the interface to get the headset to fit better on your face. But the warping is a bit annoying. And the blurry edges was also annoying. I did not have enough time to test my 8k+ out cause the controllers start drifting in games.
what spacers
thank you for this. But regarding simracing , personally Im not convinced a huge FOV is that important , I mean, in a real car you really cannot see (in) two side mirrors at the same time. Adding to that if a wear a helmet I dont have a massive fov also. When on triples it adds a lot of immersion, but watching lots of videos about this I´m not convinced it works the same in VR. I want to look at the apex with my head instead of only my eyes.
You can literally glance left to right (either with your eyes or head) to look for other cars and see the apex just as in real life... imagine blocking off your door windows then trying to race, thats what having a single screen is like.
I see those 3 x 55" oleds in the background Karl, when's the big reveal video?
Coming! LG are delaying things as it's sponsored content I have to hold off until they are ready.
Is the screen door effect as noticable as the index?
im pretty sure its roughly the same
Is a RTX3070 good enough to run this headset ?
Yes but not maxed out.
These days you don't need them anymore. Too bad sharpness. Simply discard the part. Whether it's the Pimax 5K+ or the 8K. Just too old
Awful headsets by todays standards.
big problem with these headsets (and all of the ones with this design, so StarVR etc included) - is there's no room for prescription lenses, I tried some while I had some tiny frameless glasses on and it just mashed them directly into my eyeballs (and for sure would scratch).. so uh.. only you 20/20 users may apply I suppose.
Contacts?
this looks really uncomfortable.. can you sleep while wearing it?
Doubtful! lol
I recently bought one of these and I f*cking despise it. The comfort is absolutely appalling, and the foam is horrible; I have never worn a more uncomfortable headset. The headstrap is beyond atrocious; it's terribly uncomfortable and it wobbles all over the place. The cable quality is horrendous and the audio is crackling after I stepped on it ONCE (on soft carpet, might I add). The fishbowl effect across the entire lens is nauseating, and the edge distortion is completely unacceptable. The weight is also just ridiculous; the flimsy headstrap doesn't balance it at all. The resolution is bloody dismal, hardly feels like an upgrade over my CV1, and the peripheral vision was so blurry that I'd rather have blackness.
I've spent days and days changing foam thickness, headstrap angle, physical IPD, software IPD, vertical adjustment, etc etc, and this headset is just straight up awful. My nose is killing me and I'm absolutely fed up with it. Going back to my CV1 was more bliss than disappointment.
The 8KX may be great for sim racing and flight simming if you can get it to be slightly comfortable while not moving your head, but the 5K Super is just horrible all round. I regret every bit of this purchase, and I'm never buying anything from Pimax again.
Thats pretty much my experience too mate.
@@KarlGosling Now I have to try to get rid of it 😬
yo bro sell the 5k and for the oculust pro then ig, it seems promising
@@baaka6355 I'm not giving facebook a full view of my face, irises, and my entire room lol.
@@willwastaken then the new htc one? it will release soon too
5k super seems good but ima wait for oculus quest pro
do a review on that too once it drops
It's not good. Nor does it seem good. At all.
@@willwastaken it's like this guy disregarded the whole video and comments section lol
@@KevinS47 lmao
Amazing technology, badly executed,....and for the money, that's inexcusable. 😒
The 8kx is trash. I kept it 6 months and sold it. My eyes was forcing as hell inside this.