Pimax Crystal Super VR-Headset – Simracing-Review

With the Crystal Super, manufacturer Pimax launched a new high-end VR headset this year. The resolution has been further increased, the field of view expanded, and the software overhauled. We put the headset to the test in a sim racing setup and pushed the computer to its limits.

Prices and Ordering

Pimax offers the Crystal Super VR headset in four different variants:

Pimax Crystal Super 8K Micro-OLED: 2.031 €
Pimax Crystal Super QLED
- 50 PPD: 1.588 € (tested)
- 57 PPD: 1.588 €
- Ultrawide: 1.588 €

There is the option to pay the full amount either upfront or split into an initial payment and a final payment after a 14-day trial period. For the latter option, a payment of 726 euros is due immediately, followed by the remaining balance of 862 euros. Currently, owners of a Pimax OG Crystal are eligible for an upgrade discount of $399, while owners of a Pimax Crystal Light receive a $200 discount. This discount can be applied to the original base price (see the discount promotion guide). The specified delivery time varies significantly depending on the model and can be viewed on the Pimax website.

Pimax Crystal Super*

2% Pimax Gutscheincode / Coupon code: simracingpc

The product tested was provided by the manufacturer for the duration of the review. At no point was the content of this review influenced.

Scope of Delivery

Unpacking the Pimax Crystal Super feels like Christmas. All the components are packed separately and safely housed in the compact but very stylish outer packaging.

Pimax Cystal Super
Controller (x2)
USB-C to USB-A cable (x2)
Power supply unit
Connection cable (pre-assembled)

Initial Setup

The wiring of the headset is extremely simple. It features an integrated, approximately five-meter-long cable that ends in a small distribution box. The power adapter is plugged into this box. Then, the USB cable (USB-A) is connected to the motherboard, and the DisplayPort connector is attached to an output on the graphics card. It’s important to use only a high-speed USB port (not USB 2.X), which any modern motherboard provides.

Specs

Below are the technical specifications of the various variants of the Crystal Super headsets. For this review, the 50 PPD variant was chosen, which offers a horizontal FOV of 127 degrees (138 degrees in Lab Mode).

Specs – Pimax Crystal Super 50PPD / 57PPD

Ultra-sharp 3840 x 3840 resolution per eye.
Glass aspheric lenses with a large sweet spot.
Ultra-clear, optional optical engine.
57 PPD with 120° HFOV
50 PPD with 127° HFOV, 138° in Labs mode)
Variable refresh rate (72Hz, 90Hz) provides smooth gameplay.
Automatically adjustable IPD (58-72mm).
Local dimming delivers vibrant, true-to-life colors.
Foveated Rendering: Dynamic 2.0.
Headset with two controllers.
Easy setup with inside-out tracking or expand with Lighthouse tracking.
Audio: interchangeable 3.5mm jack, 2x microphone.

Specs – Pimax Crystal Super Ultrawide

Ultra-sharp 3840 x 3840 resolution per eye.
Glass aspheric lenses with a large sweet spot.
Ultra-wide FOV 140HFOV
Variable refresh rate (72Hz, 90Hz) provides smooth gameplay.
Automatically adjustable IPD (58-72mm).
Local dimming delivers vibrant, true-to-life colors.
Foveated Rendering: Dynamic 2.0.
Headset with two controllers.
Easy setup with inside-out tracking or expand with Lighthouse tracking.
Audio: interchangeable 3.5mm jack, 2x microphone.

Specs – Crystal Super 8K Micro-OLED

Ultra-sharp 3840 x 3552 resolution per eye.
105°HFOV for a broad view.
Up to 90HZ refresh rate provides smooth gameplay.
Automatically adjustable IPD (58-72mm).
MicroOLED screen delivers vibrant, true-to-life colors.
Foveated Rendering: Dynamic 2.0.
Headset with two controllers.
Easy setup with inside-out tracking or expand with Lighthouse tracking.
Audio: interchangeable 3.5mm jack, 2x microphone.

Features

The Crystal Super headset is similar to the previously tested Crystal Light (Pimax Crystal Light VR-Headset – Simracing-Review) in many aspects but has been further developed in nearly every area.

QLED Display (3,840 x 3,840 pixels per eye): Both eyes are each equipped with a QLED display featuring an extremely high resolution of 3,840 x 3,840 pixels. This results in an almost staggering total of 29,491,200 pixels. This significantly improves image quality, and the now 50 or 57 pixels per degree of FOV ensure that the feeling of looking at small screens is further reduced – immersion is achieved even more effectively.
Aspherical Glass Lenses: The Crystal Light also relies on aspherical glass lenses. You can find an informational video from Pimax about lenses here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2hQgcgWeMM
Auto IPD Adjustment: Compared to the Crystal Light, a new feature is the now software-controlled automatically adjustable interpupillary distance (IPD) within a range of 58 to 72 millimeters. The previously used manual adjustment wheel is thus eliminated, but you can still manually set the IPD if needed.
Variable Refresh Rate: The headset can be operated with different refresh rates. There are three modes to choose from: 72 Hz, 90 Hz and 72 Hz Upscale.
Eye Tracking: One feature that is sure to be very interesting in the future is the integrated eye tracking. According to Pimax, this runs at a frequency of 120 Hz and allows the resolution to be dynamically influenced around the detected point for titles with corresponding support.
Buttons: Two buttons are integrated on the top of the headset. The haptic feel is of course not the same as that of the usual high-end sim racing steering wheels, but it is still useful.
Integrated microphone and speakers: The headset is equipped with built-in speakers and a microphone as standard. However, these two functions are more of a basic solution, as they neither convey an authentic racing driver feeling nor offer high-quality voice quality for voice chat and similar applications. Here, Pimax offers the optional DMAS earphones (link), which offer significantly better quality.
6DoF Inside-Out Tracking: The tracking, which recognises the positioning of the head, works without an additional base station via the four integrated inside-out tracking cameras. An additional base station is not required for simracing operation.
Local dimming: As with the Crystal Light, the Crystal Super also offers local dimming. This time, however, there are 1000 individual zones per eye instead of the previous 576, which enables even more precise brightness control.

Optical Engines

An interesting detail of the Pimax Crystal Super are the interchangeable and therefore upgradeable optical engines. These can be purchased separately via the Pimax webshop, giving you the option of upgrading to OLED screens at a later date, for example. The replacement is done in a few seconds and requires no tools. This should also be a welcome feature in the event of a defect.

Pimax Crystal Super Sony 8K OLED optical engine: 1.169 €
Pimax Crystal Super Ultrawide optical engine: 389 €

Ultrawide*

OLED*

Audio

As already mentioned, the headset has two pre-mounted speakers, each of which is attached with just one screw. These are connected via a practical cable free connection that allows them to be exchanged for the Pimax DMAS earphones. The latter provide considerable added value and should definitely be considered if you don’t want to use your own sound solution. However, if you decide to do so, it is best to use external speakers or in-ear headphones.

Controller

The scope of delivery now also includes two controllers with a built-in battery. They are particularly interesting for games in genres other than sim racing. Accordingly, they were not used for this test report. Haptically, however, they make a solid impression and are attractively finished.

The Pimax Crystal Controller is a wireless VR controller with touch/joystick/3dof function.
It can be applied to all kinds of Pimax inside-out type VR devices.
Rechargeable lithium battery: 700mAh, 3.7V
Battery life: 20 Hours
Wireless connection: 2.4G
Maximum working distance: 10m
Charging interface: Type-C

Wearing Comfort

In terms of wearing comfort, the concept of the Crystal Super is very similar to that of the other Pimax models. An adjustable, slightly elasticated strap with a Velcro fastener is used to ensure a secure fit. In combination with the adjustable dial on the back, the headset can be fixed in place and secured against slipping. Due to the modified design, the headset has a slightly shifted centre of gravity, which made it a little more comfortable during the test. However, this is a subjective point that can vary from user to user. Various comfort mods and accessories are therefore available within the community and from third-party providers.

For operation on a static sim rig, the rather high weight of the headset did not have as negative an effect during the test as it would have in other circumstances. There was also no slippage during the test. Nevertheless, in terms of wearing comfort, the headset naturally does not come close to the sometimes ultra-lightweight competition, which, however, usually comes at the price of other disadvantages.

Pimax and Simracing

Simracing and Pimax are now two terms that are becoming more and more closely linked. Pimax not only offers a whole range of information articles on its website, but is also an investor in one of the most popular racing simulations at the moment, Le Mans Ultimate. The headset can basically be used with all VR-compatible sim racing titles, although in some cases the correct software settings have to be made or additional tools used.

Software

The software aspect is still a key topic when it comes to the VR experience. A general plug-and-play experience is still a long way off and in many cases you have to familiarise yourself with the software first.

Pimax Play

Compared to the review of the Pimax Crystal Light, Pimax provides significantly more options here. For example, the “Eye Tracking” and “Auto IPD Adjustment” options add two new setting areas to the software. In addition, you now have much finer control over foveated rendering, which can now also be used dynamically from within the software. Lists of which games already support this can be found on forums, Discord servers, Reddit etc. There are now also detailed information pages from Pimax for practically every setting, which makes it much easier for newcomers to VR in particular: https://pimax.com/de/blogs/blogs

OpenXR

For applications that do not natively support OpenXR (e.g. Assetto Corsa), the OpenComposite software is used to be able to use SteamVR-compatible games via OpenXR. The OpenXR Toolkit then provides additional ease of use and further options such as upscaling, sharpening, foveated rendering, image post-processing and other game enhancements. This toolkit can also be used to define in-game shortcuts, for example, in order to make various settings.

The corresponding downloads and further information on the software can be found here:

OpenXR Toolkit: https://mbucchia.github.io/OpenXR-Toolkit/
OpenComposite: https://gitlab.com/znixian/OpenOVR

Performance Requirements and Settings

Due to its enormous resolution, the Pimax Crystal Super also requires corresponding hardware performance.

Test System

The Medion system shown below was again used as the test PC, which was pushed to its limits depending on the scenario. The graphics card in particular is likely to be at the lower limit for current racing simulations in VR. If your own system is currently even less powerful, you may want to consider the lower-resolution Pimax Crystal Light, unless you are planning a hardware upgrade in the near future.

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-14700K Prozessor
GPU NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080
SSD: 1 TB WD BLACK SN850X NVMe™-SSD
RAM: 32 GB Kingston® Fury Beast RGB DDR5 Arbeitsspeicher mit 6.000 MHz

Example: iRacing

One simulation that has benefited enormously from its latest update (2025 Season 4 Release Notes [2025.09.08.02]) is iRacing. You can now achieve extremely good results without using OpenComposite or the OpenXR Toolkit. To do this, you activate the VR mode “Foveated” in the new VR menu and can then define the values used for this directly in the simulation. The “Insert Size Percentage” determines how large the area should be that is rendered at full resolution, while the other value determines how high the resolution should be for the remaining area. In practice, 40 per cent in each case has proven to be a useful compromise between performance and image quality.

One particular highlight is the option of eye tracking. Although it only has a minimal effect on the performance itself, it means that the particularly high-resolution area is not fixed in the centre of the field of vision, but moves with the point you are looking at. This is particularly noticeable if, for example, you focus on one of the two side mirrors from the corner of your eye. The automatic adjustment of the resolution already worked well and reliably when the feature was first implanted. However, it does not yet appear to run at the maximum possible 120 Hz of eye tracking.

The setting for the image quality was “Medium” (0.75), which, in combination with the in-game settings shown in iRacing, ensured an almost consistently stable 90 FPS – even in AI races with more than 25 vehicles. Overall, iRacing should be one of the most interesting simulations for Pimax users at the moment, especially thanks to its support for eye tracking.

Example: Assetto Corsa (CM)

Another simulation that copes very well with the enormous resolution of the Pimax Crystal Super is – how could it be otherwise – Assetto Corsa. Compared to the review of the Pimax Crystal Light, there are hardly any differences, only the image quality takes another step forward and is even better than that of iRacing: https://simracing-pc.de/2024/10/28/pimax-crystal-light-vr-headset-im-simracing-test/#Assetto_Corsa_CM

VR vs. Monitor

The question of whether a VR headset or a classic monitor setup is the right choice depends primarily on your own requirements and user profile:

Immersion / image quality

One point that goes to the VR headset without much discussion is the immersion compared to a normal monitor setup. This is where the high-end headset really comes into its own and, compared to the already very good Crystal Light, even releases a certain amount of extra emotion. The immersion in our test rig has never been better, the fun factor has never been greater.

Hardware Performance

In contrast to immersion, the Crystal Super is not convincing when it comes to performance. A high-end system is undoubtedly required here. The hunger for performance is enormous, which is why you should be aware of this before buying.

Plug & Play Aspect

One area in which VR headsets have now caught up, but have not yet fully caught up, is the plug-and-play aspect. Although you still have an advantage here with a simple monitor, there are more and more guides, presets and other aids. Simulations such as iRacing can now be run without additional software and features such as eye-tracking and/or foveated rendering are becoming increasingly accessible.

Driving Impression

Conclusion

The Pimax Crystal Super impressed in the sim racing test with its outstanding image quality and the associated immersive experience. This is enabled by the high resolution of 3,840 x 3,840 pixels per eye and the large horizontal field of view. The improved software, including automatic eye distance adjustment and dynamic foveated rendering, makes operation more comfortable and performance more efficient, especially in current titles like iRacing. However, the headset requires powerful hardware, which can make it challenging for users with less capable systems. The wearing comfort is solid, though the high weight of 965 grams may become noticeable during longer sessions. Overall, the Pimax Crystal Super is a top choice for sim racing enthusiasts seeking maximum immersion and cutting-edge technology.