The first wave of the current generation of virtual reality (VR) hardware hit the market roughly two-and-a-half years ago, and those headsets have served the early adopters well. But their time is running out. The second generation of VR headsets should be just around the corner, and Pimax wants to be at the forefront of that next era of consumer VR with its ultra-wide Pimax 8K and Pimax 5K headsets. Many people are banking on the success of the company, including thousands of Kickstarter backers, but we’re not so sure that Pimax’s headsets are true second generation devices. The Pimax 5K+ feels more like a mid-generation upgrade.

PROS

High visual clarity
Peripheral vision in VR
Lightweight

CONS

Feels fragile
Settings require tinkering
Demands a high-end GPU

Last September, Pimax gained worldwide attention when it launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the final stages of development of an ambitious ultra-wide, high-resolution VR headset called the Pimax 8K. In two short months, Pimax’s campaign eclipsed Oculus’s Rift DK1 Kickstarter,to become the highest grossing VR project on the crowdfunding platform. Following the fundraiser, Pimax had no fewer than 5,946 fans with money on the line and many people rooting for stronger competition in the headset market.

The Pimax 8K, a 200-degree field of view (FOV) dual 4K display headset was supposed to be the first “next-generation” VR headset, and it was supposed to arrive in January 2018. However, Pimax’s ambition was greater than the company’s ability to realize its vision, and it ran into several setbacks that triggered cascading delays.

We had a chance to test an early prototype of the Pimax 8K before the Kickstarter campaign ended, and while the company clearly had work to do, we were satisfied with the early stage of development. But in January, the company’s progress seemed to have taken a step back. Following harsh criticism from CES attendees, Pimax went back to the drawing board and redesigned its lenses for better image clarity. It took Pimax three more attempts to get to the final design we see today.

Even now, the company has more than lens issues to surmount. The Pimax headsets are nice for enthusiasts who will appreciate the wider FOV, but the company isn't going to put HTC and Oculus out of business any time soon. We don’t yet have a production model of the Pimax 8K, but the company sent a pre-production Pimax 5K+ M2 headset to evaluate. Let’s take a look.

Pimax 5K+ M2 VR Headset

Our Pimax 5K+ sample is an early, hand-built, pre-production version, so the fit and finish may not represent exactly what customers would receive. But the M2 model is otherwise identical to the production model that backers should receive this fall and customers would receive next year.

The Pimax 5K+ is the largest headset that we’ve ever tested in our VR lab. It measures roughly 11.5 inches wide and 3.75 inches tall. For such a large headset, it has a surprisingly short depth of approximately 4.5 inches on the sides and 3.5 inches in the center. Despite the large stature, the Pimax 5K+ headset tips the scales at just 514g, which is just 15 grams heavier than an Oculus Rift, which is less than half its size.

The Pimax headset features a simplistic exterior design with smooth plastic sides and an angular shape. Most of the headset is black, except for a large blue chevron that stretches across the front panel and lights up when the headset is plugged in.

The device includes a power button, which is located on the upper-right side of the visor, but the button doesn’t disable the chevron light. Instead, it controls power to the screens inside the headset. Next to the power button you’ll find two arrow buttons that control the sound levels. The headset doesn’t include built-in speakers, but you can plug in headphones or a gaming headset via the headphone jack, which is located directly below the left head strap hinge.


The Pimax 5K+ comes with a basic fabric 3-point head strap, which includes three pieces of Velcro to route the tether cable to the back of your head. We prefer mechanical head straps, and Kickstarter backers will eventually get a mechanical strap with built-in headphones as a stretch goal, but the base model will just include the fabric strap.


Pimax’s hinge design is simple and clever. The clips that hold the head strap don’t require any force to attach. But, they can’t slip out unintentionally because they're locked into place by the removable facial interface, which requires a bit of force to remove.

The facial interface features Velcro mounting points for the foam face cushion. The foam isn’t moisture-proof, but it is of high quality. It’s denser than the HTC Vive’s face cushion and absorbs less sweat. We would still, though, recommend picking up a waterproof cushion when they become available.


The facial interface rubber also acts as a lock to hold the display cable into place. The lock prevents the cable from loosening and slipping out, though the cable fits snugly into its slot, so it's unlikely that the cable would vibrate enough to loosen. The headset end of the cable features a Mini DisplayPort interface, and the PC end of the cable includes a USB 3.0 plug and DisplayPort end. The cable also includes an inline breakout box with an AC plug for power.

Huge Lenses
5aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS83L1IvNzk5OTExL29yaWdpbmFsL3BpbWF4LWxlbnNlczIuanBn.jpg

The Pimax 5K+ (and 8K) have the largest lenses we've ever seen in a VR headset. The lenses are a custom Fresnel design that extends to the outer edges of the headset. They're approximately 3.5 inches across, with the primary focal area being approximately 2.5 inches. You can adjust the interpulpillary distance (IPD) of the lens spacing with a dial on the lower right corner of the headset. The IPD ranges from 55mm to 76mm. The lenses are encased in stretchy fabric, much like the Oculus Rift, which prevents dust from getting between the screen and the lenses.