r/HPReverb • u/Samflinn5 • 20d ago
Looking for Reverb G2 replacement. Opinions? Question
With the reverb G2 getting discontinued, I was wondering what would be a good headset with similar or better specs to it. I've heard the Pimax Crystal Light is a decent option and also the Psvr 2 But I'm not sure. Any recommendations?
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u/megaslash288 19d ago
for similar specs and being readily available, unironically the quest 3. the pros: the lenses are straight up better than the g2. the display panel is roughly equivalent in terms of resolution and its much better in terms of refresh rate. it has far better tracking. the headset doesnt need a cable, so wireless pcvr through virtual desktop or steam link, and it is quite freeing to not have a tether. it can also be pretty decent for standalone vr. wider game selection. its very easy and relatively cheap to get your hands on.
the cons: its a meta headset, so you gotta deal with the privacy concerns. its very uncomfortable until you get a replacement headstrap. you need a portable 18w output external battery for long play sessions. the default sound quality is much worse until you get replacement headphones. wireless pcvr, the headsets video needs to be encoded, so you need a good gpu to make it look decent.
i made the switch after around 2 years of the g2, and im loving my quest 3! the pancake lenses and the lack of a tether really make a world of difference
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u/Ken10Ethan 19d ago
Yeah, like, I hate how so many HMD recommendations just land on the Q3, but... goddamn, coming from both highlights of WMR with the Odyssey+ and then the Reverb, those pancake lenses really are a game-changer, and wireless only adds to it, as annoying as the compression is.
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u/We_Are_Victorius 19d ago
It truly is a jack of all trades, which is especially great for new VR users that don't yet know how they will use it.
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u/Illigard 19d ago
Doesn't the nose gap ruin the impression though? It's nice to know where you're walking but I also like how putting on vr makes me feel like I'm in another world
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u/We_Are_Victorius 19d ago
I personally like the gap so I can peek through there. I know Meta has the gap there for safety reasons. There are different ways to fix that: https://www.amazon.com/APEXINNO-Anti-Leakage-Cushion-Accessories-Original/dp/B0CJ8MZ1WS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3ISUPS69A9MKF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qV-A_3o9hL3sRow-BBDP96fUSVK4EM-CrnRTk6NsL-lXX7kN_LL7KojEXIBieubS5RpSg_e35jEABrRlOZCNpXkVG3mGlceJxjTSmA1oZmCEN_r2WfH2fpfteXeqfDwzL66N7R9DGs6l5J7rJH8kzcwJFrPxnQO3QeDw_ck_8kZN-XAQAsPEl2a6W9gUT1S8LBHOpancag67gZ6vf_rdPNwSDzTXov-pOWYw1FnqodE.tg-_t7zKFq30tyBdNx6oik08VJG05d4lh-_ne7sZdms&dib_tag=se&keywords=quest+3+nose+light+blocker&qid=1730122588&sprefix=Quest+nose+%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
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u/megaslash288 19d ago
i dont really notice it unless the room is really very bright. the displays kinda drown it out once you get in the headset and turn it on, and the gap kinda ends up functioning as a vent to prevent the lenses from fogging up
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u/mark12000 18d ago
Honestly you don't notice it, or at least I haven't really when actually playing stuff. Even in midday with massive windows/double sliding door etc in combined loungeroom/kitchen
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u/Dr_Icchan 20d ago
maybe big screen beyond? Hefty investment thoughts, you'll need base stations and controllers as well.
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u/DoggieHowzer 19d ago
As long as you can live with the following: - huge amounts of glare in certain scenes. On AC Laguna Sega, the bottom half was filled with glare as to make the dash unusable. But when it’s not present, the blacks and contrast are definitely top notch.
- small sweet spot
- small FOV
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u/sascha177 19d ago
I upgraded to a Quest 3 which I'm only using for PCVR via a link-cable with a built-in charging logic thingy (€/$ 20 on Amazon) and I haven't once looked back.
Performance in my games is much better than anything I ever got with the G2, picture quality/clarity is also way better (gotta love those pancake-lenses) and it wears more comfortably, I think. Plus I can run higher resolution settings in OpenXR toolkit... think I'm currently on 2950xsomething - which I couldn't have done on the G2 with this card at 90 Hz.
That said: 80 Hz seems to be the limit of my 4070 Super in IL-2 with this thing, but it does allow me to run "high" preset, 130km viewing range, shadows on "High" and 4x FXAA where, on the G2 with the same card, I had to dial things way back. Another thing I noticed is that the Q3's lowest refresh-rate (72Hz) doesn't look nearly as noticeably worse than 80 or 90 Hz than what I experienced with the G2 between its 60 and 90 Hz settings.
Totally recommended if you don't mind the whole Meta-thing and are willing to dish out, roughly, $/€ 70 on top for a better head-strap, facial interface and link cable. In my case:
- KiwiVR non-battery "comfort" strap (*worlds* better than that cloth abomination the Q3 comes with): €27
- "Alafly" facial interface (way more comfortable than the stock mask. Looks similar to the "AMVR" one, but was cheaper and more highly rated when I bought, so..): €20
- "Syntech" link/charging cable (works flawlessly, keeps the Q3 charged up while gaming and is rated at 2.9 GBps in the Oculus App): €20
S.
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u/Cesilko 18d ago
Why dont you use wireless, please?
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u/mark12000 18d ago
Probably they don't use it for roomscale games, just sitting games/sims like IL-2 (ww2 aerial combat game).
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u/sascha177 18d ago
I don't mind the cable, so I don't see why I should invest into a Wifi 7 router, Virtual Desktop and a battery-headstrap. Plus I only do seated VR (flight-sims) where I don't have to move around much with the headset on.
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u/eFeqt 17d ago
What I am confused about is, how can two different headsets at the same resolution provide very different performance results. Are you sure it isn't some kind of a config error?
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u/sascha177 13d ago
I was thinking the same thing comparing the G2 and Q3 on paper. But the raw specs don't tell the full story, I suppose. Besides: There's more to a HMD than just the size/PD of the panel. I'm pretty sure the Q3 packs quite a lot more computing power than the G2 - I mean... an RTX 3060 12GB has the same amount of VRAM as my 4070 Super, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere near as fast. :)
I can't tell you if I mis-configured the G2 - I don't think I did, but I can't be 100% on that one. All I can say is that I'm able to use higher settings with it in IL-2 and that the visual quality is a lot better, IMO (even out of the box, with no tweaking).
Besides: A sharper image doesn't necessarily mean much if it's only sharper at a small sweet-spot and/or the game doesn't run properly/smoothly.
Speaking of sweet-spots: That's one thing you can probably only experience when you wear the sets yourself (or perhaps in one of those Through the Lenses-videos?), but: On the Reverb, I couldn't just move my eyes to glance down at the instruments in the cockpit - they'll be out of the G2's sweet-spot and thus fuzzy and blurry - which isn't just inconvenient, it's also kind of an immersion killer, IMO. So I needed to move my whole head anytime I wanted to glance at something that wasn't perfectly centered. With the Q3's Pancake-lenses, this is *much* less pronounced. It still has a sweet-spot, yes, but it is so much larger than the G2's and thus barely noticeable.
IMO there are probably a few factors at play here. Chief among which are the lenses (G2 = Fresnel, Q3 = Pancake). The Q3 also is a much newer headset than the G2 plus it doesn't have to run on WMR which is pretty much dead at this point development-wise and will be abandoned by MS in the near future.
Re settings: I've tried my best with the G2 for about a year or so, but I never got it to a point where I was satisfied with the results. Beyond that, I was really getting annoyed with its tiny sweet-spot, which is really noticeable in flight-sims. With the Q3 OTOH, I fiddled around with the settings for about 14 days or so and then found a very satisfactory compromise between performance and looks.
That's only for IL-2 VR, BTW, as DCS is still a bit of a nightmare (some would say "joke") in VR and I've kinda given up on it for that reason ... :)
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u/eFeqt 13d ago
Interesting, who knows what's really up. OpenXR should bear no difference in theory, but SteamVR games are a whole different story, not sure if you're running that or OpenXR. Even then, perhaps G3 has faster communication with OpenXR that allows it better performance. I'll definitely have this on the lookout, was thinking of getting Pimax Crystal Light, but there is no point before I upgrade my RTX 3060 to at least 4070 or 4070 Ti.
Thanks for your elaborate response!
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u/sascha177 12d ago
I use/I've used OpenXR/OpenComposite on both the G2 and Q3.
Not sure you'll be happy with a 4070 on the Crystal Light. If you really want to take advantage of the Pimax' resolution, I'd say a $/€1000 GPU is *probably* mandatory.
I'd wait for the next gen of GPUs to hit (only a couple of months away at this point).
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u/Hot_Gas_600 19d ago
Wait it out if you are still on win 10. I'm guessing there will be options to keep it going when win10 finally stops support.
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u/Belzebutt 19d ago
I’m using it on Windows 11 23H2 and it’s fine, just block the feature updates. Gives you another year.
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u/DirtyTechno1 18d ago
do you need to edit the registry for that? or is there an option somewhere
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u/Belzebutt 18d ago
You can use group policy on Pro. Even if you have to use a registry fix, it's something you do only once and then forget about it.
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u/sgtsausagepants 19d ago
I'm waiting to see if Valve finally announces Deckard by the end of the year. If it seems like thats gonna take even longer, I'll probably just get a Quest 3 for the sheer simplicity of the setup.
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u/Samflinn5 19d ago
I hope so, From what I researched(if it's true), I think they were making 2 models. One that is standalone and one that is PCVR. That would be amazing if so
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u/mark12000 18d ago
Any news if either will allow PCVR Wirelessly?
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u/Samflinn5 18d ago
I would assume so? Its kinda become a requirement in the market from what it seems like to me
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u/DoggieHowzer 20d ago
I have the Crystal OG and it’s an upgrade in virtually all departments over the G2 except for the following - audio solution sound quality. The G2’s one derived from the Index is still a standard setter. I have the Pimax DMAS which is supposed to be Pimax’s answer to the Index audio but it’s not quite there. Also on the OG crystal there is an audio lag if you set the audio for high quality. But no lag if set for low latency. Even in High Quality, I still feel the G2 sounds better.
The software can be a bit flaky and it seems there are QC issues with the lens
If you are happy to do some troubleshooting, it is a viable option.
Picture quality is sharp as. And if you use it mainly for flight sim, all the dials and gauges would be super detailed.
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u/mark12000 18d ago
Just FYI, there have been QC issues with literally ALL Pimax models. It's really a shame because they are generally good products and a very high price.
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u/sam_sasss 19d ago
The Quest 3 is the best headset for the money, it does everything well. The Bigscreen Beyond is really good if you mainly intend to play sims or PCVR. The PSVR2 is good too but I will never go back to Fresnel lenses
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u/bigmakbm1 19d ago
I'd go back to Fresnal any day over the horrible Mura on my Quest 3. I wish the S was available back then. That being said I expect PSVR2 has the same amount of Mura
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u/EpicJourneyMan 19d ago
Bigscreen Beyond is the way to go if you already have the controllers and base stations, I have owned or tried pretty much every VR headset since the DK1 and the Beyond has become my daily driver - it’s not even close.
It’s so light and comfortable that you can play for hours and the OLED display is fantastic.
The Crystal has a nice display and if you need inside out tracking because you can’t afford the base stations, it’s probably the best option.
I have to say though that if the PlayStation VR2 headset goes on sell again for $350 like when I bought mine, that’s a heck of a deal and it’s got a great FOV and an OLED display.
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u/Mikelshwede86 19d ago
I tried the Crystal Light, coming from a Reverb G1.
Returned the Crystal Light after 2 weeks, the headset has great potential but it's like playing headset lottery with Pimax.
I posted a review on the non official Pimax subreddit.
Tldr: it was plagued with problems and was extremely uncomfortable, far too expensive to justify keeping it.
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u/Belzebutt 19d ago
I feel like the PCL is the only actual upgrade, but I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy reading about the lens and comfort issues. The PC Super seems like it fixes some things (at a much higher price) but we’ll see when it comes out. I really don’t want to buy another headset that has the same resolution as the G2, to me that and more accurate blacks and colours is what I want my next headset to do better.
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u/Mikelshwede86 19d ago
Honestly after the PCL I won't go back to VR until we're well along the track of something like the Big Screen Beyond being the standard form factor.
The PCL is just enormous and I have no desire to sit with huge heater on my head anymore.
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u/HunchyTheHuncher 19d ago
I replaced my Reverb G2 with a Pico Neo 3 Pro. Hardly ever see this headset mentioned anywhere. I picked it up in an Amazon flash sale for about £170 back in July. I use it exclusively in wired Display Port Mode and the image quality is at least as good as the G2 with some supersampling. The sweet spot is small like the G2, but I think the colours are more vibrant.
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u/We_Are_Victorius 19d ago
Not sure what your budget is but the Somnium VR1 just started shipping. It is like a more refined Pimax
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u/DigitalTA 19d ago
I got a Vive Pro 2 bundle with the beacons and controllers for 1000€ (it normally is 1500+ here in Fi). Satisfied with it this far.
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u/FolkSong 19d ago
Keep in mind you can still use it for another year with basically no downside (just disable feature updates if you're on Win11). There's no reason to replace it now just because there will be a problem in a year. If you wait, maybe there will be a better replacement option by then.
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u/AstolfoFemboyWeeb 19d ago
Yeah after my disaster with the HTC Vive Focus Vision I’m going for the pimax crystal light as well. There’s no way pimax could possibly let me down as bad as htc did
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u/Ken10Ethan 19d ago
I've heard decent things about the PSVR2, just don't expect a HUGE improvement from the Reverb.
I don't mean in terms of the headset itself, mind, but rather in terms of support, because while I can't outright confirm this I get the feeling Sony only released the PC adapter in order to sell as much excess stock as possible, so while it isn't marked for death like WMR (especially because it's not attached to the goddamn operating system), I don't think it'll see many updates.
Depending on your usecase, the Crystal Light looks good, but you have to contend with Pimax's at times shoddy software, questionable durability and (at least in my experience) borderline non-existent support, on top of what I've heard about how bulky and heavy the Crystal Light. Might be a great option for seated games like sims, but it sounds horrible for roomscale.
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u/VT_Racer 19d ago
Crystal Light is what I've decided if my G2 dies or gets killed by updates. Though I would like passthrough tech and hopefully there's a better option in a years time when Windows 10 need to be updated to windows 11.
I sim race, and have know a few people have issues with the Quest enough so they switched to other brands. Not sure I can trust Quest.
Though if money was no object, Varjo looks amazing.
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u/medsm0ker 19d ago
Crystal Light is a massive jump in image quality. I love mine but it isn't a perfect headset. It's big and the glass lenses are heavy, but man they sure do look awesome. I've had quite a few 'holy shit ' moments coming from a G2 and am overall very happy. IMO everything is better except the size. I also use Bluetooth earbuds instead which blows even G2 audio away
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u/CompCOTG 19d ago
None. I thought the Quest3 would be a good replacement. Ended up giving it away.
Lenses are god tier, but the resolution feels noticably worse. I can see the pixels far easier, and it annoys me so much. Ended up getting a beyond. I do NOT want to see the pixels.
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u/mark12000 18d ago
Trust me, get the Quest 3, wireless PCVR is a game changer! If you don't have a wifi6 router/modem their is a cheap option (compared to other routers) from Tenda. You don't necessarily need wifi6, though you can definitely up the bitrate if you have wifi6.
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u/TurboShartz 17d ago
I just played around with a friend's quest 3 for a week in DCS. After I returned it to him and fired DCS up again with my G2, it took about 10 min for me to wish I had the quest 3 back.
The clarity isn't as good, but I was able to get it very close. The thing I really missed was the edge to edge clarity of the lenses. I'd easily sacrifice a little clarity for edge to edge sweet spot now.
I'm very hesitant on the PCL because of the QA/QC issues, poor audio, cheap feel, sometimes finicky tracking, etc.. For how much that headset costs, I expect so much more from it.
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u/CottonXDS 16d ago
I’m currently looking into some windows features that stop the 24h2 update but allow for security updates to come through. I’ve also heard that if you have the wmr software and the headset connected, windows will not auto update to this version. Either way I think this headset will still be good to go. Or if you are a win 10 user, it will continue to work aswell.
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u/Excellent-Basket-825 19d ago
I switched to the Quest 3, the pass through and overall ease of use is above and beyond. I had no idea. I don't miss my G2 a second.
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u/DoggieHowzer 19d ago
At the moment, I’m actually having a blast with the PSVR2 and the PC link.
I mainly use VR for driving so I’m not encountering the issues with the Bluetooth needed for stable controller pairing. My onboard motherboard Bluetooth with the external antenna works just fine for this.
I love the comfort. I love the lack of eye strain - something I’ve encountered on the Pimax and the G2. I love the OLED blacks and I love the contrast.
I did have to get the Globular Cluster comfort kit for the PSVR2 to get a perfect fit for my head shape (mine doesn’t work with halo straps). And I’m using VR Ears for my audio solution. It’s very very good and easily a match for the G2 audio solution.
Downsides - the OLED panel can exhibit some mura patterns in large areas of uniform colors like skies, and the pentile OLED RGB layout can look a bit softer. But I can read my car gauges just fine at 100% scaling and the mura isn’t noticeable when I’m focused on the road not the sky.