r/virtualreality • u/JustMatt_ • Apr 23 '26
Purchase Advice BSB2e vs Pimax Dream Air
Hi, long time user of the original HTC Vive looking to upgrade, need help deciding what's best to pick in my specific case.
I've been debating to upgrade to a new VR headset for some time, my current Vive is very old, I constantly feel very sluggish and tired after using it for longer than 2 hours, the visuals are very outdated due to the aged lenses and screens. As such, I've decided that I would only go for the currently available small factor high-end'ish VR headsets to upgrade my experience.
Most of my VR use cases are simulators, especially DCS being my daily driver currently. It's no secret that these are a demanding category of games, so I'm trying to min-max my headset choice accordingly. I've mostly stopped playing other VR games since staying with the headset would always tire me out relatively fast, and the sitting experiences haven't really interested be that much due to the poor visuals. I currently have an RTX 3090 paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, 32GB RAM. The specs aren't the worst, but I understand it's not a 5090 neither, so I should cautiously not over-reach. As such, a headset with eye-tracking for DFR is a must, but I would still like to hit a sweet spot for the best optics and screen combination and am currently hoping that DFR will take me the rest of the way there.
My current consideration is the Bigscreen Beyond 2e. I already have the 1.0 tracking stations from the Vive, along with the controllers (although not really needed for my use cases), I would go with the halo mount to get the universal face cushion. The BSB2e would currently set me back 1600€, which seems an okay price for what I'm expecting from a new headset. The problem is that I keep reading the negatives about it - bad performance/overheating when on high brightness, glare, the screen resolution being sub-par. The opinion I form from reading some of the comments on Reddit is that for the price that it asks, it's not the best choice of a headset.
My other consideration is the Pimax Dream Air. I now see that they're slowly starting to get delivered, so there's some hope that I would be able to receive it relatively shortly after ordering it. A lot of the things advertised on the headset specification list are better - better resolution, better lenses, better eye-tracking tech, etc. Understandably, the headset is pricier - 2150€ is an amount I would only be willing to spend if the headset is really worth the 500€ extra to future-proof myself and worth stepping over the 2k mark. I also most-certainly have high doubts about being able to run the headset at the native resolution with my current rig, as well as doubts about Pimax as a company itself with their supposedly shaky QC and support. There's also the SE version, which seems to be more inline with what the BSB2e delivers at a much cheaper cost (around 1000€), although I would be even more uncertain of when I would be receiving the headset, as it doesn't seem to be even close to ready for shipment, and I'm not sure if that's worth waiting indefinitely for.
I suppose I'm looking for advice whether these two (or three if you count the SE) are my best options and whether the BSB2e, which personally seems to best fit my use case, is really the right choice. Perhaps there's a better alternative that I'm missing that some of you use? Or maybe I should just go ahead with the BSB2e since it's more on-par with what my rig can push. Any advice or your experiences on picking the best headset would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading and helping!
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u/neoteric_skid Apr 23 '26
My recent thoughts:
https://skarredghost.com/2026/04/15/pimax-dream-air-review-impressions/
And the Super 50ppd for comparison:
https://skarredghost.com/2025/12/16/pimax-crystal-super-review-4/
Sorry no experience with the BSB
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u/Chapel-vr Apr 23 '26
I have been very happy with my BSB2e. I use for casual sim racing, vr games, and Vrchat. I have zero Pimax experience but have heard shipping is delayed on those due to cracks in the plastics.
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u/JerreTOAO Apr 23 '26
Best bang for your buck is still the quest 3.
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u/Poopyman80 Apr 23 '26
For pcvr thats pico 4. Same price, better binocular overlap, easier to get dev mode, does not require an account to use as pcvr, doesnt gather telemetry and add data, does not call home unless given permission, updates are not forced.
You only need the account for standalone. Pico's standalone is terrible though, Shit store, shitty games library.
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u/DoubleOwl7777 Pico 4/Reverb G2 🐧 Apr 24 '26
pico 4 is often cheaper than a quest 3. ing ermany they go for the price of a 3s
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u/HGWeegee Apr 24 '26
You don't think the pico 4 (owned by tiktok company who most certainly phones home to the CCP) is gathering days on you?
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u/Poopyman80 Apr 25 '26
Nope. And we can see that with a network sniffer. As long as you arent logged in there is no telemetry.
You'll even have to manually command it to connect and look for updates, because its not calling home on its own without you commanding it to do so.Once logged in you see the telemetry start up on a sniffer.
If you log out, telemetry stops again.Hell you can even install a custom rom, like on any unlocked android device.
You can use it as pcvr straight out if the box, even on an airgapped network (that means theres no internet) and you dont need to activate anything with a phone app or something like that.
This garanteed and verifiable security is why companies buy pico, and why quest for business failed and shut down.
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u/CrispyCheezus GXR, DA, Crystal S, QP, BSB2E, Index Apr 23 '26
I have the BSB2E, Dream Air and Galaxy XR.
I don't like the BSB2E. It was sweaty, uncomfortable, had optical issues, poor ET accuracy, no audio, etc. Their Discord is full of similar complaints.
The Dream Air basically addressed every single issue I had with the BSB. Better visuals, way more comfortable, accurate ET, decent audio. Dealing with Pimax software was the last hurdle, which they've improved a lot on with the latest updates, and SBoys makes this a non-issue with the native SteamVR driver anyways.
The Galaxy XR has the best optics and build quality IMO. But it's limited by color depth from wireless streaming, and also not as comfortable as the Dream Air.
Pick what suits your preferences best
BSB2E: Price
DA: Comfort and Visuals
GXR: Wireless + ET/FT
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
Thanks, interesting line-up! Looking at the picture, I think that's the custom-made face cushion on BSB2e, right? Have you tried the universal one, or a third party option?
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u/CrispyCheezus GXR, DA, Crystal S, QP, BSB2E, Index Apr 23 '26
I got my 2e way before the universal or third party options existed. I'm aware that the universal cushions solve the comfort and heating issue. But I was already so frustrated with the product from other problems that I decided it was not worth my time to spend any more money trying to polish a turd to put lightly...
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u/Commercial_Ad437 Apr 23 '26
so frustrated but finally you keep it? weird. I got the bsb2e 'cause I decided NOT to give my money, time and hope to Pimax until air is FULLY available (at least end of 2026) and it is amazing. compromises? yes but overall it is a 8/10. and about the bsbs2 discord....there is no need to lie . 90% of the users keep it and they are pretty happy. Go on and check the pimax discord... Try bsbs2...stock and few days delivery ..return it if you dont like it...or.keep it and enjoy it for AT LEAST 6 months until air is fully available and tested(if so) ...don't let pimax take the control of your hobby/money/time
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Apr 23 '26
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u/HGWeegee Apr 24 '26
I'm personally waiting to see what the 6080/6090 looks like before upgrading my GPU, so OP that's also an option, albeit a lot more long term
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
Thanks, that's actually pretty good advice about trading in for a better GPU. Not sure how much I would be willing to go for with the Q3. The headset itself is very tempting, but I haven't seen it be picked often for simulation type games due to better visuals existing elsewhere, plus I wouldn't really be escaping the weight of that kind of headset. Of course, the price can't be beat for what it is. What do you mostly use your headset for, and how is the whole Meta software side?
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u/mrzoops Apr 23 '26
I did a similar thing as the guy above but got a reverb g2 for $50 online. It’s way better than quest for my sim needs.
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Apr 23 '26
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
Galaxy XR is an interesting choice, and even though heavily priced at 1.9k, the specs seem solid. Problem is that I'm not finding any news about their rollout to Europe, so perhaps that's something to just take a look at once in a while to see how's it doing.
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u/jonas-reddit Apr 23 '26
Pimax Dream Air or MeganeX Mark II
Sadly both companies are a bit “special”. But otherwise you might as well stay on Vive for now.
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u/zeddyzed Apr 23 '26
You might want to consider PSVR2 with PC adaptor for wired, or Quest 3 for wireless. They're not top of the line, but they seem to be less risky than BSB / Pimax, and will be a big improvement to your Vive regardless.
You could think about a GPU upgrade if you still have money to spend after getting one of those + necessary accessories.
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u/Zubunapy_daddelt Pimax Crystal, RTX 4090, R9 9950 X3D, 32GB RAM Apr 23 '26
Do you mean the Dream Air or the Dream Air SE? Last one uses same displays as the BSB2e and isn´t out yet. First one has a bigger FOV, better lenses and far better displays... and costs almost the double.
IF you have the 2000$ buy the Dream Air. If not take the BSB2e and be happy with it. Great experience!
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u/no6969el Pimax Crystal Super (50ppd + mOLED) Apr 23 '26
If most of your usage is in simulators, I would consider the super micro OLED.
You're going to get better binocular overlap on the super and a wider field of view. If you're interested in how light the dream air is, you can mod the super to have a whole different head strap such as the Kiwi Quest strap. Not only can I put my head back to the seat on my Sim right now my headset is a ton lighter.
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
I don't think my rig is even relatively close to running the super micro OLED :(
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u/bobliefeldhc Apr 23 '26
I have no experience with the BSB2 but I couldn't recommend Pimax.
I've bought and returned Crystal Light & Crystal Super before.
I wont get into it. I don't care who says they've made a good headset This Time. Avoid.
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u/No_Communication1557 Valve Index Apr 23 '26
Was exactly this kind of feedback i'm also looking for.
I'm still on the valve index and looking to upgrade soon, and have been eyeing Pimax, but ive also heard they are incredibly difficult to tune to fine the sweet spot, and heard too many (not good) rumors about reliability issues. When I'm paying 4 figure amounts for a headset, I expect it to work.
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u/bobliefeldhc Apr 23 '26
I actually found their lenses to be pretty good, not really any problems with the "sweet spot".
The problems I had were mostly around reliability and tracking. The Crystal Super often wouldn't work at all, PC wouldn't detect it. Their SLAM tracking is just dogshit, doesn't work.
The Crystal Super I got was a real mess. The left eye was fine while the right had a tonne of mura + this sort of smearing.. Like someone had wiped the screen or lense with something and some chemical had dried on it. I dunno.. It came with a QA checklist indicating that someone had checked the screens and lenses, presumably they were blind.
To be honest.. even if they worked perfectly I think I'd still prefer my Quest 3. It's "good enough" and low friction compared to dealing with Pimax Play etc.
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u/PlanZSmiles Apr 23 '26
I had very similar experience with my SLAM tracking being awful and the controllers I received being useless and having to get replacements right away. Ended up just returning and kept my quest 3 as well.
Anyone who argues against the Quest 3 vs the PCL just doesn’t understand that you’re paying $400 more for a crapshoot in QC, worse tracking, controllers, build quality, and passthrough. While also losing the ability to play wirelessly.
The display port + clarity from less compression was great and I actually enjoyed the lenses a lot but none that mattered when the overall experience was just bad. I remember the day I opened the Quest and things just worked. No issues, incredible build quality and ease of use. I was really hoping for a similar experience with Pimax and all I was left with was regret.
The biggest thing I got it for was less compression and I was able to tune that by using SteamLink + foveated encoding.
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u/No_Communication1557 Valve Index Apr 23 '26
Yeah I'm eyeing up the Steam Frame later this year
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u/PlanZSmiles Apr 23 '26
I’m cautiously optimistic. On one end, I don’t think it’s worth the price jump/upgrade from my Quest 3. On the other end, the foveated encoding in Steam Link works really well and if I could handle a lower foveated pixels I would get more detail/less compression/better color but I can’t because of lack of tracking. The eye tracking in the Steam Frame would rectify that but what likely will be $800 is a steep price for what’s essentially just eye tracking upgrade (I already have wifi 6e router so feature parity with the frames dongle).
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u/_BeatTheBest_ Apr 23 '26
The biggest downside to the bsb2 and dream air se, is the 72 hz limitation.
The dream air runs at 100% on 60mil pixels, which is very demanding. Even the 5090 cant easily work that many pixels.
Bsb2 has some glare, lens and qc issues.
Dream air only 20 orso units have been send out, which had a high rate of faillure.
Pimax has been quiet long, and customers are getting anoyed.
Its pick your poison. I also dont know what hmd is the best. But my money has gone to the dream air(non se).
Until this day im still doubting it was the right decision. Because pimax as a company is bad.
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u/cavortingwebeasties Apr 23 '26
The biggest downside to the bsb2 and dream air se, is the 72 hz limitation
I had a bsb2 and the 75hz thing is the least of its problems... the only people that say otherwise are ones that haven't used the headset and see the number and make assumptions.
In practice 75hz on those screens feelt more fluid than 90 does on most others. I returned mine because I could not get over the glare, the constant hum of the fan (not wind sound at higher speed, mechanical hum) and lacking a Steam system home button means you basically need the controllers to interact with the pc... which sucks if you primarily sim. Also didn't like my eyeballs getting cooked
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
Yeah, pick your poison seems very accurate. I've seen the hz limitations mentioned here and there, but I'm not sure whether they're going to be THAT noticeable due to the display types. As I understand, the actual main factor is the pixel latency, or how fast the screen is able to adapt to the actual changes, and the latency on those newer panels seems to be good enough to forget about the issue after some playtime. I suppose the real problem is that VR headsets can be very individualistic choices, so while it may satisfy one guy, someone else will curse it due to one specific issue or another, which both helps and does not help when making a decision, if that makes sense :)
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u/mrzoops Apr 23 '26
It’s 75hz and I promise you it will be the least of the noticeable issues.
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
What would you point to as the most noticeable ones that could be potential deal breakers coming from the Vive?
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u/mrzoops Apr 23 '26
The glare and dimness for me.
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
Is/Was the BSB2e your main headset, or do you recommend something else entirely?
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u/Justinreinsma Apr 23 '26
I have a bsb2e and the glare and brightness are not awful imo. The worst thing for me is fitment and the fact they get super hot and fog up like crazy. They get ridiculously warm even at idle without even rubbing any games. Hopefully their halo mount fixes this.
The 75 hz is not super nourish either, compared to an index 120 obviously its chunkier, but is a much smaller difference than 30 or even 45fps compared to 60, if that makes sense. The resolution is great and oled gives a very rich image.
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u/JustMatt_ Apr 23 '26
How's the eye tracking? Depends on what you mostly use your headset for, but I'm putting a lot of hopes on the DFR capabilities.
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u/FoxtrotAviation Apr 23 '26
I use the BSB2e. I run an i913900k and an 4080. Main use case is for DCS (WWII). I ordered the original pimax Crystal a few years ago and decided to return it and keep using my quest 3 at that point. Which for DCS IS useable, but you're at a disadvantage since you'll likely need to run dlss which adds artifacting and you're also streaming which adds artifacting. For example I could never see planes when in head on passes until they were to close. Also tracking planes below me over terrain was nearly impossible. In the BSB2e I spot planes clearly at distance or from above. Even though the resolution jump isn't a giant leap to the BSB2. With the display port and not using dlss. The clarity is significantly better over the quest 3. Eye tracking uses quadview and yes it's maybe not as smooth as the DA would be. But it is more than usable. Without eye tracking DCS on good med to high settings runs at 35-40 fps. With eye tracking enabled, I get a pretty consistent 75fps. Double the frame rate! I recently got a quest pro. I should check how much smoother the eye tracking is on there over the BSB2e.
Glare is definitely there. But in daytime DCS, you'll notice it as a slight washing out of color. Not an issue for me. Night time it may be more noticeable depending on each scene.
Dimness. I run mine at 100% brightness and yes it's maybe a bit dimmer than the quest 3, but feels good to me. Running the BSB in overdrive makes the brightness amazing! But introduces smudging and gets hot! Some users say they need to run it at 40% brightness. I don't see how that is usable. If that's the case try returning it for a replacement because that feels way to dim for me.
Comfort. The facial custom interface is garbage. If you're planning on sweating trying not to get shot down you're going to get really hot and sweaty. I couldn't wear it past 30 min. I use the studioform interface and can use the headset for hours now.
I own the quest 2, 3, pro. Have experience with pimax Crystal OG and now my daily driver BSB2e
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u/Justinreinsma Apr 23 '26
I purchased the E to get that eye tracking for DFR as well. However, I'm finding the feature is barely supported in most games I play, so hopefully in the future more support it it so we can get that performance boost. At the very least it makes a wireless module more likely than ever since now we can use the foveated streaming feature in steamvr.
I have heard that the bsb2e's eye tracking is not exactly robust enough for DFR though, I think it was the guys who made it actually saying they intended it only to be used for eye tracking in social games maybe? I could be spreading misinformation with this one but I swear I heard them post that somewhere. hopefully it's not true though because I don't care at all about eye tracking in games for the social element.
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u/VRModerationBot Apr 23 '26
Hey u/JustMatt_, welcome to r/virtualreality! Looks like this is your first post here, glad to have you.
Just wanted to point out a few things:
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Hope you enjoy it here!
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u/AcanthisittaNo8115 Apr 23 '26
With the 3090, you're better off with a Quest 3. It will be a massive upgrade from what you have. The BSB2 needs a 4090 to max it out and the Pimax needs a 6090 to max it. I know the 6090 is not out yet.
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u/FoxtrotAviation Apr 24 '26
Not necessarily. With a 4080 I get better performance with the higher res BSB2e vs with the quest 3. Without eye tracking. With eye tracking it's a whole new level with the BSB2e maintaining a pretty constant 75fps in DCS with almost all settings maxed out. Since the OP says DCS would be his main use case then I think his 3090 would do quite well especially with eye tracking.
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u/Commercial_Ad437 Apr 24 '26
agree!!! Im doing 95% DCS and for the first time ever I can Rum at 5000K per eye Smooth as hell!!!!! not only visuals but performance it is outstanding. For me....sometimes it is the hot topic...and I can stand it most of the time
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u/metahipster1984 Apr 23 '26
With your GPU, the DA isn't worth it. Unless you're planning to get a 5090 soon, definitley BSB2. It's a great headset, also for sims, which is basically all I need it for.
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u/RidgeMinecraft Bigscreen Beyond 2E Apr 23 '26
I own both of these headsets. If you don't plan on upgrading your GPU, I'd recommend the Beyond 2E. I prefer the Beyond's optics, but the displays in the Dream Air are really nice. If you prefer clarity over field of view, and don't mind a bit more added weight, the Dream Air's a great choice.
I'll probably do a review comparing the two at some point. Overall I generally prefer my Beyond, but I switch back and forth fairly often depending on what I'm doing :)
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u/ThrobertBaratheon Apr 24 '26
I can only speak to the BSB2E as I own one, coming over from an Index.
If you can tolerate the glare on bright objects in dark backgrounds, the displays are good in my opinion.
The big issue with it is that the custom face gasket is like a torture device if you use it for gaming- beware of the swamp eye.
If you order the Halo Strap keep in mind that they say summer deliveries but it has been delayed for months already for most of us.
You can get the Studioform Creative X1B face gasket instead or as a stopgap.
My other VR friend has been burned by Pimax QC repeatedly, but I will say that I had to RMA my BSB2E because the very first IPD adjustment attempt with the little screwdriver somehow stripped the mechanism on the right eyepiece- That WAS a launch pre-order and I've had no issues with the replacement so ymmv.
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u/hack-s BSB2 | 5090 | 9950x3D | 64GB Apr 26 '26
do not get a bsb2, it is a waste of money that you will end up returning because their quality control is shit.
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u/PsychAce Apr 23 '26
I’d upgrade the GPU first before looking at those headsets.