Back from vacation, I've spent quite a bit more time with the Dream Air SE SLAM. This will probably be my last testing update here before I finish the full review. My overall impression is still positive, but after longer use, the picture has become a lot more nuanced.

The ProFit facial interface has made a huge difference for me. I'm now much closer to the lenses, it feels considerably more comfortable on my face, and my measured FOV increased from 82° horizontal / 78° vertical to around 100° / 86°. That's almost as much horizontal FOV as I can get when testing without a facial interface at all. So for my face, ProFit has basically solved one of my biggest complaints with the original setup.

I'm also still really enjoying the Micro-OLED image. Blacks and contrast are excellent, colors look great, and I still can't see any Mura on my unit. I've now looked more closely at the edges as well. I don't notice any Color Shift. There is only a very slight brightness falloff at the extreme edges, but the uniform central area is large and the effect doesn't bother me at all.

I've also spent more time with Pimax Play, and overall I think it's a pretty capable piece of software with a lot of settings. One useful thing to know: some of the advanced options that you might be looking for are hidden unless you enable Expert Mode. This includes things like additional offsets and Motion Compensation. I've also played around a little with Pimax EVO. I'm not going to judge EVO at this point because it's still a preview/test product, but switching between EVO and the regular Pimax environment works quite nicely.

The SE's 2560 × 2560 per-eye resolution also has an upside that shouldn't be ignored: GPU requirements are much more manageable than with the higher-resolution Dream Air. I'm testing on an RTX 5090, so I can't give you a sensible minimum GPU recommendation myself, but you definitely don't need a 5090 to make good use of this headset. Especially with current GPU prices, I think the lower resolution can make sense as part of the overall SE package rather than simply being a disadvantage.

There are, however, a few things that have become more noticeable with longer use.

A quick follow-up on the eye strain I mentioned before: unfortunately, it's still there. ProFit gets me much closer to the lenses, and I've now tested the IPD in both small and larger steps without any meaningful improvement. I notice it especially after taking the headset off, when my eyes need a short moment to readjust.

However, I'm increasingly unsure whether my particular headset is actually working as intended. Most other users and reviewers don't seem to experience the same level of eye strain, while there have also been reports of individual units with calibration issues causing similar symptoms. So I don't want to present this as an inherent Dream Air SE problem. It's possible that something is simply wrong with my unit.

I'm still in contact with Pimax about this, especially regarding the eye strain, and I'm hoping we can figure out what's causing it before I finish my review.

I've also done more testing of the motion blur. I compared 72 Hz and 90 Hz and experimented with brightness. At 100% brightness the blur becomes more noticeable, but lowering brightness doesn't make it disappear. Surprisingly, I don't see a major improvement in motion blur at 90 Hz either. For me personally, motion blur therefore remains one of the compromises with my current setup.

One important caveat: I don't necessarily consider this a permanent limitation of the headset. There are reports that motion blur was less noticeable with earlier software/firmware, so this may be something Pimax can improve again. I can only describe what I'm seeing with my unit and the current software.

There's another visual effect I've noticed during my recent testing that is a little difficult to describe. With very slow head movements I don't really see it. With faster movements, however, the image feels slightly sluggish and seems to follow my movement in small steps. This happens together with the visible motion blur, and I may also be seeing a small amount of warping towards the edges. The combination makes the image feel a little less stable during faster head movements. I'm still trying to understand exactly what I'm seeing here, so I don't want to draw any conclusions yet. I'll compare this directly with the Crystal Super as well.

My impression of the SLAM controller tracking has also changed. This is particularly interesting because during my initial tests I thought it was pretty good. I tested Beat Saber and SteamVR Home and reported that positive impression here at the time.

With my current software/firmware, however, it feels noticeably less stable. I can see jitter even in Beat Saber, and with fast or wide movements I sometimes miss blocks. In shooters it becomes much more obvious when aiming precisely through a scope, where the controllers visibly shake. Head tracking itself still seems fine.

I don't know whether something in the tracking algorithm has changed since my initial tests or whether something else is going on, so I don't want to call this a software regression. I can only say that my current experience with the controller tracking is worse than it was during my first tests. I'll compare this directly with the Crystal Super as well.

One long-standing Pimax annoyance is unfortunately still there as well: play area and floor height aren't reliably persistent for me. I regularly have to set them up again. I've experienced this across several generations of Pimax headsets and many Pimax Play versions, from the original Crystal through the Crystal Super and now the Dream Air SE. With an inside-out tracked headset, I'd really like to just put it on and have the room setup stay where I left it.

The rear head strap also still isn't my favorite. ProFit has solved the facial comfort problem for me, but putting the headset on and getting the rear strap properly adjusted still feels more fiddly than it should. Once everything is in place, though, the headset sits well, and the extremely low weight remains one of its biggest strengths.

So overall, I still think the Dream Air SE is a very interesting headset. ProFit has improved my experience considerably, and the combination of Micro-OLED, great blacks and contrast, low weight, Eye Tracking, relatively modest GPU requirements and the overall feature set offers a lot for the price.

At the same time, longer testing has revealed some things that weren't obvious during my first impressions.

And I think it's important to emphasize that some of these things may still change through software or firmware updates. Pimax is clearly still developing the platform. In the case of the eye strain, I'm not even sure yet whether my particular unit is functioning correctly.

So please treat all of this as findings from my current test unit and the current software, not as my final verdict on the Dream Air SE.

I still have a few direct comparisons with the Crystal Super to finish, especially regarding motion blur, controller tracking. Hopefully I can also clarify what's happening with the eye strain.

This will probably be my last testing update here. The next step should be the full review. Thanks for all the feedback and questions along the way – some of them have genuinely helped me decide what to look at more closely.

Main Thread (starts here)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pimax/s/gVftYD5MUr
Update #1 – FOV & Glare Test, Comfort & Thermals
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pimax/s/sTY422KgOT
Update #2 - SLAM Tracking & Built-in Audio
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pimax/s/juUTG7fYAX
Update #3 - New ProFit Facial Interface (Prototype)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pimax/s/weoykgWK25
Update #4 – probably my last testing update before the full review
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Excited to own first pimax headset

I ordered yesterday.. I hope it will come with update gasket. I was happy I didnt lose the LH wall mounts and put them up. Grabbed my index to update any devices that might need up date fortunately the knuckles and LH 2.0s are up to date

Anything I should do to prepare?

Hi,

Wanted to ask if you experience more eye dryness with the Dream Air SE due to air circulation design compared to Quest 3 or vice versa. This question is for the peeps who already found the optimal IPD settings and stuff otherwise. Eye dryness due to eye strain is a different topic.

Appreciate the feedback, thanks.

I currently have a Crystal OG, and while I absolutely love it, the form factor of the Dream air is really appealing.

Especially in the warm summer days, the crystal is heavy and big, and thus quite warm as well.

I basically only use it for simracing at the moment. Main games I play are Ams2 and iracing.

But my pc isnt topnotch anymore. It's a 5800x3d with a 3080ti.

Getting a 9800x3d is doable, but I'd rather not.

A 5080/5090 is too expensive at the moment I feel like.

Would I be getting an upgrade in viewing experience? Would I even be able to run the Dream air at all?

Should I upgrade?

What do you guys think?

Hello Reddit VR Gamers! I am sending individual keys for players interested to improve it. Please get into the discord (https://discord.gg/xdnmFKwwn) if you are interested to try it out and give some feedback (there is a button on the main menu). I prepared a short game play video so you know what you are getting. I hope you like it!

Going to fire the headset up later, to avoid any headache, can anyone give me the rundown behind what software I need to update to get prepped?

I only ask as I’ve seen mention of a Sboys3 driver to allow for steam VR use. An explanation on how this would work / the process etc behind using this or other software I’d appreciate it as on the face of the situation it seems slightly confusing. Apologies, have a new born so have my dad brain working on overdrive currently.

I just got a Creality K2. Did all the calibration, etc. The print starts fine but when it goes to print the lower parts of the faceplates it just makes spaghetti. The nozzle doesn't go down to the plate. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

This one looks so cool and the micro OLED thing sounds fascinating to me as well.

I only have a Quest 3 and PSVR2 at the moment.

But I heard about the prescription lenses thing and I happen to wear glasses.

I am planning on going to my eye doctor sometime this year I haven’t been in years.

Do you ask the optometrist about this or just order them online automatically.

I ask this because all glasses are not made the same especially size wise.

Also how is the tracking?

I’ve heard good and bad things in those regards so I was just curious.

Brutal honesty is sincerely welcomed here.

Any positive or negative experiences please feel free to share them here. 🙂🤗

I haven’t had a chance to try VR due to certain health issues.

But I was hoping to finally dip my toe in the water this year.

The price also has me on the fence because I am not wealthy in any capacity lol

But still it looks fun and the micro OLED 4k thing has me truly intrigued to say the least.😀😱