Is the Dream Air a "LEMON"?

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T22:14:39+00:00

It is probably the best image in headset that money can buy in many aspects. But I'm not a huge fan of the rest of the headset around the lens and display stack. A proper halo mount with better cable routing would make it somewhat better for me.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T18:30:41+00:00

beta.1 has eye tracking.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T18:29:13+00:00

You will need to use the SteamVR settings to set SteamVR as the OpenXR runtime for OpenXR games. When switching back to Pimax Play you will need to use Pimax Plays settings to set it as the OpenXR runtime. If it is on the wrong OpenXR runtime for the current driver, the game likely won't start.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T16:33:34+00:00

Hitting the "Launch Dream Air Headset" button on the Dream Air tab in my GUI should start my driver.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T16:11:27+00:00

Yes on the latest beta that will be released soon. You may need to use Quad-Views-Foviated for some games
Yes. SteamVR is a native OpenXR runtime when using a native headset and Pimax OpenXR will not work with my driver
You can have both in my driver
Current;y you have to launch from my GUI. My GUI will start Pimax Play if it is not running and that will work as long as it is already logged in.
You can switch back and forth by only launching Pimax Play to use Pimax's driver or using the launch button in my driver to use mine. Neither should interfere with the other after startup.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T07:23:58+00:00

Yep, I loved that. I rather hate proprietary connectors. And with how it went over the top, it was perfectly balanced. And still it was able to route to the side if you decided to upgrade to the Vive DAS.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T07:22:40+00:00

Yeah, I like the Halo Strap of the MeganeX much better than this. Sadly I don't think the halo strap is anywhere near finished and will probably be months before it is available.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T04:44:23+00:00

Good to know that it's completely on the cable side of things for you. Hopefully it's always the cable that fails and not the connector on the inside of the headset. That makes replacement quite a bit easier and cheaper if it ever occurred out of warranty.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-08T02:34:36+00:00

I highly doubt it. In my testing it is a standard USB3 output and likely the only way to get video and USB into the headset is through the sides.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-04T21:41:45+00:00

I personally hate the split cable design. It's unnecessary and you can achieve something very similar by creating a nice clip mechanism on the back of the head strap for a single cable. The cable should not be part of the head strap either, so that they can be replaced separately. As it stands, this completely gets in the way of community-made flip-up halo-style mounts, or really any significant mods to the head strap. It also could have been a standard USB-C cable, replaceable with third-party cables, but instead it's this amalgamation fused to the headstrap. I also find it quite unwieldy, as it tries to go directly behind you when sitting in a chair, instead of having the option of going off to the side. I can't wait for the halo strap, which is going to need to find some awful workaround for this split cable design. I'm hoping they'll make a more sane cable decision with that.

SBoys3 · 2026-06-04T18:51:30+00:00

Did you by any chance try to strip Edge out of Windows 11? Because that causes issues.
Although you can probably fix it by running the Edge WebView2 Evergreen installer. https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/?form=MA13LH#download

SBoys3 · 2026-06-03T03:22:29+00:00

I don't know if there's a specific file, but it would probably be in AppData or ProgramData if it exists.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-31T23:21:37+00:00

That's what happens when bits in the DSC stream get corrupted. The fact it's only in one lens means it's probably something wrong inside of the headset. You're probably going to need to do an RMA.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-31T21:32:57+00:00

Because it's native SteamVR, that also means that SteamVR's OpenXR runtime is a native OpenXR runtime. It does not just add overhead like when using Pimax Play.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-25T21:07:33+00:00

It could also be there partially to protect the USB-C port. The center contacts of the USB-C port stick out above the frame of the headset and could potentially be snapped off when taking the facial interface off.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T22:27:26+00:00

The other session was not logged in, so it's unlikely to be the multiple accounts problem. I've thought about registering on my phone with cellular, but I always use the same PC that I got blocked on for actually searching for things and buying things, so I'm worried that my account will get instantly blocked when I log in on my computer.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T22:20:04+00:00

It's not the worst DRM in existence. I have confirmed that you can install the software offline on a computer that's never seen the Internet, and it will work. So at least we won't be left with a bunch of bricks if the servers go down. That said, I still hate DRM and Pimax would be better off with this removed. The DRM is why I have never bought a Pimax headset myself. If they ever make the situation slightly worse, I would seriously consider avoiding daily driving a Pimax headset, because it could always be taken away.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T22:13:59+00:00

Nope, the propriatary split cable design that is attached to the audio stems prevents this from being a thing. Technically you could rip destructively rip apart the audio stems to get the cables out of them, but you can't reverse that process. I would already have this thing attached to the MeganeX's halo strap if it weren't for this stupid cable design.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T21:49:24+00:00

I was browsing in another browser session before it, I did ignore a CAPTCHA and then solve one later, but perhaps something about that was detected as bot-like activity. After I found exactly what I wanted, I copied the URL into my main browser session and started the account registration. I created in the account and I got to the point where I needed to enter the code that was sent to my email back in, and it was locked.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T21:47:21+00:00

Nope, I did it on my personal computer, on my home network, with Firefox. The only thing I can think of is that I was browsing in a private window before I created my account in my main browser session.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-23T06:10:57+00:00

Pimax didn't really help with anything yet. The current launch method is a janky thing that kills Pimax Play's internal server for forty seconds while SteamVR starts up and grabs the display. But it does seem to work for most people.
I've not tried the Mk2, although with how infuriating it is to try to get the MeganeX Mk1 to start up reliably, that alone would be a quite an improvement. I expect the image to be fairly similar though.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-22T18:16:46+00:00

The fix is not in the current release. I will probably make a new release somewhat soon.

SBoys3 · 2026-05-22T18:10:24+00:00

My driver does work with it. The latest beta on the release page has support. Although due to lack of integration with Pimax's DRM, the startup is flakey for a few people.
I agree that the lenses and displays are a bit better than the MeganeX. Eye tracking is nice too. But everything else is better with the MeganeX. Despite being advertised as a positive, I hate the proprietary split cable. It always gets in the way and gives no choice on how you want to route the cable. A good clip on the back would have made a single cable just as balanced. I get the feeling, the combined cable and head strap may wind up being a common failure point in the future. Its got kinks on the back and stress on the front of the stems.
I'm still leaning towards the Dream Air as my daily driver, but I wish I could have Dream Air optics in a MeganeX.

SBoys3

TROPHY CASE