Well being gen1 FoV there shouldn’t be distortion this late in the game. 
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Distortion happens even (slightly) on my odyssey+. The Index has higher FoV than the rest out there (of course apart from Pimax), so it’s not a given that any manufacturer can make it distortion free. But Valve are masters of the game, these guys know what they’re doing. I’m expecting a very stable, very solid ‘reality’ with this HMD, even better than the Vive Pro. Can’t wait to try it!
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I believe though that was part of the reason they stacked the lenses. It also would give 2 reflections to look through which should also help to reduce sde.
Be interesting to hear your review. Hopefully you get the good sticks. 
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So I got my valve index today and compared it all day to my pimax 5kplus with the deluxe audiostrap.
My short impressions so far:
The image on the index is sharper and brighter and somewhat better colours then on the pimax 5k.
Screendoor maybe a little less on the index…
I do like to play on the 120hz mode , some games feel smoother and give some more precense in game…I enjoyed the game forest more now…
Audio is great,but I do also find the audio on the deluxe audio strap great(and sometimes even better)
Games do run better on the valve index and that is a big plus…
BUT THE GLARE IS TERRIBLE ON THE INDEX…That is a big bonus for the pimax 5k with almost no glare at all!!!
And I do miss the bigger field off view of the pimax…
Comfort wise for me its on the same level as the pimax with the deluxe audio strap.
For now I will keep the index,because games run better and look good and I like the 120hz mode… But the glare is a big downer…
But I need to test the index some more…
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Thanks for the comparison impressions. Be sure to update again after you’ve had more time for the “newness” of the index to wear off. I would be interested to hear which headset you prefer using after that. I reserved an Index but it will likely be another couple of months before my time comes to order. I really like my 5k+ so I’m not at all convinced that I will like the Index enough to go back to a lesser FOV headset so I love reading comparison impressions like this.
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They touch upon the subject in this blog post:
“Geometric Stability: As FOV increases, it becomes harder and harder to accommodate distortion and keep the image geometrically stable. Instability comes from many factors, but is most clearly manifested as a wobbliness in the world, where things that should appear solid instead undulate like gelatin as you move your head. We believe that providing geometric stability is a critical aspect to long term comfort and sustained growth of VR usage.”
Too bad they don’t go into the underlying factors, but at least I’m very pleased that they think it’s of the utmost importance to deliver a distortion-free experience. Pimax doesn’t really seem to care.
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whatever they write the xtal seem to proof that a 150-170 vertical fov is possible without sacrificing to much picture quality (distortion or resolution), the question is is it done just with lenses or is eye-tracking needed to achieve that
but even with eye-tracking, that tech gets more affordable and in 2 years it will hit a point where its not a big price point
hopefully we will hear from vrgineers in the next 6 month about there future plans (like a xtal gamer edition)
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Well the EyeTracking part has been somewjat affordable consider FoveVR has had Eye Tracking since 2014 & 2017 when their headset released.
Amazon even had one of their fire phones with eyetracking.
using eye-tracking for adaptive rendering (i expect this to be needed for wireless high-res vr as long as we cant have enough “local” cpu/gpu power in the headset) and distortion correction needs higher specs then just using it for menu navigation or marketing research, the old units from 2-4 years ago might not be up to that task (especially when we want 120/144Hz refresh for “true 2.0 vr”)
FoveVR was/is using it for Foveate rendering. But yeah Amazon’s firephone implementation for 3d perspective isn’t likely that advanced.
Fove might need an upgrade to theirs for 120hz+ as if mem serves was 70hz+?
Aa for Xtal if mem serves the headset runs around 70hz?
Damn, bad luck, seems I overpaid for nothing, the kit is now available for shipping: https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-index-shipping-update-backorder/
Oh well it’s a good thing for the VR scene I guess
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Sorry to hear SJ. That always sucks when happens.
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Got my Index today. Really nice headset aside from the glare which isn’t great but can be ignored depending on the scene type. It will replace the Pimax 8K for sure. Pimax HMDs might interest me again once they release the 8KX, until then the 8K is back in its box probably never to be seen again.
Like with most HMDs it needs to be fitted correctly and if it’s not then it does affect the visuals substantially. The FOV is a nice upgrade over non-Pimax headsets, the clarity is better than the 8K by far and the comfort very nice as well. Black levels could be better and the SDE is still noticeable. However, the 120hz is very nice and feels noticeably smoother making it a real plus point for those sensitive to it. It’s quite a heavy beast and comes with a thick cable. Controllers aren’t bad but take some time to get used to.
Really impressive and makes me feel less bad about having to return the HP Reverb. I think the clarity is close on both of these.
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Nice review, really getting excited about receiving mine, I really wonder how I’m going to like the 120hz, seems a really nice feature
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I would never go back to 110 fov. Guess some people are different.
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The higher refresh will greatly depend on your sensitivity to refresh. Though the higher refresh while Res being lower should give it some adder sharpness. As you have a decent collection of hmds should be a great review to read.
Your Vive Pro it came with v2.0 LHes? If so did you have problems with 5k+ on it?
No they worked fine. Until one of them broke down (red led of death came up). But never had a problem with the 5k+
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Everybody is different, we all want different things from our VR HMD. It’s nice that we have options now for everybody. And I guess in a few years when GPU power isn’t such a problem anymore, we’ll have it all come together in a single HMD (high res + wide FoV + black values etc). Until then, it’s really a matter of what you prefer.
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Really need to see a comparison between 120 fov pimax compared to the index fov. Saw countless reviews stating the 130 fov is a lie and it really 115.
Cool as a few have reported issues with Index’s LHes. Be good follow up test on the 5k+ to compare.
Sorry to hear one died. Has HTC replaced it or giving hassles.
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