HTC Vive Pro 2 Headset Only

A friend of mine has an Oculus Quest so that's unfortunately the only standard of comparison I have, but between the two, my friend and I regard the Vive as providing a higher framerate, less motion sickness, and a better ability to read print in VR. The only downside to the Vive is the cable, which does sometimes interfere in games that require a lot of looking around

There have been serious wiring issues with the headset since about 8 months after purchase. Their customer support discouraged me from getting a warranty repair (which I definitely regret) insisting the problems were solvable by unplugging the device. This briefly fixed the issues, which have only gotten worse and more persistent. It's clear my issues are known issues, are serious issues, and their customer support still discouraged a warranty repair knowing the issues were serious.The headset display often dies (goes black) when in use for 30 minutes. The headset display often has rectangular flickers of purple static especially when moving the head due to faulty wiring. The headset has graphical bugs (washed out, ghost images) which persist for hours if the link box is turned off with the steam VR software running. Often, the headset display does not turn on when launching software (remains black). Shutting down the VR software usually bricks my machine, requiring a hard power cycle reboot (holding the power switch).Usually, it takes about 30 minutes of power cycling, unplugging and replacing cables, and blood sacrifices to chtulu before vr finally works.The vive software often checks for updates, installs updates, but then is not updated to the new version when restarted. No clue what that's about, either, just shitty software.The image quality is not noticably better than the regular vive.These problems are absolutely unacceptable at this price point. The customer service was disastrous, knowingly misleading me to save the company a warranty repair.For my next VR headset -- anything but HTC.Do not buy, just buy a cheap headset from a company not desperate to rip you off.

So purchase this and received a new headset, not sent a used one or anything. The headset worked exactly one time and then never again. Called the help desk to get help either with what I am doing wrong or with getting the headset replaced. The guy with the help line walked me through all the normal steps of uninstall turn off unhook yada yada yada and when it was determined that the headset was infact the issue I was told the only option was to return the device to Amazon. All I wanted was a reply or for it to be fixed, and instead I was forced to get a refund. So I give the headset one star for working one time, and I give HTC negative stars for not standing by their products. I will not be buying this company's products in the future

I want to make this clear that this review is meant specifically for those who may be struggling with the same question that I had - is the Vive Pro 2 worth buying if you already own the Vive Pro?Just to give everyone a little background history, I am a hardcore virtual reality enthusiast. I have been using VR extensively since the launch of the original HTC Vive. Over the years I've been fortunate enough to try several different VR headsets, including the PSVR, Oculus Rift, Oculus (Meta) Quest 2, as well as the Valve Index. However, the Vive Pro has been my undisputed favorite ever since its release.So when I heard that the Vive Pro 2 was releasing last year, I was excited to say the least. When I read about the substantial (on paper) improvements in resolution, the wider 120 degree FOV and enhanced refresh rate - I immediately began to debate on which major organ I would sell to acquire this beauty."WE HAVE TO SEE....WE HAVE TO KNOW.."Vive Pro owners, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but these are my observations after using the Pro 2 in comparison to the Pro:-You will immediately notice that the black levels are not nearly as deep, nor the contrast as vivid asthe Pro. So disappointing. Not as bad as the Valve Index, but it will be a night and day difference to people like me that are used to the awesome OLED panels on the Pro. The new LCD type screens utilized in the Pro 2 does a decent job, but it still looks like everything is a little foggy because the dark areas are washed out. Say goodbye to those wonderful deep blacks and the amazing contrast found on the Pro. I don't understand why they chose to do this, as to me this almost negates the other improvements to clarity. In brightly lit scenes, the Vive Pro 2 shines, but games like Elite Dangerous, where the majority of the scenes are dark, the original Pro absolutely annihilates the Pro 2 in these areas.-Clarity is a noticeable difference however, in terms of viewing or reading things from a distance. In games like Onward, or any games where sniping, for example, might be involved - this clarity proves very useful. However, I did not find any meaningful difference, though the difference on paper indicates otherwise. The improved clarity was noticeable, but once again, I did not feel that it meaningfully enhanced the experience.-I would say the same about the 120hz refresh rate and FOV improvements. While nice, they don't seem to make much of a meaningful difference in the experience. These are, of course, welcome and nice enhancements. But not enough, in my opinion, to justify viewing the Vive Pro as an actual, next generation Vive headset.Ultimately, what it came down to for me was the panel lighting differences. The washed out black is very difficult to accept coming from the deep blacks found on the OLED Vive Pro panels. For me, the washed out blacks is immersion breaking. And it always makes me feel like I'm seeing things through a slight fog.The difference is NIGHT and DAY. If you value the way the colors and contrast pop so beautifully on the Pro, you will most likely find it very difficult to upgrade to the Pro 2.Bottom line is, it's a great headset. But if you're a Pro owner, I do not consider it worth the upgrade. Especially if you enjoy dark games like Elite Dangerous. While it has its paper advantages, the panel lighting on the Pro 2 seems like a step backwards because of the noticeable hit in the deep blacks and eye-popping contrast of the Pro. And the experience is a marginal improvement as a consequence of this baffling design change to the lighting system.Pro still ROCKS guys. Pro 2 is heading back where it came from. That was just my experience with it!

I was a bit apprehensive due to the negatives reviews on the web, but at $500 on sale I thought it was worth the risk. And it paid off, because I love this headset! Great FOV, resolution and comfort. It's feels exponentially better than the original Vive in every way. If you are at all curious, give it a consideration. At $500 it's a good headset. I have no desire to upgrade to something better and will keep this thing for years.