RIG 800 Pro HS headset review – Can you RIG it?

Let me first apologize for the terrible pun, but I do stand by it. The RIG 800 Pro is now here, and available in an Xbox, PlayStation, and soon a PC model. As many know, I use a lot of different accessories, and I’ve been on a run talking about gear over the last couple of months, and Nacon has added yet another with the PlayStation model of the 800 Pro (the HS version which we’re reviewing). I really could start and end this one with a “Will it Call Of Duty”, another thing I do a lot of, but with the RIG 800 Pro surpassing my expectations it certainly deserves more of your and my time.

Without further ado, let’s jump into the box! Inside you’ll find the aforementioned RIG 800 Pro, the USB wireless dongle, a wireless charge base, and a micro-USB charge cable. The charge base works several ways in that it can function as only a charging station, but to save USB ports you can plug the wireless dongle into it. The base itself is very pleasing to the eyes, and allows you to place the headset standing up on it to charge it which works with aplomb. I’ve not had any issues with setting it onto the station and having the headset topple – the fit is perfect.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the actual headset. The RIG 800 Pro features two very comfy earcups, with the outside a faux-leather and what rests on your ears a surprisingly plush fabric. One of my biggest issues with headphones is heat; that uncomfortable burning sensation some have on your ears or the top of your head after a while, but the RIG’s don’t do that at all despite my worries given the construction. In fact, I’ve put in multiple hours of Call Of Duty on multiple occasions with these, and they’ve stayed cool the entire time. Along with these the plastic design of the headset frame shouldn’t work as well as it does; somehow feeling kind of cheap but being ridiculously durable. That’s not a knock on them in the slightest either, and I think it’s more a compliment of how light they are. The other design function that I’ve always liked with RIG headsets is the fabric ski-band that keeps the pressure off of your head, another win for the 800 Pros.

While comfort is incredibly important, how it sounds is equally important. The RIG 800 Pro features 40mm, low frequency resonator drivers, which is a lot of technical jargon to say they generally do lows and mids well while doing okay with bass-ey tones. I generally put these through a few tests, and that’s generally playing multiplayer, single player, and of course music. For multiplayer, I obviously played a lot of the third season of Call Of Duty: Vanguard (our impressions here), and I was pleasantly surprised by the intangibles the RIG 800 Pro offers. Not only does everything sound really good, the directional audio was sublime. Besides that, I was also able to turn on Dolby Atmos through my PC, adding equalization and Dolby’s expertise to the experience.

With single player, I focused on using the headset on the PS5, and to great results. I haven’t tried Vampyr yet, so I figured now was the best time to do so. This one is very story driven, with plenty of dialogue along with lots of atmospheric sound and a wonderful soundtrack in the background, and it all sounded fantastic on the 800 Pro. The directional audio is still a highlight (e.g. a character talking in a tent to my back left), and the RIG even utilizes the PS5’s 3D audio, which certainly adds to the value of it. Lastly, I used August Burns Red’s ‘Composure’ (one of my faves) in order to judge it off music and the entire track sounds amazing through the headset. Just based on audio performance alone, the Rig 800 Pro passes with flying colors.

RIG 800 PRO

The other part of the audio experience with a headset is the microphone. I’ve gotten pretty particular with mine over the last little bit, mainly because I’ve moved onto using my Elgato Wave 3 mic which sounds incredible. You generally won’t end up with anything that crisp, I mean, you’ll pay almost as much for said mic as the RIG 800 Pro, but it doesn’t have much of a drop off all things considered. Talking with my teammates on how it sounded, doing some recording and playing myself back, all allowed me to make the determination that your call outs are going to be heard and it’s not too hot where you’ll start buzzing. It can be a bit low at times, but I was able to adjust the mic closer to my face to fix it.

What isn’t as great is the fact the charging is still behind the curve. Yes, I really like the dock, but it functions via a micro-USB cable and if you want to be more portable, you’re still stuck charging the headset with a micro-USB. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, but USB-C allows for much faster charging along with quick-charging, and I’m not sure the dock helps that be nearly as fast. With the dock, the only thing I don’t like about it is a lack of functionality outside of the charging and using it as your “dongle”. I would have loved to see some sort of “mix-amp” ability from it, and though that may add to the price, you’d just like to see it operate as more than just a dock. In any case, it feels inexcusable to be using anything other than USB-C charging in 2022, and I’d be fine without the dock if I had that. On the plus side, the RIG does sport a 24 hour battery, and I’ve never once felt the end of it during a gaming session.

Another important factor for any headset is it’s versatility. For the RIG 800 Pro, there’s only one way you’ll be able to connect it up and that’s via USB-A ports, and even then you’ll have to pick the console of your choice. While I totally understand that many headsets don’t feature the ability to jump between devices, one of my favorite headsets allows me to use it with literally anything. Some of that is the connection, it uses a USB-C dongle and an adapter for a USB-A, but beyond that is a 3.5 port to use it wired. I understand only so many ports fit on a headset, but given this other headset is only $20 more, I’m not sure why the RIG 800 Pro couldn’t have at least included one to give it that extra umph. The more devices I can use something with, the more I’ll use it, and at least with the 800 Pro I’m stuck on PlayStation and PC.

I was going to bring some of these other features up in different sections where they would fit, but after some deliberation I wanted to call out how the RIG 800 Pro does a lot of little things right. Beginning with the mic, I love the flip to mute function. I know several headsets do it, but with this one Nacon added a sound indicator, with a convenient beep heard in your ears to know if it’s muted, with a similar tone to let you know you’re back online. These tones are another part of the headset I’m enamored with. There’s one to let you know you’re turning the headset volume up too much, as well as vocal cues (a woman’s voice saying power on for instance) for turning it on and off, even being able to hit the power button while you’re using it for a connection and battery power notification. Another feature a lot of headsets have is mic monitoring, but having a dial on it so I can fine tune it on the go is appreciated. It’s the little things that make a good device a great device, and the RIG 800 Pro is a great device by those standards.

David Burdette

Lead Video Game Editor
| [email protected]

David Burdette is a gamer/writer/content creator from TN and Lead Editor for Gaming Trend. He loves Playstation, Star Wars, Marvel, and many other fandoms. He also plays way too much Call Of Duty. You can chat with him on Twitter @SplitEnd89.

The RIG 800 Pro is a fantastic headset that does the little things right among a few shortcomings. Sure, I’d like to be able to use it via more devices, and I don’t know how micro-USB charging was justified in the design room, but a lightweight and comfortable headset with phenomenal sound and a great mic makes up for it, at least a little bit.

—David Burdette

Unless otherwise stated, the product in this article was provided for review purposes.

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Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX Review

By Matthew Adler

Posted: May 17, 2022 3:00 pm

If you’re familiar with the old Plantronics Rig gaming headsets from a few years back, then your experience with the Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX headset will be largely the same – nearly identical in features and build quality, just with a new parent company at the helm. Nacon’s Rig 800 Pro series adds a base station to conveniently dock and recharge your headphones after use, while retaining the same great sound quality and comfort you’ve come to expect over the years.

Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX – Photos

Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX – Design and Features

For better or worse, the Rig 800 Pro HX is still made from a primarily plastic enclosure featuring the same modular design that allows you to tailor the headset to your liking. Both ear cups are detachable and can be inserted into one of three different slots on the external frame. Paired with a self-adjusting head strap, this headset is able to accommodate a wide range of head shapes and sizes comfortably.

The ear cups are soft and squishy, featuring a pleather exterior paired with a breathable mesh fabric where the headset makes contact with your head. The ear holes themselves have a smaller diameter than many other headsets I’ve tested which was a bit uncomfortable at first as everything felt a little too snug around my ears.

The 800 Pro HX headset is specifically designed for use with Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC and includes access to Dolby Atmos across all platforms. The headset connects wirelessly up to 30 feet away over the 2.4 GHz frequency with the included USB adapter.

Internally, the 800 Pro HX has an 1800 mAh battery that provides up to 24 hours of wireless playback on a single charge. Recharging the headset takes around seven hours, and can be done by either plugging the headset into a wall outlet using a Micro USB cable, or by placing it on the included base station, which charges through a set of magnets on the bottom of the right earcup.

All of the headset’s controls are on the outside of the left earcup. This includes a game/party chat dial for Xbox up top, a power button, volume controls, a dedicated mute button, and the headset’s charging port all stacked on top of one another. While it’s nice having everything conveniently located on one side of the headset, it can be a bit confusing figuring out what you’re pressing in the heat of the moment. That being said, both dials are made from a hard, rubberized material that adds a nice tactile touch and feels great to adjust.

The microphone is also located on the left side of the headset and features a flip-up design to easily mute yourself during gameplay, or to just get the microphone out of the way when not in use. The microphone’s arm is extremely bendable, too, so you can position it perfectly in front of your mouth while chatting.

Overall, the headset’s design remains relatively unchanged from its previous iterations, save for a bit of updated branding. The prominent plastic architecture does make the headset extremely lightweight at just 290 grams, but also feels a bit lacking given its premium price point. It’s a very chunky headset with a busy design that looks about a decade behind many other modern headsets – both for gaming and music.

Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX – Software

The Rig 800 Pro HX headset features plug-and-play wireless support for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. There’s no additional software required to utilize the headphones. However, access to Dolby Atmos is included and can be enabled by downloading the Dolby Access app on Xbox or Windows 10.

Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX – Gaming

While the Rig 800 Pro HX may not be the most aesthetically pleasing headset to look at, it makes up for in sound quality. It’s equipped with 40mm audio drivers and bass enhancers to deliver great 3D sound quality in all of your games.

Adjusting the earcup height before wearing isn’t the most elegant process as it requires literally popping each side out of the frame and snapping it into one of the three available slots, but once dialed in, the headset fit snugly on top of my head in combination with the elastic headband. As I mentioned before, the ear cups themselves have a relatively small hole cutout, so those with larger-than-average ear sizes may find the design to be uncomfortable. Also, if you wear glasses, the around-ear nature of the earcups does press your frames into your head a bit, which can cause headaches after some time.

I found these headphones to reproduce sound very well, with most of my testing coming from Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and Destiny 2. The former two were the only Dolby Atmos-enabled games I tested as the official list of Dolby Atmos-supported games is still relatively light at less than 50, despite being around for the better part of a decade now. That being said, I was pleased with the sound quality offered.

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While roaming Zeta Halo in Halo Infinite, I was able to accurately pinpoint enemy locations and locate collectible audio logs with precision thanks to the great audio mix. And in Forza, the ambient sounds of Mexico could still be heard over the roaring engine and blaring radio tracks. The soundstage tended to skew more towards the lower end, which is great for explosions and bass-heavy tracks. Even with so many sounds coming from every direction, I never experienced any distortion with the audio. The only downside is that there are no EQ settings to adjust or selectable presets on the headset, so you’re at the mercy of the game itself (if it’s not utilizing Dolby Atmos audio, that is).

Wearing the Rig 800 HX headphones for an extended period of time was a great experience, especially considering Nacon is marketing them as headphones for marathon gaming sessions. After a few hours in Destiny 2, I had completely forgotten I was wearing the headphones. The earcups do a great job of isolating any external sound to keep you immersed, and the lightweight nature made them extremely comfortable to wear during each of my play sessions. I do wish the earcups were a bit more breathable as my ears felt a bit warm after taking the headphones off, but overall it’s a very comfortable experience.

Verdict

Nacon’s Rig 800 Pro HX headset retains its familiar – if not slightly outdated – design and pairs it with great sound quality and comfort for extended gaming sessions. Dolby Atmos support for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC gives you the best 3D audio has to offer for supported titles, and a new charging base provides a convenient way to store and recharge your headset when you’re finished playing.