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 – 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.
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.
