NACON RIG 800 Pro HX review

When the RIG 800 Pro was offered up for us to cover, there was one thing that came to mind immediately: when I last used a RIG headset, it was the most comfortable (still) to this date I’d ever used. If you’re an older player like myself, then there are numerous important things that are to be considered when it comes to a headset, but I’d wager that top of that list is weight and comfort, and let me tell you, thankfully the NACON RIG 800 Pro HX does not let itself down in that area.

It’s hard to describe exactly why it works so well on your head. The cushions are incredibly well padded and soft as they press onto your ears, sure. But it’s more than that. Normally if I was saying “it’s got a lightweight feel to it”, that’d be a concern, but somehow NACON’s RIG brand nails this like no other headset I’ve ever worn. It doesn’t feel cheap, nor does it feel like it’ll break easily, it just sits on your head feeling light and soft, and that’s seriously something to celebrate. But look, for that price you’d rather expect a comfortable headset, right? Sure, but I just want to be clear: I’ve tried plenty of headsets over more than decade of reviewing this kind of tech, and the RIG brand still sits atop my list of “most comfy” headphones.

Moving on, the 800 Pro HX is wireless and includes a dock that it sits in to charge. There is another pretty cool reason for this dock, and that’s to pair it to your device. Should you want to sit the dock miles away from your Xbox or PC, that’s fine: it includes a USB dongle that plugs directly into your device for that reason. If you stick it in the back of your console or PC it’s going to lose some range, sure, but while we’re talking about “best in class”, the range of this thing is mad as well. I forgot I was walking away from my office at times, because music would still be playing on the headphones. What more could you want?

Back to that dongle, though, for a moment. Because the feature I most enjoyed is that if you are using the PC version, of have a desk setup where the dock will sit near the device it’s connected to, you can slot the USB dongle into the base itself (at a slight angle which, nit-picking, I know, but is slightly awkward to remove if you wanted to, for some reason) and connect the dock directly to your PC or console with an included cable. The model I have is USB, but newer models will be rolling out later this year with USB-C (and a better battery life on the 24 hours of service this model provided me). What I particularly like about how this works is niche to my setup, but it’s worth noting. I use XLR microphones and an external audio device for my PC, but switching the RIG 800 Pro HX off and docking it was like fully disconnecting it, meaning I could switch between my main audio device and these headphones simply by turning the Rig Pro on and off again.

Onto the most important factor, however: the audio. Crisp high end and deep bass are aided by the large cups that surround your ears, and thus you, with audio. Included in the package is Dolby Atmos support, and testing this out is reminiscent of the 3D audio the PlayStation 5’s Pulse 3D can put out. Now it’s important to note that not every PC game will support Dolby Atmos. When it does, it’s incredible. I found that gunfire with the RIG Pro 800 HX was incredibly precise, which isn’t to say that the rest didn’t sound as clear, just that it’s a standout for the headset.

While there are modern titles like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Resident Evil Village, Returnal, Gears 5, and more that do support Dolby Atmos, it’s worth noting it definitely isn’t a “standard”, as such, yet. You will absolutely notice a difference playing games with this enabled, and if you do grab this headset, make sure you set it up properly (read the instructions) and enable the feature by downloading the Windows App (if you’re using the PC headset) to do so. It’s perhaps slightly more of a faff than it working by default, but even the aforementioned Pulse Headset requires you to do some setup to turn it on with PlayStation 5.

I really do not have any criticisms of major note outside the fact it’s not available for PS5, but that also kind of makes sense since Sony has it’s own hardware to do the job for its users. With the modern “flip to talk/mute” microphone included, even using it for communication is a breeze, and while the mic isn’t exactly going to compete with any professional audio setup, it does the job for in-game comms and online meetings. The controls on the side of the headset itself are “endless” rollers, which might annoy some who prefer to “feel” when they’re at full volume, and I suppose if I was being harsh, I’d like the on/off button to work quicker, but that’s about it for my list of notable issues.

Serious audiophiles may want to look elsewhere for fully customisable audio, but for someone like myself who wants great sounding gameplay or music that can be worn comfortably for hours without worrying about a sweaty head, or compression, or even battery life letting you  down, it’s hard to imagine a time this won’t be sat on my desk in use next to me. Minor issues like a non-detachable mic, lack of wired (optical) option might be deal breakers at a higher price point, but for what this costs, how it sounds, and importantly, feels, this is probably the best mid-range headset I’ve used in a long time.