RIG R8 PRO HX headset review

Off the back of their recent success surrounding the RIG R5 Spear Pro, NACON and RIG have looked to keep the good times rolling. Where that model succeeded, the team looked to up the ante. Here comes the RIG R8 PRO HX, wielding not only wireless capability, but also multi-platform power. In a sea of headsets, however, and with a much higher price tag, does it have the sauce to make it tasty to consumers? Let's dive deeper.

Inside the heavy box you'll find the R8 PRO HX headset, a base station, the wireless adapter, a USB-C charging/connection cable, and two SNAP+ LOCK mod plates that are already affixed to the headset. From my previous experience with RIG headsets, this is in line with their offerings. We'll talk about the mod plates later, but this is the main addition to the box compared to prior products.

As silly as this may sound, the R8 PRO HX is very... headset-y. Many headsets go after being for lifestyle, or heavy into looking like a technophile's cyberpunk dream, but the R8 PRO HX is quite standard looking. That's no problem, as it handles its design just fine, but it's funny to see in a world where there's a lot of flash.

Putting the R8 PRO HX on my head, it has a wonderful heft to it. It's not too light, and not too heavy, which leads to a perfect middle. I do wish it had the ski-band previous models had, but the headband is still comfortable. I'm not sold on the orientation of the ear cups, however. In hand, they feel fine, but as soon as I put the headset on, the slant feels off. There's something about the way it rests over my ears that seems foreign. I can't put my finger on it, as they don't look wrong, but it bugs me.

On the headset, you'll find all of the controls necessary to take over the gaming world through sound. All of these sit on the right ear cup, even the microphone (which is quite odd). From top to bottom, there's a Bluetooth button, a multifunction button, the volume wheel, and a power button. Underneath these rest a USB-C port and the microphone. The left ear cup still puts in the work via a removable battery hidden beneath the SNAP+ LOCK mod plate, and the contacts for base station charging.

Speaking of the base station, this is one of my favorite features from wireless RIG headsets. Not every company does it right, but for some reason their bulky build with extra RGB hits the spot. It's hard to miss, making it a centerpiece for charging your controller. It's also hard for the battery to run down if you always remember to charge it, and RIG ensures you'll do that via the base station. With a sixty hour battery life, you'll rarely ever worry about that anyway. I also love the ease of plugging in your USB dongle to it, for doubling as the wireless connection to your device. This works in tandem with the base station to wake your headset as soon as you pull it free, instantly making you ready for action.

You'll be ready for action in most places, too. The R8 PRO HX has multi-platform support, with Xbox or PlayStation leanings that include PC. It'll also support the Nintendo Switch or Mobile via Bluetooth 5.2 capability. Interestingly, even if you choose, say, the Xbox version, you can pick up a PlayStation dongle and sync it to open up every platform. Even better, you could buy multiple dongles and connect them to all of your devices, switching between them at the push of a button. It's pretty awesome to be able to use your headset everywhere.

Bluetooth, as mentioned above, is a part of this package, but while designated as simultaneous, it only functions partially in that manner. In the aptly named dual mode, both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth are on. You can answer your phone, and the microphone will even swap to favor it over your gaming. That said, listening to music is apparently too much for the chipset, so no jamming to a playlist from your phone while deploying into the warzone. It's usable, but a bummer that it isn't fully active. On the plus side, if you want to use them only for Bluetooth, that works just fine, and the sound is terrific. I wanted to enjoy a bit of music and had the R8 PRO HX nearby, and it did in a pinch. There's even a few EQ settings you can adjust in the app to make your experience even better (more on that later).

I'm incredibly impressed with the microphone. Communicating with your teammates is essential with a headset, and this one offers crisp, near one-for-one voice output. Many gaming mics are buzzy; not the R8 PRO HX. The choice of a full-bandwidth boom microphone with 16-bit/48 kHz resolution was a good one. There are just two extra things to add to the love and hate column here. First, the flip-to-mute functionality is S-tier. Second, the mic is on the right side of the headset for some reason and that unnerves me.

King of all features on a headset belongs to the sound, and the R8 PRO HX delivers. Powered by 40mm graphene drivers, the layers available in your audio are sublime. I often say I prefer detail over volume, and that's available here. As a competitively driven Call of Duty player, sound cues are everything. RIG's engineers understand this, and have worked hard to ensure you hear all the things. I knew when a player was around the corner, I could hear when an enemy was trying to plant a bomb in Search and Destroy, and every bullet fired was audial information pinpointing my opponent's location on the map.

What may be more remarkable is that I rarely ran Dolby Atmos with this set during those times, and this headset is BUILT to take advantage of the software. Adding it to the equation via PC (or even utilizing another EQ like SteelSeries Sonar) reveals a wealth of detail; the magicians at Dolby know how to extract even minor cues out of the sea of sound coming from your headset. This doesn't stop at Dolby either, as PlayStation's Tempest 3D audio engine is supported.

If you want to get physical with your audio adjustments, the SNAP+ LOCK mod plate system is an intriguing new idea for headsets. While largely cosmetic options are available, you can actually 3D print your own (or buy RIGs from their shop) and given the way the drivers are set in the ear cups, this could allow someone to build mod plates that are focused on esports acoustics and so on. Sure, most will just like the cool customization option, but being able to give your headset different sound through this system is a unique concept.

Lastly, let's talk about RIG's new mobile app: the RIG R-PRO NAVIGATOR. Most know from reading my headset reviews that I'm a snob when it comes to great software for your devices. RIG has surprised me, offering a fantastic application that, while not filled to the brim, gives you well-chosen settings to customize your R8 PRO HX's performance. Things like your microphone gain and monitoring are available, auto-off functionality, and updates. The best inclusion has to be the EQ, as you have a few well-done presets along with a three or eight-band graph to tinker with. I didn't expect much, and RIG provided a tremendous value through this app.