RIG 800HD Wireless Dolby Atmos Gaming Headset for PC - Black

So, this is my first foray into owning a wireless headset. Over the years I have had experience with several wireless headsets for work and gaming to varying degrees of success. Most of them required several concessions to live with – great sound but low battery life; great battery and mic, but uncomfortable; etc. The Rig 800HD’s have changed my view of wireless headsets into a more positive stance. I have been a user of the excellent HyperX Cloud series (Core and Alpha), so I wanted to make sure the Rig stacked up before they became my daily driver. I have spent a month with this headset before making this review because I wanted to make sure I didn’t gloss over anything during my initial first uses. First Up – Build Quality I have to say I was quite skeptical when I first picked these up. I am used to the all metal structure of the Cloud’s because I had a long history of plastic headset frames cracking. I was pleased to find that Plantronics created a solidly designed frame. The top band has a smooth, soft plastic feel to it. The inside of the top band has some gussets molded into it that provides some extra strength in the middle. The elastic suspension band can be removed, allowing you to really appreciate the flexibility and strength of the top band. Unlike other plastic structured headsets you may have experience with, the Rig’s also don’t creak when putting them on/taking them off. Creaky headsets just make me think they are going to break sooner. The earcup attachment points are just as sturdy, and they provide enough articulation to fit any head shape. I attached my earcups to the center notch, and that’s where they will stay. For those that might need to adjust the position frequently for whatever reason (hat, hairstyle, sharing with a big headed friend, etc), these attachment points feel robust enough to handle a multitude of adjustments. The mic boom is deceptively strong. It looks like it would be flimsy, but it is pretty securely attached. The mic rotation has enough resistance to maintain the position you put it in. The only knock on build quality comes with the plastic for the ear cups. The plastic here feels cheaper on the sides – mostly because it immediately reminds me of the ridges on a drink bottle cap. Also, the edges around the bottom of the ear cup have a hard angle to them, and it feels like this should have been rounded over. Second Up – Comfort I have always had the thought that my Cloud’s nailed the headset comfort formula. Plush ear cups, lightweight, and wider padded headband to distribute the load on top of your head. The Rig’s nailed most of that formula, but still created an exceedingly comfortable headset. The earcups are super comfortable, and the fabric allows them to breath. You won’t sit there feeling like your ears are getting hot and sweaty (a problem that the Cloud’s and others with leather earcups have). The headset feels very light, and likely lighter than my Cloud’s. I wear these all day at work to listen to music, and I haven’t felt like I’m fatiguing my neck at all. The suspension band is really nice, but it had the drawback of being too narrow. The pad is wide enough, but the internal elastic band is only about ¼” wide. This creates a pressure line across your head over time. If that elastic band was ½” wide or wider, I wouldn’t even be bringing this up. The only saving grace is the headset is light enough that really don’t start feeling that pressure line until after a few hours. Overall I would give the comfort level a 9/10 – not perfect but definitely good. Third Up – Sound (finally right?) For me the EQ’s are kind of forgettable. I usually leave it on EQ 3 for music. EQ 2 does feel really overblown/boomy on bass and mids. Otherwise I have really hard time discerning between 3 and 4, but I may not have found the right source audio to hear the difference (4 is supposed to be more for vocals). 1 feels like a little less bass, and a little cleaner which is why I like it for gaming. A lot of this will come down to whatever you are listening to, and whatever levels you like best. Overall the sound for these headsets should be compared to the $90-100 wired headsets. My Cloud’s are right in that price range, and I think these are on par in sound quality. I think the drivers provide pretty clear sound for music, and great depth. They have pretty good bass and the mids/highs are clear without anything sounding blown out or tinny. I don’t remember what song I was listening to, but I remember thinking I had never heard those particular background sounds in the 100 times I had listened to the song beforehand. So kudos to the Rig’s for being really clear on lower volume sounds. This has been especially useful playing my current game – Far Cry 5. I can hear every little sound, and it is fantastic. I can hear nearby enemies super clear, whereas before it was maybe a little muddled. Has it made me any better at the game – debatable, but I do enjoy it more. The included Atmos code is a nice add on (I also get to use it on my Atmos enabled receiver via my XBONE). The extra processing of the sound is superior, IMO, to the 7.1 dongle adapters for some headsets. They always sound just a little off to me, but the Atmos processing doesn’t feel…over processed. Is it as good as a true multi driver headset – no, but those headsets sit in a completely different price point that is out of reach for most people. The mic sound is perfectly acceptable. I have really only used it for Skype calls, and other web applications at work. My mic sounds better than anyone else on the calls, so I am happy about that for sure. I have full confidence that my game chats (when they finally happen) will come through perfect. Last Up - Other Areas/Features This first one sort of falls in line with comfort, but these are things you will only deal with infrequently. The buttons on the backside of the ear cup are easy to adjust while wearing. I did need to look at them first to know what I was going to be messing with. The volume knob was easy to adjust – I wish it had hard stops for min/max but that is a personal preference. The game/chat volume mixer is super easy to use. You just need to remember which direction is which. The only thing that is weird is the EQ button on the bottom of the right earcup. Its location is fine, but I wish the notification sound was different. Right now it just makes 1, 2, or 3 ‘boops’ depending on which one you select. Again personal preference, but I would rather have the it be a spoken notification where the voice overlay says ‘One’ for EQ one. Some reviewers have mentioned the voice overlay when first turning on the headset is far too loud/abrasive. I didn’t get the same impression. I thought it was a perfectly acceptable volume and prompt. I don’t understand the hate for this feature, but again I’m not them. Battery life has been great. I think 24 hrs is lowballing the runtime of these headsets. It only takes me about 4 hours to charge them. I’m glad they kept the connector a micro-USB – I have 10 of these cables laying around, so I never worry about getting it charged. With this runtime you should never be caught with a dead headset. The range on the wireless connection is great. I’m able to walk all around my house without losing connection. I can walk 40 ft down the hall at work, turn the corner into the kitchenette and get something out of the fridge without any issues. I have never been a big fan of wireless headsets (mostly bluetooth ones), so I was skeptical of the sound quality I would get. I don’t feel like I am taking very much a sound quality hit with the Rig’s over my wired Cloud’s. Is wired sound quality better – yes. Is it awesome not having a cord, while being very close in quality – even more yes. The earcups don’t provide a noise isolating experience as compared to my Cloud’s, which I both like and dislike. It helps when a coworker walks up to talk to me. I just mute my music and I can hear them. Unfortunately, if I am trying to play a game I have to turn the volume up if there is a lot of ambient noise. Overall, I would take the experience of the Rig over my Cloud’s because the Rig earcups don’t make my ears sweat. Conclusion I have been a user of Plantronics headsets over the last 10 years, and they were always my go to for gaming chat headsets. I was happy to see that Plantronics put forth another solid product. I have made these my daily driver at home, and at work. I will probably pick up another set, so I can just leave one at home and the other at work. If you are looking for a solid wireless headset that doesn’t break the bank, I think the Rig 800HD’s should be on your shortlist. They have great sound, excellent battery life, plenty of range, and are really comfortable. Good job Plantronics.

I’ll start by saying that I’m in love with this headset. It’s incredibly comfortable and can be adjusted for different people fairly easily. The sound is fantastic, compared to another headset I own, the bass is DRASTICALLY better on the RIG 800HD. Even better, I was able to make this headset work with my PS4 (limited functions; the game/chat mixer doesn’t work) as well as my PC so that’s an added bonus I wasn’t expecting. The mid and treble are awesome as well, nice crisp sound without being too bright or over pronounced. The included Dolby Atmos code for PC gaming is a nice touch as well. There are a few minor (for me) issues though with this headset. First, when this headset is plugged into my PC, it won’t send sound to anything but the headset, even if the headset isn’t on. So if I want to use my PC without the headset, I have to unplug the base station from the PC in order to do that. Not a huge hassle, but I don’t know that I’ve ever owned a headset that did this. Also, the headset just doesn’t get very loud. It gets loud enough for most people but I want maybe about 15-20% more volume from it and it just doesn’t get there. For extended use, it’s plenty loud enough but if I want to just really jam out to a song or have those loud moments in games or movies really seem life-like, it just doesn’t have that extra little bit of volume it needs. In summary, if you buy this headset you’ll probably love it and never look back. Especially if you’re willing to deal with some of the flaws I’ve mentioned.

What is mostly remarkable about this RIG 800HD is the extreme light weight of the headset (Compared to my old headset). Battery life is amazing. Can be used for hours before need to be re-charged. I connected it to my MSI GS63 Stealth and it started working immediately. Redeeming the Dolby Atmos coming with the headset will unlock features for Dolby supported games. I don't game very frequently but I enjoy listening to music and watching movies on my computer. This headset is a perfect balance between the gaming and the other usage types. Microphone is just in the right spot. Flip up to mute feature is just nice! The recorded sound on the MIC seems to be on the less bass side (maybe because of the noise cancellation process). Control buttons are in the right place. You can get used to them very fast. The wireless adapter of the headset is very light (I hope it was a bit heavier) with long wire to connect to USB. Optic Fiber connection is also available. The wireless range is pretty amazing. Way beyond my BT headset and seems to be less sensitive to noise and distortions. Headset charges kind of fast (Didn't try a deep charge yet). Battery lasting for hours. Buttons and controls on the side feels firm. Size adjustment is ok. Better than the sliding type. Overall, premium materials used every where. Equalizer feature is good. Well pre-set to give the right sound adjustment. Game/Chat feature is nice! I had it working on one of my games only. It is good to have a such option. Coming handy with quick mic mute feature. I think the price of the headset is just right when taking in mind the build quality and functionalities.

Plantronics is one of the companies out there in the sea of headgear and audio peripheral. The RIG 800HD is one of their gaming headsets that’s already filled to the brim from other brands and models. Reviewing it will be tricky and difficult, as everyone’s personal preference to subjective hearing will be different from mine. Be mindful of that fit is also a tricky matter as a person’s head and ears differ from person to person. With that out of the way, it’s time to take a look… or is that listen… to this headset. The RIG 800HD is a headset designed for the PC. Its audio specification can be found via search. Since I’m not an audio expert, I will not critique the audio specs. Instead, I will focus on design, form, fit, listening experience, communication experience, and lastly value. The RIG 800HD doesn’t have large cans. This might be an issue for people with large ears. It fits my ears just fine so it’s not a problem. I guess if I were to gauge its size, I’d say it’s medium. Ear padding is cloth based. On one hand, this allows for a comfortable long session without moisture/sweat buildup, unlike pleather. But on the other hand, you don’t get a better audio seal that pleather offers. In my opinion, I think I’ll take this tradeoff and go for cloth-based ear paddings. The headset doesn’t have traditional sliding to adjust for large and small heads. Instead, the top headband is self adjusting and flexible and thus should conform to your head once worn. For larger or smaller heads, the cans themselves are mounted and can be repositioned for larger heads or smaller heads. This may be limiting in sizes. But since the top headband conforms freely, perhaps that helps make it up for its limited sizes. After about 1 hour of wearing, the RIG 800HD doesn’t weigh down. It’s light enough that I can probably use it for longer session. This is a good thing as there may be times when you’re immersed in a game that time is lost on you. It is especially important for something like a wireless headset since the majority of the weight is not the speakers but rather the battery. I have music playlist that allows me to check its music playback experience when it comes to anything audio related, be it speakers, headphones, wireless earbuds, or even gaming headsets. Naturally, I have to check if it can play a variety of music from various genre -- pop, rock, retrosynth, electronic/dance, hip-hop, and some anime melodies. (see attached playlist image) So far, it has held up pretty well. At first, I thought it leaned a bit on the bass side. It turns out that one of the built-in EQ profiles was in use. So I switched it until it was back to its baseline level. There are 4 different built-in EQ profiles -- Pure, Seismic, Intensify, and Vocal Focus. And “Pure” sounded like its baseline profile. Overall the audio quality seems pretty good. I cannot say for certain if it’s better than the headphones I was using before. But I believe that this is good enough for now. To test the microphone, I used Teamspeak. Voice capture is clear and clean according to my listeners. However, this may be due to the microphone design which is closer to me than the other (which sits atop my monitor). One thing to point out is that the microphone cannot be detached. However, it helps with the mute feature that turns off the microphone when flipped up. Is there any bad things about this headset? It depends on how you feel about the process of setting up. It comes with a USB transceiver that can be placed anywhere as long as its cord allows. And there’s a micro-USB cable that’s used for charging. Its length appears to be around 1 meter or 3 feet. The usual documentation is included -- warranty, safety, and a quick start guide. But strangely, there’s no full manual included. Even stranger, it’s not on Plantronics’ website. And when I tried to set up the headset, the Quick Start guide has a URL printed that includes the text “RIG800drivers” in it. But going there lead me to Plantronics’ support page and there’s no sign of any drivers at all. It works out of the box on Windows 10. But that may be different for other people. I personally find it strange that Plantronics would have their Quick Start guide printed with this URL but did not provide anything to download. So is this headset worth the asking price? It’s difficult to say. There are other options out there, some may be even better value. It’s a tough call since the audio sounds pretty good and the fact that it’s wireless. There is one unique interesting bit that I did not mentioned. The headset frame can be replaced. But that’s it. The only way to check if it’s worth your money is to give it a test try wherever you can, be it at your local Best Buy or from someone who also has this. Verdict: Try/test first, decide after. But blind purchase is OK.

The headset itself is well made and very comfortable to wear. I did several 6+ hour sessions of game play and never did the headset get uncomfortable. It is very light weight despite its durable construction. Setup was a breeze - First I used it with My PS4 - I simply plugged the dongle into the USB port, and the headset started working. It is in chat only mode by default so if you want to have full audio you will need to make sure you modify that setting. You also can adjust the volume of the chat vs in game audio to a balance that works for you. After my long PS4 play session, I was very happy with the headset, but then I decided to use it with my PC. I registered the code with Microsoft to enable the Atmos feature, and wow. It was better than having surround sound audio, all in one head set. The sense of spatial awareness is incredible. I have never experienced a game with immersive audio that this can provide. It is incredible and I could not be more positive on recommending this headset. Even though my wife does not play games much, I had her try it just to experience the quality, and she was blown away. She actually played Overwatch for awhile, something she normally would never do, just because the audio experience made it fun. She did though insist I put in my review that it did make her ears hurt a bit if she left in her stud earrings. That aside, this headset is truly amazing.

The RIG 800HD wireless headset has an interesting look and solid build. The cans use a snap out design that can be adjusted to 3 different heights. The mic is adjustable and can be muted by flipping it up. The headband is flexible and comfortable. The overall fit is among one of the most comfortable and lightweight headsets I’ve ever worn. A single square dongle is used for wireless connectivity. Not really an issue for me – I mainly use them in a desktop scenario. Using in a mobile scenario might not be too be convenient. When it comes to headphones on a PC, it’s important to understand that the headphones alone are only part of the equation. If you aren’t using a dedicated sound card, don’t expect to be blown away by any headset without external processing. Additionally, running these over optical makes a substantial difference. Unfortunately, one isn’t included – but not a terribly huge issue. Just make sure to pick one up if you can run optical to your PC. I’ve spent several hours gaming and listening to music with this headset over optical and an Audigy Rx sound card. Even with the aging sound card, I was pleasantly surprised by quality. My only beef with this set is has to do with documentation and software. You receive a single license for a Windows store app that “enables Atmos surround sound”. Setting them up was a little confusing and required a little bit of search online to figure out everything about the unit. I definitely wish a little more documentation was included. Overall, I’m very pleased with them and will continue to use them as my daily gaming and music headset. A good buy for the price point. Would definitely recommend!

Great headset. It has tons of adjustments for different head sizes and they are very comfy. I wear glasses and they don't bother me at all. The ear cups are from a breathing fabric. Setup was easy, plugged in the usb wireless transmitter and it was recognized by windows 10 no problem. I was pleasantly surprised by the powerful bass, powerful enough and doesn't over power the mids and highs. It comes with a Dolby atmos code for windows (once you redeem it with your microsoft account it will work with windows and an xbox one if you use the same account). The virtual positioning was great with games that use regular surround like rainbow six siege. Other games, like Overwatch have dolby atmos support from the go, so apart from the 7.1 surround, you also have height sound positioning, like a real 3D. You can feel shots from above, below, its a game changer!!

I have been in search for a good headset that was comfortable, had a good mic and was long lasting. I decided to try out this headset as I have always enjoyed Plantronic's and glad I did. This headset sound quality is out of this world and is extremely comfortable for long wear. I really like how it covers the entire ear and is adjustable. Pros: Comfortable Sound Quality Battery Life Adjustability Mic Quality Price Cons: Charge Time Software Availability Range ::Setup:: The setup was very easy to connect on Windows 10. I plugged in the dongle and no sync was needed. Pretty much plug in Play. When you buy this you will receive a key for the Dolby Atmos software. This software are just small clips / examples of what the headset can do. Although it is very enjoyable. The range is somewhat of a concern, do not expect you to be able to walk very far from your computer to get a drink / bite from the refrigerator. As long as you are close to your machine you should not have any issues. ::Mic:: The Mic is somewhat adjustable, you can curve the tip to be more in range of the mouth and move the Mic up and down. When moving it up and down it mutes / un-mutes which is a nice touch. Overall the sound quality is good and interference is almost non existent. However if you are looking to record video with a Mic I would recommend investing in a higher quality one. As for gaming this mic works perfectly. ::Sound:: The sound quality is amazing! I feel like I am in a theater enjoying an atoms experience. The only problem is this is new technology so not all streaming services, games and programs are able to support the Atmos experience. However even is those programs are unable to broadcast at Atmos levels it still sounds amazing on the headset. It has deep bass, perfect treble and truely provides the 360 degree experience. For the price this is well worth it ! ::Battery:: The battery life is pretty amazing honestly. I was able to use this for days without ever having to worry about low battery. Unfortunately it takes forever to charge the headset via USB however if you use your phone wall charger it cuts the time in half so recommend that route. There is a light that indicates when charging and turns off once fully charged. It is nice so you are not having to guess when the charge is complete. Overall I would strongly recommend this product for the price point. I have been using this non-stop for all my gaming and movie experiencing through my computer. I never knew headsets could sound this good and be this comfortable !