LifeisXbox’s Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX review | A few years ago, LifeisXbox was once invited to Plantronics. It struck me while we were invited to their HQ that there was a lot of love for sound and design. Now if you’re thinking why does this bloke start talking about Plantronics. Well, the Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX originates from there. They’ve made a few minor tweaks but the thing is and remains pretty much the same. What is completely new, however, is the super handy base station. Which makes the cost of the headset more understandable. That remains a nice sum of €200, at least already better than the €500 for the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal. (Although this one remains my favorite)
Show off your headset while charging!
Let’s talk about that base station first. You can beat someone to death with it and it doesn’t immediately look nice either but it does have two handy features! Firstly, it comes with a USB adapter so you can use it wirelessly with the Xbox Series X|S and after using it, you can plug the headset in nicely. This is done by means of magnetic pins, which you then use to charge the headset back up. It is a nice addition, also because it allows you to neatly store your headset. Too bad the headset itself looks a bit shabby, otherwise you could show it off nicely.
… or not. The headset looks a bit cheap.
The Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX still uses the same design and while the build quality is high I am not the biggest fan of the cheap plastic look. That comes with some positive stuff too as the headset is extremely lightweight. So the only thing that changed visually is the logo rebranding. How a headset looks matters little, as long as it can produce excellent sound. Fortunately, it’s all right there! Still, if you’re in the same sales market as the Razer Kaira Pro, you should actually start thinking about making it more visually appealing.
It does score with sound and how comfortable it is!
The detachable ear cups can be placed on three frame slots and the head strap adjusts easily too so it doesn’t matter what your head size or shape is, the headset will fit perfectly. My only complaint is that the ear cups should have been a bit larger as my ear doesn’t fit entirely. I’m not an elf with pointed ears, I have a regular size of ears so this will be something most people will experience. You’ll get used to the feeling though, so give it some time and you won’t notice it. The ear cup’s polyester is really soft and what I find really important, I don’t get sweaty while wearing it.
Why would you buy this kind of headset? For the excellent sound, obviously! Here is where the Nacon Rig 800 Pro HX scores big time. The lows, mids, and highs come out beautifully. Typically most other headsets try to up the bass but this one has a balanced and natural-sounding sound. It comes with Dolby Atmos, just don’t forget to activate it on the Dolby Atmos Xbox Store app. You’ll notice a big quality change when you start using that.
A micro-USB. Really? Oh, and time for battery talk!
I never got out of battery juice as I always used the base station after I was done playing on my Xbox. If you decide to not place that monstrosity of a base station you can charge the headset with a micro-USB. Apparently, that is still being used in 2022 and 2023. It takes around six hours for a full recharge and the 1800 mAh battery lasts 24 hours. That’s more than enough for most gamers, as playing 24 straight isn’t the most healthy thing you can do in your life.
A busy left earcup …
Every possible physical button or dial is located on the left earcup. It is convenient to have everything together in one area but it is a bit much for my taste. You have two dials. One to control the volume for party chat and game volume, another one for general volume control. They both take up a decent amount of space. They still managed to add the power button, a mute button, and the micro-USB port. It is like the box for boardgame Wingspan, filled to the teeth without any room to spare. Or well, it still has one more thing! The flip-up microphone is also located on the left earcup.
About that microphone. I love the function that it automatically mutes when you push the microphone upwards, great when my cat is misbehaving and I have to yell no fast. Unfortunately friends I regularly play with mentioned that the clearness of my voice was way worse and they could hear other sounds from my environment. First time I have this with any headset so that’s a bummer.
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