They may not look amazing.
Some might say even a bit old fashioned.
But the RIG 800 Pros are an excellent pair of gaming headphones.
The wireless unit comes out of the box big and bulky.
While some will like the almost triangular construction of the earphones, others might find them a little too plastic, almost cheap to the touch.
And in today’s modern world of curvy, sexy headsets, the RIG 800 Pros seem like something from yesterday.
Something Sony might have put out in the PS2 or PS3 days.
But impressions will change quickly when you’ve actually got them in your hands.
Firstly, the RIG is incredibly lightweight – ideal for long gaming sessions.
And that odd-looking self-adjusting rubbery additional headband beneath the main headband?
Actually, it’s a bit of genius delivering a sturdiness and comfort that other headsets often fail to hit because of more rigid designs.
And once you get over the fact you have to physically pop the ear cups in and out of different side slots to adjust for your head size, you’ll find the 800 Pros a really well designed piece of kit for online gaming.
The RIGs offer a large Dolby Atmos 3D audio soundscape built for eSports players.
That means real focus on not only the overall sound of a game, but those little extras – like a rival’s footsteps – to help give you an advantage in things like online firefights.
It’s pin-sharp thanks to 40mm drivers across the ears, meaning crystal clear weapon shots, vivid car engine roars and cut-through mic levels so that communication runs effortlessly side-by-side with game audio to ensure you’re living your best life in the virtual world.
The bass tubes also give that added kick when you experience things like in-game explosions to boost immersion.
Voice chat can be raised or ditched with its own dedicated volume control on the back left hand side of the device and the built in mic, while not removable like some, snaps up and out of the way to shut off.
You can slot the USB wireless adapter straight into the base station supplied in the box.
So every time you’re not playing you can just pop your headset into the base station, charging it up again and have it all connected to your console ready to jump straight back in.
Even then, there’s a massive 24-hour battery life on these babies so they won’t run out quickly.
The padding around the ears themselves is thick and really soft, coated in a lovely breathable leather.
They seem to naturally cut out a lot of background noise too, you could sleep in theses unplugged and it’d cut out practically everything.
At £160 these would be considered mid-priced earphones for pro gamers.
But you get a lot of top audio and comfort for that money and the RIG 800 Pros are well worth a look if you fancy something different from the usual HyperX/Turtle Beach/Razor styles.
While it looks a bit outdated, under the hood it is a piece of top tech that justifies its price.
VERDICT 4/5
