Let’s be real, most of us here probably have multiple devices and/or consoles, be it a phone, laptop, desktop, tablet, Nintendo Switch, PS5, XBOX Series X|S, or a combination of the above. We may also have a different headset for each device because of various compatibility issues and/or lack of connectivity across platforms. So, when a headset comes my way in the ~$100 category that plays nicely with all of these hardware setups and incredibly long battery life, you get my attention quickly.
Today, NACON has released their RIG 600 PRO line of wireless gaming headsets with dual audio functionality. While the HS is designed for PlayStation and HX is for the XBOX, you can use this headset for any device you have in your home at an affordable price.
At first look, the RIG 600 PRO’s matte black with subtle white and red accents is nice on the eyes. It doesn’t look like an obnoxious headset with flashy colors and light gimmicks, so it’s an easy addition to your desk if you’re wanting to place it on a stand or hooking onto your monitor when not in use. My monitor has a little hook for headsets; placing the RIG 600 PRO on that hook completed my desk quite well. If you’re into placing this headset in a visible yet meaningful location, it looks great on a stand!
The RIG 600 PRO came with a few small accessories in its box. Aside from a typical USB-C charging cable, it comes with a USB-C adapter for its 2.4GHz Dual-mode (more on that in a moment), a USB A-to-C connector in case your computer lacks a USB-C port, and a Snap-Fit Guide for adjusting the headset’s size. It’s ready to go for your PC, console, and/or phone right out of the box. I appreciate this because some folks (myself included) still rely on USB-A ports for the meat of their accessories and peripherals.
The headset itself is constructed well. When I first pulled it out of its box, I was quite surprised with how light it felt in-hand. Some may assume that the materials used are cheap or of lesser quality – I don’t see this to be the case one bit. The construction of its bridge and the earcups feel flexible yet durable. The fabric on its earcups is light and breathable. Pushing into them with your thumb results in a slightly springy response that doesn’t leave indents or pushback typically found in memory foam. The Right earcup has a massive white R painted into the inside of the cup. It’s a nice touch, since it’s not visible when wearing the headset but visible in low light settings when trying to put it on your head. No confusion!
The best way to describe this headset’s feel is airy because of how light it is. I’ve often made the joke of Heavy is the head that wears a gaming headset because of how heavy some headsets can be. Sometimes, it’s the earcups or the fabric that adds to the headset’s weight. Pairing that with a potentially restrictive bridge, a user with glasses like myself can have a tough time. The RIG 600 PRO doesn’t have this set of problems at all. When I put the headset on, it was refreshing to feel the headset cups resting lightly on my head without compressing my ears or the top of my head. The earcups were soft enough to the point of the fabric not grating against my skin nor the cups pressing too hard against the edges of my ears. I was able to comfortably wear this headset for long periods of time with no issues.
The headset has a few control buttons that are only present on the left earcup. A Bluetooth button is at the top, followed by the Dual-Mode (more on that in a moment) button, then a volume wheel, and then a slightly recessed red power button (with a separate LED-indicator) at the bottom next to the USB-C port. Having everything placed on one earcup can be a good thing for right-handed PC players who want to keep their hands on their mice, but it took some time to get used to because of the individual button placements. Having the recessed power button next to the USB-C port is great to prevent accidental power-off, but it meant that I had to consciously take the headset off and find the power button because of how it was hidden so well between the volume dial and the port.
My other main concern with the headset’s construction is that of its Snap-Fit adjustment system. Instead of an adjustable headband, the RIG 600 PRO features a Snap-Fit adjustment system on each of its earcups. Each earcup can be slotted in one of three holes onto the headband, with larger heads (like mine) needing the bottom-most hole. The benefit of this system is that once you’ve snapped your headset into its position, there’s no accidental readjustments. The earcups remain in their position and will remain that way until you decide to pop off the earcups to resize. The drawback is the cord that’s holding the earcup to the headband – it’s quite small and I cannot gauge the durability of the cord itself. When it’s not snapped in, the cup hangs by the cord. Playing devil’s advocate, the average user shouldn’t need to adjust their headset using Snap-Fit on a regular basis, so the likelihood of wear/tear from the earcups’ cords should be low. However, it would ease some of my anxiety if the cups weren’t visibly hanging by a cord when they’re not locked in.
Onto the sound quality. NACON advertises as this headset as featuring high-quality game audio from bass-boosted 40mm high-sensitivity drivers. This is fairly accurate. The sound emitted from the headset was bass-forward but not to a level where the bass overshadowed the mids and lows from other music genres. Listening to Hip Hop and R&B was a treat, as was Drum and Bass music. Chiptune and classic videogame OST (like Tee Lopes’ amazing tunes for TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and the Dimension Shellshock soundtracks) sounded quite good, too. Would I turn to these if I wanted a deep soundstage-esque experience? Probably not. But for the ~$100 price range, the RIG 600 PRO does the job nicely.
The RIG 600 PRO’s microphone is decent, but it’s no way fantastic nor abysmal. It’s quite middle of the road to the point of listeners in a call decently hearing you but lacking studio grade quality of voice isolation. You might be thinking, sure Will, if I was recording a video needing a dedicated microphone, I would just use a separate mic! However, some folks I was chatting with claimed that my voice sounded tinny, near-robotic, or far away. I had to fiddle with Discord’s settings to see if I could get my levels up to what my friends were used to hearing from my end. I’ve included a video down below just in case you wanted to hear how I sounded. If you’re intending on using the RIG 600 PRO’s microphone in a regular fashion, consider using a third-party tool (like Equalizer APO) to get the most of the mic.
On the topic of the mic, I love how it can easily become tucked away into the headset and mutes once its locked away. The latter is HUGE. Over the past few years, I’ve praised the Steelseries line for having a physical mute button on its headsets in case the user needs to quickly mute themselves if they’re away from their computer/phone. It’s also made finding a replacement headset quite difficult because so few headset makers lack a physical mute altogether. Now I get it, most users will be sitting in front of their computer or have their phone in-hand, making an act of muting their voice part of the call’s interface. However, what if you step away from the computer or phone? For the RIG 600 PRO, all you have to do is flip the microphone up and you’re instantly muted. No scrambling to find the Mute button in Teams, Discord, or your preferred streaming platform. I love it. More headsets should have a physical mute button. Please add physical mute buttons to headsets.
The RIG 600 PRO has two main listening modes. When connecting it to a computer/console with the USB-C dongle, you can use the Gaming 2.4GHz mode that improves audio latency and provides high-quality game audio. Spatial audio is active in this mode, too, so if you’re playing Starfield or VALORANT you’ll be able to experience immersive audio from specific directions in-game. If you want to simply connect it to your phone, the headset can be easily paired via Bluetooth and supports up to Bluetooth 5.1. The headset’s Dual mode is a cool novelty – you can connect your headset to your phone via Bluetooth and the 2.4GHz dongle, meaning you can very easily switch back and forth between your devices as well as receive audio notifications from both. Imagine my surprise when I was playing BlazBlue: Entropy Effect and trying to stay alive when I heard my phone’s notification sound (a HONK from Untitled Goose Game) come out of my headset. It’s a nifty feature and great for those who may be awaiting a phone notification. And yes, my phone’s notification is a HONK sound. You’re welcome.
NACON has released a mobile app (600 PRO Navigator) for those who intend to connect their headsets to their phones. The app is simple and works well on my Pixel 6 Pro. It gave me some additional tools to adjust the headset’s equalization (EQ) and microphone settings, too. It also is the only way to update the headset’s firmware, which is a smidgen weird. For those who don’t want to connect their headsets to their phones, it would be nice for a PC/Mac app to exist that gives us access to these same tools and features. That said, the app functions well and is laid out in an easy-to-follow fashion. For those wanting granular adjustments, I recommend enabling Expert Mode to see what you can do. However, it may be worth just using a third-party tool for most other adjustments.
Since this is a Bluetooth and wireless headset, you’re probably most concerned about its battery life. NACON’s own tests have concluded that those using the 2.4GHz mode should expect ~18 hours of use, whereas those connecting to via Bluetooth on their phones or consoles should expect around ~24 hours of use. These numbers are mostly consistent with my experience, albeit slightly conservative. I would often hit ~20 hours of consistent 2.4GHz mode use when using my computer before needing to plug the headset in for a charge. Some of this was spent in Discord calls, others just listening to music, and sometimes playing video games. When connected to my phone, I would very easily hit 24 hours of use.
After a month of use, I must say: The RIG 600 PRO is an absolute beast when it comes to battery life. The fact that I was able to use my headset for multiple days in a row without hearing the “Battery Low” notification was assuring as a player. Of course, battery degradation over a year or so of heavy use will definitely change these numbers, but you’ll get quite a lot of use out of these right from the start.
I am not including this in my formal assessment of the RIG 600 PRO, but I am quite thankful that I’ve had over a month of time to use this headset in multiple settings and playing multiple games. I’ve been using this headset since the middle of August. This has given me ample opportunity to put the headset through the gamut of my typical daily use for quite some time. This has also given me a better perspective as to what users may expect if they decide to use the RIG 600 PRO as their daily driver. I know that this isn’t the norm for reviewing hardware and software, but it’s quite nice to have that period of time to acclimate. If you’re a publisher for a headset or another piece of hardware, please consider giving reviewers ample time to test your products. It will help us give readers an idea of what to expect from the headset past the typical “honeymoon phase” of new tech.
Let’s wrap this up.
For the ~$100 category, NACON’s RIG 600 PRO offers a lightweight wireless headset that sounds pretty dang good across multiple devices. Its battery life is amazing, too. You won’t get the best-sounding microphone, but it’s easy to look past that one shortcoming in this price range.
A headset was provided by NACON for the purpose of this DigitalChumps review.
