RIG 500 Pro Gen 2 - Review
I love reviewing headsets, they are almost identical in purpose, but offer enough variance in their sound quality and comfort levels that, lined up they could be apples and oranges. One brand that I have come to love over the years is RIG, they made one of my most well-loved headsets the RIG 700HD, but could they strike gold again with the new 500 Pro series, lets take a listen and find out.
Headsets need two things to survive, comfort and then sound quality, because as I always say, if you can’t wear it on your head, the sound it provides means nothing. The RIG series for years has prided itself on lightweight offerings, even with wireless or Bluetooth connections, they have been light and easy to wear. The RIG 500 Pro skews that a little differently, because instead of the light and flexible plastic headband, it is now re-enforced with a thin metal band. When I say thin, the band is 1mm thick over its entire length, but still maintains a nice level of rigidness, which of course helps keep the shape of the headset. Where previous bands were made from plastic, the switch to metal has made things heavier, not by a lot, but comparing my wireless 700HD’s to the 500 Pro HX, there was an increase of around 60 grams and the 500 Pro HX is a corded headset, so there is even less inside. While both headsets were weighed without the microphones attached, the overall weight of the 500 Pro HX is not bad at all, meaning I was able to wear it, without any sensation that my head was being pulled down.
The metal band may not impact the weight, but it does have an impact on the amount of flexibility that that the headset has, at least compared to other RIG headsets. After wearing the headset for around 30 minutes, because the band doesn't naturally flex out, the result was it started pinching in and anyone can tell you having your head squeezed is not a fun time. This could be solved after months of use, as it would reshape itself to know the default shape of the person using it, but it will just take some time to get to that point, so be wary of that.
Outside of the new metallic band, there isn't a whole lot different on this headset, compared to other headsets at the company have made. They still offer the same three slot system for the ear cups, so while it may not offer the same level of adjustment as other headsets, it also means that the headset stays put. The top of the ear cups connect to each other via secondary support band that runs underneath the main metallic band, this is also where the padding for the top portion of the headset comes in. The top of the secondary band is a leather type material, while the underside is the soft mesh that they use in other headsets and while you can locate the cord that runs between the two there's enough padding around it that it's not going to be digging into your head. Now as this is a RIG headset you can completely customise it if you choose to, take the ear cups off and get in a new support band or a new metal band if you so desire. As for the ear cups, they are soft, deliciously so and sport a taller, rather than wider shape, so it will fit most ear shapes as well, something I quite liked.
On the sound side of things much like all the other RIG headsets I've used over the years the quality is top notch, the 500 Pro comes with a pair of 50-millimetre drivers that offer a solid range of responses, meaning from the quietest of music’s to the loudest of movies and everything in between you will hear it all clearly. The microphone itself that comes with the headset is a unidirectional mic, so it should pick up your voice nice and clearly, no matter where it's sitting in front of your face. There is a long portion of plastic that connects to the headset about 3 centimetres in length that is rigid, you can adjust the portion of the mic arm from there, all the way up to the microphone section itself, this means that you should be able to find the perfect position for how you want the microphone is sit in.
As is somewhat standard, with most gaming headsets that have a microphone built in, it does offer the raise-to-mute functionality, the only catch was that is the point at which it mutes contains a very subtle notch and if you're not paying attention, you can easily miss it. The good side to that is that when the microphone is in any position it also does not lower down on its own, so if you do have it muted it's not going to slide down and allow people to listen in. One aspect of the microphone that I absolutely adore is the fact that you can remove the mic, as there are so many gaming headsets that are released that contain permanently attached mics, that means you can't take them out in public unless you want to look like a bit of a fool. The only catch to this, is when you remove the microphone from the headset there is a little bit of force required, but the blessing to that is that it also means the microphone won't just fall off on its own.
As this is wired headset, there is a cable running from the back of the left ear cup and it goes down to a 3.5-millimetre connection, and while this one was optimised for the Xbox platforms, you can of course use it on any system that supports it, from PC to mobile and switch to PlayStation. Located about a third of the way down is a volume control slider, and that's not amiss a labelled product, it is actually a slider, there is a level of firmness to the motions, so it doesn't actually move on its own, however there is enough clearance between the sliding tab and main unit that when it moves you hear it rattle. One particular thing that I did like about this sliding volume system is that it stops at about 80-85% and then requires you to give it a bit more of a push to put it up to full, so it means that if it accidentally catches on something the odds of you turning the volume all the way up are quite slim.
Now using the headset, I put it through its paces in a variety of situations, gaming was one of them both on PC and console and I can't fault it in any way on either of them. The quality of the audio as I mentioned earlier is spectacular everything came through clearly; footsteps could be heard behind, the clanging of empty bullet casings on the ground rang all around me, it was a real impressive setup. Now while the headset does offer Dolby Atmos support, it wasn't something that I could test fully because I just don't have a lot of content that outputs that type of audio, some Xbox games were able to do that and where it could, it helped to elevate the audio to an entirely new level; but I would really want more of a range of content to be sure that it's not just the Xbox doing something special on its own. When using the headset for voice communications in work calls, discord chats and such, no one had any issues in hearing me, I was coming through clearly even recording and playing myself back I sounded fine, at least in terms of the recording, not my voice necessarily.
RIG as a headset brand know their products extremely well and that could be attributed to their massive knowledge base from their time with Plantronics. While it could easily be associated to the fact that Nacon, as the new owners also have a firm foundation in the design of hardware and the two coming together mean that you're going to get a headset that is scalable enough to enjoy with some quiet music from your phone, or as you lay waste to hordes of zombies in Call of Duty. The swap to a metallic band isn't really an advantage for the headset, I never had any issues with the plastic type and while it will take some time for it to reshape itself to fit your head, once it's there it should be great, it really just depends on how long that takes. If you're looking for a new headset, I'm always going to suggest RIG as the first option and the 500 Pro series is definitely up there, while the 1.2-metre-long cord from the headset maybe a concern for some people, it should impact most. If you are looking for a new headset, this is one that I highly suggest you look into more.
The Score
9.0
Review unit provided by RIG
The Pros
+Solid build that is light and easy to wear
+Comfortable design, means long sessions with it, shouldn't be a problem
The Cons
-The metal band adds a little more weight to it, but can also pinch heads whilst it is coming into its final shape
-The cord attached could stand to be just a little longer
