Plantronics RIG Gaming Headset Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Most of my hours spent listening with the Plantronics RIG was wasted waiting for the headphones to burn in. Even now at the time of writing, its not entirely there yet, but at least its gotten to the point where I can work out the experience. The RIG has an audio characteristic embodied by bright highs. In-fact, its so bright that some sounds painfully hiss right back. Electronic and dance tracks sounded incredibly metallic as a result. However, most varieties of rock music were very lively and instruments took on their own character without detracting from vocals. The RIG was not mind-blowingly spectacular with movie and game audio, but its passable. Anything involving human conversation whether it is dialogue or actually talking to someone over a telephony service sounded articulate with the RIG headset. For all other sounds, its a mixed bag.

The mixer is special on its own. Its a convenient solution for gamers who frequently answer phone calls and is something that could conceivably be sold as a separate product. Simply hit two switches and keep on talking with the same headset. Despite what the retail box says, one may still wind up pausing games to answer a call, but thats more than a fair tradeoff. Like any other mobile or business phone headset, its a gamers all-in-one for responding to calls hands-free.

The RIG will be available later this fall for $129 (Update: Amazon now has this headset available for $99.99 shipped). The mixer is easy to blame for bringing up the cost of the entire package, but my biggest gripe with the high cost is that the headset doesnt look to be premium. The headphone looks like a toy with its bland appearance and reliance on plastic. It deserves better because it doesnt have a cheap sound and the mixer is a cool idea that works.

Legit Bottom Line: The headset has an audio character thats not for everybody, but being able to switch to calls with the RIG mixer is interesting enough on its own.