Nacon Rig 500 PRO review
Editor’s note: this Nacon RIG 500 PRO review was updated on March 22, 2022, to address the RIG 700 PRO HS and Nacon RIG RIG 500 Pro HC Gen 2 as alternatives. We also included a table of contents, expanded the list of buying options, and added context to the sound quality sections.
Who is the Nacon RIG 500 PRO for?
What is it like to use the Nacon RIG 500 PRO?
Is the RIG 500 PRO good for gaming?
As far as speaking is concerned, I was told that my voice was rather loud even though I was using a normal speaking voice—66dBA—which, I measured with a sound level meter. To mitigate the loudness, I moved the microphone as far from my mouth as possible while still keeping it parallel to my mouth.
How do you connect the Nacon RIG 500 PRO?
Does the Nacon RIG 500 PRO block out noise?
For a pair of gaming headphones, this doesn’t do a great job of passively isolating the listener from their surroundings. Since external noise can easily permeate the headphone barrier, this results in auditory masking, which degrades overall clarity and sound quality. While this is a nuisance for general music enjoyment, it can be detrimental to gamers who need to accurately perceive their virtual surroundings without external distraction.
Hold up! Something’s different:
This article’s frequency response and isolation charts were measured with our old testing system. We have since purchased a Bruel & Kjaer 5128 test fixture (and the appropriate support equipment) to update our testing and data collection. It will take a while to update our backlog of old test results, but we will update this review (and many others!) once we’re able with improved sound quality measurements, isolation performance plots, and standardized microphone demos. These will be made obvious with our new chart aesthetic (black background instead of white). Each new mic sample begins with the phrase, “This is a SoundGuys standardized microphone demonstration …”
Thank you for bearing with us, and we hope to see you again once we’ve sorted everything out.
How does the Nacon RIG 500 PRO sound?
The Nacon RIG 500 PRO sounds quite good for a gaming headset. Rather than amplifying bass too much, like some cheaper headsets tend to do, the RIG 500 PRO minimizes loudness deviations throughout the frequency spectrum. Still, you’ll notice how bass notes sound a bit louder than the sub-bass, but this is fine since gaming audio engineers typically mix explosions and gunfire to be the loudest in a soundscape, no matter a gamer’s headset.
Lows, mids, and highs
Mistky’s song Nobody, opens with a cymbal-lead beat, which sounds good but inconsistent because of the treble under-emphasis (3.5-8kHz) and boost from 8kHz and up. This can be okay for gaming and may even make it easier to hear footsteps but, again, makes treble frequencies in music sound odd.
Does the Nacon RIG 500 PRO have a good microphone?
Another modular part of the gaming headphones is the omnidirectional boom mic. The arm is allowed 90 degrees of rotation and can be bent for a more customized speaking distance. When the arm is flipped up, the mic is muted and when it’s flipped down it’s active. As far as vocal clarity goes, Nacon does a great job of ensuring the attenuation of background noise. One recurring issue, however, is that if you raise your voice above an acceptable speaking level, it tends to clip easily.
What should you get since the RIG 500 PRO is discontinued?
All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over time, and vary by region. Unfortunately, we cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.
Alternatively, if you want a wireless option from Nacon, check out the RIG 700 PRO HS. This is just as comfortable as the other RIG headsets, and has great on-ear controls. The isolation is poor and the microphone quality, again, is only okay, but for $89 USD you can’t really go wrong here.
Next: The best gaming headsets
What non-Nacon headsets should you consider for gaming?
There’s a cord for console gaming and cord for PC gaming.
If you want a simple wired option that sounds great, check out the Beyerdynamic MMX 100. This uses a 3.5mm cable to connect to your devices and has slightly better isolation than that of the RIG line. You can replace things like the microphone and ear pads pretty easily, but you shouldn’t need to since the whole thing is sturdily built.
Though it’s years old by now, we still stand by the HyperX Cloud Alpha wired gaming headset for its comfortable, spacious ear cups and solid microphone quality.