Plantronics Rig500e Headset Review – Big Sound, Good Price, Wee Bit Uncomfy

Plantronics Rig500e Headset Review

I’ve had the chance to log in a bit of quality time with the Plantronics Rig500e headset. The Rig500e series was designed with E-sports in mind, and with it being endorsed by the ESL, you know there is some serious backing behind this product. I was a bit hesitant to review this headset as I have had bad experiences with Plantronics in the past, but it brings me great pleasure to say that this is one quality headset, if a bit uncomfortable.

The Rig500e has a modular style setup and comes with two sets of interchangeable ear cups. There are ones designed for isolation, allowing you to focus in on that close match of your favourite online game, and the sound quality really shines with these cups in place. They do well in crowded areas too and allow one to focus in on whatever it may be that they are doing on their computer. There is also a set of vented cups, allowing your ears to remain cool during extended usage. The quality in sound felt ever so slightly decreased, but the difference is quite minute, and I was straining to really try and pick apart the differences. In fact, my only real gripe with the headphones is that they are designed for folks of certain ear-sizes. Being someone with larger ears, I felt like I had to stuff them into either variant and while it rests comfortably, it was still a bit awkward at times. Both of these headphones also boast surround sound capability, which I’ll talk about a bit more in detail.

I’m just personally skeptical of how well “surround sound” can work in a set of headphones. The main source of output is getting isolated into cups, and while I don’t think it is impossible to pull off, I feel like the Rig500e is a bit lacking when it comes to accomplishing this. The actual sound quality itself is fantastic. Whereas most gaming headsets lack in other areas, this headset slays game sound quality just as well as it does other forms of media. This, of course, allows it to serve quite well in more than just video games, a factor that seems to be underappreciated with these “gaming” headsets. Plantronics really did quite well with these headphones. Be it hearing a bandit unsheathe their knife behind me, or hearing a booming drop in one of my favourite songs, these headphones performed quite well in both categories.

One category that was lacking, however, was in the actual communication aspect of things. The USB control features only a setting for toggling the Surround Sound on the headphones, and it lacks any other real options to speak of. Similar models tend to include a variety of controls in this area, and seeing Plantronics seem to eschew this option is disappointing, although ultimately not a deal breaker. The major problem for me, in this case, was the rigid microphone. It has a neat little feature in that it becomes automatically muted if you tilt it up, however, the actual flexibility leaves something to be desired. By comparison, a headset such as the HyperX offers an incredibly flexible mic, and this sort of ability to fine-tune is also sorely underrated. For how modular the Plantronics Rig500e is, I’m disappointed they didn’t do more in some aspects of the design to help meet that objective.

In short, the Plantronics Rig500e is an excellent headset, for the cost. Despite some comfort issues, the headset does still sit quite well, and the flexibility of adjusting/customizing the headset itself is something to be lauded. It just feels like it falls short in other areas, but from somebody who’s been bitten by Plantronics before, this headset was a very pleasant surprise. Excellent sound quality, modular design, and a cable that keeps to itself are all factors that help push me to recommend you give the Rig500e serious consideration. It’s an excellent product for the price, and despite its shortcomings, it still performs admirably in many areas.

*** Headset supplied by manufacturer ***