Gaming Headsets For Mac 4,4/5 5376 reviews
Headset falls short of expectations I’ve always been big into console gaming. But I like to play loud games later in the evening so I typically use a set of headphones to enjoy my play time. I hate wires and as a result, I seek out wireless gaming headsets to complete my set-up. I’ve had the same set for a few years now and am looking to upgrade so when I saw that Plantronics, a brand I’ve liked for a long time, had a gaming headset with Dolby Atmos included as a feature, I took a chance and tried them out.
DETAILS The Plantronics Rig 800HD Gaming Headset is designed for gamers to get a competitive edge. They feature Dolby Atmos for Headphones that will pull you into the game. Each headset comes with a pre-paid activation for the feature. The headphones have a long-life battery — up to 24 hours of wireless listening — and a 10M range of lag-free wireless audio. The microphone function is designed to activate when the boom (the mechanism that rotates the microphone up and down) is flipped down to use it’s active.
When it’s flipped up, the microphone is muted. It has 40mm drivers to deliver immersive game audio and the mic is noise-canceling to ensure your teammates can hear you no matter what is going on in the game. SPECS. Mic frequency response 100 Hz–10 kHz.
Mic sensitivity -45 dBV/Pa. Mic signal-to-noise ratio 42 dB.
Mic pick-up pattern Uni-directional. Headphone weight 290 g/10 oz. Headphone frequency response 20 Hz–20 kHz. Headphone impedance 32 ohms. Headphone sensitivity 111 dB SPL/V. Headphone maximum input power 40 mW. Headphone drivers Dynamic 40 mm.
Compatibility PC/Laptop and PC USER EXPERIENCE The headphones come in a heavily branded box with an image of the product on the front. The details that are printed on the box show that the headphones should have a 24-hour battery, provide immersive 3D sound, and work with either a PC/Laptop or Xbox. The main label on the box actually indicates that the headphones should ‘only’ be used with a PC, but there is an activation code for the Dolby Atmos app for the Xbox.
I would love to see a more inclusive label that indicates more systems are compatible with these headphones so that someone who sees them on the shelf won’t just pass them by based on the “PC GAMING” label on the box. Style: The Rig 880HD headphones have a fairly unique style to them. They look like other gaming headsets in size and form, but in my opinion, they look like ‘techie’ and like they belong on a military base.
They are black with some gold accents. The headphones are quite heavy. I held them up with some other wireless headphones (non-gaming) and found them to be quite a bit heavier. Set-Up: One of the first things I noticed about these headphones is that they don’t have a traditional adjustable headband.
In order to move the earpieces to the proper place for you, you have to snap them out of the headband and replace them into the right slot. I’m not sure why Plantronics took this route to make these adjustable. There are only three levels to choose from rather than a sliding headband which allows you to fine-tune your adjustment. The inner band is elastic and flexes with the shape of your head, but it’s not the same as a fully adjustable headband. The headphones are wireless and communicate to your system through a transmitter. That transmitter connects using USB-A and Optical cables.
Plantronics does not include an optical cable for set-up. The optical cable is used for the audio signal while the USB connection is for powering the transmitter.
The headphones automatically connect to it and I had no issues with a lost connection. One thing I would love to see incorporated into this set-up though is the ability to connect it to my laptop. My Xbox and desktop gaming machine had an optical connection, but my PC laptop does not. It would be nice to have an alternative hookup so that the headphones could be used with more systems. The headphones’ controls are located on the left ear.
There is a power switch, volume knob, analog dial for game/chat audio control, and an EQ preset button (on the right ear). The analog dial for the game vs. Chat audio control was a nice choice.
There is a notch in the dial that allows you to feel where the dial is resting so that you can precisely select the level of the game and chat audio you want in your gaming experience. The volume knob is the exact opposite – you have no control over your volume level. The dial spins and spins and you have no idea what level you are on. It would be nice if it had a firm start and stop point.
Gaming Headsets For Mac
The other controls are easy to use. Comfort: Despite the lack of adjustable fine-tuning available, the Rig 800HD was actually pretty comfortable to wear. The padding around the ears is very soft and even though this headset is a little on the heavy side, it didn’t cause any headaches for me. Sound/Mic quality: The sound quality was just ‘ok’ for me. I could hear highs and lows just fine, which can be kind of tricky for me, but I had some issues with volume. Even when I thought that I was at 100% on the volume control, it just didn’t seem loud enough to me.
I had some issues with the microphone when it came to gameplay. I was able to hear myself in the microphone when I tested it (I blew some air into the mic) but the chat icon never appeared in-game when I was talking. The most unique feature these headphones have going for them is the incorporation of Dolby Atmos. I was very excited to try out this feature, but sadly, I was unable to.
After I got the headphones set-up, I went to redeem the code provided with the headset in the Microsoft Store on the Xbox. I kept getting an error with the code (invalid code) and so I tried the free version of the app. I tested out the Atmos sound by looking up a Dolby Atmos demo on YouTube. While the surround sound was working accurately, it was missing that Atmos feel.
I was never able to get it to work properly. CONCLUSIONS When I started having issues with these headphones I looked up other user reviews and found that a lot of people had the same issues I did. I’ve liked Plantronics as a brand for a long time. In fact, my first Bluetooth headset for my mobile phone was Plantronics. I had high hopes for this headset, but they fell short of my expectations. Even though they have above average sound quality, the other subpar features of the headphones weigh them down.
I think for the right person, these might be the ideal set of headphones, but they’re not for me. For more information, visit.
Find Plantronics on. I just purchased this headset from BestBuy in Springfield Missouri and I have owned at least a dozen over the last 16 years.Forgive me but you made so many mistakes in your review that for the sake of a multi-million dollar companys’ reputation I decided to correct you about a few things. You mentioned you have liked Plantronics for “a long time”, may I ask why? Because you’re bashing them a good bit and you don’t even have your facts right.
You are new to this and it shows. The thingy you referred to as a “mechanism” is called a BOOM.
Now if you knew much about any headset or the industry at at all, you would know this. Noise-canceling is for the background noise in your houseESPECIALLY if you’re wearing a headset. It’s not meant to cancel out the audio from the game you’re playing as the people playing with you cannot hear under your headphonesjeez.
Are you even aware that the box clearly states that this headset is a “PC SERIES”?? The box you improperly quoted as saying “ONLY” use with pc does not say that on the box! In fact if you would have read the box like a good boy you would have seen they also include Mac computersbut you didn’t even mention that lol.
It also has the words Xbox One on it four times. OMG Read the product before you talk trash on it! Also most gaming headsets on the market weigh between 7-12 onces not a deal breaker to most people who have owned a few of them. What ever happened to “heavy means it’s expensive”? I’d be willing to bet that with the 3 adjustment holes, they are trying to keep the design simple and secure, as most headset with more moving parts tend to break sooner because there are more parts to break. I commend them on the originality they showed and their ability to solve one of the biggest problems with modern headsets in today’s market.”USB-A and Optical cables”, FALSE.
It only uses one usbthe optical CABLE, (singular) is used for the option to use the Game/Chat dial on the LEFT (not right) side of the headset to chose between hearing more of the game or the chat with your friends. It’s actually a SINGLE cable and it’s optional. You are also wrong about how it works all together. The optical cable is used for hearing dual sound channels so you can adjust how much of each channel you hear(Games or Friends Chat) The usb is only capable of using one channel of sound and the headset will work with out using the optical cable just fine.Plug it into your laptop and just try it for crying out loud. BTW you don’t want to say PC Laptop, that’s like saying my Personal Computer Laptop. While it is what’s clearly described, it is a bit redundant.”you have no control over your volume level” if you say so. In my windows 10 desktop it shows the volume slider/level on the screen when I scroll the wheel up and down.
It adjusts it in intervals of two.2-4-6-8-10 so on etcuntil you reach 100% volume. I’d call that control enough as most honest people would. Oh, btw the controls are all found on the LEFT side ear-cup of the headset not the right side like you stated in your review.
Did you even wear this headset?? There is only one button on the right side and it’s the EQ changer. You mention how heavy the headset is two times you must have a weak neck buddy, because it’s actually DEAD AVERAGE as far as weight is concerned. Another thing you mentioned was that your in-game voice indicator was not lighting up for you but you could hear yourself in the mic when you tested it in windows. I hope everyone understands that the in-game indicators work directly off of the windows mic soundbar indicator, so you are clearly describing an issue with the game you are playing, The game is not finding and/or displaying the sound meter. For me, every functionality worked perfectly as described on the box and delivered much better low bass then any headset I have ever owned that was wireless. You see when you are running on battery you have to design the headset in a way so that it does not dump all the battery life right into super loud sound drivers/db output.
Speaking of that, this headset brings an extra 4 db then the majority of all wireless headsets,commonly you will find 107db, however this headset is 111db. So I’m thinking maybe your ears are damaged or need cleaning, like your eyes and perception do. I see your chat icon never appeared when talking in your game, you didn’t write that they didn’t hear you. So I’m assuming the mic worked fine in game other then the chat icon not recognizing it I kept getting an error with the code (invalid code). So where is the screen shot of the error? My code was valid instantly.
If my Dolby Atmos code was invalid, I would have done what normal people do and get it fix by either returning it or calling then directly. I’d at least give the company a chance to fix it for me.
You on the other hand didn’t return it and didn’t show a picture of the error in your tiny review. This is the internet, picture or it didn’t happen. All in all, you must take into account the price. It’s 129.99 that’s entry level gaming headset and this one goes far and beyond the competition you just didn’t care to look at it in depth.
You never said a word about the ability to change settings in windows sound menus. Or if the battery lasted 24 hours or not. You didn’t even show a picture of the box that you’re bashing. Saying the box says it’s to be used ONLY on a PCis ludicrous. You are against this company for a reason unknown to the readers, it’s quite obvious and rude and sad. Obviously the box is way more attractive then you’re making it out to be as well. “heavily branded box with an image of the product on the front” is there another way to market your product?
This is true with every product on this planet headphones aside.
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