With Nacon’s RIG R5 Spear PRO HS being arguably the best wired PS5 headset on the market by some margin, surely it was only a matter of time until the company ventured into the wireless realm and into the stomping grounds of industry stalwarts such as Turtle Beach and SteelSeries. Well, with the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS that is precisely what Nacon has done and in doing so, delivered an FPS focused specialist headset like no other on the market today. Enjoy your shooters? Well, this is probably going to be as an essential purchase as you’re going to find, at least in headset terms anyway if you like your FPS titles.
RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS Review
In this RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS review
- Wireless Performance
- Battery Life
- Sound Quality & Value
- Form Factor, Comfort & Overall Design
- Final Words
Wireless Performance
It goes without saying I think that when you evaluate a wireless gaming headset such as this, that there are a number of features that are pretty much essential to its operation. Thankfully then, I can happily report that the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS, an officially licensed PlayStation product, goes above and beyond what you would expect from a wireless headset of this calibre.
First off, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS supports a Dual Wireless protocol across two wireless radio bands, namely 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth v5.2. In practice, what this means is that because both bands are in operation while using the headset, you can not only be hearing the world crash and blow up around in you in a heated game of EA’s Battlefield 6, but so too can you effortlessly switch to your phone and pipe in audio from phone calls, music and voice communication applications such as Discord.
Much more than just a fancy thing to have, this can be especially useful if you’re playing a game and receive a call on your mobile phone, because now with the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS you can take that phone call without the headset ever leaving your head simply by switching over to it. Neat stuff then for sure. Speaking of neat, you can also download the RIG Navigator App which allows you to tune the headset at a fine and granular level. Want to muck around with microphone gain and voice boost profiles? The RIG Navigator App absolutely has your back and then some when it comes the customisation side of things.
Battery Life
In spite of the myriad features stuffed into the headset, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS isn’t lacking on the battery life front either, somewhat surprisingly. From a full charge in the bundled cradle that comes with the headset, I experienced roughly between 55-60 hours of uninterrupted power with the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS, which is quite impressive methinks.
As an aside, charging the headset in the cradle is a straightforward endeavour too, you simply just connect the USB C end of the cable into the cradle and the USB A end into the power source with a matching connection and off you go. Happy days.
Sound Quality & Value
Coming in at a $179.99 price point, I certainly feel that the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS packs in a substantial amount of bang for the number of bucks it expects you to stump up for it. Much like the RIG R5 Spear PRO HS which came before it, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS brings the same 40mm graphene audio drivers to the dance. This means you get a reduction in harmonic distortion to 0.5% or less which in practice means that individual sounds stand out much more clearer, rather than blurring into the background as a cacophony of miscellaneous noise.
To be absolutely clear, while the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS is fully compatible with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Atmos 3D and can be used quite suitably with movies and games that support those sound standards, this is very much a headset geared towards a single purpose – namely providing the best level of 3D sound support you can get from a wireless PS5 headset and on this use case alone, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS arguably soars.
With richer, better enhanced 3D accuracy, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS feels absolutely razor-tuned to the intricacies of 3D audio output. In real-terms, this means that the standard of spatial audio and audio directionality is extremely high indeed and is certainly more palpable than the output seen from other headsets. A great litmus test for this is Bungie’s recently released, and rather superb extraction shooter Marathon. Quite literally a game where 3D sound is directly threaded through into the game mechanics themselves, Marathon is widely regarded as one of the more punishing extraction shooters available, and this is largely down to the fact that you can be killed very, very quickly. Naturally then, creeping about the place becomes the order of the day and it’s in the mode of play that the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS comes into its best aspect.
Whether it’s the sound of rushed footsteps in a room just a few feet away, or the distant sound of gunfire more than a hundred meters away, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS proves to be absolutely up to the task of rendering those audio outputs in pinpoint fashion, providing players in turn with the sort of moment to moment intelligence on enemy positions and movements that can be crucial to staying alive and making that all-important successful extraction. Again much like its older brother, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS also brings a 20kHz to 40kHz frequency response which proves especially useful for first-person shooters and when taken in tandem with the emphasis on pinpoint 3D sound, absolutely affirms the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS as a top calibre PS5 wireless headset for competitive play.
Elsewhere, Nacon’s latest headset also boasts a 6mm, uni-directional microphone that duly gets the job done also, providing clear audio input which of course is crucial to any level reasonable level of competitive play.
If there is a flaw with the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS it’s more that it feels like a cautious, somewhat restrained step forward, rather than a true leap forward underscored by the level of macro product innovation that one would expect. Of course, this isn’t the fault of Nacon’s team of world class engineers at all; the pace of audio technological advancement is much slower than those of visual mediums and only the same grab bag of technologies is available to manufacturers such as Nacon, SteelSeries and Turtle Beach.
Form Factor, Comfort & Overall Design
Much like the wired RIG R5 Spear PRO HS which released before it, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS is a pleasingly uncomplicating looking headset that feels appropriately premium and is reassuringly comfortable to have positioned atop your skull. Far from boasting a design that could be considered to be revolutionary, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS is nonetheless an elegant offering that can quite happily sit shoulder to shoulder with its peers and compare favourably.
With its memory-foam-lined headband and ear cushions, adjustable size sliders, lay-flat design and durable headset frame, there has clearly been a lot of thought and love poured into the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS headset which belie its more conventional looking design. Comfort-wise in particular, the headset is surprisingly lightweight, coming in a svelte 371 grams, while the ear-cushions which exist on the left and right strands of the headset are also pleasing to have pressed into your ears for extended periods of time.
As before, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS allows players to switch in and out a set of ear plates using the SNAP+LOCK system which featured in Nacon’s previous headset and remains a nice touch from a personalisation standpoint. Overall then, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS headset is a well made, highly comfortable bit of kit that compares well with the best on the market, even if the design isn’t especially revolutionary.
Final Words
By being laser focused on competitive FPS gaming thanks to its impressive combination of material and software engineering technologies with a view to improving 3D sound directionality and clarity, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS represents a superb first wireless headset for Nacon. More than that, the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS also offers competitive value and chunky battery life, which when taken in tandem with the resoundingly good audio performance, makes the RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS an easy recommendation for any PS5 FPS gamers looking for their next wireless headset upgrade.
The RIG R8 Spectre PRO HS is out now.
Review unit kindly provided by Nacon PR.