Plantronics Rig 500 Pro

GAMING HEADPHONES THAT MAKE AMATEURS FEEL LIKE PROS.

THE PLANTRONICS RIG line of headphones follow a familiar design lineage. Not a bad thing, as the Rig 500 family is peerless when it comes to balancing comfort and sound quality at a decent price. New for this year is a simple and elegant volume control system designed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, where the Rig’s control knob sits flush with the bottom edge of the respective controller. A bespoke plastic mount around the dial offers good purchase on the controller, and gives you quick access to the master volume (not chat volume, sorry) rather than fumbling through your console’s menu system or grasping for an inline slider.

Slip them on and the floating headband holds the sturdy frame above your head. The Esports version we tested here (there are four other variants available) has a die-cast metal frame for a bit of extra bling, and it feels like it’ll take a lot of abuse. Your ears, meanwhile are treated to 50mm drivers that reward action-heavy games with crisp highs and gutsy lows, and are tuned to reap the benefits of Dolby Atmos titles. (They’re only good in a pinch for music, though.) Two sets of ear pads — one leather, one foam — can be easily swapped over, and Plantronic’s ingenious system of custom earphone placement remains. Anyone with at least two systems (PC, PS4 and/or XO) should grab this variant of the Pros, as you get adapters to suit both consoles, an inline slider for PC, and a code to lifetime access to Dolby Atmos on PC and Xbox One (normally a subscription service). Astounding value.