Gadgetory

gaming headsets have taken leaps and bounds in the last few years as is all gaming gear is eSport to continue to grow and growth enthusiasts and competitors thirst for more and more customization than Plantronics have aimed to quench this thirst with their reek 500 line of audio solutions the rege 500 series is available in three different configurations the regular rig 500 comes equipped with clothes play the ear cups and stereo sound followed by the 500 HD the bose 7.1 surround sound and then finally the reek 500 e this esports Edition which I have on hand includes not just 7.1 surround sound but most interestingly two sets of ear cups the standard closed pleather design from previous models and additionally a set of interchangeable vented ear cups with mesh padding to reduce listening fatigue both sets of ear cups pack the same high-quality 40 millimeter drivers and both me quickly and easily swapped in and out from the headsets modular frame i've complemented gaming headsets previously for their partially modular designs generally the cords can be completely removed and sometimes microphone 2 but have never seen a design quite so modular as the rege 500s up top the outer firm headband holds everything else in shades and this stage can be had in four different colorways the standard black is what we have here but then you can choose from blue grey sand or fashion camo these are all pretty specific patterns I think it would have been good if there are some more plane colors to pick from coz some are better than none and could easily paint the standard frame that comes with it to suit you team colours clipping into the frame first is the self adjusting rubber headband wrapped in an ESL cuff that comfortably wraps over the top of your head I liked the amount of resistance of this offered it was enough to sit securely but certainly not enough to give you a heck amusingly as the cuff slides up over bigger heads a funny little man with an increasingly big afro was revealed on the rubber band which is a fun little touch next at the base of the frame there's three little slots to choose from when plugging in your ear cups each to suit different sized heads when connected the clever design still allows the ear cups to move up and down which allows the pressure to remain equally spread on the side of your head the overall comfort and ergonomics of the headset are really great they're so adjustable that'll be tough not to be able to find a configuration that sat nicely on your head even for the longest of gaming sessions my only gripe would be the actual size of the ear cups they're definitely a size small and weren't really close to fitting all the way around my ears which is something I really look for in a headset also module is the mic boom which securely plugs into the left ear cup its shape is malleable to a degree but the boom isn't overly long and it's a little tricky to get it really close to your mouth the mic is noise canceling and can be flipped up and tucked away which also mutes the microphone automatically being able to both completely remove the mic as well as having the option to fold it away is great and not something we usually see ah and in case you couldn't tell I use it to record this section of the audio not too shabby when it comes to audio performance Plantronics know what they're doing and this is exemplified by the rig 500 line the dynamic 40 millimeter drivers are aided by low-frequency resonators to improve low in performance and I found both sets of ear cups to be good all-around performers the isolating clothes designed ear cuffs did of course have superior sound performance especially with mids and lows and these will certainly be my preference for music and movies if you don't get a hot head then they'll be better for gaming too the vented design ear cups with mesh padding do feel a little lighter on the head in ears but this comes at the expense of lighter mids and lows - not to say the sound quality wasn't good it just wasn't as good but for long gaming sessions these ear cups would probably be the best choice especially if you're likely to sweat it up a little and don't like the feeling of the pleather sticking to your face to enable the 7.1 surround sound a USB connector is included - you also actually need to pay attention to the Quick Start Guide is only here could I find the URL to download the rig 500 drivers once installed my 7.1 surround sound was active and I jumped straight into some card and fallout 4 - tested out the surround sound was as good and as accurate as any of use before you can tell the headset was tuned for gaming - acoustics in first-person shooters were very well suited in detailed and the headset was particularly immersive with the clothes designer cups in play on the whole the rig 500 is really do feel like an eSports specific headset in a lot of ways this is a really good thing the branding is cool the customization and comfort is awesome and the sound performance was excellent what the that misses in my opinion is an inline mark and remote for use of smartphones and some sort of option for bigger ear cards is they simply weren't big enough for my ears for sustained use beyond that only the pricing will live at the root 500 is sales I feel 150 US dollars or 200 Australian is right up there price-wise so you'd want to be taking advantage of that extra set of ear cups otherwise every five hundred and five hundred HD a price much more competitively at sixty dollars and eighty US dollars respectively or one hundred and one hundred and thirty dollars Australian so what do you guys think of the rig 500 series which one would you be most likely to pick up let me know in the comments and I'll see you guys next time