We are once again delving into the world of gaming headsets, this time with a spotlight shining brightly on Nacon's RIG 900 MAX HX. Priced at $249.99 (USD), the 900 MAX HX aims to be a more premium and feature-filled offering than the RIG 600 PRO HS we recently reviewed. Featuring the same dual-wireless connectivity as the 600 PROs, the 900 MAX HX sets itself apart thanks to Dolby Personalized audio support with Dolby Atmos 3D, plus a charging base station, a more premium construction, and a huge battery life.
First Impressions
Inside the box for the RIG 900 HX is the headset itself, a rather weighty charging base station, a short USB-A to USB-C, and a USB-A wireless dongle. Of course, you also get various documentation papers talking about warranty and volume safety, plus there are quick setup instructions as well as information about downloading the Dolby Personalized Audio app. All of this comes packaged in a cardboard holder within a larger cardboard box with only a few plastic bags used.Though the focus of RIG's "HX" line is "Designed for Xbox," the 900 MAX HX can be used on your console or platform of choice. This includes PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and even mobile. Like the RIG 600, the 900 features great dual connectivity support for 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.1. This allows you to mix audio from two different sources, take calls, or listen to music in between those gaming sessions.
Advanced Features
The included base station serves a dual purpose: It serves as a nice upright charger for your headset when not in use. The magnetic charging connector ensures a solid connection every time while being forgiving enough to let you pick up the 900s without much effort. The base station also includes a place to plug in the wireless adapter. This means that you can charge and keep the adapter plugged in at the same time without using more than one USB port. Of course, you are more than free to take the adapter out should you want to plug it into another device while you keep your base station in place for charging purposes.The RIG 900 MAX HX is said to get up to 50 hours of playtime via Bluetooth thanks to its massive 1,800 mAh battery. The battery in these is larger than the one used in the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. If that wasn't already impressive enough, the 900 MAX HX can get up to 60 hours on 2.4GHz wireless. I have been exclusively using the 900 MAX HX headphones for about two weeks now, and do you want to know how many times I have had to fully charge them? Once. Even then, I only charged them when I first heard the "low battery" warning from the headset, which seems to kick in around 20%, meaning I probably still had several more hours of use I could have gotten out of them before they ran out of juice.
A full charge, from 0% to 100%, will take about four hours, which is nothing when you consider how many hours straight of regular use you will be able to get from these things. I was floored at the battery life of the 900s. I'm still floored now when writing about the battery life. It's been roughly 3-4 days of regular use since that single full charge, and the phone companion app (RIG 900 MAX Navigator) says that they still have 43% charge left. As someone who held off on using wireless devices for so long partially due to reports of poor battery life, this is mind-blowing to me.
Connecting the device is straightforward. A Bluetooth button near the top of the left earcup is used for pairing. Just hold it down for six seconds to start the pairing process with your Bluetooth-enabled device. The left ear cup also includes a multifunction button (play/pause music, answer/hang-up calls, etc.), a volume control knob, a power button, and a USB-C charging port should you ever want to plug them in to charge instead of using the handy base station.
The 900 MAX Navigator mobile app looks and functions almost identically to the 600 PRO Navigator app for the RIG 600 PRO HS. This app grants you access to more advanced customization features like a 10-band equalizer, options to adjust mic sensitivity, the ability to set default wireless modes, and more. However, unlike my time with the 600 PROs, I spent very little time in the Navigator app for the 900 MAX HX. I didn't even touch the equalizer settings for the 900. The only thing I changed in the app was making it so that the default power-on setting connected to 2.4GHz instead of the default dual-mode.
The Dolby Difference
One big reason I spent such little time in the companion app's settings and equalizer adjustments is because of Dolby.The RIG 900 MAX HX is one of the first headsets available that work with Dolby Personalization, an app that supposedly scans and analyzes your unique ear, head, and shoulder shapes to create a custom Head-related Transfer Function (HRTF) listening profile that is tailored specifically for you. This is not at all dissimilar to what Mark Cerny seemed keen on doing to deliver a more personalized and immersive listening experience with PlayStation 5's Tempest audio back before the PS5 was launched.
The entire process of scanning your head is quick and painless. After a few minutes, a personalized profile is created and you move on to using the Dolby Access app on your PC or Xbox. If you log into both apps with the same login, your personalized profile is applied to Dolby Access and that's it. Whether or not it makes a massive difference may be hard to tell. I have to imagine that people with extremely unique HRTF profiles will be able to notice a bigger difference than people who have HRTF profiles that are closer to the baseline.
Still, if you aren't satisfied with the untouched Dolby experience, you can just open the Access app and manually adjust all sorts of settings. The Dolby Access app comes included with a Game profile, which I found to be great for general PC use, watching YouTube, chatting in Discord, and watching streams in addition to playing games. I'd say that setting was damn near perfect for my tastes. It had a nice amount of bass that wasn't overbearing. Nothing was muddled, nor too sharp. Dialogue is crisp and clear. Who knows, maybe the Dolby Personalization did work its magic after all.
There are also Access profiles for Movies and Music. On top of that, there are also three custom equalizer settings in the Access app offering a 10-band equalizer, a toggle for surround virtualization, and a volume leveler option.
My preference was to keep the Game mode always enabled except when I wanted to relax with music, at which point I would swap to the built-in Music profile. It was so nice to not have to mess around with adjusting equalizer settings or anything. This made the listening experience fantastic right from the start without the need to tweak settings repeatedly.
The only drawback to the Dolby Access app is the fact that it is just a little annoying to swap between the different modes. I wish the app had a persistent tray icon that let me toggle between Game, Movie, Music, Voice, and Custom profiles without having to fully open the app each time.
The RIG 900 MAX HX does manage to deliver a commendable audio experience, even without the use of the Dolby features. I do think that the straight-out-of-the-box listening experience on the 900s is better than that of the 600 PRO HS. I cannot say if this is due to using different drivers, if they were tuned differently at the factory, or if it's simply because the ear cups are shaped differently. A lot of factors could result in differences in audio quality. Still, you may find that you need to make some rather minor equalizer adjustments in the 900 MAX Navigator app if you are using the 900s on devices that do not have Dolby support.
Mic Quality
The included mic on the RIG 900 MAX HX can be flipped up or down to mute and unmute voice functionality. Helpful beeps played in the headset kindly alert you when the mic is enabled and disabled.When compared to my Audio-Technica ATR2500 USB microphone, the quality of the RIG 900 MAX HX mic is very, very good. The ATR2500s do still produce better voice clarity and warmth of voice to the ATR2500s, but wow is it ever a close race. That said, if you don't already have a microphone, the one included with the RIG 900 MAX HX will make sure you don't have to spend extra to buy a separate mic.
As a bonus surprise, the RIG 900 MAX HX mic also seems to do a great job at filtering out background noises by default. My ATR2500s very often pick up the sounds of my air conditioner and keyboard typing. This means that I must raise the input sensitivity and enable digital noise suppression to cut those background sounds out. The mic in the RIG 900 MAX HX seems to filter out those background noises automatically. This feature will be especially useful for people using voice chat on consoles that may not be able to set up added noise suppression through their systems.
The one big drawback of the included mic, at least for me, is the fact that it doesn't get hidden away within the ear cup of the 900 MAX HX. The one thing the RIG 600 PROs have over the 900s here is the fact that the mic on the 600s can be discreetly hidden inside the ear cup when not in use. That sadly isn't the case here. You also cannot remove the microphone. This means that when not in use, the mic is quite visible on the front of the headset, looking like a little antenna sticking straight up.
Design and Comfort
Like the RIG 600 PRO HS, the RIG 900 MAX HX is extremely comfortable to wear for extended periods. The earcups sport a faux leather exterior with a soft cloth material on the inside where it contacts your head. As I'm not the biggest fan of full faux leather cups, I do appreciate that the areas that make contact with the head are that soft cloth material. The cups themselves are large and should easily fit around most ear shapes and sizes.As my head is on the large side, I am happy to report that the RIG 900 MAX HX fits comfortably around my head. There are three main sizes for headband adjustments: Small, Medium, and Large. I found that having one cup on large and the other on medium resulted in a fit that felt perfect around my head. It offered just enough fit that it wasn't too tight while also ensuring that the headset wouldn't fall off if I bent forward or lowered my head.
The actual headband portion of the RIG 900s makes use of a dual system. There is an outer band made of metal that provides rigid support for the headset. This metal band allows the 900s to keep its shape while also applying just a small bit of gentle pressure to keep the headphones in place on your head. Below that metal band is a softer, padded cloth band that stretches to fit the size and shape of your head. This inner band is the only one of the two bands that contacts your head.
The entire build of the RIG 900 MAX HX is a mix of metal, plastic, and cloth. I can't say that I'm too up in arms about the generous use of plastics on the RIG 900 MAX HX. Plastic is much lighter than metal and it keeps the overall weight down, especially when you already have a bit of added weight from that massive internal battery.
I do worry a bit about the point at which the wires enter the earcups though. I wish there was an added rubber grommet here to help prevent the wire from bending or suffering any other added strain. I also wish that the metal outer headband was fully extended down to the point it connects to the earcups instead of transitioning to plastic. I say these are my main worries only because these are the only points of failure I have ever had with headphones in the past.
Final Thoughts
The RIG 900 MAX HX gaming headset, priced at $249.99, offers a premium gaming audio experience with advanced features and exceptional battery life. Its dual-wireless connectivity, comfortable design, and impressive microphone quality make it a standout choice. The integration of Dolby Personalization technology adds a customized touch to the audio, enhancing both immersion and quality. The overall package makes the RIG 900 MAX HX a compelling choice for anybody seeking a high-quality headset that delivers both comfort and performance.For as impressed as I was with the RIG 600 PRO HS the other week, I am even more impressed by the RIG 900 MAX HX today. I can safely say that I am now retiring my old V-MODA Crossfade M-100 headphones that I have used since June 2015, and replacing them with the RIG 900 MAX HX headset as my new daily driver. NACON has done a tremendous job on these in terms of look, comfort, features, and most importantly, audio quality. I have zero reservations about recommending the RIG 900 MAX to those in the market for a new headset.
Score
Additional Information
- RIG 900 MAX HX
- By: NACON
- Price: $249.99 (USD)
- Platforms reviewed on: PC and Android phone (also compatible with Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and mobile)
- Release Date: September 7, 2023
- This headset was provided to Total Gaming Network for review purposes.
Technical Specifications
- Wireless
- Lag-free 2.4GHz digital RF wireless via USB-A transmitter
- Bluetooth v5.1 via pairing to host device
- Weight
- 241 g
- Battery
- 1800 mAh
- Up to 50 hours on 2.4GHz wireless
- Up to 60 hours on Bluetooth
- Speaker Driver
- 2 x Dynamic 40 mm with Matched Bass Tubes
- 3D Audio
- Personalized Dolby Atmos
- Headphone Frequency
- 20 Hz–20 kHz
- Ear Coupling
- Over-the-ears
- Mic Pickup Pattern
- Uni-directional
- Mic Frequency Response
- 100 Hz–10 kHz
- Mic Sensitivity
- -45 dBV/Pa
- Mic Signal-to-Noise Ratio
- >42 dB
- Mic Detail
- Flip-to-mute
- Headset Charge Port
- USB-C
- Compatibility
- Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile
