Nacon RIG 900 MAX HX Wireless Headset Review

Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

The Docking Station or Base Station is a luxury in the peripheral space, a dedicated charging stand that doubles as easy (and neat) storage. Base Stations are relegated to some of the more premium offerings for wireless gaming headsets because creating a dedicated charging and storage stand for a headset impacts the overall price. The new RIG 900 MAX HX from Nacon arrives with its own Base Station to make connecting it to a PC or console like the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 a breeze, with the bonus of being able to store and charge at the end of a gaming session.

15

This isn't the only feature of the RIG 900 MAX HX that sets it apart from other more affordable offerings from Nacon; the MSRP of USD 249.99 also promises a rich audio experience with a precisely tuned sound that includes rich, booming bass and the sort of crisp detail you'd want for playing competitive titles like Call of Duty or THE FINALS.

Outside of the included Base Station, the RIG 900 MAX HX sports numerous design elements found in the RIG 600 PRO HS that we reviewed earlier in the year. The most notable is the inclusion of Dual Wireless, which means you can switch between low-latency 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth, or simultaneously connect to both. It's an excellent feature, especially for those who still want to pick up calls while relaxing on the couch with a controller.

Compared to the RIG 600 PRO HS, the premium RIG 900 MAX HX is more impressive but still falls short in a few key areas. The default audio tuning is way too bass-heavy, and the dedicated RIG 900 MAX HX Navigator App's presets are some of the worst we've encountered. Let's dig in.

Specifications & Close Up

15

• Product Type: Wireless Gaming Headset
• Product Name: Nacon RIG 900 MAX HX
• Interface: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz USB dongle, Base Station
• Compatibility: Xbox, PlayStation, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
• Form Factor: Over Ear Closed
• Drivers: 40mm
• Headphones Frequency Response: 20 - 20,000 Hz
• Microphone Frequency: 100 - 10,000 Hz
• Surround: Dolby Atmos for Headphones
• Cable: USB-C charging via Base Station
• Weight: ~ 240 grams
• Battery Life: 50 - 60 hours
• In the Box: Nacon RIG 900 MAX HX, USB-A Wireless Adapter, Base Station, USB-C to USB-A Cable

Kosta's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wi-Fi
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition
• Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT Liquid CPU Cooler
• RAM: 64GB (2x32GB) Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 DRAM 5200MHz
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 4TB, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus Plus M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 8TB
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W
• Case: Thermaltake Core P3 Tempered Glass Snow
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

Nacon RIG 900 MAX HX Wireless Headset with Base Station

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$130.59	$130.59	$149.00	$149.00	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/18/2024 at 9:52 pm CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Design & Software and Support

Design

How much a gaming headset weighs plays a big part in the comfort of sitting down to play a game for more than an hour in a single session. Weight distribution, balance, overall fit and tightness, flexibility, and quality of the cushion materials also factor into the comfort checklist - but there's this unspoken rule among wireless gaming headset makers to try and get the overall weight down to under 300 grams. With the RIG 900 MAX HX weighing in at around 240 grams (the same as the RIG 600 PRO HS), it's the sort of lightweight gaming headset that you could comfortably wear for hours.

15

Regarding the look, the RIG 900 MAX HX is a "spot the difference" headset, but there are some notable ones when stacked up against the RIG 600 PRO. First, the overall build is of higher quality, with a metal headband replacing the plastic of the RIG 600 - a nice touch to set this premium model apart. As for the earcups and cushions, they're the same, with a kind of cheap-feeling plastic finish that features hard and sharp edges where they connect to the Base Station.

Adjusting the headset fit is the same here, with each earcup being detachable and able to pop and slot into three different height options. With the lightweight build, there's flexibility and then some, so finding the right fit that isn't too tight or fatigue-inducing is easy with the RIG 900 MAX HX.

15

On the left earcup is where you'll find the on-ear controls, including a dedicated power button, wireless mode switch, and a chat balance button that alters the functionality of the volume dial when connected to an Xbox console. There's also a USB-C connection for bypassing the Base Station to charge the RIG 900 MAX HX directly. Unfortunately, there's no play-and-charge functionality here, but with around 50 hours of battery life, that's not a deal breaker.

The quality of the Base Station is decent; with rubberized feet and a nice sturdiness, it weighs more than the RIG 900 MAX HX headset. The Base Station includes a slot for the USB wireless dongle, which can be connected to a PC or console without the Base Station. It consists of a slider to switch between Xbox and PC modes.

Software and Support

Even though Microsoft is the creator of Windows, its Xbox consoles use different wireless audio protocols for connecting up a gaming headset compared to PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. This is why Xbox-branded wireless headsets make a special mention of this support - because it requires the inclusion of additional hardware. Whether you're connected to an Xbox Series X|S console or a gaming PC, the RIG 900 MAX HX uses a dedicated Navigator App for all customization.

15

With a clean and simple-to-follow UI (that includes a nice little tutorial outlining all of the features), it's here where you can make changes to the EQ or sound profiles, adjust the gain on the microphone, or go through all of the headset features in the handy Test Mode. By default, the RIG 900 MAX HX features audible feedback when changing settings or switching between the Game, Bluetooth, or Dual wireless modes.

Sound profiles via the app's equalizer can be viewed and customized in three-band or ten-band 'Expert' mode, which is intuitive but disappointing. The disappointing part is that profiles like Bass Boost, Voice Boost, or Clarity are terrible presets. Bass Boost cranks up the bass to the maximum, so it sounds distorted and overbearing; Voice Boost cuts all bass and pushes the mid to high frequencies to ear-piercing levels, while Clarity takes out all detail to deliver a flat and lifeless sound.

15

The good news is that the default No EQ tuning is decent for PC and console gaming if you want the emphasis placed on the low end. With some minor tweaks to the bass and mid-range, you can get some great sound from the RIG 900 MAX HX headset, a rich and detailed balance that makes gaming, listening to music, or watching media immersive and inviting. It's a shame that it required tinkering to get there.

Performance & Microphone

Performance

Whether you're connecting the RIG 900 MAX HX to a PC or Xbox Series X (and I did both for this review), setting up sits in the wonderful 'plug-and-play' zone - meaning you don't have to do anything outside of plugging the base station in and turning on the headset to get going. Using the default sound profile playing Starfield, Diablo IV, and Forza Motorsport, the differences over the RIG 600 PRO HS were immediately apparent.

15

It's still overly bass-heavy, but the out-of-the-box sound is richer and more detailed and better suited for games with plenty of action and those with more cinematic moments or sections where you're speaking with NPCs for several minutes at a time.

With Xbox existing on PC and console, testing the RIG 900 MAX HX on both platforms with the same games using the same save files showcased consistent sound. On PC (and Xbox), you have access to Dolby Atmos for spatial audio, which works well with RIG 900 MAX HX, but due to how the drivers are tuned, only a handful of Dolby profiles sound decent.

Microphone

The RIG 900 MAX HX's microphone is non-detachable but features the always handy flip-to-mute functionality. Like with the RIG 600 PRO, it sits a little far from your mouth, so depending on how loud you speak, you might need to adjust the gain before jumping into a Discord or Xbox Party chat.

Unfortunately, the similarities to the RIG 600 PRO's microphone don't stop there, as the overall sound is flat and 'functional.' To put it differently, chat quality sounds exactly like you'd expect a gaming headset to sound. With the RIG 900 MAX HX's price point putting it into that 'entry-level' premium wireless gaming headset bracket, it's disappointing that the microphone here is simply serviceable.

Final Thoughts

The RIG 900 MAX HX is an interesting wireless gaming headset option because its inclusion of a sturdy Base Station for charging makes it one of the more affordable 'headset + station' options - even with the MSRP of USD 249.99. Outside of the station's inclusion and the long-lasting battery, the RIG 900 MAX HX's Dual Mode wireless is worth celebrating, an excellent feature that lets you game and still connect to a Bluetooth device for dual audio.

15

The 240-gram weight and build make it extremely comfortable to boot, so it's a shame that, like with the RIG 600 PRO HS, it falls short in a few key areas. The out-of-the-box sound is too bass-heavy, and the poor equalizer support makes adjusting things a case of having to 'do it yourself' to get the best results. And little things like the plastic around the earcups feel cheap - not to mention sharp.

However, the good outweighs the bad; the Base Station is excellent, and the RIG 900 MAX HX sound is impressive after some tweaking. But in a highly competitive market, it's enough of a hurdle to ensure that the RIG 900 MAX HX falls short of greatness.