[Review] Plantronics RIG 500E. With a passion for games

Plantronics has a separate line of headsets with a pure gaming focus. Anyone who is interested in gaming events, in particular, CS: GO discipline, has certainly seen Plantronics headsets flashing here and there. As time goes on, the company has new and more advanced models. In the review we will talk about the top headset of the company - Plantronics RIG 500E.

Box and equipment

The headset comes in a very nicely decorated large and neat cardboard box with PET plastic windows. The box is decorated in calm black and blue colors, has some remarkable details, is not replete with information, but all the main characteristics and chips are shown on the edges of the box. The front of the image is embossed, and in addition to this, the headset itself is visible through the window. Behind a more detailed description, including in Russian. The headset is indicated to be approved by the ESL organization - Endorsed by ESL nameplates are found on all sides of the box.



Inside the box on a pedestal of PET plastic unassembled headset rests with all the equipment. The package bundle is quite rich: a headband with a moving inner part, two pairs of headphones, two pairs of interchangeable ear cushions, a removable microphone, two connection cables (analog cable and digital usb cable), and a set of various papers. Good set. Well, except that the little case is not enough, for sure there are a lot of people who need this headset with them on the road.

Design, appearance, modular design

Plantronics RIG 500E - modular headset with two pairs of covering headphones; Each pair has its own acoustic design: closed and open. In each pair of ears are exactly the same dynamics, only the acoustic design and type of ear cushions differ. The frequency range - 20 Hz - 20 000 Hz, the mass of the headset (headband + pair of headphones) - about 200 grams (excluding cable), the impedance - 32 ohms. Due to the different connection options - analog and digital - the headset is compatible with most devices: PCs, smartphones, consoles, and so on.



At first glance it may seem like a lot of things at once. But, pretty quickly you come to the conclusion that this is perhaps the best set. In fact, the user gets an extremely simple and intuitive designer with a minimum of details and maximum possibilities. Two pairs of ears, two pairs of ear cushions - four different variants of socks. Yes, ear cushions are interchangeable.



The trick is that there are closed and open cups, as well as leatherette sound insulating cushions and soundproof ventilated fabric cushions. Variable. Where you need to hear everything - closed cups + leatherette embouchures; where you just want to rest your ears, and insulation is not so important - open ears with cloth ear cushions. Each pair of headphones has a microphone jack. I will describe all usage scenarios in detail.



The headset looks pretty modern and technologically. A simple design, a slightly catchy and unusual appearance is immediately noticed by the eye. Headband, headphones and microphone are made mainly of plastics, mostly of matte.



The design of the headphones has a plastic frame and a hanging frame with a free stroke, which automatically adjusts to any head size. Well, until the crown finally rests on the frame of the headphones.



The frame has attachment points for cups, and they are made in such a way that the design of the headphones is as comfortable as possible for any user. In total, the frame has three holes for fastenings on each side.



Closed headphones cups are made of matte black textured plastic. This chip carries a rather decorative function, however, when putting the headset on the head, the fingers on such a surface do not slip. The bottom of the cups is made of smooth matte plastic.



Open cups are made predominantly of matte plastic with less tangible relief and this combination is complemented by glossy inserts. Also on the lids of the cups you can see a blue mesh, allowing you to determine the type of acoustic design.



Each of the headphones cups has a mount made on plastic hinges. These two "dots" on the lid of the cup are pressed inward and fastened to the frame of the headset. Next to the mount are located inserts of dense polyurethane foam for a more secure fixation of each headphone and to prevent knocking and chatter when the cup touches the headset frame.



Since the design of the headset is modular, each cup in its pair has a separate wire for connection. The wires are quite thin, wrapped in a smooth matte sheath. At the outlet of the cup, the wire has tough bending protection



On the left cup of each pair of headphones, traditionally for this kind of device, there is a microphone input. For a more reliable fit of the microphone, a plastic pin is provided, although the microphone even without this mount sits quite securely in the cup.



The cushions on the closed cups are made of ordinary leatherette, although the material is rather soft to the touch. Inside the ear cushions there is an elastic foam.



The situation is the same with fabric ear cushions, with the only difference being that everything outside is upholstered with a dull and a little more soft-touch fabric. Mount the ear cushion passes around the perimeter of the cup, but when replacing the ear cushions there are no difficulties: to give up one set to another is a matter of one minute.



Inside the cups is a nylon mesh painted with an ESL logo. In none of the pairs the net touches the ears.



The headband is made of two parts: the frame is made of matte slightly rough plastic and the inner movable part for landing on the head.



The inner part is upholstered with fabric and fastens on rubber bands, from which bracelets are usually made. The inner part can be removed, thereby maximizing the space for landing on the head.



The microphone is made of hard glossy plastic and a flexible rubber part, with which the distance to the mouth is adjusted. The flexible part remembers the shape well, so the microphone adapts well to itself. The microphone has a simple switch-off mechanism: when you lift the microphone all the way up, you can hear a low click that says that the microphone no longer works. The microphone turns on immediately, it is only necessary to lower it slightly from the vertical position. Excellent solution - no additional controls. So if you do not bring the microphone all the way up, it will continue to work.



It comes with two wires for connecting a headset, which, in fact, are headphone extension cables. The picture does not show all the connectors, but all connections are clearly shown. Each of the wires is wrapped in a matte smooth sheath; The wires are flexible, they quickly become straightened, but at first they have the effect of a wave.



The first wire - analog connection - is designed to work with mobile devices, has a length of 1.2 meters and ends with a 4-pin 3.5 mm L-shaped plug.



The second wire - digital connection via USB - works with a PC, has a length of 1.7 meters, a large remote control with a button to activate the 7.1-channel mode and ends with a conventional USB connector. The total length of the wires will be slightly longer, since the wires of the cups are 0.3 meters long. I wonder why such a big console? As much as 8 cm. It is likely that the filling inside is not only responsible for virtual surround sound.



The performance of the headset leaves a very pleasant impression. Simple and practical materials, modular design with wide acoustic capabilities, soft ear cushions and extremely low weight. Someone may not be satisfied with the external "gaming" type of headset, but here it’s a matter of taste, all the more you should understand the target audience for which this headset is intended.



There are a couple of comments about the design: I would like a more clearly marked position when turning off the microphone (earlier triggering, stronger click), as well as hinges for fixing cups made of plastic. It is very possible that with frequent changes the plastic joints will be damaged (on the cups, on the frame), and therefore the cups will fall out of the frame.

Ease of fit, ergonomics, noise insulation

The headset is sitting very confidently on my head. In any cups and with any ear cushions, I practically do not feel it on my head, but even with a strong shake of the head, the headset remains confidently sitting in its place. Plays a role and weight, and landing, and quite deep cups, which cover ears well.

The headband of the headset does not press on the head at all, the cups do not press on the head either, but the size of the cups is too small, and therefore I feel how the upper part and earlobe touches each ear cushion. After a while, the ear leather ear cushions start to numb (parts of the ear become uncomfortable on top, or a lobe flows), so sitting in them for days on end will not work. Yet the relatively small size of the cups played a role here. With fabric ear cushions, everything is much nicer - they are not felt by the ears, the ears do not sweat in them and almost do not numb, and therefore they can be in a much longer time without a break.

Noise at the headphones - a separate topic for conversation. Consider all 4 options.

• Closed cups, leatherette
  Noise Isolation at an average (acceptable) level. Some of the sounds from the external environment are heard quite well, there is no feeling of vacuum or immersion, and therefore this noise insulation can be called acceptable for use at home. In noisy places such noise isolation is not enough. The best level of sound insulation of all other options.
  Rating: 4/4
  
  
• Open cups, cloth
  No noise insulation, almost completely absent. That is, at least I have a headset on me, at least I don’t hear everything clearly and beautifully. And they hear me, and all the sounds from the headphones, too, hear.
  Rating: 1/4
  
  
• Closed cups, cloth.
  Almost complete lack of sound insulation, which surprised me a little. So it’s all about ear pads! The fabric seems to miss all the sounds at all. And the closed construction here gave almost nothing. That is, I can hear myself almost as well as in the case of open headphones. the difference is extremely small.
  Rating: 2/4
  
  
• Open cups, leatherette
  Good insulation, a lot of external sounds are cut off. At high volume, some of the sounds come out from the outside of the cups, so this design can be called half-open. That is, it seems to be open, but it seems like almost nothing comes out. Worse than leatherette + closed cups, but better than any cups of cloth. The dog was buried in the ear cushions.
  Rating: 3/4
  
  

Testing: sound in games, music, microphone

What is good - Plantronics themselves indicate their frequency response for two pairs of headphones at once. But, as I understand it, closed headphones are considered here with leatherette ear cushions, and open ones with cloth ones. It is noticeable that any pair of headphones has a V-shaped frequency response with a visible rise in the upper frequency range.

The headphones feel the microphone effect well, you just have to rub any of the wires on the headphone cup. It is quite tolerant, but still noticeable. The good news is that it is felt only where the wires come out of the cups. After the wire connector, you can pull as much as you want - there will be no effect.

Since this is already a gaming headset, then first of all the bet is placed on the sound in games. Shooters, I would even say, because the outcome of the battle often depends on the sound picture heard. The baptism of the headset took place in CS: GO. Considered all 4 use cases.

• Closed cups, leatherette
  In games, there is the effect of "pressing" sound: clearly the emphasis is placed on those components that are most often used in shooters - bass and treble. That is, you can hear footsteps, shots, reloads and other trifles that are so needed to form a sound picture of the game world. This is just fine. Thanks to the V-shaped frequency response, all shots and all those sounds that require bass to be heard are well heard. The bass literally crushes the ears, the shot from the avik is given by physical pressure on the ears. There is a feeling as if blowing in the ear. For games this is the perfect option.
  
  And, what is most interesting, they get just amazing positioning at the expense of sound pressure. If the shot was close, then the whole ear would cover with an “air” wave, if the shot was farther away, then the “air” effect would be less and so on. I also liked the fact that the location of the shot was determined very precisely. Whether behind, whether laterally - the closed design + effect of "air" give the exact direction of a shot. In general, the stereo in games is simply amazing. Especially in CS: GO. I also tried to run into a half-life, a portal and a couple of simpler toys from the section related to the shooters. The situation everywhere has pleased, though all other games are completely not exacting to details of the sound world.
  
  
• Open cups, cloth
  The sound in games becomes even more “pressed”, that is, the lower frequencies almost completely disappear. Only a small part of them remains audible, and everything else is middle and top. The shots are audible, but the steps are gone. That is, you have to either increase the volume or climb into the equalizer settings. In any other games where all the details are not so important, you can sit, but in the shooters this option is most likely not suitable. Positioning them at the same level, but adjusted for the absence of many of the details that are in the lower and lower middle of the sound ranges.
  
  
• Closed cups, cloth
  The sound in games is about the same as in the open version with fabric ear cushions. A little bit, literally a little better, the bottoms are heard, but the general character of the sound remains about the same. Positioning is excellent, you can hear shots and a general sound image. But all the details relating to the lower range are hard to hear - steps, footsteps and so on. Slightly better than open, but the difference is almost absent. Summing up, I will say that fabric ear cushions are almost unsuitable for shooters, regardless of the acoustic performance of the cups. In other games - easily, watch a movie - no question. Shoot in CS: GO? Perhaps not the best option.
  
  
• Open cups, imitation leather The
  nature of the sound in games is about the same as in the case of closed cups. However, there are several nuances. First, the overall sound picture seemed to me a little more blurred, more mixed. In the case where in closed cups everything sounds collected and in the case, it also sounded a bit isolated. As if some sounds partially superimposed on others. If the effect of “air” in the first case was well felt, then here it seemed to be distributed throughout the cup, because of which some of the sounds simply mixed with each other. Not very critical, but noticeable when comparing to the forehead. Therefore, sounds, footsteps and other nuances are heard well here, but the positioning of sounds has deteriorated somewhat.
  

Such are the cases. It turns out that the lion's share of sound in these headphones depends on the ear cushions. In my opinion, the best option - closed headphones + leatherette ear cushions. Better for shooters not to come up.

Now about the music

I will leave only two options: closed + leatherette and open + fabric. Which go by default. Since the difference when changing cups is very small, it makes sense to consider only these two options. By the way, I listened to all 4 possible options, but to describe the nature of the sound, two will suffice for me.

• Closed cups + imitation leather ear cushions
  In closed earpieces, the bass and top noticeably protrude forward, it is pleasant to listen to the electronics in them: the bass is powerful, it produces good sound pressure, but the effect of blunt beat is not felt. However, this is clearly a strong bias towards the base, so that a balanced sound cannot be called. With increasing volume, there is a barrel effect, even despite the small size of the ear cushions. The mids on the general background failed, but for the inexperienced user this will not be noticeable. And, although the character of the frequency response speaks for itself, you quickly get used to such a sound. And then, when you switch to a higher class headphones (with a more even frequency response), you wonder: why would suddenly something else be heard?
  
  So you shouldn’t expect middle frequencies here, the sound is clearly decorated towards the bottom and top. Therefore, the voice of musicians, as well as instruments with a wide coverage of the frequency range, will not be recouped in the best way. Dry - this is at least. And a few words about the top: they also stand out against the general background, but they do not stick out. That is, they are well and clearly audible, but one cannot say that they drown out everything else. However, especially with the increase in volume, the top begin to noticeably cut the ear. Affect the increase of 8-10 KHz. I checked it with the help of audishna, and then I looked at the frequency response. All turned out well. So sharp and biting top may seem harsh.
  
  The detail is quite at the level, the headset does not cope with a part of the upper parts and porridge appears there. Not reached. What with the use of a sound card (I used the Creative Sound BlasterX G5), that without it - directly from the computer. In general, 32 ohms will swing anything, and the rise in terms of sound at this level will not be particularly noticeable. And from this two advantages follow at once: the high quality of the original recordings (that is, flags and other lossless formats), as well as approximately the same level of sound from portable devices, are not very important. IPhone 5c gave a slightly more flat, but the nature of a similar picture sound.
  
  Despite this, the headphones, especially for the closed type, have good positioning and a good scene. It is clear that there is no point in comparing it with any headphones like the Sennheiser in the same price range, but the formation of a sound picture is still there.
  
  
• Open cups + cloth ear cushions
  In open headphones, the sound is formed according to the same rules: there is no middle, more or less bass is heard, there is top, there is whipping of the tops (which is especially noticeable when the volume is increased). That is, the nature of the sound is the same as in the case of closed headphones (the same speakers after all), but adjusted for open design.
  
  The barrel effect is absent here, the sound stage is wider, all instruments are felt more airy, the sound picture as a whole is more voluminous. But the bass here does not have that pressure - it just is and does not press at all and does not “breathe” into the ears, part of the lower classes, which is so important in electronic music and rock, goes to the background (just comes out of the speakers), and therefore for heavy genres this option is less preferred. But watch movies - the most it. Do not forget about the lack of sound insulation.
  
  

Microphone

The microphone captures everything around, including the sounds outside the window. So partial background noise is still present. I don’t know if a windscreen is installed inside the microphone, but even with close presentation to my mouth, I didn’t observe overloads. It is likely that the receiver hole is very small, and in order to create strong interference it is necessary to blow it well into it, which, of course, no one will do. In general, the microphone transmits the voice well and quite naturally, keeping its character, but slightly changing the color. No mechanization. Even at the close location of the microphone, some whistling and hopping sounds stand out against the general background, but this is also uncritical. In general, a good microphone for voice recording, but for more it is not enough. And from him this is not required.

Software: virtual surround sound

Briefly about the software: equalizer, equalizer presets, virtual 7.1 surround sound mode, microphone display. All in one window, there is no Russian language.

Two things: the 7.1 mode will not work without the installed software, and the software will not work without connecting the headset via USB.

The mode of virtual 7.1 sound works quite well, but in games the sensation of range is lost. That is, what is happening far away, I hear quite well, but at the same time what is happening close up, I hear exactly the same and at about the same volume. Therefore, in situations where it is necessary to understand and assess the distance to the enemy, the regime does not work well. But the overall sound picture becomes more spatial. In music - overload and slotting. Everything is as usual here - there is no good virtual sound when listening to music.

As a good effect in games, it can and will do, but for the rest it is no good. Good stereo, for the umpteenth time, better than any virtual modes. With open cups, the effect of the surrounding space is even better. But, again, all this is at the expense of correct positioning. So the mode is suitable for casual games or movies, in other cases it is better not to use it.



But with the help of an equalizer, you can tweak those frequencies that are not enough in open cups, and slightly reduce those that stick out with closed cups. By default, there are three permanent equalizer settings; all other settings can be selected by the user and saved as a separate installation.



You can also adjust the sensitivity level of the microphone.
Very simple and visual software.

findings

Headset Plantronics RIG 500E was able to surprise. Ergonomics and overall quality of performance are here at a good level. The main distinctive feature is the ability to choose the acoustic design of headphones and ear cushions to your taste. But this does not pass without a trace: at once you get two pairs of headphones at once (the most expensive part of the headphones is the speakers), and therefore you will have to put up with not the highest sound quality.

In general, the headset shows itself very well in games and movies, but not in the best way it is suitable for listening to music. In general, this is understandable, because the headset has a purely game-oriented. Therefore, if you do not care about the music, the headset will be an excellent versatile option for every day. And on the road, and at home.

The price of the headset at the time of writing this review is about 8,000 rubles.

pros

• Ergonomics
• Weight
• Easy fit
• Modular construction
• Variability of use
• Sound and positioning in games
• Microphone implementation and voice transmission

Minuses

• Poor insulation
• Microphone effect
• Sound in music

Features

• Small cup size
• The thin wires of the headphones themselves