RIG 900 Max HX Review

Manufacturer: Nacon
Where to Buy: Nacon
RRP: $249.99

As I mentioned in my RIG 600 Pro HX review, I’ve been fortunate to check out some great headphones over the years. I’ve had my favourites, but both the 600 and 900 have risen to the top of that pile – with the 900 Max easily topping the list. It’s pricey, but not overly so, and for what we get the extra cost more is more than justified.

I’ll kick this review off with the main part, the sound quality, and holy shit is it good. Not only does it go super loud, but the clarity is somehow even better to my ears than the 600 Pro HX. Everything from Starfield to Fortnite (and a couple of redacted titles) have sounded utterly incredible. The boom of a grenade going off, or subtle whispers of a companion, or a distant Rick Astley emote were all clear, impactful, and really surrounded us thanks to included Dolby Atmos support.

There is a custom app for the 900 Max, allowing us to adjust the fine details of the audio in real time with the headset Bluetooth-connected to our phone. It’s the same basic set up as the 600 Pro app, with Easy and Advanced modes to fine tune the sound, but that was already a fantastic addition so seeing it replicated here is great news.

Side Note: There is a dedicated Dolby Companion app that allows us to use a camera on our mobile to set up custom audio profiles that works in conjunction with this headset. However, at time of review this is a US-only feature (the headset is not yet available in the UK) so we’ve been unable to test this function. The app mentioned above does a great job as it is though, so this isn’t too big of a deal.

Bluetooth support for audio playback is included, so we can use it to listen to music/podcasts, though not at the same time as when it is in Game mode sadly. We can take phone calls without having to manually switch modes, but it would have been awesome to pop on a podcast at the same time as hearing the game audio in the background.

Connection to the console is wireless, and we have two options for the set up. We can either plug the USB-A receiver directly into the console (this works not just on Xbox, but PS5/Switch/PC too), or we can slot it into the included charging stand, and plug that into the console instead. Having this stand as a part of the package is frankly brilliant, and meant I could set it up alongside my Halo Infinite Elite controller to ensure everything is charged, all of the time. Not that it needs constant charging, with a reported 60 hour battery life, but it’s nice to have it all the same. Just pop it on the grooves, the little light will indicate it’s charging, and we’re good to go.

Mic quality is just as good as the 600 Pro, with voice coming across clearly. The same app will let us again adjust our voice monitoring and gain, and flipping it up will mute the mic too. It sadly doesn’t sit as nicely as the 600 Pro’s recessed slotting, but it keeps out of the way more than well enough. We can adjust the balance between game and chat audio with a press of a button on the back, then using the volume rocker to set the levels. It’s as easy as could be really.

My only real issue with the 600 Pro was that it wasn’t quite big enough for my head over long play sessions, but the 900 Max fixes that perfectly. We still have the same 3 rigid spots to adjust the length rather than an adjustable headband, but here, there’s a soft, flexible, stretchy band that rests an inch or so under the rigid head band. This allows that extra bit of room to plonk it on my big head with nothing but comfort, even after several hours of playing. The ear cups are again soft but breathable, and do a great job of keeping the noises that are supposed to be in, in, and outside noise, out. Even on a lower volume I’d had to be poked on the shoulder a few times this past week or so.

I should also note the range on the headphones is crazy – my last wireless headset would crap out if I went in the next room, but with these I took the bins out, wandered into the kitchen, and while we don’t have a massive house by any means, it’s never once cut out. I could even still hear Xpod Tavern hosts Ian and Ross discussing Payday 3 tactics even while upstairs in the toilet about as far away from the console as I could be… Suffice to say, your gaming space is very unlikely to be so big as to lack the range these headphones will cover!

Conclusion

Overall, the Rig 900 Max HX headphones are the best pair I’ve yet to test at the Tavern. Sound quality is excellent, comfort is top notch, and having the option of both Bluetooth and wireless makes the fit for gaming or just listening to music or podcasts. It’s a shame we can’t do both at the same time, but otherwise there’s nothing but praise coming from me for these headphones. Bloody brilliant.

Hardware provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.