A good headset can make a huge difference to your game playing experience, but there are so many of them out there it’s hard to determine which of the countless convoluted product names out there are the ones to look out for.
Nacon has thrown another option into the ring with the RIG R5 Spear Max HD, and while that may just seem like (and is) a bunch of random words joined together, the product they’re attached to is certainly worth your attention.
The RIG R5 Spear Max HD is an exclusively wired headset – there’s no Bluetooth connectivity here, meaning you have to connect it via its supplied 3.5mm audio cable (the one used for most PC, laptop and controller headphone ports), its larger ¼” adaptor, or via USB – more on that last one in a bit.
While the lack of wireless connectivity may be disappointing for those who prefer it, it does bring with it the obvious bonus that because this isn’t a powered headset there’s no battery life to speak of – pop it into the headphone port of your PC, Xbox controller, DualSense, Switch 2 Pro Controller or Switch 2 itself and you can use it endlessly without ever having to charge it. I’m already looking forward to using it on my upcoming flight to Japan for this reason.
At $149.99 this isn’t a cheap headset, but one of the reasons for the price is the use ofGrapheneQ drivers by ORA. At the risk of getting too nerdy, this means the membrane inside each headphone is made of an extremely thin layer of graphene, which is durable and light enough to result in more faithful sound reproduction with low distortion (less than 0.3%, according to Nacon).
That’s basically a jargon-heavy way of saying the sound quality in this headset is extremely impressive, with extremely crisp and clear audio – and that’s before you take the USB-C adapter into account.
This USB-C dongle, which is included with every RIG R5 Spear Max HD, is a DAC (Digital to Analogue Convertor), which uses extra power to convert digital audio from a PC into analogue audio for a wired headset in as high quality as possible.
The result of this is that, by plugging your headset into the USB-C DAC instead of directly into your PC, you can get crystal clear sound of up to 32-bit and 384KHz audio resolution.
What this means in layman’s terms is you can load up your Spotify or Apple Music apps on PC and (as long as you’ve changed your settings accordingly) play ridiculously clear lossless music. I tried it with some of my favourite albums and Chvrches has never sounded so good.
The DAC also adds support for Dolby Atmos, meaning if you can find games or video services that support it through your PC you can also make use of this too.
One final bonus provided by the DAC is the ability to use the headset with your phone if it doesn’t have a headphone port (such as a modern iPhone with a USB-C port). Plug in the DAC, plug in the headset and as long as you don’t mind wired headphones – maybe you’re on a long train trip or flight – the quality will be exceptional. The DAC also includes its own USB-C port so you can continue to access the USB connection (to charge your phone, for example).
One of the other major selling points of the RIG R5 Spear Max HD is Nacon’s Snap+Lock functionality. The headphones are essentially modular, meaning the logo plates on the headphones, the ear cushions and the audio cable are attached with a very strong magnet.
You can buy replacement logos or ear cushions on the Nacon website, and can easily replace them by simply pulling off the existing ones and snapping the new ones on. Nacon says new attachments will be released in the future, meaning in theory they should be more customisable over time.
Out of the box the Snap+Lock system already allows for some customisation. The included microphone is attached to a module at the bottom of the earpiece, meaning you can take it off and attach it to the opposite ear should you prefer. Or, if you don’t want to use the microphone at all you can detach it and replace it with a separate module which just has a 3.5mm stereo cable and no mic at all.
Having tested the mic a little online, the quality is decent if not mind-blowing. While other players should never have any problem hearing what you’re saying, the fact it’s a wired headset with no power source means there’s no processing such as noise cancellation technology, meaning things like background noise will also be picked up.
That goes for the audio on your end too, incidentally. Active noise cancelling technology – the sort of thing you’d get in Apple AirPods or their equivalent – requires either battery or USB power to work, so because the RIG R5 Spear Max HD solely uses the 3.5mm port for audio there’s no noise cancelling tech at all.
That said, the ear cushions are extremely thick and do a pretty solid job of blocking out a solid amount of external noise anyway, meaning unless you play your games in a nightclub you should generally be okay. When I tested the headset on my PC, I certainly couldn’t hear the mindless YouTube garbage my daughter was watching on the TV behind me when things were going on in my game, but I certainly could during quiet moments.
There’s a fair amount of sound leakage too, despite the ear cushions, so if you have a penchant for Rob Zombie and your partner is foolish enough to not share the same tastes, they’re going to be able to easily tell when you’re blasting out some Hellbilly Deluxe on Spotify.
The net result here is a headset that comes at a price ($149.99 to be exact) but delivers some useful features to make up for its drawbacks. Those drawbacks are clear – the lack of wireless connectivity may be a dealbreaker for some, and if the microphone isn’t to your tastes the modular nature of the headset means you’ll either need to use a separate USB mic or hope Nacon releases a better Snap+Lock one in the future.
The lack of physical audio controls on anything other than the microphone attachment is also annoying. I prefer to use the module that doesn’t have the microphone, which just includes the 3.5mm cable, but the fact the headphones have no volume controls at all means I’m constantly having to use my PC to adjust the sound. If Nacon’s reading this, a Snap+Lock 3.5mm module with no headset but a volume slider is currently what I have dreams about.
If you can put up with the price, the mic quality and the lack of active noise cancelling, everything else about the RIG R5 Spear Max HD is a treat. Sound quality is absolutely exceptional (especially when plugged into the USB-C DAC), and the headset is lightweight and comfortable enough that I’ve been using it during entire work days without issue.
If you’re looking for a reliable headset that’s versatile enough to easily swap between PC, console and mobile, and money’s no object, this should be near the top of your list.
Reviews#RIG #Spear #Max #review #exceptional #wired #headset #price1777195632
