I love reviewing hardware, because you know what you should expect, based on the devices intended purpose, but you never know how well it will achieve that aim. Plantronics have been making quality headset since the Moon landing and now they are taking wireless gaming audio to the next level, but is that a level you want to be at?

There is actually two parts to the headphones, the unit itself and then a small box, which is what plugs into your computer or other device and that is really it. The main headset has two parts to it though, the unit that contains the ear cups and all the buttons and a removable microphone, which now can be added in only one way, so no more mistakes there. The simplicity of the design is something I really enjoyed, as not only does it make things easy for all to use, it helps keep the attention on the sound you get from it, rather than the complexity of the wireless nature of the headset.

As this is a RIG series headset, you have some choices for customising it, however unlikely previous headsets, there is no band adjustment, instead you are limited to the same wonderful snap design on the cups. Each side has three slots, with you being able to pop a cup into one of the slots, this means you can have one side higher, if you need to and the entire headset won’t sit on your head in a lopsided manner. That is really if you have to do, in terms of set up, just find your preferred location for the cups, but with that done, you can connect to the PC. This is perhaps the one area I was most worried about going into the setup, I had no idea if I needed to install some sort of Plantronics software to get it to work properly, but turns out I had no need to worry, plugged in the adapter and then it worked, without issue, I did not even have to manually pair it.

With the adapter installed and the headset on, you can now start to mess around with the controls, all of which are on the rear of the left cup, the same side that the microphone connects to. The options are really straight forward, in the middle you have the power button, hold it down for a few seconds and then you will hear a nice voice tell you it has been powered on. You will also get a notice about the level of the battery, so if you are all set to play a long session and you hear battery low, you will know to charge it up some first. Above that button is a wheel that lets you balance the audio levels between game audio and chat audio, the wheel also has a raised portion on the already bumpy wheel, to help you feel where the level will be, without you needing to look at them. On the other side, below the power button is your volume wheel, now this has no such notch to tell you the level, instead it is a free spinning wheel, but when you hit the maximum level, the headset will beep at you.

On the underside of the left cup, is where you will find the mute button for your microphone, as well as the charge port, the only real downside to the charging is that it is not USB-C, though it still charges with plenty of speed. The only other port is where the microphone plugs in and as I said before, it has a very unique shape, so it can only fit one way, it still uses the same 3.5mm connection, it just now has a shaped case around it. With the mic connected, the arm only comes out a little ways, making it remain out of notice, though if you want to move it into view, the arm is flexible enough for you to do so. The microphone is sensitive enough that you don’t have to raise your voice, or shout, in order to be heard, though it is not too sensitive that it picks up your breathing or such. Finally, the padding on the ear cups and the headband is super soft and while they do retain some shape, if you have them pushed against something, they will return to normal pretty quickly, even better the cups have a nice amount of air flow, so your ears don’t get hot.

Of course, with any good set of headphones, you want to take the audio into account the most, regardless of how fancy something looks, and this perhaps where the 700HD shined the most for me. The audio levels were almost perfect in each game I tested, even when watching a movie, it just worked, with a nice simulated surround sound effect happening. Taking music into the mix, it was easy to just pick a random Spotify list and let the tunes play out, as the headphones were able to keep things balanced, without me having to do anything. I have tested other headphones, where if songs were quiet, they had issues with the levels and the 700HD did not have anything like that. Throwing on a song that is full of bass also proved to be quiet the success, thanks to the 40mm drivers in the cups, even songs that are known to test the limits of some speakers like Above and Beyond by Bassnectar, were clear without signs of distortion. In games, Borderlands 3 was perhaps the game I used them the most with and honestly, playing it out them felt hollow, as they were able to provide a sense of the world, with character voices becoming muffled, if I turned my character away from them.

The Plantronics RIG 700HD wireless gaming headset is, in short amazing, it has a battery life that is hard to beat, plus they are so comfortable, something others are not. Part of the tests I always love to do, is plug the headphones into other devices, just via USB, they did not work on Xbox One, though via the optional optical connection, it worked. The surprising part is that I just plugged the adapter into the Switch dock, and it worked, nothing changed in the settings, it just automatically worked. While the price might seem high, compared to other headsets, that are just not as comfortable, or easy to set up, it is value that is almost impossible to top.

Headset provided by Plantronics