This new gaming headset is the best I've ever used - here's why

There are five key things that every gaming headset needs: to be comfortable, durable, have strong audio quality, noise cancelling and a strong microphone.

It needs to deliver quality and detail you wouldn't get from a monitor or other headsets to give you a competitive edge. Having adjustable or customisable components is a plus too.

Ahead of its release, I've been hands-on with the NACON RIG R5 Spear Pro, playing a number of different games (primarily first-person shooters) and thoroughly testing out the microphone.

And I have to say, it's the best gaming headset I've used.

The NACON RIG R5 Spear Pro headset / Jake Brigstock, indy100

Although it's officially licensed by Sony, it's a headset that can be used with any hardware that has a 3.5mm connection. To note, the headset is not wireless.

NACON says the headset is studio quality and has been custom-tuned for first-person shooters, getting rid of pretty much all audio distortion and producing clear output.

I can confirm it sounds brilliant and it really did give me an edge in this genre of games after setting up my own personalised 3D audio profile on my base PS5.

I could really hear key details and things like footsteps and even when enemies were reloading which are amplified but not overpowering any other sounds that are occurring at the same time too. It really helped me gain an advantage when hearing these prompts clearly.

The balance of it felt perfect for what I wanted across different settings and each different sound felt like it was on a separate layer instead of different tracks merging together.

The microphone is claimed to be broadcast quality too and as someone that regularly produces video and audio content for indy100, I can attest to that.

I used the headset professionally on a podcast I'm appearing on that's coming out soon and a YouTube video I'm working on and the microphone quality is simply superb. Not only will I be using it for gaming but also for professional purposes too.

When gaming, it also has a flip-to-mute design for when I'm not using it and it mutes at 45 degrees instead of all the way up, which is a nice quality-of-life improvement to other headsets out there.

Box for the NACON RIG R5 Spear Pro / Jake Brigstock, indy100

Crucially, the headset feels comfortable when wearing it for long periods. I'm someone that wears glasses all the time and I did not feel any discomfort while wearing this headset playing games or working on projects.

Finding a comfortable headset while wearing glasses can be really challenging and I've been through a fair few where I struggle to use them for more than an hour or so but with the R5 Spear Pro, I can use it for hours on end.

Also, the headset has a 'SNAP+LOCK' system where different parts of it can be customised, such as ear cushions and 'Mod-Plates'.

NACON RIG R5 Spear Pro goes on sale in Europe on 10 October online at £69.99 / €79.99 and in the US, the headset will launch exclusively at Best Buy on 1 November at $69.99.

Additional models, including a dedicated PC version, will release over the coming months.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• There's a brand new phone controller out - and I'm completely obsessed
• This pro Xbox and PC controller is making me dread using standard ones again

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