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HyperX is a household name when it comes to gaming audio peripherals that offer decent price to performance. HyperX has a headset offering in every market and today we will be looking at their flagship wireless model: the Cloud Flight S.
When first hearing about the updated HyperX Cloud Flight wireless headset, I assumed it was the same exact model with Qi wireless charging and surround sound thrown in but that doesn’t seem to be the case. HyperX has addressed a few design issues that were pointed out while also adding more premium features to this very desirable looking pair.
Of course, additional features come with an extra cost but with a promising design and sound profile, these could potentially be one of the better wireless gaming headsets out there.
Let’s take a closer look.
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Pros
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Cons
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The packaging was all pretty straight forward from HyperX as usual, with the sleeved box presenting the product nicely and more importantly, undamaged. Setup was pretty straight forward, you plug that dongle in and you are ready to go. There was some charge with these already but I always like to get the wireless models to full charge before testing.
Inside the box, we see:
| Headphone Frequency Response | 10 – 20000 Hz |
| Microphone Frequency Response | 50 – 18,000Hz |
| Wireless | Wireless |
| Battery Life | 30 Hours |
| Pick-up Pattern | Bidirectional |
| Weight | 310g |
| Cable Length | 1m |
The design is almost indistinguishable from the original Cloud Flight headset, you no longer see the vibrant red cable between the headband and earcups as it appears to be housed in the plastic frame.
This wireless pair looks fantastic, with the same subtle style we loved about the original model, making these a much more versatile pair than your traditional gaming headsets. They have done away with the LED lighting on the HyperX logo, which most Cloud Flight owners turned off, preserving battery life.
These are much sleeker than the HyperX headsets I’m used to using, usually quite bulky and garish. These have lost a lot of that bulk, with just the earcups being quite chunky but in an aesthetically pleasing way. Despite losing this bulky mass, they still offer that same level of comfort HyperX is well known for, and if anything, they have improved it from the original Cloud Flights.
HyperX headsets always seem to have a great build quality that is reliable and robust. Even their budget offering, the Cloud Stingers, are sturdy for the price, so it comes of no surprise to see a well-made product here.
The build is entirely plastic, aside from the steel sliders inside the headband. The plastic feels heavy duty and while it doesn’t flex as much as some other brands, there is enough give in these to prevent any accidental breaking. The plastic is a matte black and looks great, I mean it is simplistic, but that is something I usually tend to favor. The design is a bit more generic than the Arctis 7’s but much more low-key than something like the Corsair Virtuosos.
The earcups are a durable leatherette but this could be a potential weak point for the future. I haven’t had these long enough to test the longevity of the earcup material but I have owned enough products that featured this and they all began to flake at one stage or another.
The included boom mic is detachable and is keyed, so it can only go in one way. The microphone cable is very sturdy, flexible plastic that can be easily molded to get that perfect position. The end is hard plastic like the rest of the headset, protecting the business end while you are transporting or in case you drop it.
The hardware controls with the HyperX Cloud Flight S are some of the most intuitive I’ve seen, you’ve got everything you need at your fingertips. On the right earcup, there is your classic volume scroll wheel. The wheel is easy to find and has prominent notches to help aid the process. It is an infinite wheel and when you reach max volume, there is an audible triple beep.
Over to the left earcup and that is where we see the majority of functionality with the headset. Beneath the status LED sits the power button, which is concave so you can tell it apart from the 7.1 button and is relatively easy to press. You need to press and hold to get this turned on, even when the headset has gone to sleep. I would have preferred the headset to bounce back to life when audio is played but it isn’t something that would stop me buying this. Beneath the power sits the slightly convex 7.1 surround sound button, the micro-USB charging port, and a spot for the microphone. The original Cloud Flight headset had the mic mute button the earcup itself and HyperX have run with this design while taking it a bit further. This earcup is now host to four programmable buttons; mute, mic monitoring, and then the left and right buttons to control game/chat audio balance.
The comfort from the HyperX Cloud flight S gaming headset is incredibly good and surpasses the original model too. This is down to the improved plush cushions but also the low weight. With the mic attached, these weigh in at a mere 320 grams and you can barely notice them on your head.
The clamping force feels middle of the road, near perfect, keeping these firmly on your head without being uncomfortable overtime. With the thick cushions and accommodating clamp force, gamers who wear glasses can enjoy these too.
The headband cushioning is rather thin, which is a shame but I never really felt the plastic while wearing these and the headband feels like it distributes the weight of the earcups in a balanced manner.
The earcups are lovely and are now much thicker than the original Cloud Flight headsets. While I haven’t had these long enough, there is a lot of hype about the durability of the plush memory foam cushions. I always favor fabric weave on the earcups, as it generally feels softer and is a more breathable fabric but the leatherette is soft to the touch and breathable enough for comfort. I tested these out a few times for multiple hours at a time and they never made my ears sweat or became uncomfortable, so big tick for comfort. The earcups are a nice oval shape, leaving plenty of room for my ears to sit inside comfortably, with no chance of touching the inner wall. HyperX has added soft padding to the driver wall just in case, for those with large ears.
The Cloud Flight S headset comes with sufficient adjustment options to keep these comfy regardless of your head shape or size. The earcups have a tilt to them, helping these get a nice natural seal on your head and making the overall fit feel superb. The earcups feature the same 90-degree rotation we saw with the originals so you can sit these nicely on your shoulders. Resting on my shoulders, I could move my head around freely without feeling strangled as I did with the SteelSeries Arctis 7’s. The yolks have small metallic clasps that click into place when rotating the earcups back into their natural position, giving you a tactile feel and stopping any unwanted rotations.
The way HyperX has nailed comfort in such a casual manner is astonishing, these are up there with the best.
This upgraded version of the Cloud Flight headset performed very well across the board. There is no noticeable difference from the original model in terms of performance, with gaming being an absolute joy throughout testing.
The treble accuracy was a bit muddy and seemed average at best, with vocals in music being a bit lost behind the bass at times and generally lacking detail. The treble was my only gripe with the sound performance though, as the mids and bass accuracy sounded spot on. These were punchy, without drowning out too much.
As mentioned, the sound performance in-game was a delight and if I’m honest, quite surprising. I know these are a premium gaming headset but I didn’t expect the in-game audio to shine as much as it did.
While playing FPS titles like Squad, the bass came into its own, fully immersing me amidst the mortar fire, explosions, and gun crackle. What was most impressive was the fact I could still pinpoint where I was being shot form, even during the most chaotic of battles. Squad is a military sim, so accuracy is taken seriously and the in-game audio effects are quite impressive. The HyperX Cloud Flight S did the game justice and offered an excellent level of quality at all times.
When first setting these up to play CS:GO I needed to increase my in-game audio, these sound a little quieter than some of the competition. This wasn’t an issue and these worked a charm in competitive CS too. The stereo imaging is exceptional, giving me full spatial awareness and making it easier to pinpoint enemy movement.
The chat and game audio controls came in handy when moving to CS:GO and were much easier to use than the one on the Astro A50s. It’s a feature I rarely need to use but the functionality of these has been superb, HyperX has kept things simple and genuinely enhanced my gaming experience.
Overall, these are superb for gaming, and while they feature that subtle design for your daily commute, the audio quality for music wasn’t the best. Despite this, these are the standout option amongst the competition. The similarly priced Arctis 7’s maybe slightly better for music but I’d have to say the Cloud Flights beat them for gaming. The Sennheiser GSP 370s come in at the same price and feature 100 hours of battery life, yet they have teething issues with Windows 10 that can frustrate people. The Corsair Virtuosos also come in around this price point, with some of the best build quality we have seen, yet they are uncomfortable and have poor audio performance. So with all this in mind, I have to say hats off to HyperX here.
Like most HyperX headsets, the Cloud Flight S comes with a detachable boom mic, making these a very versatile pair of headphones. The noise-canceling mic has a bi-directional polar pattern and does a stellar job at handling the noisiest of environments.
The mic did a superb job of removing the background noise from my TV, noisy family members, and the clickity clacking mechanical keyboard too. While this will pick up those over the top sounding MX Blues, a quick play around in the Discord settings made this mic a pleasure for my teammate’s ears.
The mic is ok for a wireless pair, with a bit of compression going on but my voice was always the dominant thing my teammates could hear. The quality of the mic stayed at the same level even while moving around the flat, going in and out of different rooms, with no drops or interruptions.
The microphone isn’t on the same level as Corsairs Virtuoso wireless offering or the Arctis 7’s ClearCast mic but it’s solid and will enable you to make crystal clear calls.
Features play a major role with wireless gaming headsets and can often be the deal-breaker. HyperX is known for its trademark comfort but we have already covered that, so it’s time to go over those nice little extra touches we get from this product.
The main feature and difference between the Flight S and regular Flight headsets is the Qi wireless charging feature. This is quite a common technology and is becoming widely used across mobile devices, gaming mice, mousepads, and well anything that needs charging. I was unable to use this feature due to the lack of technology at home, oops! Regardless, this makes the headset truly wireless and the convenience of just dropping this onto the charging pad is so quick and simple, this headset is a breath of fresh air.
HyperX advertises 30+ hours of battery life with this headset but I managed to squeeze about 31 hours of continual usage. The headset took around three hours to fully charge and they come with an auto-off feature, helping save battery. I wasn’t a fan of having to press the on button to wake them up, I’d of much-preferred audio to do that but this is a minor issue.
HyperX comes to the table with my new favorite wireless gaming headset. The Cloud Flight S has all the features of the premium competition models and more. Unfortunately, the one weakness is HyperXs poor software support and lack of EQ, meaning you aren’t going to be able to tweak these. Luckily, these sound superb for gaming out the box for both immersive single-player and competitive online multiplayer.
These are really comfy, and while priced the same as the Corsair Virtuosos and Sennhisers GSP 370 wireless models, these are more of a competitor with the SteelSeries Arctis 7’s. Which you go for is going to be down to what you are looking to get from the product.
For a convenient gaming experience with great all-round audio performance, and superb comfort, the Arctis 7’s are probably the one for you. For those after a more casual looking pair that is not only excellent for gaming but as comfy as the rest, the feature-packed HyperX Cloud Flight S is the way to go, just remember there is no graphical EQ.
