HyperX Cloud Flight S Wireless Gaming Headset Review
By: Alex Rowe
Tags: Gaming, Music, Gadgets, Headphones, Technology

GENERAL OVERVIEW

The HyperX Cloud Flight S is a closed-back, wireless gaming headset that retails for $159. You can find its official product page here. It only connects by syncing to its wireless USB dongle, and it’s compatible with PC, PS4, or a docked Nintendo Switch.

To get full surround sound input support, you’ll need to use them with a Windows 10 PC, and you’ll probably also want to install the new version of HyperX Ngenuity from the Windows 10 Store. That software allows you to customize the four control buttons on the left ear cup, and control all the settings without touching the headset.

HyperX includes a detachable microphone and a USB charging cable in the box. Although the cable charges the headset adequately, wireless charging is one of my favorite new features here, and I’d personally recommend taking advantage of it if you’re spending the ~$20 price premium on this headset over the standard Flight.

If you already own a wireless charger, odds are high that it supports Qi, the open charging standard that’s used by iPhones and many Android products. The Cloud Flight S should charge on any wireless pad that supports this standard, or if you feel like buying a HyperX-branded one, they offer the Chargeplay Base for $59 (official page). The base offers two charging pads with red lights, and a USB-C power adapter.

Battery life is great, with a rating of up to 30 hours per charge thanks to the lack of lighting in the headset. This number seems about right to me, I got 28 hours on a full charge at fifty percent volume, and with some mic usage.

The exposed cables of the older models are now hidden, and the sides of the cups are made of a thick rubber. In spite of that, these four buttons are easy to find and press. Photo taken by Alex Rowe.

SOUND QUALITY

Not much has changed with the Flight’s sound over its different iterations. I recently reviewed the Xbox-focused CloudX Flight, and the sound in this new S model is quite similar.

That’s a good thing.

The Flight has a balanced sound profile with a little fun right where it counts. The bass is nice and full of punch. The mids are accurate without sounding too veiled or sharp. And the treble is clean and free of fatiguing peaks or sibilance. It’s a wonderful sound profile for games, movies, or music. Casual listeners and audiophiles will both likely be pleased with the quality on offer.

If you’re a fan of HyperX’s impressive bass and you want a wireless headset, I enjoyed the low end response on this new S model a touch more than on the CloudX Flight I reviewed recently. That’s probably thanks to the new thicker ear pads, which I’ll talk more about below.

As far as the virtual surround goes, it’s only fully supported on PC, where the Flight S shows up in Windows 10 as a true 7.1 device as long as you configure it that way in your sound control panel. The surround mode has great virtual speaker placement, though turning it on also engages some additional EQ that brings more punch to the bass, extra bite to the treble, and more volume overall.

This EQ profile isn’t as natural as the default stereo sound of the headset, and there’s no way to turn it off even in HyperX’s new Ngenuity software. I found myself lowering the volume by several notches with the virtual surround turned on due to the more-intense treble.