Simply as most gaming headsets are available in just a few completely different variations, HyperX’s Cloud III headset wasn’t going to be the tip of the story. Enter the HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi. This mannequin comes with a tidy uptick in value from the $99 of the wired mannequin to $169 for the privilege of residing free from cables. That’s a large soar, however comes with a helpful function for what was already an ideal headset. Let’s see the way it stacks up.
HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi – Design and Options
The HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi is a simple, untethered headset. It makes use of a USB-C transmitter to connect with gaming PCs or consoles, although not Xbox, and there’s no wi-fi base station or fancy, low-profile dongle. Past coming from a product line with some severe heritage, this headset’s massive declare to fame is its monstrous battery life, rated at an astounding 120 hours. That’s a bit shy of the 300 hours HyperX boasted on the Cloud Alpha Wi-fihowever nonetheless no slouch when a flagship gaming headset just like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi affords simply 22 hours on a cost (albeit with ANC lively).
Should you’ve seen the HyperX Cloud III headset already, you then’ve nearly seen the HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi. The 2 headsets are externally an identical with one exception: the place the wired headset’s cable attaches, there’s as an alternative an influence button.
This additionally means the HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi is constant the design language the model set a number of product generations in the past. The headset options easy, curving cans with steel backings held on giant, Y-shaped yokes fabricated from sturdy aluminum. The yokes prolong from a easy headband that has no gamer ostentation, even omitting HyperX’s two-color stitching. As an alternative, the scarf, just like the plush ear cups, is roofed in a delicate fake leather-based. The scarf and ear cushions are additionally padded nicely. So simple as it appears, the headset is rugged and doesn’t groan when bent or squeezed. That is one I wouldn’t fear an excessive amount of about stuffing right into a bag.
The clamping pressure of the headset isn’t substantial, however retains the cans in place nicely sufficient and threads the needle between too free a match and high-pressure discomfort. Even after many hours of wear and tear, I’m not rubbing at sore spots on my head or round my ears.
HyperX has actually pulled off a feat right here, delivering large battery life whereas retaining the headset gentle sufficient to stay comfy. In spite of everything, anybody might have given a headset a thousand hours of runtime by strapping a automotive battery to it, however then it’d be unwearable.
The headset’s microphone is a removable, boom-style mic that’s simple to misplace, not like flip-to-mute mics or the even-better retractable mics. On the plus aspect, it has wonderful flexibility and holds its place nicely, making it simple to get located in an optimum spot. It has an built-in filter – no low cost foam on the finish – and features a pink mute indicator LED toggled by the mute button on the left earcup. The proper earcup features a quantity dial that communicates with the linked system to regulate quantity, so that you don’t find yourself having separate headset and system volumes.
Handily, the headset has clear voice prompts, letting you plainly know when the headset is linked, disconnected, and the way a lot battery is left (tapping the facility button has the headset inform you battery proportion). That’s lots higher than the abstruse beep and bips quite a lot of headsets go for.
HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi – Software program
The HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi helps some gentle configuration with the Ngenuity software program for Home windows. This does sadly imply the DTS Headphone:X Spatial Audio enhancements for the headset are actually solely out there for Home windows customers. After all, PS5 avid gamers will get Tempest 3D. The software program allows microphone monitoring on the headset – one thing that truly labored for this wi-fi mannequin regardless of failing on the wired mannequin. It additionally comes with just a few equalizer presets and the choice to create your individual 10-band EQ settings.
HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi – Gaming and Efficiency
The HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi headset gained’t depart you wanting for quantity. The 53mm drivers blast out sound. At about 50% quantity, I can sense the listening to harm in my future. They comfortably block out exterior sound at decrease volumes whereas offering ample audio.
The sound is a bit bass heavy, and that bass could be considerably muddy. Bass strains in music don’t sound as clear as they could on higher headphones, however a few of the impression continues to be there. Mids and treble notes come via nicely, although they don’t ring out with the angelic voices I’ve caught from different headsets just like the Audeze Maxwell. Nonetheless, the standard has been ok for me to wiggle alongside to my favourite tunes. The soundstage is a bit tight, although, so busier tracks like these on Of Montreal’s False Priest album, which I take advantage of as a baseline for all of my headphone testing, can get a bit claustrophobic and fail to let every instrument actually stand out. That made the low drums in Coquet Coquette fall flat, particularly since they have been taking part in within the already muddy bass vary.
Now, that’s with the digital encompass sound disabled. For music, I discovered it additional muddied the sound and made the treble really feel prefer it was coming via a wall earlier than reaching my ears. Digital encompass performed significantly better in video games.
Within the chaotic fray of Battlefield 2042 – a sport that I nonetheless haven’t absolutely tailored to the soundscape of – I used to be in a position to get sharp sufficient positional audio that may alert me to flanking enemies. In a single match, absolutely conscious one other enemy was working their manner towards me from behind, I used to be in a position to hold educated on an entryway that enemies have been pouring out of till the final second after which nonetheless bought the drop on that flanker. Getting helpful positional cues from headphones is an important capacity in video games the place you possibly can’t at all times depend on your sight. Listening to which course an enemy is transferring simply over a barrier helps with pre-aiming and might flip a gunfight into simple pickings.
I’m not listening for the precision of bass strains in video games. So in a firefight, the growth of the explosions throughout me isn’t actually slowed down by the muddiness that affected music.
The virtualized encompass sound has some undesired habits. I encountered it in Overwatch 2 on the wired mannequin, and bumped into it once more in Battlefield 2042 on this wi-fi mannequin. Generally, it simply can’t determine tips on how to course of the sign proper, and it finally ends up spitting out a digitized mess that seems like the sport is simply glitching out. It’s at all times transient, nevertheless it’s arduous to overlook. Thankfully, positional cues are readily obvious even with out the DTS processing turned on.
Thankfully, it hasn’t been the transmitter inflicting bother. The headset doesn’t wrestle to remain linked even in an surroundings crowded with wi-fi alerts. The compact dongle even continued to transmit about in addition to any I’ve examined, passing via some thick plaster wall and reaching me some 30 ft away from my pc.
The HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi’s microphone could be the identical one discovered on the wired model, however its efficiency shouldn’t be fairly an identical. Wi-fi headsets have quite a lot of knowledge to transmit, and the incoming sign is commonly taking part in second fiddle to the outgoing sign. This leaves the voice recording from the wi-fi headset diminished in comparison with the wired headset. It’s practically pretty much as good, however there are some delicate compression artifacts and there’s rather less fullness to my voice
