Qi wireless charging is a huge convenience factor on a device, especially if no other device has it! The HyperX Cloud Flight S is the first wireless headset on the market to include Qi charging by integrating a single Qi charging coil on the front side of the left earcup.
The Cloud Flight S earcup swivel hinges integrate a locking mechanism that prevents the earcups from naturally rotating so, the Cloud Flight S headset can stand securely upright while charging on a wireless charger coaster.
The Cloud Flight S will work with any Qi-certified wireless charger, although if you own other wireless charging peripherals, it's worth getting the ChargePlay Base because it can accommodate two devices for simultaneous wireless charging.
The Cloud Flight S earpad padding is made of 2.5cm thick memory foam, covered with breathable leatherette.
The inner cup of the earpads measures 6.5cm tall by 4.5cm wide and have a 1.7cm depth with thin foam padding protecting the 50mm drivers to prevent them from rubbing against the ears.
The headband padding is also covered with the same soft leatherette material, although the foam padding is not as thick as the earpads. A large HyperX logo is embossed on the top of the headband.
The Cloud Flight S headband frame, earcup housing and yoke are made of hard plastic, while the headband sliders are made of steel.
The HyperX Cloud Flight S headset sits comfortably well without causing hot spot on the ears and head, thanks to medium clamping force and being light, weighing just 320 grams with the microphone (310 grams without the mic).
The Cloud Flight S earcups can be rotated 90 degrees to transport them around your neck so, the earpads can rest comfortably on your chest.
Aside from wireless charging support, the HyperX Cloud Flight S supports 2.4GHz wireless audio via an included USB dongle, which integrates an led power indicator and weighs 8 grams.
Wireless connectivity is stable and long reaching up to 20 meters, provided that the dongle is not inserted on a rear USB port of a computer. There is no bluetooth support; hence you cannot use the Cloud Flight S for mobile gaming on a smartphone.
Battery life in wireless mode is up to 30 hours at 50% volume, thanks to a large built-in 1500 mAh Li-ion battery. Charging time via wire takes 4 hours and 8 hours to fully charge via wireless charging. There is no fast wireless charging support so, the HyperX Cloud Flight S headset recharges at standard 5W.
As far as set up, the HyperX Cloud Flight S headset is plug-and-play so, you can use it with Windows computers, iMacs and some games consoles such as the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Xbox is not supported since the Cloud Flight S doesn't integrate a headphone jack.
While there is nothing you have to install manually, like with all headsets, you will have to manually set the sound and microphone with the actual machine. When using a computer, you will see two instances of HyperX Cloud Flight S, one for the in-chat microphone and the other one for game sound. Set "default communication device" to "HyperX Cloud Flight S Chat" and "default device" to HyperX Cloud Flight S Game.
There are two leds built-in to the HyperX Cloud Flight S. One is located on on the left earcup, next to the power button and it's designed to feedback bluetooth pairing and battery life. When battery is between 90% and 100%, the led lights solid green. When battery is between 15% and 90% the green led will blink green. When battery is below 15%, the green led turns blinking red.
There are a total of two physical buttons on the Cloud Flight S earcups for controlling power and the 7.1 surround sound. Both buttons are made of hard plastic. The power button makes a subtle tapping sound when pressed; while the surround sound button doesn't make an audible sound at all.
The second status led on the headset is located on the removable boom microphone and, it is designed to feedback the status of the microphone (mute/unmute). The boom arm measures 13cm long and it's made of flexible, shape-memory rubber.
The shell housing the microphone capsule is made of hard plastic and features perforated grills on both sides. The mic capsule sounds very good, thanks to its bi-directional pick-up pattern and noise-cancellation. The mic doesn't have a foam windshield cover though, which helps to reduce plosives.
The mute/unmute functionality is enabled via the touch control panel located on the front of the right earcup, which contains four small (touch sensitive) circular dimples. The side panels of the earcups have a soft rubber finish while the body of the earcups has a matte finish.
The bottom dimple mutes/un-mutes the microphone, while the top dimple turns on and off the mic monitoring/sidetone for hearing yourself in the headset in real-time. The left and right dimples activate the game/chat balance function.
The HyperX Cloud Flight S game/chat balance function, which operates independently from the overall headset audio volume, lets you adjust the in-game volume and the voice chat volume without having to do it via the software. You can adjust to equal volume (50% game/50% chat), maxed out game volume (100% game/0% chat) and maxed out chat volume (0% game/ 100% chat).
When reaching max game or chat volume, the headset will beep a couple of times. When chat and game volume are at 50% each, the headset makes a tone to let you know, which is very convenient mid-game.
You can also adjust game and chat volume via the HyperX Ngenuity software, which is useful to download for customizing/remapping the touch control buttons on the side earcup to whatever function you want like play/pause, volume control, etc.
The Ngenuity software is only supported by Windows 10 operating system (version 17134.0 or higher) and it's still in Beta stage, which is why it may feel a little clunky or buggy.
The volume wheel on the HyperX Cloud Flight S headset is located beneath the right earcup. The volume wheel provides a smooth rotation without any steps and integrates an infinite rotating design so, it will spin indefinitely as you turn it either way. When max volume is reached you will hear an audible beep.
If you’re using a voice chat software like Discord or TeamSpeak, you will have to balance the audio by using the system volume mixer. The neat thing about using Discord though, it's that it features individual volume options per person so, with team-based games you can adjust the voice audio of each member of your team.
The HyperX Cloud Flight S game/chat balance function is not supported when using the headset with the Playstation 4 games console.
Therefore, if you want to balance game and chat audio for the PS4, you will have to do it by going to the audio devices menu, select HyperX Cloud Flight S headset for input and output and All Audio for output to enable both the game and chat audio volume bars.
Being a closed back headset, the HyperX Cloud Flight S uses virtual surround sound to recreate the natural 3-dimensional effect you get with open-back headphones. Some headphones achieve surround sound virtually via software tricks like head-related transfer function. Other headphones use "true" surround sound by integrating multiple speaker drivers to pinpoint positional accuracy.
Overall, most virtual surround sound headsets change the equalization of sound and the Cloud Flight S is no different. The virtual 7.1 surround sound feature on the HyperX Cloud Flight S boosts the volume, making the treble more pronounced while softening the bass. When virtual 7.1 surround is turned off, the volume decreases, softening the treble and making the bass deeper.
The HyperX Cloud Flight S does output the 7.1 surround sound as a 2-channel stereo signal, which not all surround sound headphones do. This means, when you turn off 7.1 virtual surround from the HyperX Cloud Flight S you still get proper stereo audio in game without losing bass and treble.
Other accessories included with the HyperX Gaming Cloud Flight S headset include a HyperX branded, one meter long USB charging cable (USB-A to micro USB). Check out the review of the Pulsefire Raid gaming mouse, Cloud Stinger Core Wireless headset and the new Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset.