Once upon a time, HyperX were known only for their SSDs and RAM, but over the last few years they have been gradually expending their repertoire to include more gear that gamers need. The first market they entered, and the one where they have the widest variety of products is their headsets. It’s no secret that I was a fan of the HyperX Cloud Stinger, their latest budget headset, but I had yet to look at the more premium headsets of their range. The HyperX Cloud Revolver S is HyperX’s latest top of the range headset and I went ears-on to put it through its paces and see just how it stacks up against the competition.

As soon as I took the Cloud Revolver S out of its box I was taken aback by just how light the headset was. They are noticeably lighter than the Audio-Technica M50X’s that normally adorn my head for hours a day and are hardly noticeable once your head. Despite being so light, their construction feels solid and long-lasting. The ear cups are built to swivel with your head, which the mechanisms moving smoothly and never catching, and the padded headband slides up and down to automatically fit itself to your head. Everything is flexible and moves easily when you need it to, reducing the risk of parts snapping accidentally, and the thin metal support beam along the headset helps support everything. The combination of solid, yet lightweight, construction creates a headset that doesn’t just look premium, but actually feels like it justifies the headsets top-end designation before you even hear any sound come through it. The only issues I had with the flexible, lightweight design is that the fit of the headset is a little loose, so get ready to adjust it back into position if you look down or up while you game.

With the inclusion of a USB sound card built into the in-line controls of the headset, I expected to need to install drivers or software upon connecting to my PC, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this wasn’t needed. The in-line controls go beyond the standard volume and microphone controls, also including the ability to use three in-built equalisers, each of which makes quite a difference to the audio you’re listening to. The really impressive feature of the Cloud Revolver S is the Dolby 7.1 surround sound, which is something that I haven’t personally had much experience with in the past. To put the surround sound to the test and confirm how well it worked, I played a range of games to test out the directional audio.

In Styx: Shards of Darkness I could clearly pick where enemies were based on the surround sound and I was able to avoid enemies coming around walls and from behind me thanks to it. In Ghost Recon Wildlands I had a similar experience, where I was able to pinpoint enemy locations while climbing through the underbrush and sneaking into enemy camps, allowing me to be much stealthier than I normally would be. The 50mm drivers in the headset delivered a great range of audio in general as well, with bass being punchy and never overwhelming the other sounds, and individual instruments and voices being clear throughout. The included noise cancelling mic worked incredibly well as well, effectively cutting out background noise as I chatted with friends throughout games. The best feature of the microphone, however, is that it’s completely detachable, so if you want you can just complete detach it from the headset.

The final big positive for the Cloud Revolver S is the range of input connections included, and therefore, the number of devices it supports. The headset’s standard connector is a 3-channel 3.5mm jack, meaning that it can be plugged into and run on any device with a standard headphone port. There is also a dual 3.5mm jack included, allowing for devices with separate headset and headphone ports, as well as the previously mentioned USB sound card which connects to devices via USB. The one issue here is that the headset’s best feature is the surround sound, which only works when connected via the USB connection. This USB connection is only compatible with Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro, meaning that when used for any other device you lose the in-line volume and microphone controls, as well as the surround sound. This cuts down on the real versatility of the device, limiting its output and value on any device beyond a computer or PlayStation 4.

The HyperX Cloud Revolver S is certainly a premium headset, with a lightweight, yet sturdy, design that makes it incredibly comfortable to wear. The audio quality is great and the surround sound works perfectly, but limiting the surround sound to computers and PlayStation 4 consoles means that using the headset on any other device is a more limited and compromised experience. If you’re mainly planning on using the HyperX Cloud Revolver S between a computer and a PlayStation 4, then it’s certainly a great headset, but I would suggest looking elsewhere if you want surround sound covering a wider range of devices.