HyperX Cloud III Wireless Headphones Review

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless are almost identical in appearance to the HyperX Cloud III and other headphones in the HyperX Cloud lineup. They feature the same two-tone, black-and-red color scheme throughout. Striking red yolks complement the matte black aluminum frame and ear cups, and a small red HyperX logo is in the ear cup's center. The earpads and headband are made of a black, faux leather material.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless have a comfortable fit. The earpad and headphone cushioning is plush and feels good on the skin, and they don't clamp too tightly, making them a great choice for long gaming sessions where fatigue is often an issue. The ear cups and yoke have a great range of motion, meaning it's relatively easy to achieve a good seal. However, the faux-leather material used to cover the earcups and headband traps heat easily, so your ears can get warm after extended use.

The control layout is relatively simple: there are dedicated buttons for power and to mute the microphone, as well as a volume wheel. You can also adjust the headphones' volume, mic volume, and mic monitoring via the NGENUITY app. There's a helpful voice prompt that confirms when you've successfully powered on or off and an audible beep that plays when you engage/disengage the mic. However, unlike the wired HyperX Cloud III, the volume wheel has an infinite scrolling mechanism. While it has physical notches that click as you turn it, there's no audio or voice prompt to let you know when you've hit maximum volume, which can be frustrating.

These headphones aren't designed to be portable. They don't fold into a more compact form, so it's tough to stow them in a bag or backpack, and the ear cups don't swivel to lay flat. Their bulky design means they're not a good on-the-go choice, but this won't be a problem if you intend to keep them near your gaming setup.

These headphones come with a simple, thin case made from multifiber cloth. It won't protect them from drops, but it'll provide some protection against bumps and scrapes and prevent dust from settling.

These headphones have great build quality. Like other HyperX products, they have an aluminum frame and ear cups covered in some areas by plastic and faux leather. The detachable boom mic is sturdy but also easily adjustable. However, some notches around the yokes can be a little loose: they're likely to extend by a notch or two if you're not gentle with them. That said, the aluminum frame and faux leather earpads are subject to wear and tear over time.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless have a fairly stable fit. Much like the wired version, they don't fit too tightly, though this can depend on the size and shape of your head. They're unlikely to slip off your head while you're gaming, but sharp movements of the head can cause them to slip out of place. More intense movements can also cause the yolks to extend by a notch or two. However, their wireless design means you never have to worry about getting an audio cable hooked on anything.

• HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless headset
• Detachable boom microphone
• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Quick start guide and warranty documentation
• Carrying pouch

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless have a relatively balanced sound profile, though it strays from our target in certain frequency bands. The mid-range response is very neutral and gives an accurate representation of dialogue and lead instruments, ensuring they're forward in the mix. Similarly, the bass range complies very well with our target, meaning floor-shaking explosions sound vivid. There's some slight under-emphasis between the bass and mid-range though, that thins out sounds like snare drums and bass guitars. The treble range is also quite inconsistent, and there's some major under-emphasis in the low treble that can veil the upper harmonics of vocals. Fortunately, you can adjust the sound profile to your liking via the graphic EQ and presets available via the companion software. However, you won't be able to transfer your settings onto the console as the headphones don't have onboard memory.

Another similarity these headphones share with their wired counterpart is the noticeably high noise floor. While it's not quite as pronounced on this model, it's still audible, especially at higher volumes. However, the volume wheel uses a different mechanism, and adjusting it won't create the fuzzy, staticky noise that's present in the wired model.

These headphones have sub-par frequency response consistency. There's a lot of variation in the mid and treble delivery depending on the fit you achieve on your head. You can also experience a significant drop-off in bass response if you have thicker hair or glasses. The thick, plush earpads make it challenging to achieve a good seal around your head if you have these features, and you'll need to adjust the fit every time you use them to ensure consistent audio delivery.

These headphones comply with our bass target outstandingly, adhering closely across almost the entire range. There's some very slight underemphasis in the low-bass range, though kicks and earthshaking sound effects still sound vivid and hefty. Otherwise, there's some slight roll-off in the high-bass that declutters the mix somewhat while still ensuring instruments like bass guitars have adequate warmth.

The mid-range target compliance is great. There's a slight under-emphasis in the lower part of this range that's carried over from the bass range, which can thin out the thump of bass guitars. The rest of the range is very well-balanced, though. This is particularly great for cutscene-heavy games, like The Last of Us, where you'll want to follow speech closely.

They have sub-par treble compliance with our target. The low-treble range is under-emphasized, which causes the upper harmonics of instruments to sound quite veiled. The mid-treble reproduction is also a little inconsistent, so sibilants like cymbals and metallic sound effects alternate between sounding bright and dull, depending on their pitch. There's some roll-off at the very top end of the range, too; however, different people will perceive this differently, given we lose sensitivity to this range over time.

The peaks and dips performance is good. These headphones follow their own sound profile well. There's a slight peak in the mid-bass that can add some boom and heft to kicks. While the mid-range is mostly consistent, there are some peaks and dips in the treble range that get more pronounced in the higher octaves. These can render sibilants alternatingly bright and dull, depending on their pitch.

They have an incredible imaging performance. All the headphones we've tested in HyperX's Cloud lineup have had great imaging performance, which indicates the manufacturer's reliable quality control and ergonomics. Still, these headphones are exceptional in this regard. Our unit's group delay falls under the audibility threshold for almost the entire range. There's a small peak in mid-bass range, but it's tough to perceive with real-life content, given these headphones struggle to reproduce frequencies in this range. The L/R drivers are also evenly matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency response, which means objects and in-game audio cues are accurately placed in the stereo image. However, imaging varies from unit to unit.

These headphones have a passable passive soundstage performance, which is unsurprising for closed-back headphones. While the soundstage is slightly wider and more open than other headphones in the HyperX Cloud lineup, audio still seems to be coming from inside your head rather than from speakers in front of you.

They support DTS:X Spatial Sound, which you can toggle on and off in the companion software if connected to your console or PC. It's meant to help create a more immersive soundstage and can position in-game audio more naturally in the stereo field. However, you'll need to play a game compatible with this feature, and performance will vary greatly depending on how the game's sound is mixed.

These headphones have good weighted harmonic distortion performance. There's a sharp peak in the low-bass and a larger one in the low-treble. However, this is difficult to perceive in real-life content, even at higher volumes. The response generally falls within good limits, resulting in mostly clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless. Our results are only valid for this configuration.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless have poor full-range noise isolation performance. They block out almost nothing in the bass range, like the rumble of plane or bus engines outside your window. However, they do a slightly better job of passively isolating you against higher-pitched noises, like nearby voices and fridge hum. If you're looking for wireless gaming headphones with better noise isolation, check out the ANC-equipped Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless.

These headphones do a poor job of isolating you against common scenarios. Their closed-back design provides a similar level of isolation against airplane engine rumble, the conversations of coworkers, and the din of a busy street. In practice, this means that some higher-pitched noises, like office chit-chat and honking car horns, are somewhat blocked out, but lower-pitched sounds like scraping chairs and revving engines will still be easily audible.

They have an okay leakage performance. Most leakage is concentrated in the high-mid range, so the leaked audio sounds somewhat thin. If you're listening to audio at a high volume, others around you can hear part of what you're listening to.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless' boom mic has a decent recording quality. Recorded speech is mostly clear, and your teammates won't have trouble understanding you. Sadly, the mic struggles to reproduce bass frequencies when compared to the boom mic on the wired version of the HyperX Cloud III, meaning your voice sounds less full by comparison.

We could test the mic performance using the detachable boom mic from the wired model but found that this made no difference to the recorded output. You can see the results here. This headset seemingly struggles to process low-end information and cuts off the highs at a much steeper angle. This is likely a result of the manufacturer preserving wireless bandwidth by over-compressing the lows and highs to preserve mid-range clarity.

The boom mic has good noise handling performance. The mic won't block out any background noise in moderately noisy environments, but your voice will still be clear and easily understood. It does a similarly good job of separating your voice from louder environments. Your voice will still be clear and easily understood, even if you live under a flight path and are constantly subject to the noise of rumbling engines. It's worth noting that the mic doesn't have as much clarity in loud environments as the wired model's boom mic, but this is likely a result of its inferior recording quality.

The battery life performance is amazing. The manufacturer advertises up to 120 hours of battery life, and we measured slightly more than this. This makes them an excellent choice for those who don't want to constantly worry about charging their battery. It's even longer than competitors like the Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless. However, battery performance can vary depending on your usage. You can listen to audio via the wireless connection while they're charging, but the included charging cable is too short for this to be practical in most cases. The companion app also features an auto-off timer, a useful power-saving feature for those wanting to get the most out of the impressive continuous battery life.

The HyperX NGENUITY software is decent and allows you to tweak the performance of these headphones somewhat to your liking. It's available for download via the Microsoft store. You can adjust functions like microphone volume and headphone volume and enable functions like mic monitoring and the DTS:X Spatial Sound virtual surround feature. A graphic EQ and presets allow you to customize the headphones' sound profile a little. However, you won't be able to transfer any changes made here onto consoles as the headphones don't have onboard memory. If you're on a PC, you can stop the Ngenuity app, and it'll keep your EQ presets, though.

These wireless headphones only come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging. They aren't compatible with any wired connections. While these headphones can play audio via a wireless connection while charging, you'll want to invest in a longer charging cable if you plan on doing this regularly. If you're looking for wireless headphones that you can use with a wired connection, check out the Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED Wireless, which can connect via a 1/8" TRRS cable.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless have excellent non-Bluetooth wireless compatibility. They have low latency, so your audio and video stay in sync. You can react quickly to audio cues while gaming and maintain a competitive edge without worrying about your audio lagging.

The HyperX Cloud III Wireless are only compatible with PCs via non-Bluetooth wireless. However, you have full audio and mic compatibility.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless are fully compatible with PlayStation consoles when using their USB dongle. However, you can't connect them to these consoles in any other way.

The HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless come with a wireless USB-C dongle that offers low latency.