INTRODUCTION

   As far back as i can remember i never was a headset person, sure i had to use some from time to time in order to avoid waking up my parents at night when i was very young (or others later on) but i never really was into them. Now i can't put my finger on the reason, could be because of the strain they placed on my head, due to audio quality and surround accuracy or it could just be due to the lack of awareness while wearing them something which i always like to have (or it could be all three). Regardless of the why however I’ve always looked for the one that would change my mind and earn a permanent place on one of my desks. Well, i may have used and reviewed countless models already but honestly up until this day i haven't actually found it yet. HyperX feels that their Cloud Orbit S Gaming Headset could be the one and that's what I’ll be looking at today.

   HyperX is the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer, with the goal of providing gamers, PC builders, PC, console and mobile power users with high-performance components. For 16 years, the HyperX mission has been to develop gaming products for all types of gamers – high-speed memory, solid state drives, headsets, keyboards, mice, charging accessories for console players, USB flash drives, and mousepads – to the gaming community and beyond. The award-winning HyperX brand is known for consistently delivering products that deliver superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. HyperX gear is the choice of celebrity ambassadors, pro gamers, tech enthusiasts, and over-clockers worldwide because it meets the most stringent product specifications and is built with best-in-class components. HyperX has shipped over 70 million memory modules, 10 million gaming headsets and one million keyboards worldwide.

   Two things make the Cloud Orbit S by HyperX unique, the 100mm planar magnetic stereo drivers (audiophile-grade) by Audeze and the head tracking technology by Waves Nx. Now what makes the Audeze drivers special is not only that these are the largest ones I’ve ever seen used in a gaming headset but also that they can deliver Hi-Res (High Resolution) audio thanks to a frequency response of 10Hz-50.000Hz, SPL (sound pressure level) of 120dB and a T.H.D (total harmonic distortion) of less than 0.1%. As for the Waves Nx technology according to the specifications sheet it's quite impressive and promises immersive 3D audio complete with precision head tracking for the ultimate experience while watching movies, playing games and even listening to audio. Needless to say, the Cloud Orbit S is also capable of 3D and 7.1 virtual surround sound and comes ready with a detachable uni-directional noise cancelling microphone, rotatable earcups, internal battery pack which can power its features for up to 10 hours and conveniently located earcup controls. So, let's see if the HyperX Cloud Orbit S can secure a place on one of my desks.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture is located at the front of the box in which HyperX ships the Cloud Orbit S.

The sponsored teams by HyperX are mentioned on the left side right over the system compatibility.

At the rear of the box, we find yet another product picture next to the features list printed in 9 languages.

The headset is placed inside a thick piece of black foam (the rest of the bundle sits inside a small cardboard box).

Alongside the Cloud Orbit S and its detachable microphone inside the box you'll also find a storage pouch, 3 meter long USB-A to USB-C braided cable, 1.5 meter long USB-C to USB-C cable, 1.2 meter long 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (gold plated mini jacks), congratulations paper, warranty information paper and a quick start guide.

THE CLOUD ORBIT S

The Cloud Orbit S weight around 368g and are primarily made out of plastic, metal, leatherette and rubber.

Even though the Cloud Orbit S are equipped with 100mm drivers they are not very large (still a mid to large sized model).

HyperX has printed their logo on the exterior of both earcups and as you can all see the left earcup also has the on/off power button, microphone mute switch and the activity LED.

Around the same earcup we also find the 3D sound on/off button, microphone port, USB-C port, 3.5mm port and the microphone and speaker volume rollers.

As expected, the detachable microphone is very flexible and also features a pop filter at the front.

I don't know why but i noticed that the right earcup has exhaust holes on both the front and rear (unlike the left earcup).

Details matter quite a bit for many people so seeing that HyperX has placed rubber stoppers on top of the earcups was a good surprise.

Of course, left and right markings are located on the interior just over the earcups.

Both earcups can rotate up to 90 degrees making them easier to carry and store.

The plush memory foam earpads are covered with leatherette and as you can see HyperX has placed left/right stickers here as well.

On the other hand, the headpad may not be very large but it's quite comfortable.

Once again, the company logo is printed on the exterior of the headband.

The headband of the Cloud Orbit S can extend on both sides by a total of 70mm (35mm on each side) via 10 increments (not visible ones).

CLOUD ORBIT S SOFTWARE

HyperX offers an interesting piece of software from where you can configure/adjust the features of the Cloud Orbit S.

For one the software detects your head movements (it just takes a while for it to get a signal from the headset) so that means you can calibrate it from the far left side (if you feel it's off, personally i think it works fine immediately).

From the right side you can change the mode (7.1/Hi-Res/Stereo), enable/disable 3D, center the tracking feature, check the battery levels and finally you can also check the microphone volume levels.

The software also features a total of 8 sound profiles (strangely enough it doesn't have one made for movies - most however work well with movies).

The device info tab showcases most parts of the headset.

One last thing I’d like to mention is the head gestures feature (beta) which allows you to "link" keyboard inputs and macros to corresponding head-tracking movements.

CONCLUSION

   When I first put the Cloud Orbit S on I thought they were yet another generic gaming headset like the countless others I’ve tested and reviewed to date. The moment however I started playing games and moving my head around I was like “WOW” and that doesn’t happen a lot to me, if at all any more. The head tracking technology by Waves Nx may not be very new (announced first time in 2019) but it works very well and so regardless of whether you’re playing a PC game (spend many hours playing Cyberpunk 2077, World Of Warships, Star Wars Squadrons and Red Dead Redemption 2) or watching a movie (watched several 4k titles – including some series) the sensation of turning your head and listening to vocals, explosions and all sorts of effects change position is not something I have personally witnessed before, at least nowhere near to this level of accuracy and detail. As for audio clarity well the Audeze drivers don’t leave much to be desired, whether you’re playing games, watching movies or listening to music mids, highs and even bass levels are very crisp and rich (indeed what we get only from audiophile-grade headsets). Now I do have to admit that the Cloud Orbit S don’t look great (no illumination and quite “plain” in terms of design) and they are quite bulky but at the same time they are very comfortable (once I used them for 3 hours straight without issues and for someone like me who’s not very used to using headsets that’s a long period of time). The lack of bluetooth connectivity may disappoint some potential buyers but for me that’s not a huge loss. Would I had liked that feature, sure but especially for gaming I never found it quite important (watching movies and listening to music on the other hand, yes there are more benefits there). As for the microphone again, performance is far better than most of the gaming headsets I’ve used to date. Yes, it’s not quite excellent but still better.

   Currently retailing for USD320.89 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 263.55Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Cloud Orbit S Gaming Headset by HyperX is priced exactly where I was expecting after using it for almost 4 weeks now. Granted it’s far from affordable but we need not forget that this is an audiophile-grade gaming headset with what’s probably the best 3D audio in the market right now and these along with its high comfort levels are more than enough for the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- 100mm Audeze Drivers (Volume Levels)
- Hi Res Audio (Crisp & Detailed Mids & Highs)
- Waves Nx 3D (Excellent Positioning Audio Via Head Tracking)
- USB A/C & 3.5mm Connectivity
- 10 Hour Battery Life (Features)
- Comfortable
- Detachable Microphone Quality
- Rotatable Earcups
- Earcup Controls

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- No Bluetooth Connectivity
- Software (Not Easy To Use)