HyperX Cloud III Headphones Review

The HyperX Cloud 3 have a similar design to the HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II. The hinge design is a little more streamlined, but they have the same black ear cups and headband, red accents, and manufacturer logo on each cup. If you don't like the highly visible logos, you'll prefer the 'Black' variant, which is all black with grey logos on each ear cup.

They have a very comfortable fit for most people. The ear cup and headband padding feels plush, and they have a looser fit than the HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II without sliding around on your head. The ear cups have a good range of motion, which helps get a good fit on different head shapes. However, the faux-leather covering on the ear cups and headband retains heat and can feel a little sticky in a hot environment.

They have a simple control scheme. There's a volume wheel that stops at either extreme, so you know when you've reached the minimum and maximum. There's also a separate physical button for muting and unmuting the microphone. Muting the mic activates an LED light at the end of the microphone. Unlike the HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II, they don't have an in-line remote that you can use to activate virtual surround sound. You can adjust volume, mic monitoring, and virtual surround sound in the NGENUITY app. However, they lack controls for music playback, which will be disappointing if you want to listen to some music occasionally.

Like most gaming headsets, they aren't very portable headphones. They don't fold into a more compact shape for easier fitting into bags, and the ear cups don't swivel to lay flat when you're wearing them around your neck. They're a bit of a hassle to carry around, but it's not much of an issue if you plan to keep them near your gaming setup.

The HyperX Cloud 3 are very well-built headphones. Like many of HyperX's products, they have an aluminum frame and ear cups, with some plastic parts and a faux leather covering on the padding. The flexible boom mic is detachable, and the cable is braided and not prone to getting tangled. However, the brushed aluminum used for the outside of the ear cups is easily scratched. Faux leather can also deteriorate after years of use.

They have a fairly stable fit. They don't clamp onto your head very hard. They won't slip off your head if you move them a little while sitting and gaming, but if you make intense movements or tilt your head too far, they can easily slip out of place.

• HyperX Cloud 3 headset
• Detachable boom microphone
• USB-C to 1/8" TRRS cable
• USB-C to USB-A dongle (part of the USB-C cable)
• Quick start guide and warranty documentation

The HyperX Cloud 3 have a very neutral mid-range response, so voices and instruments sound clear, forward, and intense. The upper harmonics of instruments also sound veiled, which gives the headphones a somewhat dark sound. While your audio lacks bass overall and is very light on rumble and punch, these headphones reproduce a little more high-bass, which helps with hearing sound effects like footsteps. Fortunately, you can adjust the sound profile with graphic EQ and presets in the companion software when connected via USB. You can see a frequency response comparison using different EQ presets here.

The headphones have a similar sound if you're connected via analog, as you can see in the frequency response graph here. However, when connected that way, you can't apply any changes made in the companion app's graphic EQ.

The headphones also have a noticeably high noise floor, especially with the volume wheel tuned to a moderately high volume. When you turn it, the wheel also creates a fuzzy, staticky sound in the headphones, which is slightly annoying.

They have sub-par frequency response consistency. Their mid and treble delivery can vary depending on the headphones' fit and positioning on your head. More noticeably, if you have thick hair or wear glasses, it can break the ear cups' seal on your head and cause a drop in bass. You'll need to adjust the headphones to get the same sound every time you use them.

They have okay bass accuracy. The entire range is underemphasized, so your audio lacks rumble, punch, and boom. They reproduce high-bass slightly better than mid and low-bass, which helps bring out sound effects like footsteps in games.

They have fantastic mid accuracy. The low-mid and mid-mid ranges are flat and quite neutral, so instruments and vocals are present and clear. Some overemphasis in the high-mids adds intensity to the same elements. If you're playing something with a lot of dialogue, like The Witcher 3, voices are clear and not drowned out by rumbly sound effects.

They have decent treble accuracy. The low-treble range is underemphasized, which hurts the detail of instruments and vocals and makes them more difficult to understand. The mid-treble is quite neutral, so sibilants like S and T sounds are bright without being piercing.

The peaks and dips performance is decent. They control their sound profile reasonably well. However, a peak across the mid- to high-mid range adds harshness to instruments. A dip in the low-treble makes them sound less detailed, and a major peak in the mid-treble adds harshness to sibilants like cymbals or S and T sounds.

They have excellent imaging performance. This is the case for most HyperX headphones we've tested, which indicates the brand's quality control and ergonomics. The group delay falls below the audibility threshold for most of the range, aside from some peaks in the bass range. However, it's not very noticeable with real-life content, partly because the headphones have a weak bass response overall, resulting in a mostly tight bass and transparent treble response. The drivers are well-matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency response, which helps ensure objects are accurately placed in the stereo image. However, imaging varies from unit to unit, so you may have a different experience.

Their passive soundstage isn't good, which is normal for closed-back headphones. The soundstage sounds small and closed off, and sound seems to come from inside your head instead of speakers in the room around you.

They support DTS:X Spatial Sound, which you can activate in the companion software if connected to your console or PC via USB. It's meant to help create a more 3D-sounding, realistic soundstage, which makes audio more immersive and helps localize sound effects like footsteps in the correct place. However, you need to be playing a compatible game.

They have a great weighted harmonic distortion performance. The entire range falls within good levels, producing clean and clear audio reproduction, even at higher volumes.

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

The HyperX Cloud 3 have a poor noise isolation performance, like most gaming headsets without ANC. They don't block out bass-range noise like traffic outside your window. They cut out higher-pitched noises like voices or humming A/C units, but they aren't a good choice if you want to isolate yourself from distractions in a noisy area.

They have a fair leakage performance. The loudest leakage is in the high-mid range, so it sounds somewhat full. If you're gaming in your living room and have the volume turned up, anyone nearby will hear some of your audio.

They have an excellent mic recording quality. Recorded speech sounds full-bodied, clear, and quite open.

They have a good noise handling performance. With moderate noise in the background, recorded speech is easy to understand over the noise, but the mic doesn't completely cut out the noise. Similarly, it does a great job of separating your voice from louder noise, so you won't be drowned out by loud noise like a bus going past your window. You can still hear the noise in the background, however.

The HyperX NGENUITY software is decent. It's only available on Windows, and you can only apply any changes you make if you connect via USB. There's a graphic EQ and presets for sound customization and basic volume and mic controls, including mic monitoring. You can also set up the DTS:X Spatial Sound virtual surround sound feature and toggle it on or off.

You can use these headphones via USB or analog connection. You can connect the USB-C cable to the analog cable to use them via USB-C. There's also a USB-C to USB-A adapter in case your computer doesn't have a USB-C port. When used via USB, they have low latency, so your audio and video stay in sync while you're gaming.

They offer full mic and audio support with PCs via USB or analog connection.

They work with PlayStation consoles via USB or analog connection using the 1/8" TRRS cable.

They don't support a USB connection with Xbox consoles, but you can plug the analog cable into a controller for full mic and audio support.

They have a USB dongle that gives you access to a few more features versus using the 1/8" TRRS cable. When connected via USB, you can adjust the sound profile, activate the virtual surround sound feature, and activate mic monitoring in the companion software.