1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

In a relatively short space of time, HyperX has come to dominate the gaming headset market. Today, we are looking at the company's most expensive headset to-date – the Cloud Revolver S. It slots in above the original Revolver, with the main difference between the two being the addition of software-free Dolby 7.1 virtual surround, though HyperX has also made a few design tweaks.

The addition of software-free surround is definitely an interesting one, and I certainly have not seen this done before. That being said, the HyperX Cloud Revolver S does make you pay for it, as the headset comes in a penny shy of £140. In this review, we assess the build quality, features and performance of the Revolver S before giving our final verdict.

Specification

Headphone:

• Driver: Dynamic, 50mm with neodymium magnets
• Type: Circumaural, Closed back
• Frequency response: 12Hz–28,000 Hz
• Impedance: 30 O
• Sound pressure level : 100.5dBSPL/mW at 1kHz
• T.H.D.: < 2%
• Input power: Rated 30mW, Maximum 500mW
• Weight: 360g
• Weight with mic: 376g
• Cable length: Headset: (1m)
• Audio Control Box cable length: 2.2m
• PC extension cable: 2m
• Connection Type: Headset: 3.5mm plug (4 pole), Audio Control Box: USB
• PC extension cable: 3.5mm stereo and mic plugs

Microphone:

• Element: Electret condenser microphone
• Polar pattern: Bi-directional, Noise-cancelling
• Frequency response: 50Hz-18,000 Hz
• Sensitivity: -44dBV (0dB=1V/Pa,1kHz)

The HyperX Cloud Revolver S ships in a medium-size box, complete with the usual red accents that we have come to expect from HyperX.

The front is just an outer-sleeve, though, and sliding it off reveals the box itself. It is plain black, with nothing but the the HyperX logo to draw your attention.

Inside, the first thing we find is a small quick-start guide, which essentially says ‘plug the headset in.'

Also included in the bundle is a 2m-long 3.5mm-jack cable extension, for use with a PC. The detachable mic is also packaged here, separate from the headset.

The last accessory is the Dolby dongle. It is this dongle which provides the 7.1 virtual surround-sound, while it also sports two separate volume wheels – one for headphones, another for the mic. On the bottom left-hand side, there is also another button which you can use to alternate between 3 EQ presets. This dongle does connect via USB, as it has to provide digital surround, but it also gives you an extra 2.2m of cable length.

Moving on to the headset, the Revolver S does look very similar to the original Revolver that we reviewed last year. There have been a few slight design tweaks, though, so we will take a look at those below.

First of all, the earcups. The Revolver S still uses the same steel frame as its predecessor, but the back of the earcups now feature white accenting, instead of red.

These earcups are also circumaural, and HyperX continue to use their signature memory-foam ear cushions, covered with leatherette, on the inside.

The Revolver S also keeps the ‘floating headband' of the original Revolver, so the headset will stretch to fit your head as you put it on.

Elsewhere, one of our criticisms of the original Revolver was that the steel frame caused a lot of vibration noise if you touched or banged the frame. HyperX have taken a step to prevent that here, though, as there are two new rubber inserts positioned at the bottom of the headband, one on either side. Hopefully this should dampen any vibrations that may occur.

Lastly, the headset itself uses a 1m-long cable with a 3.5mm jack connector. This makes it good for use with a phone or console controller, but anyone using it with a PC will most likely need to use either the USB or 3.5mm-jack extension cables.To test the HyperX Cloud Revolver S, I used it as my daily driver for over a week. This meant using it while gaming, listening to music and watching videos.

I plugged it into my PC using the USB dongle, which allowed me to test the Revolver S and its surround-sound capabilities. Enabling the surround-sound is a simple as pressing the large Dolby button on the dongle itself – it lights-up red once the surround-sound is activated. This is certainly a neat feature, most (if not all) 7.1 headsets require software which makes it more of a faff to enable or disable the surround-sound option.

Before coming to the surround, though, I want to talk about the Revolver S and its stereo capabilities.

In short, the audio sounds great when using the Revolver S in stereo mode. HyperX certainly have a good reputation here and I was not disappointed. The bass is strong and punchy, something which is great for FPS gaming or even listening to music. The latter activity is helped by the fact that the Revolver S produces a very well-balanced sound – there is no particular frequency that dominates the mix, everything sounds smooth and crisp instead.

Watching videos and films is also satisfying because of this, as vocals do not sound muddy at all and there is great clarity to speech.

The USB dongle is nifty as it also features 3 EQ preset modes – bass-boost, flat and vocals. The dongle has 3 small LED indicators on the side which let you know which EQ preset is currently active. If there is no LED showing, no EQ is currently active. It is worth noting that you cannot use these presets while the Dolby 7.1 mode is active, though.

Of these EQ options, I found I used bass-boost the most as it definitely added a bit more intensity to gunfights. I mostly play FPS games, although I have been playing a lot of Ghost Recon: Wildlands recently. Here, the bass-boost sounds great when you are revving-up in a chopper, while gunfire and explosions also sound a bit more threatening when this mode is active.

The other modes I didn't like as much – the vocal preset sounded a bit tinny to my ears, while the flat was almost too flat for my liking. In my experience, the headset provides a very well-balanced sound anyway, so I did not feel the need to use those last two presets.

So far, so good – I had a great time gaming and listening to music with the Revolver S in stereo mode.

Unfortunately, once I turned the surround-sound on, my experience got a lot worse. Simply put – the Revolver S' surround-sound is quite poor.

As soon as you press the Dolby button to activate the surround, everything gets a bit louder but then it sounds like the 7.1 has added a massive reverb effect to the audio, and it really affects the overall quality of the sound. You do get used to it after a few minutes, but as soon as you change back to stereo mode, you hear what you were missing out on – everything sounds a lot closer, crisper and more vibrant with the surround turned off.

The virtual surround itself is noticeable – I had a great moment playing Wildlands where I was stood on top of a hill and I could hear birds calling out from every direction, and I was definitely able to place where they were thanks to the surround. However, the reverb still affects the mix to the point where I would rather just play in stereo and forgo the surround entirely.

It is particularly bad when chatting with friends. My brother-in-law and I like to play Star Wars Battlefront together (a game that incidentally offers native support for surround-sound), and we often voice-chat while playing. Trying to do this with the Revolver S while the Dolby 7.1 is active is plain awful – voices just sound like a kid has got hold of a reverb pedal and applied way too much to the mix.

Moving on, I do think the Revolver S is very comfortable. The memory-foam ear cushions are beautifully soft and fit naturally over your ears. The steel headband also prevents any of the ‘creaking' that can occur with plastic headsets when you move your head. I did notice some vibration noise from the steel frame, but only when I touched it deliberately. In-game, for me at least, I did not hear any noise caused by the steel frame.

Lastly, the mic is also pretty decent. It is clear and crisp – though slightly on the tinny side – but this helps keep it audible over a game's soundtrack. The noise cancelling worked well-enough though, and I also appreciate the fact that you can bend the boom into any shape you desire.I had a hard time deciding how to score the HyperX Cloud Revolver S.

One one hand, it is a really well-built headset thanks to its strong, steel frame, while the beautifully soft memory-foam ear cushions provide great levels of comfort.

It is also a top performer when in stereo mode, with strong bass reproduction but an overall balanced mix, which makes it great for all sorts of tasks, not just gaming. I am also appreciative of the bass-boost EQ option, as this can definitely provide some extra intensity to gritty gunfights, for example.

However, that being said, the Revolver S is all about the surround-sound, and I just do not rate the headset's Dolby 7.1 surround. It does let you identify the direction where sounds are coming from, but it drastically affects the overall sound quality – it sounds like a massive reverb effect has been added to the audio. I would definitely say other virtual 7.1 headsets like the Corsair Void and Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 offer higher-fidelity surround-sound solutions.

Furthermore, I found voice-chat to be essentially unusable with the Revolver S in surround mode, as voices just sound so echoey and distant. Switching back to stereo mode instantly improves the intensity and detail of the audio.

All-in-all, then, the HyperX Cloud Revolver S has to go down as a disappointment. Yes, it is well-built and sounds great when listening in stereo – but since the original Revolver is essentially the same headset, just without the added surround capabilities, it seems like a much better bet considering it is also £50 cheaper. If you really like the Revolver series and want to try it with surround, the Revolver S may be worth considering, but I'd recommend the original Revolver if you want the look and feel of the Revolver S, as you still great stereo quality while saving yourself £50.

You can buy one for £139.99 inc. VAT from Overclockers UK HERE. The original Revolver is available for £89.99 inc. VAT HERE.

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Pros

• Well-built.
• Comfortable to use.
• Sounds great in stereo mode.
• Bass-boost EQ option is great for FPS gaming.

Cons

• Surround-sound is far too echoey to be pleasant to use.
• Because of the poor surround, it is hard to justify the extra £50 over the original Revolver headset.
• £139.99 is a lot of money for any virtual-surround gaming headset, no matter how good.

KitGuru says: While I enjoyed my time with the Revolver S when using it in stereo mode, the original Revolver seems like a much better bet considering its £50 cheaper.

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