HyperX Cloud Revolver S Review

Having recently become more involved in the competitive side of gaming, I have found myself investing in higher quality peripherals, ranging from mechanical keyboards to mice with macro buttons. Transitioning to games like Paladins and Counter Strike: Global Offensive, however, has required that I step up my sound when it comes to gaming, too.

With my usual pair of headphones, I found I couldn’t recognise footsteps in CS:GO, or the clatter of hooves in Paladins. These small blunders would often lead to the downfall of my team and would frequently cost us the match. I knew I needed to change, and that’s where the HyperX Cloud Revolver S came to my aid.

Upon opening, I was instantly impressed; the design of the headphones is sleek and it was easy to see where everything was within the packaging. The headphones themselves were very easy to set up, even the control box which currently sits comfortably on my desk within easy reach. The control box itself is compact, lightweight and easy to use, plus the instructions leaflet the headphones come with are simple and easy to understand. Other headphones I have reviewed were complicated to set up, requiring several reboots, switching of extension leads and shuffling of ports for some unknown reason. The HyperX Cloud Revolver S offers multiple ways to plug in, such as dual phono cables or straight USB and all of them worked successfully with little hassle.

I’ll be honest, based on my past experiences, the microphone scared me. Before I set it up, I’d had vivid nightmares of the microphone not working and having to dig around the in the control panel and Google to get it to actually function. Much to my relief, there was nothing of the sorts. In fact, the main issue I encountered was in the form of ‘you’re an idiot and didn’t plug the microphone all the way in Luke Jesus Christ’. Upon playing with friends, who were not aware of my new equipment, I received several comments upon the clearness of my voice, and how it was significantly better than it ever had been before. On top of this, my father, who works on the opposite side of my desk, has a tendency to try and alienate me in front of friends when online. With my new secret weapon, however, his voice was never even picked up by the microphone; it would hear me and only me. The only extent of outside noise that was ever heard was the tapping of my mouse and keyboard.

Being a man-child that dedicates much time at his PC, whether it’s gaming, or working, I easily spend 8+ hours a day with my headphones on, sometimes consecutively. Thus, comfort when wearing headphones is very important to me. I’ve had headphones before where I couldn’t wear them for long periods of time, whether it was because the headband was uncomfortable or the earcups were an odd size, but the Revolver S were a perfect fit, with the earcups not being too hard or too soft, and the headband being comfortable and adjustable enough that they sat snugly on my big head without breaking (I wish this was a joke but this has happened to my headphones multiple times before).

Not only were the earcups comfortable, but they blocked almost all outside noise, allowing me to immerse myself entirely in my game, work, or whatever else I happened to be doing. It blocks noise so much so, that I have been able to compile a list of both good and bad repercussions this had.

• I was able to block out my dad’s questionable music taste in car journeys, and actually managed to get to sleep despite him blasting it out.

• On a recent educational trip I took to Paris, two of my roommates in the hostel had a full blown argument, which I managed to remain blissfully unaware of, and one stormed out of the room and it was the vibration of door slamming (not the noise) that made me pull the headphones off and question what had happened.

• My parents do not like these headphones for the simple fact of I can never hear them whenever they are calling me now. I’m not complaining about that.

• I’ve missed parcels on numerous occasions since using these due to not hearing the doorbell.

• I did not notice the smoke alarm going off. For 15 minutes.

The headphones offer various equalizer modes for listening, which emphasise certain aspects of sound depending on which you have selected. You have Vocals, Flat and Bass to select from. Vocals, as you imagine, makes vocals more prominent (this also works and can be useful in games, I used this mode in CS when a teammate had a microphone that didn’t pick up his voice much, making him hard to hear). Flat attempts to level all aspects of sound, and is often the favoured mode for users (besides disabling the EQ’s entirely) due to it evening out all aspects of sound. The third, and my personal favourite, was the bass boost, which does what it says on the tin. Being a big lover of bass in songs (a lot of my favourite songs feature a prominent bass line), I instantly fell in love with this mode and could tell it’s difference massively. My personal favourite for this EQ is listening to Sober by Childish Gambino and going to the 2:46 mark, you won’t regret it.

On the whole, the Revolver S is a remarkable piece of technology. It has everything that you would want and need from a good headset, and whether you’re using it for gaming, or just casual use, it’s a fantastic kit that rivals and even surpasses many of its -significantly more expensive- competitors. A must have for videogame aficionados, whilst having the versatility and reasonable pricing to be used outside of the gaming world.