Review: HyperX Cloud Revolver, a complete headset for the hardcore gamer

Well, the Cloud was very well received by the market. Subsequently, the company announced the second generation in 2015 with the same proposition: attractive value for money, high quality construction and optimized support for gamers. In addition to the phone itself, which was already convincing, the Cloud II Pro brought a USB adapter to create a system of virtual 7.1 audio. In gaming, that meant knowing where the sound was coming from with precision, a big plus for FPS games.

Why not a Cloud III Pro?

Now we have the Cloud Revolver, which comes as a kind of third generation of the Cloud line. The name change is not without reason, as it has enough differences to receive another denomination. The Revolver, for example, doesn't focus exclusively on gaming, but rather on being a general-purpose headset. An “all-in-one” both to use when playing games and listening to music.

The differentiated design itself already denounces this proposal. While the Cloud II Pro is very similar to the original Cloud, the Revolver looks much more flashy. More "premium“, so to speak. The main arch is entirely constructed of metal, giving that feeling that it will last for years to come. The shells, on the other hand, mix matte and glossy plastic, not so lacking in quality.

Comfort

With 360 grams, we can't say that the Revolver is a lightweight headset. Despite this, the self-adjusting headband relieves a lot of the weight on the head, in addition to relieving the pressure of the shells in the ear. As a comparison, the Cloud II Pro presses harder on the ears, despite being slightly lighter (320 grams). In other words: the Revolver tires less with prolonged use, being better fitted to the head.

Much of this comfort is due to the foam on the shells. Here we have a huge similarity between the Revolver and the Cloud II Pro, where both use materials that imitate leather and have memory, one of the exclusives of the headsets of HyperX. However, while the Cloud II Pro comes with two pairs of foam (the second of fabric), which can be exchanged according to the user's preference, the Revolver comes with only the synthetic leather fixed.

sound quality

After several hours listening to different types of music and running some games, we came to the conclusion that the Revolver driver is very similar to the Cloud II Pro driver. We would even say that they are identical in certain aspects, but with different qualities. This change is explained by the structure of the shells, which let the audio “breathe” better in the Revolver. Comparing the two side by side, the Revolver comes out ahead by reproducing sounds more naturally.

• Worth an interesting comment: the impedance of the Revolver is only 30 Ohms, even bringing a driver from 50 mm. This means that any smartphone can provide enough power for it to work at its full potential, without the need for amplifiers. As a comparison, Cloud II Pro has 60 Ohms of impedance.

In music, this means that the mids and highs are better defined, as the very nature of closed shells implies a more “canned” sound. From classical music to dubstep, it's hard to find a song that doesn't play well. In games this quality is maintained, with the difference that the Revolver has a very well defined separation of channels.

That is, if an enemy is approaching from the right, only it will play sound. We tested Revolver in games Evolve stage 2 e Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, and in both he behaved well when it came to indicating where the sound is coming from. That's not to say we were successful in the missions, but it certainly wasn't the headset's fault.

the microphone

As with the Cloud and Cloud II Pro, the Revolver's microphone is detachable, as well as isolating outside noise. The Revolver's differential is that it does this in a much more efficient way. First of all, the microphone sensitivity itself seemed superior to us, eliminating echo problems indoors. Secondly, the ability to isolate noise has been noticeably improved, maintaining its characteristic of being uni-directional.

Conclusion

Cloud Revolver is a hard-to-find headset. In fact, it has enough features to please most users, behaving like an excellent quality general-purpose model. In Brazil it is found by BRL 699 (in cash)Near 100 BRL more than Cloud II Pro. We must also remember that macroeconomic conditions have changed, something that affects not only HyperX, but any market segment.

It is worth it? Anyone willing to make the investment to buy a model from an established brand, with a very high quality construction that gives all the signs that it will survive time, yes. We cannot say that it is a cheap model (far from it), but its features certainly help to explain this value, not far from the prices of competitive gaming headsets.

Technical sheet

Headset:

• Driver: 50 mm neodymium magnet (dynamic);
• Type: closed
• Frequency response: 12 Hz – 28 kHz;
• Impedance: 30 Ohms
• Pressure: 104,5 dBSPL/ at 1 kHz;
• Weight: 360 grams (376 grams with the microphone);
• Cable length: 1 meter + 2 meter detachable;

Microphone:

• Element : capacitor;
• Type: unidirectional noise canceling;
• Frequency response: 50 Hz – 18 kHz;