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HyperX Cloud Flight: Why can't all wireless gaming headsets be this comfortable?

HyperX wows us once again with the Cloud Flight, its first wireless headset.

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews
When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.
Sean Hollister
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The HyperX Cloud Flight.

Ian Knighton/CNET

I'll let you in on a little secret: I've been quietly testing nearly every wireless gaming headset on the market for a future CNET story.

Not one of them is as comfortable as the new HyperX Cloud Flight. And between the cushy memory foam earcups, the rich audio and the category-leading 30 hours of battery life, I could literally wear it all day.

That's pretty impressive considering the $160 (roughly £120 or AU$205) Cloud Flight is the company's first wireless headset. Then again, HyperX has developed quite the reputation for comfy headphones.

I've spent a little over a week using the PC- and PS4-compatible Cloud Flight as my daily driver, and it's not perfect. It doesn't have quite the stellar wireless range of, say, the Logitech G533, and I'll take a flip-up or retractable microphone over the Cloud Flight's detachable mic any day. 

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From left to right: power button, 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB charge port, and a spot for the detachable microphone. Meaty volume dial on the right. Also note the mic mute button built into the left side panel.

Ian Knighton/CNET

But the ergonomics -- including a large, smooth volume dial and mute button that are easy to find by touch -- make it tough to beat. 

And that particular Logitech headset doesn't have a 3.5mm headset jack to plug into phones and Xbox controllers, either. The Cloud Flight does.

I'm not quite done testing it against the entirety of the competition yet. But it might well be my next gaming headset.

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