HyperX Cloud III vs Cloud III Wireless vs Cloud III S
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Differences Summary
The original Cloud III is wired only, the Cloud III Wireless uses a 2.4 GHz USB-A dongle, and the Cloud III S Wireless can toggle between the 2.4 GHz dongle and Bluetooth.
The Cloud III S can get up to 200 hours of battery life on Bluetooth, but the III Wireless maxes at 120 hours.
The microphone audio quality gets worse as you go from the III, to Wireless, to S, but the noise reduction filter also gets stronger as you go up. The S is also the only one with integrated microphones.
With the boom mics attached, the Cloud III is 298 grams, the III Wireless is 339 grams, and the III S is 347 grams.
Only the Cloud III S has removable ear cup covers.
While all three can have their EQ changed with NGENUITY, only the Cloud III S EQ settings save to the headset itself.
The rest of this article will go more in depth on the specifics.
Connectivity and Controls
Cloud III
The Cloud III has a 49-inch non-detachable 3.5 mm cable. It has a 54-inch 3.5 mm to USB-C extension cable. Lastly, it comes with a USB-C to A adapter to ensure you can use this on any system.
The only controls include a mic mute button and finite scroll volume wheel. The mic mute button causes an audible pop on the other end. This only applies to the wired version.
Cloud III Wireless
The Cloud III Wireless connects using the included USB-C dongle. It comes with a USB-C to A adapter. This does not work on Xbox.
In addition to the mic mute button, there’s an infinite scroll volume wheel and a power button that prompts an announcement of the battery percentage. The battery life gets up to 120 hours.
Cloud III S Wireless
The Cloud III S uses the same type of 2.4 GHz dongle connection as the III Wireless. However, this also has instant pair with certain Omen laptops without the need for a dongle. Again, no Xbox connectivity.
It also has Bluetooth. You toggle between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth with a switch on the right ear cup. The rest of the controls include an infinite scroll volume wheel, a media control button, and mic mute.
The battery life gets up to 200 hours on Bluetooth and 120 hours using the 2.4 GHz dongle.
Build and Comfort
All three headsets have almost identical builds. They are mostly plastic, but they have aluminum frames with adjustable length. There is also ridiculously comfortable pleather on the ear cups with soft memory foam inside.
Unfortunately, the III Wireless and III S are significantly heavier. This drops their comfort level from an S to an A or A+.
Cloud III
III Wireless
III S
You can detach the outside of the Cloud III S earcup. It’s still closed back when you do this. As of this writing, there’s nothing you can buy to replace it with, but I’m sure HyperX will come out with some cool customization speaker tags for it.
Microphone
Cloud III S mic lit red when muted.
All 3 headsets use the exact same detachable microphone that lights up red when muted. They can even be swapped between each other.
However, the actual microphone quality is drastically different, because each headset uses a different level of noise cancellation processing.
The Cloud III has the least amount of background noise cancellation - it seems to be completely passive. Therefore, it has the most natural audio tonally, and it’s the clearest. It’s one of the best mics on the market. The trade-off is that the weak plosive rejection goes unchecked and ambient sounds are picked up easily.
The Cloud III Wireless sounds more nasally with a mild noise reduction filter. Not a top 5 mic anymore, but still okay.
The Cloud III S mic doubles down on the processing. The tonality is closer to the original Cloud III, but it sounds extremely compressed. This cancels out almost all outside audio. The integrated mics sound okay for what they are, but they are the worst of all these samples.
Headphone Audio Quality
All 3 headsets have angled 53 mm dynamic drivers with neodymium magnets. To my ears, they sound the same - there's no way I could pick which is which in a blind test.
Just to be thorough, I took some measurements with the miniDSP E.A.R.S. (not industry standard).
The tl;dr is all three headsets have very weak subbass, barely present bass, prominent mids and elevated treble. The tonality is lackluster for immersive games, music, and movies, but for FPS games, these things hit. They’re some of the best gaming headsets out for competitive FPS due how well they make footsteps and other important audio cues stand out.
Software
All three headsets are compatible with HyperX NGENUITY where you can control the headphone EQ and adjust a couple basic settings. The Cloud III and III Wireless EQ settings do not save to the device itself - at least not when I tried.
The Cloud III S EQ settings do save directly to the headset even when used Bluetooth. You cannot just toggle the EQ "off" so to reset the audio to stock, you have to create a flat preset and save that the device.
All three get DTS Headphone:X which makes certain mids and highs way louder than normal. I've never been a fan, but you need to be on PC for these to work.
Verdict and Summary
To summarize, these are all mostly the same headset, but as you move up from the Cloud III wired to III Wireless and III S, each adds better connectivity features. Unfortunately, the mic audio does get worse the higher up you go and the weight goes up.
Most people will probably be fine with the original Cloud III. I'd probably skip on the III Wireless if you didn't buy it already. It's still a great device, but the III S is basically what the III Wireless should have been at launch. If you need wireless, get the Cloud III S.
