The brilliant planar magnetic HyperX Cloud Orbit S gaming headset is £91 off today
The Audeze Mobius headset by any other name still tastes as sweet.
HyperX's Cloud Orbit S is a fascinating wireless gaming headset with planar magnetic drivers. Despite the name, this headset is produced by audio experts Audeze and the Cloud Orbit S is 99% the same as the Audeze Mobius, just with a slightly different colour scheme, simpler microphone and without Bluetooth support. That allows HP to hit a more aggressive price target, making the Cloud Orbit S one of the most affordable ways to try a great planar magnetic gaming headset.
The Cloud Orbit S debuted at a mighty £299.99, but today it's available on Amazon for just £209 - a nice £91 savings.
The Cloud Orbit S and Audeze Mobius were the two first planar magnetic headphones I tried, and they provide an excellent introduction to the category. Planar magnetic drivers provide a ton of detail and a much wider sound stage than you'd expect from closed-back headphones, making them great for competitive gaming, critical listening and everything in between - with the right EQ setting, at least. There's even great 3D audio here for single-player, immersive experiences, provided via Waves Nx 3D audio with head-tracking. It's pretty fun to play with, though I tend to prefer less processing for competitive play.
As well as the PC, the Cloud Orbit S works via USB or 3.5mm with PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. It's probably most at home on PC, but it works well everywhere if you're happy to use one of the wired connections.
The Cloud Orbit S also attracts rave reviews wherever it goes. I loved it over on Eurogamer of course, but Tom's Hardware gave it a four-star review praising its audio quality, battery life and microphone; PC Mag called its sound fantastic, while IGN dubbed the whole headset phenomenal. However, my favourite write-up comes from Sound Guys:
The HyperX Cloud Orbit S is one of the best gaming headsets on the market. The loss of Bluetooth in this model is disappointing, but doesn't change the gaming experience... if it's within your budget, it will be very hard to do better than this.
I think that just about says it all, right? Getting this headset for nearly £200 is a steal, and well worth just trying - you can always return the headset via Amazon's excellent customer service if it doesn't live up to your expectations!