HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset

(TL;DR at bottom)
———————————–background————————————–
***I’ve used this headset for 4 months now at the time of this initial post***

For comparison:
-I’ve tried many headsets from razer and turtle beach
-Last headset was: Razer BlackShark V2 Pro

What I wanted in a headset:
-Good sound quality
-Durable
-Wireless
-Comfort for long duration
-Extensive battery per charge (main focus)
-Isn’t overly priced

I work as a developer and use it to listen to music for the greater part of my day then bring them home for entertainment usage like gaming. It was an absolute pain if I just so happened to forget to charge the night before or forget the charging cord between places.

———————————–sound quality————————————–
-In all honesty, the sound quality felt pretty typical for a gaming headset and is what you’d expect it to be.
-This does NOT mean it is bad in any way. It is pretty good, but it’s standard and nothing too crazy; certainly isn’t music production level quality.

-In comparison to the razer, it does feel slightly sharper/more pronounced but the difference is negligible. The only time I can notice the difference is probably swapping headsets between an extended time of use.

———————————–durability——————————————
-It is very durable in comparison to headsets I’ve used in the past and this exceeded my expectations greatly.
-On numerous occasions as I’m holding it or taking it somewhere, I’d clumsily drop it on pavement as I’m walking or accidentally scrape it a bit against a surface. Still no marks to this day.
-It is also very flexible so extensively bending it outwards when putting it on does it no harm.

-The last turtle beach headset I ever used did not last even a year under even tamer conditions as I wasn’t using it as much as I do now. It was hard plastic and the left ear piece literally snapped and was just a wire keeping it dangling.

-The prior razer headset was far better than any of the turtle beaches, but on the occasions where I clumsily dropped it against a pavement or a rigid surface, it will leave a mark quite easily.

———————————–comfortability——————————————
-As I said, it is quite flexible and the ear pieces are cushioned well with foam.
-This effectively means it wont feel like a freakin’ clamp on your head when wearing it for a long duration where the headset is constantly trying to curl back into place.
-The cushion on the ear pieces and above the head passes standard comfortability and is nothing mind-blowing.

-The last turtle beach headset was a clamp. It’s plastic material wasn’t flexible (which contributed to why it snapped) and was always uncomfortable after wearing for only a few consecutive hours.

-The razer was more comfortable but the compromises that build design brought far outweighed what this hyperx has to offer. By compromises, I’m primarily referring to noise cancellation as sound would just go come through the foam quite easily for the raze; the hyperx greatly avoids this issue. Regardless, the hyperx is still comfortable enough to where I can enjoy it for just as long.

———————————–wireless————————————————–
-It’s wireless functionality works over a further distance away than any of the prior headsets I’ve used. I can go from room to room on the same floor or a floor down/up and it’d still work perfectly fine. Anything further than that will progressively lose connection and cutout more and more which is understandable.
-In terms of close connection, I’ve NEVER lost connection at my desk as long as it had battery.

-All of my older headsets that are wireless could barely go from room to room. The most prior modern headset I had, the razer, would entirely lose connection a floor above or below and experience constant cutouts going out of my room to just across the hall. Either hyperx is just ahead of the game or these others are settling on a budget.

———————————–300 hr battery life————————————————–
-This perk alone probably made the purchase for me.
-I have NOT tested this to the full duration extent because I normally just charge it when it hits around 10-20%, but the longevity is no gimmick.
-From experience, at the very least, it has lasted over 3 weeks over average daily use of around 10-12 hrs.
-Needless to say, even if it isn’t hitting the full 300hrs and is certainly a hell of a lot better than needing to remember to charge a headset every single night. It brought me great convenience and far surpassed my expectations.

———————————–other quirks and benefits————————————————–
-The material of the earpiece/foam is contained by an outer layering and this layering covers the ears very well for decent noise cancellation.
-Also because it has this outer layering, cleaning/wiping it is a painless process.

-The mic when you mute via headset (there a button under the left ear) will turn on a red led on the mic piece to indicate and let you know you’re muted.

-The volume adjuster is a scroll wheel under the right ear which makes the design more sleek without having a random knob sticking out of the side.

-When you hold the power button to turn on the headset, it will tell you your battery percentage
-When your headset is already turned on, you can just click the power button once and it will also tell you the battery percentage.

-When no audio is played even if you’re at your desk and online, it will turn off by itself to conserve battery.
-When you go way too far from connection, it will think you’re offline and do the same to conserve battery.

Aside from the noise cancellation and automatic turn off for some of my older headsets, the other benefits I just listed weren’t available which just adds to the worth for buying this headset for me.

———————————–cons—————————————————-
-Only three cons to date that didn’t really matter much to me, but should be made aware.
1) ***VERY RARELY*** when I go too far away from connection, the headset will glitch blaring the same sound loudly. It’s tough to explain the issue but you can just turn off and then turn the headset back on to fix it.
-Nothing like this ever happened to me while at my desk though.
-And out of the numerous times I walk a bit far from connection it normally will turn off by itself to conserve battery thinking you’re offline, but only around 2-3 times so far that I can remember has this issue occurred.

2) This 2nd issue may be more of a deal breaker to some, and I don’t know if it’s a common issue. The audio scroll on my headset doesn’t really work sometimes (it is inconsistent). I personally didn’t really care because I set audio levels through my settings, pc, and individual website instead of adjusting them all through the scroll.

3) Although it does read the battery percentage to you, it does so only in 10s (i.e. “Battery level is 40%” or “Battery level is 50%”); no in between.

———————————–pricing————————————————–
-I bought this when it was at $119.99 around black friday – cyber monday time, so it was even more worth it in my opinion. I don’t remember the original pricing before the sale, so can’t really compare that price to where it’s gone right now.

-The rounded price of the razer right now is $130 and this hyperx is $170. The greater convenience and benefits this hyperx provides in comparison far outweighs the difference of $40 for me. Unless there some other brand doing what hyperx is doing with same-better quality and pricing that I’ve not kept up with, I can’t recommend this one enough.

———————————–TL:DR————————————————–
-SOUND QUALITY is as expected and is of standard for a gaming type headset. (nothing mind-blowing)

-DURABILITY is very good in comparison. Numerous drops or light scrapes often don’t even leave a mark from my experience using it.

-COMFORTABILITY: above standard but not the best I’ve had. The headset’s frame is quite flexible while remaining durable so it won’t feel like a clamp wearing it for long periods of time as some headsets I’ve had always try to squeeze back to place given their less flexible material.

-WIRELESS over way longer distances compared to past purchases. Room to room, floor above, or floor below all remain stable in connection. Anything further gradually loses connection.

-300HR BATTERY LIFE: While untested to the full extent, from experience. I can confirm I’ve gone uncharged for over 3 weeks of daily 10-12hr usage. Far more convenient than any other headset I’ve used.

OTHER QUIRKS/BENEFITS:
1) Foam for earpieces and above head have outer layer, making it easier to clean and provides decent noise cancellation.
2) Mic piece lights up red when you click the mute button on headset as a convenient indication.
3) Volume adjuster (scroll) under right ear piece instead of a knob makes headset more sleek.
4) Turning on headset or clicking power button while on will read you a rough estimate of the battery percentage left.
5) When too far from connection or no audio is played for a period of time(even if you’re within connection), it turns off automatically to reserve battery.

CONS:
1) When too far away, normally it turns off by itself, but in the 4 months I’ve used it, around only 2-3 times it glitches and blares a non-ending long sound.
2) Although it reads you the battery percent, it only does so by 10s and no in between.
3) The audio scroll on the headset is inconsistent (sometimes it doesn’t work); doesn’t really affect you if you adjust volume through pc settings.

-PRICING: out of all the headsets I’ve used so far, this has to be the best I’ve had thus far. Even if I splurge a bit more than other headsets on the market right now, the battery life and comfort alone wins me over.

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***WOULD I BUY THIS AGAIN / RECOMMEND IT?***
-Absolutely, yes. I can’t recommend this enough.
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Hope this review helped, and happy shopping! 🙂

UPDATE: I’ve had these headphones for about 3 months now, and would like to clarify a few things. I initially thought this microphone was an improvement over the wired version, however, I can now confidently say that this microphone is slightly worse. It’s not amazing, and it’s a bit more static-y than the wired version’s mic. It’s definitely not bad, though, and I have heard so so much worse. Also, after using these headphones for (on average) a few hours every day at 60% volume, the battery life has definitely held up. I end up charging them once they get to about 30% or lower, which usually takes 2-3 weeks. I’d say that’s pretty damn good.

Before this headset, I was using a HyperX Cloud II Wired, but I decided I wanted to go wireless, but definitely stay in the HyperX family. All I can say is this headset is a very worthwhile upgrade over the Cloud II, or even if you’re not upgrading from anything. It is without a doubt the best headset I have ever owned and I definitely won’t be changing headsets any time soon.

Comfort:
I initially fell in love with the way the Cloud II fit on my head, and this headset only improves upon that. I never considered the Cloud II uncomfortable even after 10+ hours of consecutive use, yet the Cloud Alpha somehow improved upon it. It has a much softer headband and the included ear cups are probably the best I’ve ever used on a headset. I even tried to upgrade to some Wicked Cushions (which are available on amazon and they have great reviews) but they were honestly a downgrade, they were stiffer and more angular, which lead to a less comfortable experience. Add to that the fact that this headset is fairly light (i didn’t weigh it but it definitely isn’t heavy.

Sound Quality:
I’m no audiophile, and these definitely aren’t studio-level headphones, but I’d say the sound quality is quite good. You’re going to experience the typical gaming headset sound profile of slightly exaggerated bass, but that should be expected as that is typically favorable in games, and also sounds pretty good when listening to music (depending on what you listen to, of course.) I’d say the audio quality is about as good as the wired Cloud II, if a little better, and that’s to say, quite good for a gaming headset.

Microphone:
The microphone is also a slight improvement over the Cloud II, which was already great in my opinion, though this may vary unit to unit because some people complain about poor microphone quality. Also, there is a red LED mic mute indicator which is always welcome and a nice improvement over the Cloud II. Additionally, within the HyperX NGENUITY software there is an option to enable “Mic Monitoring” which basically allows you to hear yourself when you talk (there is practically zero noticeable delay). This likely drains battery life but I will definitely be keeping it on because I love it as a feature and haven’t had a single headset that actually has this feature since I had a pair of Turtle Beach Recon 50’s many years ago. Not everyone will like this feature but I am personally a big fan.

Battery Life:
The advertised “300 hour” battery life may or may not be true, I wouldn’t know considering I haven’t needed to charge the headset since I got it. In all seriousness, it is very good, and there is a battery percentage readout in the HyperX NGENUITY software that also says the hours of charge left. I haven’t timed it but I’d wager the actual battery life (depending on what audio level you use, if you use spatial audio, etc.) is around 200-250 hours which is incredible.

Build Quality:
There’s not much to say here, the build quality is pretty good. It’s a mix of a soft-touch plastic and metal (probably aluminum) and feels pretty nice.

Overall, I would highly recommend this headset if you’re in the market for a nice wireless gaming headset.

Vraiment comfortable en longue durée même pour les oreilles grandes.
La durée d’autonomie est incroyable et bien ce qui est annoncé, souvent pas besoin de le charger après une semaine entière d’utilisation quotidienne intensive.
Le son est bon et très clair, idéal pour le jeux vidéo à mon avis.
Seul bémol est la qualité du micro, qui est correcte mais sans plus, mais on ne peut pas tout avoir sachant en plus qu’il est sans fil. Du coup je mets 5/5 quand même malgré ce petit ”défaut”.