![]() We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve received a sample pair of headphones for review that on paper looks amazing but actually fails to deliver the goods when we put them through their paces. Do you prefer the comfy isolation of a set of over-ears? The snug fit of in-ear? The middle ground of on-ear? Do you want the reliable interruption-free boon of a wired connection or the blissful freedom of wireless? Is active noise-cancellation (ANC) important to you or can you happily live without it?īut even after answering those questions, buying blindly without doing proper research to determine how they perform in the real world still puts you at risk of investing in a poor product. Then you’ve got to think about the form factor. Despite the narrowing of the gap between this and the chasing pack, and despite Steelseries’ increasing dominance in the wireless headset market, for a cabled headset under $100, this should still be your first consideration.There's a budget to think about, of course – that's the easy part. Just like long-running successful sports dynasties, there’s a temptation to feel blasé or jaded about it after four years topping best gaming headset guides, but it’s truly earned that reputation. Once again then, the latest version of the HyperX Cloud finds itself at the very top of the pile. And in the worst case scenario, when a cable breaks, your headset survives and you only need to shell out $10 for a replacement part. ![]() This is a welcome feature though, meaning that going sans-mic enables fairly discrete non-gaming use out in public. There aren’t many bells and whistles, to the extent that a detachable mic and cable are the headline acts in this category. Other features? Well, it’s here-and only here-that the HyperX Cloud Alpha’s low pricing is reflected in the spec sheet. The leatherette contact points around your ear do mean that these are warmer headphones than the breathable designs of Steelseries’ Arctis and Logitech’s G pro headsets, though. It’s an incredibly durable headset too, still retaining its look and plumpness of padding after months of heavy use. HyperX has shaved a little overall weight off with a new wrought aspect to the aluminium frame, and expanded the headband width, but in truth the comfort levels remain roughly where they were-excellent in the first place. The padded earcups and headband haven’t evolved much at all over the Cloud 1, 2, and this latest Alpha, nor have they really needed to. Now that we’ve established that the sound quality’s there, let’s get back to the memory foam. A lot more low end.īest gaming mouse: the top rodents for gamingīest gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend.īest gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio And when you listen to the same audio source first through the DT770s and then the Cloud Alpha, the first thing you hear is a lot more low end. They’re totally neutral (or as near as you can get for under $150) in frequency response, designed that way so you can hear what an audio signal really sounds like, without its makeup on. We test every headset in comparison to our reference studio monitors, the DT770s from BeyerDynamic. Let’s examine the sound quality first, because frankly all that memory foam isn’t worth a whole lot if the sound reproduction is off. There have been refinements to the cabling, the inline controls, and even the chamber design around each driver, but you could always count on a Cloud headset to deliver the basics better than just about anyone else. The fundamentals of what makes the Cloud a great gaming headset have remained steadfast since the very first Cloud released in early 2014: an attractive aviation-style design, lots of memory foam padding, punchy but well-balanced audio, and a surprisingly low price. Features: Detachable noise-cancelling mic, in-line cable controls
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