Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha - Review 2022

The Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger impressed us final year with very stiff performance and a solid design for a small-scale $fifty. The Cloud Alpha is the visitor's higher-end wired gaming headset. Information technology's twice as expensive at $99.99, but features a nicer build, more powerful bass, and an improved, removable boom mic that makes information technology easier to use the headset as standard headphones when y'all're not gaming. It offers very good sound, though the Astro Gaming A10 has similar audio operation for just over half the price, making it our Editors' Option.

Design

The Deject Alpha is both sturdy and plush, with soft, well-padded faux leather over-ear earpads. The headset'southward frame is red anodized aluminum, which attaches to each earcup in a skeletal U-shaped strut that lets them pivot upward and down. The frame is solid all the way from one earcup to the other, which means the headset can't fold downwards for easier storage. Red stitching on the headband and red HyperX logos on the back of each blackness plastic earcup complement the red aluminum of the frame, giving the headset a stylish but not overwhelming aesthetic.

The headset's earcups are minimalist in pattern, with few connections and no physical controls. Each earcup connects to the other through a brusque braided cable that disappears into the headband padding and remains unobtrusive while wearing the headset. The left earcup holds two 3.5mm ports on the bottom edge for connecting to your gaming device and attaching the removable smash mic.

Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha

Microphone and Accessories

The blast mic is a simple capsule mounted on a flexible metal arm, with a foam wind filter on the end. While information technology doesn't look similar much, it sounded skilful in our tests, picking up my voice clearly in one case I plant the all-time position for it. Information technology can get very sibilant fifty-fifty with the wind filter if you put it besides close to your mouth, but at a few inches from your mentum it's nice and clean.

Also the nail mic, the Deject Alpha includes a four-human foot fabric-wrapped cable with an in-line remote that adjusts the volume and mutes the microphone, a 2nd cablevision with two 3.5mm connectors for use with PCs with split headphone and microphone jacks, and a carrying pouch. The volume punch on the remote is mechanical, and functions separately from your continued device.

As a stereo headset with iii.5mm connectors, the Cloud Alpha can work with nearly whatever gaming device. Yous tin can plug it into your Xbox One controller, PlayStation 4 controller, Nintendo Switch (in portable mode), smartphone, tablet, or PC hands. As with nearly iii.5mm headsets, the Cloud Alpha has no faux surround sound or other processing features.

Music Performance

Music comes through clearly on the Cloud Blastoff, with enough of low-finish power when it'south present in the mix. At maximum (and unsafe) volumes, the headset played our bass examination rail, The Knife's "Silent Shout," without a hint of distortion. Information technology reproduced the bass synth notes and kick drum hits with enough force to potentially hurt your ears, and dialing dorsum the book fabricated it much easier to tolerate while keeping the low-terminate thump in the forefront.

Fairly strong high frequency response balances out the powerful bass, though it lacks a bit of treble finesse. The bagpipes in The Existent McKenzies' "Fleck" are sharp and harsh confronting the driving guitar and drums, only they miss that treble border that keeps them in the front of the mix and not sitting dorsum confronting the drums. Paul McKenzie's raspy vocals have the spotlight, as they should, even if the flinty brogue in his voice isn't quite equally crisp equally it could be. Information technology's a bass-forward remainder that doesn't significantly hurt the dumbo rails, but doesn't treat the college frequencies with as much care as it should.

Gaming Performance

Games sound practiced on the Deject Alpha, through its 50mm stereo drivers. Since it's an analog headset, the Cloud Alpha doesn't offering any simulated environment audio or other audio processing features. However, its stereo sound comes through with enough of ability and clarity, and nosotros've notwithstanding to hear a headset with simulated surround that offers an audible tactical advantage; the feature tin help headsets sound bigger than stereo mixing does, but it won't aid you in your games.

Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha

Overwatch comes through clearly on the headset. Junkrat's bombs sound punchy without getting any extra low frequency response added to their effect, while the game'southward sweeping orchestral score gets lots of bass gravitas. Gunfire tin can exist heard clearly, and vocal cues from other characters are hands discernible in the center of combat.

Team deathmatches in Doom accept plenty forcefulness to give the rocket explosions and machine gun shots some presence, but they won't rattle your head thanks to the game'due south mixing that focuses on low-mid punch rather than sub-bass rumble. This leaves plenty of room for tracking footsteps and the distant sounds of combat, since it doesn't have to wrestle with the low end for your attention. The stereo mix on the game offers a decent sense of lateral direction, merely again you're not going to go very constructive directional imaging from whatsoever headset due to the stereo, two-driver nature of almost all of them.

Conclusions

The Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha is a very expert wired gaming headset. It doesn't practise annihilation fancy, merely its splendid build quality and strong sound performance make it a compelling purchase. It's a strong pick if your budget hovers around $100, but the Astro Gaming A10 presents a better value at $sixty despite not having quite as nice of a build. If you can afford to splurge, meanwhile, the Turtle Beach Aristocracy Pro and Beyerdynamic Custom Game are excellent headsets, but they're twice as expensive, without the benefit of wireless convenience to assistance justify the price.