HyperX's popular Cloud Alpha headset has been combining comfort, quality, and affordability to immerse gamers in their favorite virtual worlds since 2017. The company's latest untethered take on the Cloud Alpha smartly retains the tried-and-true features of its predecessor, while not only cutting the cord, but boasting a whopping 300 hours of playtime between charges. I took the Cloud Alpha Wireless for a two-week test drive to determine if that claim holds up, and if it justifies the headset's $199.99 price tag.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless – Design and Features
It's impossible to dive into a deep evaluation of these cans without immediately addressing the 300-hour elephant in the room. Holding a charge for that long isn't just seemingly unattainable – it's well over 200 hours more than what any other gaming headset on the market has accomplished. And, shockingly, HyperX has somehow pulled it off.
Out of the box, the Cloud Alpha was at 90% charge – at least according to the pleasant, male voice reporting the battery status when I initially donned the headset. After two weeks of regular daily use, the same friendly chap assured me it was still holding a 50% charge, a claim backed up by the companion app's battery monitor. Granted, I wasn't using the set 20 hours a day, but my 14 days of testing included multiple 4-6 hour stretches, as well as a few marathon gaming sessions that hit double digits.
Much more than an attention-grabbing back-of-the-box bullet point, the impressive feature not only works as advertised, it essentially eliminates the biggest issue plaguing wireless gaming headsets. Beyond that, there isn’t much to say…except maybe that HyperX is possibly harnessing a bit of black magic (and a 1500mAh battery) to deliver these unprecedented results.
The company could probably just skate by on this feature, call it a day, and collect a fat paycheck. But again, this cordless take on its existing product also retains and refines everything else the wired version was already doing so well. This could be a drawback for anyone craving a new, aesthetically-evolved Cloud Alpha, as it does look nearly identical to the version that arrived five years ago.
That said, there are some quality of life improvements baked into the classic red-and-black design. Inputs and buttons are streamlined and uncomplicated, with the right cup hosting the volume dial, while the left has power and mute controls, as well as the mic and charging ports. More than straightforward, simple-to-recall placement, the inputs have been thoughtfully crafted with smart tactile designs. The power button, for example, is recessed, while the mute sports a convex shape, ensuring you'll never confuse the two. The volume wheel, meanwhile, has a rigid, chunky feel that dials in adjustments with a pleasing touch and reliable precision.
Like the Cloud Alpha’s previous iterations, this upgrade is incredibly comfortable – and lightweight at just 322g (335g with the mic attached). A combination of aluminum, hard plastic, memory foam, and leatherette parts, it nails the sweet spot between durability and ergonomics. Large, soft ear-cups easily earn the headset its nimbus namesake, causing no irritation or discomfort, even with my eyeglass arms tucked beneath them during lengthy play sessions. The light yet solid design also stands up to abuse. I dropped it, bent it, and even encouraged my roughhousing 9-year-old to put it through the paces while chasing victory royales. No signs of wear and tear were evident.
If I had to gripe about features, I'd point the finger at the limited connectivity options. An included dongle allows you to seamlessly swap between using the headset with a PC and PS5 – both of which immediately recognize it – but there's no Bluetooth support, nor any options for wired connections. Given the high level of comfort and durability on offer, I'd love to travel with these and play my favorite Nintendo and mobile games on-the-go. This is by no means a deal-breaker, but a bit more versatility would've been appreciated and gone further to justifying the premium price.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless – Performance and Gaming
In terms of performance and sound quality, the Cloud Alpha Wireless once again goes back to the well, retaining its predecessor's time-tested dual chamber 50mm drivers. For the uninitiated, this tech separates the high and mid frequencies from the lows, allowing for better sound separation. In practice, this means the myriad “clicks” and “clacks” I heard while assembling – and destroying – plastic bricks in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga not only sounded distinct, but never tripped over each other or blurred together. It also meant all other audio, from blaster fire to character dialog, came through crisp and clear, even as John Williams' iconic score boomed in the background.
The tech continued to deliver when I braved Chernobylite's atmospheric exclusion zone. The survival horror game is absolutely brimming with audio nuance, and the headset had no trouble delivering its layered, ambient sounds with ear-engaging distinction and clarity. Whipping winds, haunting violins, footsteps traversing over varied surfaces, and sparking electrical currents all stood out. Even more impressive, the latter effect could be discerned from the similar crackling of the Geiger counter my character was using.
The mere suggestion of the headset separating mids and highs from those stomach-rumbling lows might have you thinking it sacrifices some bass. That's definitely not the case, as city-rattling explosions, shotgun blasts, and other deep, rich cues carry the satisfying punch and impact you'd expect – they just do so without drowning out the less prominent sounds. The result is a layered, balanced sound stage that significantly ratcheted up the immersion in cinematic, story-driven games like Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring.
Online multiplayer and co-op enthusiasts will also appreciate the inclusion of a detachable microphone. Aside from an LED ring that illuminates when the mic is muted, it's a pretty standard, no-frills offering. That said, it more than got the job done during my Fortnite and Warzone matches, delivering clear, consistent comms. In fact, there was zero distortion and my voice never sounded filtered or muffled.
Listening to music – from '80s power ballads to twangy, alt-country tunes – delivered similar results. The former packed big, arena-swallowing sound, while the subtle banjo plucks of the latter nicely jumped out from the more prominent string and percussion instruments. The large, snug-fitting ear-cups also did a fine job eliminating outside distractions while enjoying my favorite Spotify playlists, even surpassing the abilities of my Razer noise-canceling earbuds.
Audiophiles can also tinker a bit to dial in their desired output with equalizer settings and DTS Headphone: X Spatial Audio support. Accessed through HyperX's Ngenuity app, these features are a nice inclusion, but I didn't find they offered any vast improvements over the headset's excellent default settings, especially when gaming. When watching movies though, I did detect a slightly fuller, richer soundscape with spatial audio enabled. Mileage will vary for the most discerning of listeners, but it's definitely worth playing with the settings to see if you're satisfied with the defaults or prefer a more tailored experience.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless – Software
HyperX's Ngenuity app is fairly straightforward, allowing you to adjust volume, control mic monitoring, enable DTS spatial audio, and check the battery level. The voice inside the headset rounds the charge percentage to the nearest 10, so you'll need to open the app if you want a better idea of how close you are to running out that 300 hours. Dig a bit deeper, and you can tweak the equalizer and create custom profiles or choose from a number of presets. Once the software recognizes your headset, it's an intuitive, albeit bare-bones affair.
Actually getting the app up and running isn't quite as simple though, at least not in my experience. Upon downloading the software to my laptop, I was prompted to plug in the headset. Doing so, however, didn't progress the set-up process. After a few frustrating minutes of troubleshooting – and some luck – the app finally kicked in and recognized my headset. It wasn't a huge inconvenience, but it also wasn't the promised plug-and-play experience either.
