The essentials in brief: With the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset, a new runtime king enters the arena, which also delivers in terms of sound and wearing comfort. The design and the range of functions still leave room for improvement in view of the price of 230 euros (RRP).
Pro
rich sound
extremely long battery life
comfortable & tight-fitting
gutes passives Noise Cancelling
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Contra
high price
altbackenes Design
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I examined this headset closely from all sides. There are no pentagrams or runes anywhere, although I’m sure black magic is at work. Up to 300 hours of cordless runtime on a single charge? Twelve and a half days straight?
If the built-in battery weighed half a kilo, I might be bored, but the entire headset including the pluggable microphone weighs only 337 grams. This crowns the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset for PC and PlayStation 4 and 5 Runtime King.
Did someone in marketing put it on too big? No, the numbers are actually correct. There is still a trick, because the promised ones up to 300 hours were achieved at 50 percent volume. Even with the song Hotel California by the Eagles on a loop. The song doesn’t even make Grandma’s hearing aid sweat.
Not the most modern design, but comfortable and resistant.
continuous sound
I wanted to know exactly, so I packed my entire music collection into a playlist. In terms of genre, there is almost everything from the last seven decades – except, of course, Schlager. I wouldn’t do that to the poor headset. Hey, I’m not a brute.
With a potpourri of pop, metal, rock, drum and bass, jazz, soul and hip-hop at full volume, it was over after around 170 hours of work. Still a fierce result!
But even before my long-term test was over, I started to ponder: do you need that much running time in everyday life? Would a battery half the size have done just as well if the headset had a few more features or was a little cheaper? After all, the RRP of 230 euros is a big announcement.
My answer: Yes and no. It comes down to what you want from a gaming headset.
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Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT im Test
Why it’s one of the best gaming headsets
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You get fat sound, DTS-X surround sound support and decent accompanying software for the money. More on that in a moment. The microphone plugged in via the jack is a bit high-pitched (in order to communicate clearly with the clan buddies), but is okay overall. A USB-C cable and a pop screen for the microphone are included.
The headset can be connected to the PC and PlayStation via this small USB dongle.
For the same price, there are still more flexible headsets that can alternatively be paired with the cell phone via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, this does not work with the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset, because it is only addressed via a USB dongle measuring around 4 x 2 cm. It’s funny. On the go, the battery life would have made sense. But at home where I can charge it anytime? Alternative connection options are completely absent, which is why Xbox gamers are left out.
So rich and clear
After all: For 230 euros you get much more than just brilliant energy management, because the listening pleasure encourages you to dance. With the help of two independent drivers per earcup, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset generates an incredibly rich soundscape in which highs, mids and lows coexist on an equal footing. It’s generally a bit bass-heavy, but not in an overwhelming way, and certainly not muddy, as is often the case with low-quality bass headphones.
After several hours with the action-adventures Tunic (PC) and Horizon Forbidden West (PS5), as well as the racing games Assetto Corsa Competizione (PC) and Gran Turismo 7 (PS5), I couldn’t report any complaints. Speech in cutscenes was perfectly intelligible, while the deep hum of engines was heart-pounding without overpowering subtleties such as the groaning metal of the vehicle’s chassis heard in Assetto Corsa Competizione.
The microphone can optionally be removed.
However, I had the feeling that hissing sounds in the voice output, as well as particularly high-pitched sound effects (e.g. driving through the gravel bed) were played a little quieter than I’m used to. This is not a negative point of criticism when playing, because such sounds often sound a bit shrill and biting in this frequency range. But how does that affect music?
The music endurance test
For my (subjective) sound test, I used several characteristic pieces of music that push almost every headset to its limits. For example the song “Isobel” by Björk, in whose orchestral B part deep double basses harmonize with a high piccolo flute. Cheap headsets get caught somewhere in the mids trying to do both well, spoiling everything in the process.
Not so with the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset. It left room for both extremes to flourish. It is true that areas in the high range (especially with the percussion) were actually a bit quieter, but this could be easily adjusted by changing the equalizer in the driver software supplied.
Small weaknesses shows the model anyway. The orchestral part of Björks Isobel proves that the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset can handle a wide frequency range, but still just is a gaming headset, not a hi-fi toy. Because when the double bass goes down to the low E, it causes the small membranes to flutter for a short time.
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No broken leg. The only headphones I know of that pass this test are above the 500 euro mark. The HyperX easily mastered other bass-heavy hip-hop and drum-and-bass tracks.
In addition, the headset shone all the more casually in other places. How many times have I had to witness the song Knights of Cydonia was mixed into an undefinable mush by Muse through cheap headphones. A lot of sound elements are in the mids, which makes it difficult to tell them apart even on the uncompressed CD version. It’s even worse in the compressed MP3 downmix.
Tia, what can I say. I haven’t been able to bang my head as happily in the last third of the song as I can with this headset for a long time. All mids are razor sharply defined, massive and brilliant.
The tension of the headband is decent, but never onerous.
Apropos Headbangen: This works wonderfully because the headset sits firmly but still comfortably on the head. In any case, no expense was spared on the material. The memory foam around my ears is so dense that I probably wouldn’t notice my house collapsing until the wrecking ball tickles my nose. Likewise vice versa: my wife didn’t even hear any of the music I was listening to when I lay in bed right next to her to test the strength of the radio connection.
It’s just a pity that the design is a bit old-fashioned. The volume control on the right earcup is easily accessible, but the device’s other design features are the red LED, which lights up when the microphone is muted. For example, the ear cups cannot be tilted so that you can rest them on your shoulders when removing them. There are worse things.
