This is the first time I reviewed a gaming headset and it’s HyperX, a product division of Kingston Technology, the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer.

The HyperX Cloud was made the appearance in 2014 and received nothing by compliments. It’s not only a comfortable, it sounded as good or even better than most of its more expensive competitors.

There were a few gaming headsets was released right after that such as the Cloud II, Cloud Revolver, Cloud Stinger and now the latest additions, the HyperX Cloud Alpha.

Special thanks to the people from Kingston Technology Taiwan for sending us a unit for this review.

Here’s a quick unboxing and what’s inside

Design

This probably the most premium looking headset that I’ve ever hands-on. It uses brushed-metal materials on the outer of the earcups and red perforated Y-shape aluminum frame. The leatherette headband is wrapped in red stitches around a memory foam core for better comfort and interesting design outlook.

The earcups are in oval shape and large enough to cover an entire ear comfortably. The earcups have wire runs from the top to the soft-rubber cap on the headband. The earcups are foamy and incredibly soft yet comfortable. The downside, the earcups aren’t foldable or rotatable.

The HyperX Alpha has a unique cabling management where all the cabling is removable including the microphone. It’s a much safer design and easy cable replacement if it breaks. No more trashing the entire headset if the cable breaks. The cable that has an inline audio control is about 4 and a half feet long has a volume dial and microphone mute switch. There’s an audio cable extender which adds another 6 and a half long in case you need to plug the headphone and mic at the rear of the PC. They are good built quality and braided cables.

Sound & Microphone

The new features introduced in this headset is inside the earcups. It features 50mm dual-chamber drivers. Both of the chambers work separately, where one of the chambers contains the mid and high frequencies and the other houses the low frequency. This allows better separation of bass frequencies with the mids and the highs, to create a more immersive and dynamic sound.

In the real test, the audio clarity is pretty good and the bass is very precise. There are not a slight of distortion during the blasting test frequencies. The headset is perfect for almost any gaming titles. It able to highlight the lows of an explosion as well as highs of crackling gunshots and piercing sword slice. In Overwatch game, the headset is capable of apt for shooters in which directionality mean for easy incoming enemies.

It uses 3.5mm audio output, the HyperX Cloud are compatible with any devices with 3.5mm audio jack including, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox One (with 3.5mm audio jack) and even on smartphones.

The Cloud Alpha’s microphone sounded decently in voice recording and as well online voice streaming. The noise-canceling microphone picked a fair amount of background noise.

Verdict

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is an excellent pick for those who seek for impressive audio quality and sleek yet sturdy premium built. Not to mention, the HyperX Cloud Alpha is carrying a price tag for under RM 400 which makes it one of the best sub RM 400 gaming headset.

Pros
• Detacable Cables
• Excellent Audio Output & Microphone
• Comfortable Memory Foam

Cons
• I wish that it comes with a protective case instead of a cloth-pouch

Overall
• Built – 9/10
• Design – 8/10
• Sound Quality – 9/10
• Microphone – 8/10
• Value – 8/10
• Overall Rating – 8.4