A gaming headset done right

Sometimes it feels like gaming headsets have just gotten a little bit extra lately, with all of it unnecessary RGB lighting built-in rumble engines. When I try to choose an excellent wireless gaming headset, I’m not asking for much. I’m looking for comfort, solid audio, long battery life and connectivity, and a simple design. Actually, it is. And by updating its classic wired Cloud headset with new wireless support, the HyperX Cloud II Wireless is a great example of a simple wireless gaming headset done right.

Starting with its design, the Cloud II Wireless is practically a copy of the standard Cloud wired headset, which is by no means a bad thing. A few years ago when I came up the best gaming headsets under $ 100, the original HyperX Cloud finished second and barely fell short SteelSeries’ Arctis 5, mainly because during long gaming sessions of three hours or more I found that the Arctis 5 breathed better and was just a bit more comfortable. But it was very close.

With the Cloud II Wireless you get more of the same, including a sturdy aluminum headband with plenty of padding and soft memory foam ear cups. HyperX also includes a handy power button, mute button, and volume wheel right on the headset, which may seem a bit spartan, but includes all the important features. Adding a game / chat balance button like with other wireless headsets would have been nice, well.

Like its predecessor, the Cloud II Wireless has a closed-back design that offers good passive noise cancellation. Just be careful not to start talking louder when you put them on as it’s harder to hear yourself, which is something I did (much to my wife’s dismay) when I switched from my normal semi-open-cans backed. Across the audio range, the Cloud II Wireless sounded tight and clear, without the muddy lows I sometimes encounter with other brands. While you can use the free HyperX app to adjust various audio settings or enable the HyperX’s virtual 7.1 surround sound feature, the Cloud II Wireless was actually so good out of the box that I got them several days earlier. used them to connect to the app. I just plugged in the wireless dongle to my PC, turned on the headset and started gaming. Essentially no installation was required, how easy is that?

In terms of microphone performance, just like on the standard Cloud headset, the Cloud II Wireless has a detachable microphone that sits at the end of a bendable boom, which sounded crisp and clear. HyperX includes some built-in noisecanceling technology to reduce ambient noise, which I found generally effective, but not very profound. That said, I have to admit that in a side-by-side test with a Blue Yeti standard microphone, the HyperX didn’t capture so many of the finer details in my voice, with many of my friends on Discord saying my speech sounded a bit flat. But honestly, that’s okaybecause those two microphones are made for different purposes. When I’m gaming I’m more concerned about being easily understood than anything else, because in the middle of a robbery or a big firefight, I don’t really care that a microphone picks up all the nasal sounds in my speech.

But for me the most impressive thing about the Cloud II Wireless is how good the battery life and wireless connection are. HyperX claims that the Cloud II Wireless should last about 30 hours on a charge, and in my experience that’s pretty good as I only needed to charge it once every two weeks, although obviously that can vary depending on how much you each day.

As for the wireless connection, HyperX says the Cloud II Wireless range is up to 20 meters (about 65 feet). IIn my tests I couldn’t even find a place in my 1000-square foot apartment where the audio was cut off so I had to physically leave my house and walk to the elevator on my floor before the sound cut out.

My only complaints about the HyperX Cloud II Wireless boil down to a few minor niggles. The first is that the included USB-A to USB-C charging cable is only about 60cm long, which means it’s not really long enough to use if you want to use the headset while it is load. The other is that unlike SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless, which comes with a USB-C dongle, the Cloud II Wireless uses a USB-A wireless dongle, which is doesn’t really work with the handheld-style Nintendo Switch, but you can plug the dongle into the Switch’s dock, which does have a USB-A port.

This means that the Cloud II Wireless is primarily a headset for PC or PS4 gamers. And while it’s not on the box, the Cloud II Wireless also worked fine when I connect it to a PS5. Unfortunately, because Microsoft uses its own signal for wireless audio, the Cloud II Wireless (like many wireless headsets) doesn’t play well with Xboxes.

Finally, with a price tag of $ 150, the Cloud II Wireless is also slightly more expensive than some of its inexpensive wireless competitors. But for me that’s not much of a problem, because everything the Cloud II Wireless does it right. It has a clean, sturdy design, good audio, and clear sound detachable microphone and better battery life and stronger audio connection than I could ask for. If you’re just a simple, well-made wireless gaming headset, the Cloud II Wireless is it.

Readme

• The Cloud II Wireless has approximately 30 hours of battery life and a wireless range of up to 20 meters.
• Because the Cloud II Wireless relies on a USB-A dongle for that connection, it is not a good choice for pairing with a phone.
• The Cloud II Wireless is compatible with PCs, the Nintendo Switch (when docked), the PS4 and even though it’s not on the box, the PS5 too. But not Xbox.
• The included USB-A to USB-C charging cable is only two feet long, which means it’s a bit short if you want to keep using the headset while charging.