HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless review: 300 hours of audio bliss

The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless is a Pipedream headset. It has the same excellent sound quality as the Cloud Alpha – which is among the best gaming headsets – plus a few small improvements in comfort. Crucially, it has a 300-hour battery life, which is an exponential leap for the gaming headset world.

I knew I was going to love the Cloud Alpha Wireless from the moment I unboxed it, and after extensive use, that impression hasn’t changed. This is the headset I would recommend for most PC gamers, despite some minor issues when it comes to using it away from your desk.

design

If you’ve seen the Cloud Alpha headset, you should be very familiar with the wireless version. It looks identical aside from a few minor tweaks for comfort (more on that below). It’s undoubtedly a gamer’s headset, but it’s not as flashy as Razer’s Kraken V3, thanks to the Cloud Alpha Wireless’s lack of RGB and slimmer overall construction.

The headband has a good amount of play, I’m not worried about it wearing out, and the earcups have deep, independent adjustment. The locking earcup holders mean you can’t fold them away for travel, but you probably won’t be taking the Cloud Alpha Wireless outside of your home anyway.

Surrounding the headset you’ll find a smooth-running volume wheel on the right, along with a power button, mic-mute button, 3.5mm port, and USB-C port on the left. There’s also a small LED indicator that lets you know when the headset is on and whether you’ve muted the mic (although you can’t see the indicator when the headset is on, like you can with the Corsair Virtuoso Wireless XT).

You can connect the headset with a cable if you want to connect it to a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. The wireless USB dongle is exclusive for PC. That’s all good, but I really miss Bluetooth on the Cloud Alpha Wireless. You might not want to take this headset out to listen to music, but using it for cloud gaming with a tablet or for gaming on your phone just isn’t possible with a range of dongles.

battery life

The Cloud Alpha Wireless has a battery life of 300 hours on a single charge, which is insane. Most gaming headsets are in the double digits, with cans like the Logitech G533 needing a charge after 15 hours. It’s a tremendous achievement.

However, I can’t figure out how HyperX does it. The lack of RGB certainly helps, as does the auto-on feature, which shuts down the headset after 20 minutes of inactivity. I’ve been working with the Cloud Alpha Wireless for days while still getting the “Battery level is at 100%” message whenever I turn it on.

It’s hard to say if 300 hours is actually what the Cloud Alpha Wireless can achieve, but honestly I don’t care. What matters to me is that I was able to use the headset for two weeks without going below half the battery and that’s really impressive. The only problem with this is that you have to charge the headset so infrequently that it doesn’t feel like routine.

sound quality

The Cloud Alpha Wireless sounds incredible. It uses the same 50mm drivers in the wired version, which features a dual-chamber design. Essentially, the drivers isolate the treble, mids, and bass into separate chambers, giving the Cloud Alpha Wireless an open sound that never feels like frequencies are fighting each other.

I tried the headset in some recently played games — Destiny 2, Elden Ring, and Darkest dungeon – and they all sounded excellent. Across them, I’ve always preferred the DTS:X spatial audio turned on. The headset is passable without it, but it feels like you’re not getting the audio experience that you could be.

Another constant was the heavy bass. The bass is tuned high and lets out shots destiny 2 a nice kick, but also a bit too heavy booming with the narrator’s low notes Darkest dungeon. The bass doesn’t drown out other frequencies thanks to the design of the driver, but it’s still heavily lean. Fortunately, you can counteract this with EQ.

Even though the Cloud Alpha Wireless is a gaming headset, I can’t get past movies and music. DTS Headphone:X Spatial Audio is great for movies and has a much more subtle effect than Windows Sonic. The positioning and depth are great without the weird reverb effect that comes with poor spatial audio.

Music is another thing. Normally you shouldn’t use DTS:X when listening to music, but with the Cloud Alpha Wireless it sometimes sounds a lot better. Low-intensity arrangements, like PJ Morton’s Ready sound fantastic with DTS:X, much better than without it. On the other hand, dense arrangements like scorching toxin from Vildhjarta sound terrible with DTS:X. I found myself turning it on and off depending on what I was listening to, sometimes in the same song.

software

HyperX’s Ngenuity software is solid, if unimpressive. With Cloud Alpha Wireless, you can turn on DTS:X spatial audio, adjust mic and volume levels, and turn on EQ. The 10-band EQ also lets you create your own presets, allowing you to select sounds for specific games.

That’s all. You can set when the headset turns off automatically and turn off voice prompts, but Ngenuity is barebones. But that’s not a big problem. The Cloud Alpha Wireless is a barebones headset, and Ngenuity only shows a few simple but important settings.

comfort

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is an extremely comfortable gaming headset. The wireless version has a few minor changes, but together they make for an even more comfortable experience.

You’ll find the differences in the ear cups and headband. The Cloud Alpha Wireless uses a softer memory foam compared to the wired version, making the rigid frame feel more forgiving. The softer earcups also result in better noise isolation, where the previous version felt like there was a layer of air between your ears and the headset.

To be honest, HyperX didn’t have to make any of these changes, and I would still have sung the praises of the Cloud Alpha Wireless. With them, the Cloud Alpha Wireless gets the sound isolation of a headset like the SteelSeries Arctis Pro without the massive foam ear cups.

It’s good that the Cloud Alpha Wireless has a 300-hour battery life because you might actually be wearing it for that long.

Our opinion

The Cloud Alpha Wireless is my new favorite gaming headset. The Cloud Alphas were already the crème de la crème, and this version improves on that design while supercharging wireless connectivity with 300 hours of battery life.

Are there alternatives?

Yes, but not all, balancing comfort, sound quality and battery life in the same way. In terms of battery life in particular, the Cloud Alpha Wireless is in a league of its own.

• $150 Steel Series Arctis 7 — Excellent sound quality and $50 cheaper, although not quite as comfortable and with much worse battery life.
• $150 HyperX Cloud II Wireless — HyperX’s Cloud II Wireless is $50 off list price and up to $100 off pre-owned, but still offers similar convenience and sound quality. However, it achieves a battery life of 30 hours.

How long it will take?

HyperX sells replacement earpads, cables, and mics, so the Cloud Alpha Wireless could last 10 years or even longer. HyperX has essentially been re-releasing variations of this design for years, and they always hold up. That speaks for the longevity of the Cloud Alpha Wireless.

should you buy it

Yes-no question. Unless you need RGB or the fancy details of premium headsets, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless is the best wireless gaming headset you can buy.

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