HyperX Cloud Alpha S Review

The immensely famous Cloud Alpha headset got a redesign as the new HyperX Cloud Alpha S Review. Peruse our full review of this gaming headset here. HyperX Cloud Alpha S Review

The HyperX Cloud Alpha was a sensational headset in the $100 value range – it was super agreeable, it sounded incredible, and it was quite easy on the eyes, as well! So the hopes were high when its successor – the HyperX Cloud Alpha S – was declared.

HyperX Cloud Alpha S Review

The first Cloud Alpha had set a respectable establishment and the Cloud S sought to expand upon it by adding cool new features like virtual 7.1 surround sound, a simple bass slider, and that’s just the beginning. Just this overhaul also raised the cost of the headset by $30.

This left many pondering: Are the enhancements presented by the patched-up Cloud Alpha S worth the additional investment?

We should discover!

Specs

Design

This time around, you don’t need to look in the engine to see every one of the changes since HyperX refreshed Cloud Alpha S another layer of paint. Instead of the standard red and dark outside of the first, the Cloud Alpha S sports a significantly more exquisite and sleeker beat-up design. We were especially impressed by the gorgeous blue stitching on the headband.

Generally, the design of the headset is simply perfect. What’s more, it’s not just that the headset looks decent, it feels premium to the touch.

The headband is made of aluminum, empowering it to withstand some punishment without any feeling of dread toward breaking. It’s still not the sort of headset you’d convey outside, despite the apparent durability, however, the minimalist design is unquestionably valued. On the off chance that loves this sort of design, you’ll adore the elective Blackout version of the headset specifically, including an all-dark outside.

We don’t ordinarily gush this a lot over the shade of a headset, however, the Cloud Alpha S deserves all the praise for figuring out how to seamlessly mix structure and capacity into one gorgeous entirety.

On the earcups, you’ll track down two holes – one for the separable amplifier and the other for the 3.5mm link, the two of which we’ll discuss further down beneath. In addition to this, both earcups also highlight a clever bass slider that gives the driver either pretty much space to resonate, contingent upon whether you keep it opened or closed.

It’s an exceptional component that functions well and yet feels a bit gimmicky, especially when you consider how it’s absolutely impossible to dabble with different frequencies.

Comfort

One of the outstanding features of the first Cloud Alpha was the solace it gave, and the Cloud Alpha S is the same. This headset simply has a method of resting on your head without truly pressing too severely with it. It’s lightweight enough despite not being all-plastic; it clamps with just the perfect proportion of power, and it can be made to fit just with regards to any head.

Also, the cushioning is of course superb. The cushioning on the headband makes it so that the headset never feels excessively weighty or awkward. As for the ear cushions, you get two pairs to choose from – ones are froth, and the others counterfeit cowhide.

The two pairs are unbelievably soft, yet the cowhide one helps contain the bass while the froth one helps lessen ear sweating. The choice to choose is absolutely valued, however, the process of really swapping the ear cushions is unimaginably tedious and not something we can see anybody doing routinely.

Regardless, regardless of whether you were to never change the ear cushions once you settled on the ones that suit your better, we need to give HyperX props for including such a choice.

All things considered, similar as its predecessor, the Cloud Alpha S is an unimaginably agreeable headset that you can use for day-long marathons without any aggravation or issues.

Features

As for what’s under the hood, we have to start with the drivers. The Cloud Alpha S features dual-chamber drivers with 50mm neodymium magnets. The original Cloud Alpha was the first headset to incorporate the dual-chamber design and it was a big success, so it’s great to see them double down on that.

Also, there’s of course the recently added virtual 7.1 surround sound, in spite of the fact that it’s not your standard “you have virtual 7.1 surround sound, play around with that” experience. This is the secret:

The Cloud Alpha S uses a standard 3.5mm link. This is incredible, as it does wonders for versatility – you can interface this headset to your PC, smartphone, console, and so on. In any case, to access the virtual 7.1 surround highlight, you need to plug that link into the blender amp that comes with the headset. The blender amp has a sizable remote and afterward one more stretch of link that ends with a USB connector.

To utilize the additional features, you need to use the two cables. Presently, the two of them are fairly extended, which can get irritating actually rapidly. In the event that you dislike how ordinary wired headsets can get tiresome with their cables, you’ll despise having several meters of link among you and your sound source.

The controls on the link incorporate the ability to separately control the game and talk volumes as well as quiet them. The buttons are quite huge, making them easy to use without looking. In any case, since the regulator is where the two cables meet, and the two cables are really long, the regulator feels a bit illogical to use.

The ability to control the talk volume in a game without presenting yourself to peril is quite helpful, however whether or not this benefit outweighs the impediment of an unnecessarily long link is questionable, best case scenario.

Microphone

The HyperX Cloud Alpha S uses a separable bi-directional, noise-dropping amplifier. It’s somewhat adaptable, so positioning the mic in the most ideal spot shouldn’t be an issue. Nonetheless, the issue is that in any event, when ideally positioned, the mic here is just sort of calm.

It’s not that the quality is subpar – it sounds exceptionally clear and it’s definitely sufficient for casual web based gaming, however we’ve seen undeniably more impressive microphones on headsets more reasonable than the Cloud Alpha S. Another strange thing we saw was that voices really sound distinctively relying upon which link is used. To exacerbate the situation, the sound sounded more full and crisper when the USB link with the blender amp was totally avoided with regards to the situation!

The USB link houses most of the new features that were added to Cloud Alpha S – the link is essentially the extra $30 you’re paying for the overhaul – so you can envision our disappointment when we understood this. For casual internet gaming, it’ll in all actuality do just fine. Yet, the way that you need to abandon virtually every one of the new features to take advantage of your mouthpiece is just disappointing.

Sound

So the headset looks astounding and feels incredible to wear, yet the mic is alright, best case scenario, and a considerable lot of the additional features are dubious. Looks like the sound quality will determine the destiny of this headset, as is suitable.

So how does the HyperX Cloud Alpha S sound?

It sounds extraordinary! This is generally thanks to the double chamber drivers.

These use two separate chambers – one for the mids and highs, and the other for the bass. This, thusly, makes it so that the frequencies don’t get jumpbled up like they will more often than not do in different headsets. You can have explosively punchy lows without sacrificing the richness and warmth of the mids and highs. This also helps take out distortion at higher volumes, so assuming you like to game with the volume wrenched up to eleven, you’ll cherish this headset.

Then, at that point, there’s reality that you can use the bass slider to adjust the bass on the fly. Open the slider completely for the bassiest experience, close it on the off chance that you’re searching for the least punch, or save it in the center for a decent equilibrium.

This is quite possibly the most extraordinary feature we’ve seen in some time, and it’s surely useful. Nonetheless, when you move past the curiosity factor, it starts to mess with you how it’s absolutely impossible to adjust different frequencies, so, all things considered you start to puzzle over whether the regular ability to fiddle with the EQ would’ve been desirable over this cool new component.

Nonetheless, the stereo sound on the Cloud Alpha S is absolutely outstanding, however the same doesn’t hold for the virtual 7.1 surround sound. It gets the task finished, sure – it adds to the positional awareness, yet it does so at the expense of the general sound quality. Considering that these sound extraordinary in stereo mode, we can easily see numerous users quitting the virtual surround include out and out to hold the more excellent sound.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the Cloud Alpha S headset by HyperX is very hit-or-miss.

It builds upon the magnificent establishment of the previous Cloud Alpha, so it’s basically impossible that we can call it an awful headset, yet the features it adds don’t feel extremely worthwhile.

The virtual surround sound is unimpressive and an out and out minimize from the standard stereo mode. The amplifier sounds better when you’re not using the blender amp, which ostensibly makes up for the entire $30 contrast between the two headsets, plus the cables are just excessively long.

Sure, having the option to separately adjust the game and visit volumes through the link is helpful, however, this element alone isn’t to the point of making a headset. Also, while we were left speechless by the new shading scheme of the Cloud Alpha S, we can’t suggest purchasing a $30 paint work for a fringe.

In conclusion, the Cloud Alpha S would’ve been a superior earphone assuming we didn’t have the first Cloud Alpha – which sounds just as great and is just as agreeable – to contrast it with. Its central shortcoming is that it’s ill-fated to live in its predecessor’s shadow.