HyperX CloudX
HyperX CloudX
Modelled after the Cloud II, the CloudX opts for a more luxe, understated finish by keeping things clean and monochromatic. It’s sleek and unfussy for a gaming headset – light without feeling flimsy, solid but not clunky.
Everything about the headset feels silky; the matte, rubberized texture-like earcups; the leatherette memory foam band and cushions; the exposed forks of its sturdy aluminium frame. The embroidered logo and stitching on the headband add a nice premium touch that other similarly priced headsets don’t really think about.
It might look boring for some, but after years of party-glow LEDs and so many garish color options, it feels nice to switch up to something simpler.
An issue I have with most gaming headsets I’ve used is their excessive clamp force, particularly above the ears. I get that it affects sound isolation/leakage and head-grip longevity, but I don’t want to spend months breaking it in like a Brooks bicycle seat, especially if I have to nurse a serious head strain every time I wear it for 30 minutes or more. It’s even worse if I’m wearing glasses or if the earcups are heavy.
The CloudX handles all these problems thoughtfully. It’s flexible, doesn’t grip like a vice and is adequately padded to even out the pressure and deliver the “extended play in total comfort” promise that many gaming headsets don’t quite manage to achieve as often as they claim.
There’s memory foam in the underside of the headband, which takes the pressure off of the top of my head. Same in the leatherette ear cushions, which are insanely soft and comfortable, like they’ve already been broken in for you.
On the other hand, the cloth cushion alternatives are thicker and denser. You get a firmer seal around your ears and a tighter fit, but for me, switching to this added weight and put the strain back into my temples.
Audio-wise, the CloudX doesn’t have that deep, booming bellow you expect during the tail end of an AWP round going off as the low frequencies weren’t bold enough to get the heart pumping; they were overshadowed by voicework or the much louder rattle of gunfire and flying debris. It doesn’t mean that the bass response sucks, it’s just not powerful enough to make a difference to the player.
There’s also some crackling and distortion when you adjust the volume with the inline controls. The problematic dial requires a bit of tweaking for the sound to come out of both sides, especially at higher volume levels.
Nitpicks aside, the CloudX performs with great clarity, particularly with showcasing the layers of environmental noise that make a game world come alive. The sound isolation may not be 100% when your game’s having a quiet moment, but it’s effective enough to stay immersed in action.
My mates reported that I was much clearer than I’d ever sounded. With my past headsets, they used to complain about my mic picking up background noise, but this fared better in that aspect. It helps that the microphone stem is very bendy so you can flex it more towards your mouth. The flipside of that is not knowing if you’re too close to the mic.
I also quite like the way my music sounds on the CloudX. Yes, I know, it’s a gaming headset, but it’s always nice to see if the equipment can do our personal playlists justice.
Bass is punchy, but not excessively brought out so much that it muddies the mids and drowns out the higher frequencies. It does well with electronic dance music, and brings out warm, bright and airy vocals nicely. Sibilant sounds are more pronounced (at high volumes, wincingly so). On instrumentals, it tends to dampen the piano, but it really elevates strings and gives percussion in orchestral arrangements that extra oomph. If you’re tuning in to a game soundtrack you love, this might help you discover new layers in production that you haven’t really noticed before.
AT A GLANCE
DRIVER
Dynamic, 53mm neodymium
TYPE
Closed back, Circumaural
RESPONSE
15Hz – 25,000Hz
WEIGHT
309g / 322g (with mic)
PRICE
US$99.99
