HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Cloud Alpha Gaming Headset

In this comparison review, we will be taking a look at the HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset. Gaming headsets are, you know, are gaming prominence in the market. Due to the pandemic, the demand for gaming headsets has only increased.

HyperX is known for producing outstanding gaming devices. Among them, the HyperX Cloud II Pro is quite popular among professional gamers. The Cloud II Pro is a decent headphone that comes with all the bells and whistles that one would desire.

It comes priced under $100 and provides you with a ton of value. You have separate earpads, in case the old one gets damaged. There is a virtual surround sound, and it also comes with a carrying bag.

It comes with an Xbox model along with a hard case. The design is casual and suitable for gamers. It is not too flashy or sober but comes with just the right amount of elements infused with it.

However, if you remove the microphone, they appear as a traditional unit. It is comfortable to wear and ideal for both gaming and other entertainment purposes. The wired design and low latency make it a top-notch choice.

But it does not come with a noise cancellation feature. The same can be said about the Alpha units. The headset has a beautiful sound profile, and the fitting is sublime. Besides, the sound reproduction was top-notch.

Though they appear similar to HyperX Cloud 2, they are quite comfortable because of the padded earcups. Its headband is quite flexible and is not tight on your head. You will be happy with the microphone that is detachable as well.

But the headset does not have the capability to block the background noise to use it during travel. Let us find out if both of them are among the best gaming headsets available in the market.

Besides, read on to find out who the winner is.

HyperX Cloud II Pro	HyperX Cloud Alpha
PROS	PROS
The design is robust and comfortable. It has an acceptable latency. The gaming headset comes with a powerful audio reproduction. The product is compatible with many devices. It is affordable under $100.	The sound profile is well-balanced. It is designed sublimely. The design is comfortable, and you can wear it for long hours. The microphone is powerful. It provides you with phenomenal noise handling.
CONS	CONS
Few users felt that it feels heavy on the head.	The bass delivery changes on the user.

DESIGN & COMFORT

The design and comfort are one area that both HyperX Cloud II Pro and Alpha gaming headset excel. Those of who have worn any HyperX gaming headset would know that they are quite comfortable to wear.

Perhaps, they can provide a similar comfort level as of the Bose and Sennheiser headsets. The headset is made from metal that is lightweight, coming with a flexible headband. You would also like to use the earcups that are padded with sufficient foam.

The plastic made of the headset does not make it look cheap. It appears quite premium in looks as they come with matte texture on the side. It is a robust and comfortable gaming headset. Thanks to the aluminum material, the headset feels light to put on your head.

Besides, the headband provides you with the right kind of tension and enables your head to feel steady. This is the ideal headgear when you are somebody who attends zoom meetings or has to attend video calls.

We noticed that if you wear glasses, then you may feel slightly uncomfortable. That is common with most headsets in the market. However, the earcups are padded well, which ensures you do not feel uncomfortable at any moment.

The design can be termed as comfortable and straightforward. However, the earcups are slightly on the larger side. When you have a small head, then you will have to adjust it. The color tones of black and red are superb.

Its controls are also accessible, and you can operate them without much hassle. Like most of the over-the-ear headsets, this one, too, can make your ears feel slightly warm. On the bright side, the design blocks all noise from the outside.

But it is not breathable, and if you want to wear them during exercising, then you will feel some discomfort. However, there are no issues when you are gaming for long extended hours with your friends.

The HyperX Cloud Alpha comes with a sleek design. It is not too flashy. In looks, they are quite the same as Cloud II. In fact, our testers thought that they look the same unit. The thing that gave them away was the perforated yokes.

The microphone is detachable and is ideal for casual gaming purposes. However, they come bulky in size, which is a good thing for those of you with a large head. It will fit in sublimely. The headset is quite comfortable, and the headband is padded adequately.

It feels quite lightweight that makes them comfortable to wear for long hours. The control panel on the headphone is simple to use. You can find a remote with an on/off switch and the volume wheel.

The volume control does not come with a grip that makes it slightly challenging to get the exact volume. We found that the controls are quite basic, and few gamers may find that disappointing.

BUILD QUALITY

By now, you would know that the device is lightweight. What about the build quality? Can the HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset? The Cloud II is compact than other headsets in the market.

The other thing to note is that they are quite large. Sadly, they do not come with hinges that can fold. This makes portability an issue, which makes it difficult for you to carry around seamlessly without a bag.

It comes with a pouch that can protect against minor damage. However, you cannot expect it to remain the same when it is dropped or falls inside the water. Our testers felt that the Cloud II comes with the robust build quality.

It does not break or get damaged when you overextend the wires. Besides, the earcups also feel quite thick and pleasant when you put them on. The cable that links the earcup can break at any given point.

From a sporting perspective, they tend to say a lot. In a sense, when you wear them for physical activity, the headset will move quickly from one side to the other. If you are jogging or running with them, then they may fall off.

Besides, the cable is not removable, and it can get hooked to something when exercising. On the other hand, the Alpha comes durable and robust. The aluminum material on the unit is lightweight but strong.

It should be able to manage a few drops without any significant damage happening. The backplates can get scratched with continuous usage. Though the overall is sublime, the unit cannot on par with top-end models like the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless.

Coming to the Alpha model, it is quite lightweight and sturdy. The unit is similar in make to the Cloud II unit. We felt that it is slightly better in build than the Cloud II unit. The Alpha is a breathable headset that forms a tight seal around your head.

The Alpha is not portable, quite like the Cloud II. Unlike them, the Alpha comes smaller. You cannot fold them and lay flat for carrying them inside a bag. It has a pouch that enables you to move them around.

On the whole, both the units are quite solid and durable models. You can use them for gaming, movies, listening to music. However, when exercising, you may want to avoid using them as they can get warm.

AUDIO PERFORMANCE

We will read about the audio performance of the HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset. The Cloud II Pro comes with acceptable frequency response, and the treble is highly consistent at 4kHz.

During testing, we made one of them wear spectacles. He felt that a drop in the power of the bass when compared to others who did not. We may want to warn you to adjust the headband before placing it on your head if you wear glasses.

It is quite tight on your head. However, the consistency of the bass is noticeable. We found that the bass is capable of giving you the right kind of punch. The bass is better than the range of the mid-bass, giving you a booming sound.

This is when the Alpha flexible bass sliders come to play. They give you more control over your audio listening options. But the mid-range sound of the Cloud II was terrific. The vocals and instruments were heard with a slight dip at 1kHz.

A notable mention would be the battery life of the headset. It can operate for 30 hours. The Alpha is durable headsets, but we may not suggest them for sports. They can move around and come off without warning.

The audio performance on the Alpha was quite pleasant, to say the least. We could hear everything that we wanted eloquently. The bass and the mid-range were good. However, when you wear spectacles, you can listen to things a little differently.

The treble of the Alpha is average, giving you a low-treble. However, you can hear the vocals and the tone opulently. You can consider using the headsets for gaming, music, and watching movies as the low and mid-treble are quite decent.

MICROPHONE PERFORMANCE

The hallmark of any gaming headphone is the microphone. When the microphone works top-notch then, you know that you have hit the jackpot. Both the HyperX Cloud II Pro and the Alpha gaming headset come with sublime microphone capabilities.

When playing multi-user games, you do not want your teammates to be waiting for your instructions. Besides, you do not want to leave them high and dry. First, let us read about the HyperX Cloud II Pro microphone.

Its isolation performance is above average. The headset does a fantastic job by removing out the outside noise sublimely. Please do note that the unit does not come with active noise cancellation.

We were surprised by the performance of the unit. The gaming sound and music were clearly heard on the other side. However, the bass range was slightly altered. If you wear them in a noisy street or even in an airplane, you can hear the engine roar on the other side of the mic.

During the test, it was able to hit close to 130dB in isolation, which is good. As far as the leakage is concerned, it was pretty good. It stood between 800Hz and 3KHz, which is average. The leakage was not too high, meaning that you could absorb all the sound you need to hear.

The boom microphone comes with matchless recording capabilities. We found that its low-frequency extension was top-notch. Likewise, the high-frequency extension was eloquent. That means you can talk clearly.

The person at the other end can easily understand what you are saying without issues. Talking about the Alpha gaming headset, the boom microphone also has excellent noise handling. During tests, the speech-to-noise ratio was 49dB, which stands for exceptional.

You will be stunned to know that the mic can separate the sounds even in noisy environments. That is a boon, especially for those of you who work in areas like the stock market or sit in the living room of a joint family.  

We also found that the recording capabilities of the microphone were outstanding. Your voice is exceptionally heard on the other side in complete detail. As we said, when you are talking in a noisy surroundings, the voice does not drown.

Besides, it was able to block higher-frequency sounds. Likewise, the leakage performance was acceptable, and only some audio was leaked. Gladly, the gaming headset does not disturb anybody sitting next to you because it falls below the noise floor.

COMPATIBILITY

We will read about the compatibility of the HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset. Can the Cloud II Pro outdo the Alpha in the compatibility section? The HyperX Cloud II has a wired connection with volume control and microphone support that efficiently uses several devices like PC and even PS5.

The gaming headset also has a USB adapter that you can consider using for your PC. It enables you to have more control over your audio. Sadly, these units do not come with software for you to add any customization options.

Besides, the Cloud II has a USB control box enabling you to access functions you cannot do when using a 1/8″ TRRS connection. Sadly, there is no input option other than the USB. But you can combine your audio channels with your chat.

Thus, enabling you to activate the 7.1 surround sound feature. It is a wired gaming unit that comes with companion software. On the other hand, the Cloud Alpha comes with a detachable 1/8″ TRRS audio cable.

Gamers can plug it on the PS4 and even the Xbox One. You can use it on your PC. You can see in headsets that are wired; there is no latency; hence you can speak fluently to your mates. It means that you can operate gaming headsets efficiently on your PS4 and your laptop with the Y-splitter.

PRICE

The HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset price does not have to be a deciding factor because they are priced the same. Typically, makers do not price the units at the same rate.

They have a difference, even though it can be minor. But that is not the case here. It was quite stunning to note that the Cloud II Pro and the Alpha are priced the same at less than $100. The HyperX Cloud II Pro is priced under $100.

Our testers strongly believe that it is worth the price. The model comes with exceptional features infused in it. Similarly, the HyperX Cloud Alpha gaming headset is priced under $100. Likewise, based on the testing that we did, the unit is worth the rate quoted.

However, some retailers tend to sell the Alpha model slightly cheaper. It depends on the sale period or discounts. When you search for a budget headset, you may want to consider these two outstanding units.

VERDICT

The HyperX Cloud II gaming headset is an exceptional choice for gaming. Gamers will not be disappointed with it. The gaming headset comes with sublime features like a wired USB connection, a low latency, excellent balanced audio reproduction, and a mind-blowing microphone that can filter noise.

You do not feel discomfort when you wear them for extended hours when gaming. They do have support for customizing options that are found in top-end gaming headsets. Besides, your ear may get slightly warm if you wear them for long periods of time.

On the other hand, the HyperX Cloud Alpha is a splendid gaming headset. You can find a barrage of features in them. The gaming headset comes with sublime earcups that are extremely comfortable to wear for those lengthy gaming sessions with friends.

You will be delighted with the performance of the microphone that makes it good enough for gaming. Sadly, they cannot take out the noise that is present in your background. Hence, you may not consider wearing them during commute or travel.

However, the leak less audio, which means, you can use it in your office or living room in peace. As both the gaming headsets are priced the same, choosing the winner between the two became slightly difficult.

We felt that the better of the two, HyperX Cloud II Pro vs Alpha gaming headset, is the Alpha unit.