HyperX - Cloud Alpha S (Blue)

For 200USD, with high isolation preferred, your options are relatively limited. I used to be a very firm closed-back only user. Skip the first chunk of text if you want actual recs I can't recommend *any* closed back, wired headsets. You're better off buying a separate microphone - Modmic is the most common for a true headset-like solution, but *I don't recommend that either* when you can buy an AT2005USB or ATR2100X-USB and a mic stand for less. In fact, your HyperX Cloud Alphas are arguably the best closed back wired headset in this price range. Popular picks include the new Fiio FT-1, the older AKG K361/K371, and the venerable Beyerdynamic DT770. When it comes to DT-770 variants, problems quickly arise - The DT770 with the black pleather earpads, the 770-M, has the best isolation, better than the other headphones on this list, but have *absolutely garbage bloated mid bass* with very little sub bass rumble for most people. When people talk about the DT770 they're referring to the standard DT770-32 or DT770-80 which have velour earpads. These pads are cheap, relatively soft, but provide not that much isolation... you would be better off with a different set of headphones. Oh, and one other thing... no detachable cable. You're stuck with the really heavy and long stock cable until it gives out. The Fiio FT-1 is by far the most *quality-sounding* piece of gear on the list, especially if you like bass, but the problem is that it's a bass ported set. You won't have perfect isolation, but in exchange the bass sounds great (according to other people - I haven't tried it myself.) It also comes with hybrid earpads, which is good for *comfort* but bad for *isolation*. The K361/K371 isn't without problems either. They have poor durability, it's just a poorly designed chassis. The hinges usually give out quickly. The isolation is also average at best for a closed back, and the bass is also "just okay". I wouldn't recommend these for metal because guitars sound really off unless you use something like AutoEQ's profiles, which have their own problems like really messing up the treble by default (you have to change this manually). "So, RZ, what the hell should I buy?" I got you. There are three options. The first is still the Fiio FT-1, because comfort is king over all else. It fits a wide variety of head sizes and doesn't have excessive clamping force according to most users. The second, is the Shure SRH-440A, which is a non-ported design with pleather earpads, however I have heard it can hurt the top of your head (I haven't experienced this personally). The third option, if you're comfortable with a fixed cable, would be the old MDR-7506 with Yaxi STPad2. At least it isolates better and has cleaner bass than the normal DT770... and it's not awfully expensive. Feel free to ask questions.

HyperX Cloud Alpha S(blue) for gaming. Skullcandy Crushers for edm, techno and hardstyle.

I ran the hyper cloud alpha for about a year. They were great except they wouldn't feed my own voice back in the headset on PS5. They can on PC though. I passed then to my son since he been playing on our PC rig more. Bought the nova pro headset. Pretty happy so far. Great sound quality and plenty of customization. I can feed my audio back as well. Fairly comfortable. Alpha's were slightly better comfort wide for me.

who cares about sound quality for gaming.. i have audiphile headphone and i use it exclusivity for music. for gaming they are too big, unconfortable and the treble is fatigating. so its best to use hyperx alpha for gaming. it's lightweight, boomy bass is a plus to feel sound effects, i can wear them entire day, and its closed back so i dont hear gpu coil whine and the keyboard.

I’ve had my HyperX Alpha headset for about 7ish months and boy do they feel nice and sound great! However they’re wired and I assume you aren’t really looking for wired. Why do you want to go wireless though?

Better sound quality, especially if you do some EQ tunning. Better Mic too

I never had the Drop PC38X. The Alphas have a detachable mic btw (which i enjoy has I do more things than gaming with the Headset) and I really like their sound. I think the PC38X has an open-back design i think. Do you know that? Like I said I did some EQ tunning (dunno if you have the know how, but you are a tutorial away from it) and they sound great to me (they are a bit too much bassy for me out of the box). From all the comparisons I have seen, the PC38X have better sound quality. Mic quality wise, just go on youtube and compare both of them, check Hardware Cannucks or something. you can also kinda EQ the mic to be fair. I didn't want to spend more than 100 euros so I went with the Alphas. If money is no object, just get the Drop PC38X

My favorite is HyperX. The mic quality is good and so is the sound. It's comfy, durable, and both sets I own have lasted me for a really long time. I think my oldest of the two (Cloud) is from 2015 and my other one (Alpha) is about five years old now and it's used daily. I'm not a fan of Razer's headsets. A few of my friends use them and their mic quality seems to be pretty bad, especially for how much you pay for them. It would be more understandable if they were cheap. I've also heard they tend to break pretty easily. My only complaint about the Arctis is the two sets I've used (not sure of the models) made a creaking sound whenever I moved my head and it drove me nuts. One was brand new and the other was lightly used that I borrowed from someone. No idea if that was bad luck or if it's something it's known to do.

I used the original Cloud Alpha for years, now using the Cloud III. They are perfectly fine for the price point. Sound is fine, mic is fine, build quality is fine.

Gaming headsets need to be: -easy to drive even with controller DACs and mobile devices, both of which are very common devices when using them -durable enough to not fall apart if thrown (this happens) -inexpensive All of these requirements generally contradict absolute sound quality. There are better ones like the Audeze Maxwell but they're not cheap, though HyperX tends to have pretty good sound in my experience (if you ignore the mic quality, they're not great there).

I haven't really used a Steelseries, I've heard good thing about them but I don't use one. HyperX does sometimes do rebrands of existing headphones, like the Cloud 2 is a Takstar Pro 80 (very similar to the Beyernamic DT770 Pro) with a microphone and the Cloud Orbit is basically an Audeze Mobius without Bluetooth (the Orbit S also removes the head tracking) for less money. The Alpha and Cloud 3 are their own designs and generally also have pretty good sound quality without being expensive.

I’ve never tried the pulse headset but I gave my Arctis Nova away when I got a hyperx alpha because they fit better and have an insane battery life. They’re also cheaper than the ones in your screenshot.