Cloud Pro Gaming Headset (HX-HSCL-SR/NA)

HyperX Cloud Pro HX-HSCL-SR. Everything sounds like straight dogshit after these

I got it and the sound quality was a MAJOR downgrade from my ancient HyperX Cloud HX-HSCL-SR. Audio was quieter in one ear, can't change balance. Very heavy, combined with uncomfortable earpads that put pressure on my glasses, even with aftermarket pads. Very noticeable audio delay coming from a wired headset (duh). $50 entry-level gaming headset from 2019 beating it in every way, especially in audio quality with 0 changes needed.

They're sound okayish. Bass is present, however I have velour pads I've used on cloud 1 and with them bass is non-existent. But stock is kinda sweaty due to materials used. Micro is average at best, cloud 1 with creative sound card is miles better, but I'm not familiar with any other wireless headset, so they can be good among these. Battery life is enormous, 100+ hours of use is real, my first 80 to 0% took about two weeks. Personally, I've got them simultaneously with hifiman he400se, and there is no competition there, I just don't wanna use clouds. However it's connected to 200$ amplifier, has no mic and any kind of noise cancelling due to being open back, it's not a fair comparison by any means. If you really care about music, you should get audeze Maxwell. Being planar magnetic, as my he400se are, they're deliver best sound by far. Cloud 3s just decent there

The headphones arrived today, and I'm someone who had the one of the old HyperX Cloud Headphones (don't recall the number, but it's the one that is built like a tank and nothing breaks on it, including the long cable), which were wide, big and buff. I don't know if it's because my old headphone is pretty 'broken in' with the pads, but the new ones feel kinda small compared to the old design? Especially the top-bottom length, it feels like it doesn't extend enough, especially around the ears and with how cushy the pads are which eat into that size as well. The top padding on the arch part also feels slightly more narrow, and does not have that "bulge" which some other headphone brands have (top part is locked in on the metal/plastic piece, and the underside cushioned/sewn to it, so when the foam gets used overtime, it expands like an underbelly) and this one feels like one whole unit of foam attached around the arch. The material was also weird? It felt like old school fake leather, but I felt it warm up my ears and head much more quickly than some other headphones I tested? Also, unlike old HyperX Headphones which always came with 1 extra set of pads, this one didn't (especially at this price point considering they're not studio headphones). The volume control on the headphone actually controls the volume of the PC itself (it's not a separate instance like the old HyperX). --- Now the biggest issue I had so far... The drives felt a a lot less "oomph", like they have slightly has less range on the frequency per high/mid/low? I don't know how to explain it, but it felt some things where not breathing properly and very muddy. Most vocal with heavy instrumentals were completely washed out to the point I thought I had to check if the dongle was broken or not (this gets worse if the instruments have major tune difference - piano, guitar, violin). I think I basically do have to use the software to fix them up, but it's honestly not great at all when I can't even find information if it has onboard memory or not and how the profile system works before I even install the software (is it full range like Moana or limited?). Also, it seems like the headphone audio will pop/treble if there is a sudden increase of volume difference, which is why the volume wheel is so slow. Whenever I used my keyboard to increase the volume very fast, the audio started "shaking" if that makes sense? I notice this popping issue get worse when playing audio that is not clipped correctly (like in old games) and it feels the headphone is playing catch up with the badly compressed audio. --- The second issue I have... The cable is pretty short (and there is only 1?) and it comes with a USB-A to USB-C Converter, which is usually used at the tail end of a connection setup, so this mean if you need to either recharge or use the headphone with the Wireless Dongle and with a standard USB slot, you will need to keep on disconnecting and reconnecting the cable manually everytime (this is assuming you want to use the USBA Slot). I understand this point, since they most likely want me to use USBC Slots on my PC, so that it fine for the Dongle itself, however... The cable is so short, that I don't know how I'm supposed to recharge my Headphone no matter which slot type I use. Most PC's will have a C slot on the back on their Motherboards, and very few budget Cases will have one at the front (but they will have plenty of A Slots - but that is besides the point). Also, if I'm using a Surge Protector that comes with USBC slots, it will be located either way down on the ground or mounted on a wall (not near me at all), not to mention if I have one of those headphone stands where I hang my headphone on, that will also be slightly out of the way. The point here is, it's a VERY short cable (about as long at a Full Keyboard) so I'm not sure what the idea here was or how I'm supposed to use this cable unless I already have an USB extension on my desk (which only mean more messy cable ontop of my desk). I mean Wireless Mice have a long cable for this very same purpose (recharging and being used) so I'm not sure why Wireless Headphones seem to skipping out on something so cheap? The only solution I could imagine is if I bought one of those specific gamer/Ikea tables that come with the small plastic attachment so you manage the cables, and use one to hang your headphone slightly underneath the table near the cable for quick access. --- I'm really curious why, especially at 136$, this is considered the best headphone? Unless I got a VERY defective unit, the headphone was kinda uncomfortable, the performance very finicky, the audio washed out specifically on the peak of each range, and the cable 2 lengths too short. I tried looking around, and even comparing it to some other headphones, and I honestly cannot figure out (outside of Wireless - which has the audio issues it seems like) why someone might pick this instead of a Technica or Sennheiser for exactly the same price point or lower?

Hyper X Clouds. I had the first version for almost a decade, currently have the 2s ( and have been asked what external mic I was using because people didn't think it was a headset mic). The 3s are out now and seem well reviewed but I haven't used them personally.

The mic quality is significantly worse than their original wired Cloud model headset. I found it very uncomfortable, a bit heavy with very loose clamping force, like slightly bending forward they move around a lot, so if you suddenly turned around or sneeze or something it could shift a lot or even fall off your head unless you have a wide enough head. Sound quality was alright, but not as good as regular wired headphones in that price range. I didn't test battery life, but I've heard they are pretty good with that. Also some people may care while others don't, but the build quality is very cheap, all plastic casing and hollow buttons other than some removable covers on the ear cups and the headband adjustment are aluminum. And the plastic isn't a deal breaker for me personally, but it was a very cheap hollow feeling plastic, the kind you might find on say a "little brother" controller or a hard plastic kids toy. For me though the comfort and the mic quality were the biggest problems, and there might be mic replacements out there from other companies, but I couldn't really wear them for long as is because I found them particularly uncomfortable. I wanted something comfortable and high quality for discord that was wireless, but they just weren't good enough. I don't really have a recommendation in place of it though for wireless, I'll unfortunately have to keep looking for myself as well for now.

I recently cane across my old gaming headphones while clearing some stuff out, an original Razer Kraken, in bright green. The comfort wasn't as bad as I remember (replaced them with an original HyperX Cloud for that reason) but they're absolutely monstrous bass cannons. I had a -6db bass shelf on all frequencies under 200Hz and they were ridiculously bassy, and it bleeds across the mids just smearing everything. Treble was ok though. A perfect example of the why gaming headsets suck trope.

Get the metal hyperx cloud. I’ve had 1 pair each for my pc and Xbox still good as new after 5 years.