Review: HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless outlasts competition with 300-hour battery life
When it comes to wireless gaming headsets, the best ability is often availability. An expensive device is just a paperweight if it can’t hold a charge. That’s why long battery life has always been one of my coveted features for devices without cords. It’s also a reason that the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless is so intriguing.
One of the newest headsets from HyperX advertises a jaw-dropping 300 hours of battery life on a single charge. It’s essentially a set of cans that can last for weeks of gaming. This summer, I put it through its paces. I started using it at 1:21 p.m. Aug. 8 and it was my daily driver through work and during long gaming sessions. I rarely used it on weekends when I was away from my desk.
With that heavy-duty load, I finally ended up with an exhausted battery at 1:51 a.m. Sept. 24. That’s massively impressive. By the end of the single charge, it seemed that the Cloud Alpha Wireless was tenaciously grabbing every little watt. With 10% battery left, the device almost lasted a week of use before it eventually gave out.
This is a headset that users will need to charge once a month. That’s ridiculously good performance.
NOT MANY FEATURESAs for the rest of the package, it’s minimalistic as the device specializes in squeezing every bit of juice. You won’t see RGB colors or special rumble modes. You won’t be able to connect the device to your phone nor does it feature onboard presets. The Cloud Alpha Wireless is spartan with a singular focus on giving you good audio for as long as possible.
To help facilitate that, HyperX outfitted the headset with its signature memory foam and retained its time-tested design that’s great for marathon gaming sessions. It’s a set of cans that you can wear for hours without too much fatigue. My only complaint is that the weight at 325 grams does start feeling heavy after a few hours.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?When it comes to sound quality, the Cloud Alpha Wireless is good but not great. The Dual Chamber Drivers offer strong bass. It’s big and booming but it lacks that extra oomph and clarity from higher-priced offerings. Explosions and gunfire sound fine and they have a solid impact, but again, it’s serviceable but unimpressive.
The mids and highs are clear when things are relatively quiet. You’ll be able to hear footsteps and details in the world around you such as running water. The sound rushes at you with a sense of urgency. The issue is that it’s harder for the Cloud Alpha Wireless to convey the subtle details. The best way to describe it is that you can hear flames crackle in a fire pit but the sound doesn’t carry the feel of the heat. The bottom line: It’s not a great headset for audiophiles or those who demand a perfect cinema experience, but if you’re using it for online gaming it’s solid.
A lot of the reason for that is the headset handles spatial sound very well. When coupled with its Ngenuity software, the device takes advantage of the DTS:X support. The sound space of the earcups lets you pinpoint the direction of the audio. You can tell if gunfire is coming from behind or at the side. All of this deepens the immersion and helps out in competitive games.
Speaking of the Ngenuity software, it’s solid enough and I haven’t had problems with it. The program doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but it works as designed. I appreciate the options to turn voice prompts off and the mic monitoring, which lets users hear how loud they’re yelling at friends.
As for the microphone, it works fine. The notable element is that the tip has a light-up ring that lets users know when they’re muted. It’s a nice touch.
All of these features play a supporting role to the ultimate star of the Cloud Alpha Wireless, which is the legit battery life. If you’re a person who wants to worry less about the charge on the headset and focus more on the game itself, then this is the device for you.